Publisher: Choc Lit
Publication Date: October 15, 2025
About the Book
’Tis the season for second chances — and unexpected chapters . . .Tamara Pascoe has spent years saving every penny and perfecting her baking in the hopes of opening her own café in the cosy Cornish village of Penworthal. But when she loses her job, her long-held dream is suddenly out of reach.To make matters worse, her perfect café location is snapped up by newcomer Gage Bennet — a brooding ex-Marine with plans to open a bookshop.Gage has no time for pleasantries, let alone Christmas spirit. But he didn’t count on Tamara — sharp, stubborn and full of festive cheer.Tamara is impossible to ignore, and when the village book club throws them together, Gage realises they might just be able to help one another. Tamara needs a job. He needs help connecting with the community.Striking a reluctant truce, Tamara and Gage’s frosty beginning starts to melt as they bond over their shared love of books.As snow begins to fall and the fairy lights go up, could a little Cornish book club help two opposites write their own happily ever after?
The Christmas Book Club is a cozy, second-chance holiday romance set in the charming Cornish village of Penworthal. While it’s technically the second in a series, it reads perfectly well as a standalone since each book focuses on different residents of the same delightful village.
This time we follow Tamara, a mother (although her son is an adult now) with dreams of opening her own café, and Gage, a former Marine new to town who’s opening a bookshop. Their paths cross easily in this small village, where gossip is always the best news, and while the first impression is meh, it slowly turns into friendship and then more.
I’ll admit, the pacing felt very slow at times, and I didn’t quite connect with Tamara as much as I hoped. Gage, on the other hand, was a high point and I enjoyed watching him gradually open up and find his place in the community. I loved that he had a passion for history and books and was learning more and more about himself as the story progressed. If not for him, I probably would have given up. Tamara, is a strong and strong-willed independent woman and her guard is up a lot, so she comes off as rude a lot of the time... likely to keep herself safe. Sadly, that also just rubbed me the wrong way as I was reading her character at times too though.
The romance was sweet, if not especially swoony, and the festive holiday backdrop added a nice seasonal touch. I appreciated that the author took us through a few months of them learning about each other, so different from the insta-love of so many romance books right now. We see them flirting through Halloween, and working together through November, then on into Christmas.
Overall, The Christmas Book Club is a gentle, heartwarming story perfect for readers who love small-town charm, second chances, and the comforting feel of a Hallmark-style holiday romance.
Angela grew up in Cornwall and returns frequently from her new home in Nashville, Tennessee to visit family and friends, drink tea and eat too many Cornish pasties! A lifelong love of reading turned into a passion for writing contemporary romance and her novels are usually set in the many places she's visited or lived on her extensive travels. Thanks to her wonderful American husband she's a huge fan of transatlantic romance and always makes sure her characters get their own happy-ever-after.
Find the Author
No comments:
Post a Comment