I'm usually a big fan of ghostly visits by family members but for some reason this book did not grab my total attention. Usually Christmas stories are happy but Eva isn't a happy lady and the folks around her can't be happy either with her in their lives. She is invited to a Christmas celebration that her husband insists they attend but when she tries to leave in the middle of the night her Grandmother's ghost stops her. This is my first read by Rachel Greenlaw and I am just a little disappointed.

This is groundhog day over and over again except with a Christmas theme. I t toojk me a lwhile to read it as I couldn't;t really get into it. I feel the story was long and drug out.

After leaving a Christmas party, and driving back home, Eve comes across the ghost of her grandma. She is told she needs to face the ghosts of her past and over the next few days she wakes up on Christmas Day as a different person.

One Christmas morning throws in a little Christmas Carol/Groundhounds day vibe.
However, this book is a little bit more heavier and depressing than I would normally grab to read during Christmas or seek our in a holiday book.

2.75 stars

tw: miscarriage, pregnancy loss, grief, parental/grandparental loss

A grieving Eva has thrown herself into work in anticipation of opening a new shop, but pauses--ever so briefly and half-heartedly--to join her fiancé and best friends at a holiday party in the country. When she tries to flee the party, though, she encounters the ghost of her recently dead grandmother and finds herself waking up day after day in the bodies of different party guests, each of whom offer new perspectives on the Eva they see and experience. The premise is a bit shaky at times but the message here is a tribute to the spirit of the season.

Eva has lost herself in work. If she is always working, she doesn’t have to think about the heartbreaking loss of her grandmother three years ago.

She is so focused on her inner pain that she is oblivious to the pain of others - even the pain she causes. When she is invited to a weekend-long Christmas party, the last thing she wants to do is socialize. To make matters worse, the party is being held in her grandmother’s previous home.

Eva’s relationships are all hanging on by a thread. Her husband can’t reach her and neither can her friends. But then something happens, Eva keeps waking up on the same morning with her thoughts but inside the body of a different party guest. It is a chance to see herself as others do. Will this be a chance to redeem herself or just something preventing her from numbing her pain?

I really liked how this book took the reliving the same day idea and added a unique spin. Spend One Christmas Morning (or many) with this entertaining novel from Rachel Greenlaw.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

"One Christmas Morning" is a heartwarming and thought-provoking novel that takes readers on a journey of self-discovery. The story follows Eva, a woman who is feeling lost and unfulfilled in her life. After being visited by the ghost of her grandmother, Eva finds herself reliving the same day over and over again, but in the bodies of different people.

This unique premise allows Eva to see the world through new eyes and gain a deeper understanding of the lives of those around her. Through her experiences, she learns valuable lessons about compassion, empathy, and the importance of cherishing loved ones.

"One Christmas Morning" is a beautifully written novel that will stay with you long after you turn the last page. It's a perfect read for anyone who is looking for a heartwarming story about the power of second chances and the importance of living life to the fullest.

Just because Christmas is over doesn't mean anyone has to stop reading books taking place during that holiday. I read One Christmas Morning by Rachel Greenlaw early into the new year. It definitely captures the feel of Christmas and is a mix between Groundhog Day, Freaky Friday, and A Christmas Carol. It also reminded me of The Transformation of Things by Jillian Cantor. (Oddly enough, my book club met with her on Zoom last night, but this earlier novel wasn't part of the discussion.)

This novel is about a woman who is grieving while also burying herself in work, and how she learns what is truly important. It was an interesting and thoughtful story, but it does have some sad moments. There is a lot of magical realism throughout, which sort of includes time travel in a different sense. I enjoyed seeing Eva experience life through the eyes of other people she knows. I'm sure it was jarring to interact with herself while in someone else's body.

My biggest concerns were that there was too much description, which took away from the narrative for me. I also felt like things went around in circles a lot, and I'm not talking about the situation with Eva waking up as different people. Just the dialogue and certain situations.

Overall, a worthwhile read that will put you back into a Christmas mood!

(Trigger warning below.)

Movie casting suggestions:
Eva: Jessica Brown Findlay
James: Ed Speleers
Hallie: Holliday Grainger
Diana: Mimi Keene
Kian: Henry Golding
Sarah: Emma Laird
Natalie: Cara Delevingne
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TW: miscarriage, infertility, loss of a parent/parental figure

This is not your typical Christmas book. It's not heartwarming or uplifting, even if the ending is somewhat hopeful, in fact it's pretty sad and depressing at times and I often wanted to throttle Eva, though Gran was a bit of a hoot.

I saw several mixed reviews prior to reading this book but I have to say that I'm square in the camp of really enjoying it. You have to accept the book for what it it - - it's a reflection of life and finding your way through the muck. Sometimes we get caught up in what we "think" is important and lose sight of the bigger picture. This book really did a nice job of helping to put priorities into focus.

By showing using perspectives from each of the different characters to help our main character, Eva to see what she's missing, it was a unique way to present the storyline. Even though it's not typical holiday fare, this book is meaningful and emotional. Kudos to the author for a job well done.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it.

This was a beautiful story about realizing what is actually important in life. Will recommend to friends.

While I thought the concept of One Christmas Morning was an interesting variation of the typical time loop story, I thought that it still fell into the trap of being overly repetitive and a little boring. That being said, I think the story was good and interesting enough to hold my attention. I typically avoid these kinds of tropes, but I did enjoy the read and I'm glad I picked this one up. The ending is definitely the payoff in my opinion and I think if you can push through the beginning, it's worth it.

A sweet Christmas rom com that made me laugh and made me cry. I finished it in one day. While it wasn't a favorite and I most likely won't read it again I did enjoy it.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel. Unfortunately, I was not able to finish the novel so I won't be leaving a full review.

3.5 Stars - Eva is a hardworking businesswoman who has dedicated herself to building her company. However, she is experiencing difficulties in her marriage, friendships, and professional relationships. To take a break from her troubles, she decides to spend Christmas at Penhallow, a manor house in Cornwall, with her friends Hallie and Kian. At the Christmas Eve party, Eva is overwhelmed by an unexpected announcement and tries to return to London. On her way back, she encounters the ghost of her deceased grandmother. When she wakes up on Christmas morning, she realizes that she is not in her own body. The story is a mix of Groundhog Day and Freaky Friday, as Eva finds herself reliving the same day but in different people's bodies. Although the story tackles heavy themes like grief and loss, it is also uplifting as Eva reevaluates her priorities and works on healing her relationships. Personally, I don't think this is the kind of book I would prefer to read at Christmas. I prefer lighter and more cheerful reads, which are emotions present in this story only to a minimal extent. However, if you are a reader who enjoys introspective books during the holiday season, you will definitely appreciate this one more.

Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

One Christmas Morning by Rachel Greenlaw was one of the few holiday books I managed to actually finish during winter break. I just wasn't in the mood for all these sappy books about Magical Christmas this year and I felt a little Scrooge meets The Grinch. Then along came our main character Eva who seemed to be in a similar mood to my own. We bonded immediately. When she went on a Groundhog Day meets Ghost of Christmas type self finding journey, I found my holiday spirit right alongside of her.
This was the perfect book for me to read this holiday season!

Three years ago, Eva’s life was ripped apart on Christmas. To distract herself from her grief, she poured herself into starting a new business. And in the process she has lost her connection with her friends and husband. Now, she finds herself celebrating the holidays with her husband and their friends at the same magical place from so many of her memories. It’s right before her shop is scheduled to launch and she feels she should be working, plus to make things worse her best friend announces she’s pregnant bringing some of Eva’s pain back to the surface. She tries to leave without anyone noticing, but at midnight runs into the ghost of her beloved grandmother who tells her she needs to face her problems and reconnect with her loved ones before she loses them all. Over the next few days, Eva finds herself repeating Christmas morning, but each time she wakes up she experiences the day in a different body of the people at the house. She learns more about the people around her as she gets this detailed glimpse into their lives and learns more about herself in the process as well.

This book is very heavy for a holiday story and it very much gives A Christmas Carol vibes.. It's an interesting twist on a time loop and I enjoyed that she lived the day as a new character each time. Eva is a challenging character to like throughout most of the story, but that allowed for some great character development.

Thank you to Avon Books for the gifted copy.

Who doesn't love a groundhog's day trope? Don't we all have that one day we wish we could live over and learn from our past mistakes? I really enjoyed this book and the way the main character gained insight through experiencing the same day over and over, but through those around hers own eyes and perspectives. If only we could truly see how our actions are affecting the ones we love the most so we can choose to make the best decisions. This was a very heartwarming and eye-opening book. Definitely add it to your TBR!

Such a cute Christmas read it was giving Freaky Friday Vibes and I loved it so much! This one was probably my fav read of the month!

(Content warning for a lot of fertility issues and pregnancy loss in the book.)

Christmas books are completely unaware of how absolutely batshit they can be. This book casually had a full sci-fi horror scenario where each time loop involved the main character living a day in someone else's body while the host's consciousness went...somewhere and her guide through all these loops was the ghost of her dead Grandmother whomst she found in the England version of a swamp. All of this was framed in an extremely uninteresting plot involving a workaholic business woman found her Christmas cheer through seeing Christmas through the eyes of poor people and her best friend and whatever. Snooze.

I really wish the sci-fi plot was explored more. Like, where did the hosts go while she was living in their bodies? Were they all aware of living in this time loop? Were they all actually her in different hosts and Grandma was creating an infinite loop of her invading everyone's body until the whole of England was actually copies of this lady? Whose whole problem was being a workaholic who had a really great idea of opening a whole ass store at Christmas??? But as per usual at Christmas, Grandma was very unclear about the host situation and we are left to come to our own conclusions.

Anyway, it got 3 stars because 5 star sci-fi concept + 1 star boring and overly tragic Christmas plot = mid

Heavier than I was expecting for a Christmas book. But, it wasn’t really a Christmas book in my opinion. g. I liked the idea of the author trying to get readers to remember to tell the people you love that you love them while you still have the chance to do it. Still, I expected a bit more from this book.