Christmas in London is a fun book to read for the holidays, a great escape from the hustle and bustle of the season.

You will fall in love with this book. It has a love story and Christmas magic, and lots of yummy desserts. The novel is told bye two of the main characters Kate and Louisa, how London affects them at Christmas, and each has their own love story, this is a feel good novel. I highly recommend for a happy, feel good romance story

Thank you to NetGalley, St, Martins Press and the author Anita for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I just couldn’t connect with this book, which disappoints me as I love books set in London. I did love all of the references to the London landmarks which I thought were described very well but I just couldn’t get on or connect with the two main female characters, I just didn’t find them believable.

Christmas in London is a very well written book. Great plot, characters and setting. I highly recommend this book.

What a beautiful love story!!! A beautiful setting, London at Christmas time!!! Louisa is a baker and a tv show ruins their cinnamon rolls and their producer comes into Louisa's bakery to buy some to replace theirs. The star of the show ends up allergic to Louisa's rolls and the tv show asks Louisa to come to London to replace the host! Of course she says yes, who wouldn't! There in London, Louisa meets Digby Bunting her idol but he likes her a lot more than her food! I loved the food descriptions, you could almost smell what was being cooked! I also loved the descriptions of London it felt like you were there. This is a beautiful love story set in a magical place! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for an ARC in return for an honest review.

There were two romances to follow in this book, Louisa's and Kate's. Kate's could have been left out entirely, or put into a separate novella. Not only did the reader have to switch between the two women's POV, but each woman had two men interested in them and Kate's story was told at least partially in flashback. That's a lot to keep track of. I did enjoy the foodie details and the lovely descriptions of London at Christmas time. I did not enjoy all the miscommunication between the couples and the women's lack of self-worth. Noah's constantly throwing a guilt trip on Louisa by saying if she didn't do this or that he would be fired was also tiresome. One romance at a time, please.

WoW ! What a fully packed wild and woolly week in London, England with memory lane trips to college days in Scotland. A story filled to the brim with cooking, romance, heartache, and the really big question... will love triumph or will hearts be smashed beyond repair. A real page turner. Hope you agree... I did have some trouble in a few spots when we jumped to another point in time and I missed the shift for a beat or two.. but I did a quick shuffle-hop-step and caught up quickly. A very busy story.

This was a lovely read! I thoroughly enjoyed this story and loved feeling like I was in London. I will definitely be rereading this around Christmas.

Christmas in London
Anita Hughes
Available: October 3, 2017

Thank you to NetGalley.com for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Finally – A heroine who is not rolling in money and who only has taste for the finer things in life. Of course, its also completely unrealistic but still a beautiful little holiday romance. Getting ready for the holidays is tough when the temperature outside is in the mid-80’s and the holiday everyone that everyone is looking forward to is Memorial Day.
What I loved: The descriptions of the food, décor, atmosphere, people – always completely spot on and make you feel like you are right in the middle of the story. All of the interesting little tidbits of trivia and fact that come out of the characters like passing conversation are also informative and usually pertaining to the story.
What I didn’t love: Why do these characters feel a need to spew every single thought that comes into their heads out of their mouths? Think without speaking – it’s a novel concept. And Kate – where were her parents when she was graduating from University in her flashbacks? I think even I would travel to Scotland to see my kid graduate.
What I learned: That anyone with a great cinnamon roll recipe can get a walk on role on a national Christmas show.
Overall Grade: B-

www.FluffSmutandMurder.com

While I normally adore this type of book with all of its details about baking, this one fell supremely flat for me in various ways.

Firstly, the misogyny was too much for me. The two main characters are both female but seem to have absolutely no idea of their worth. Male characters fight over one with no ever visible connections and another suggests that a famous chef is only interested in the other for her looks, and not her talents. Regardless of ultimate results, it was really frustrating to see the girls rarely standing up for themselves and instead letting the guys drag them in every which direction.

The speech in this book was the other killer for me. Barely any of the dialogue written was lines that people would actually say. All of the speech was incredibly stilted, with characters speaking for a good paragraph or two before allowing someone else a turn. They gave far more details than would ever be interesting and relevant, and blurted out stuff that people just wouldn't say naturally. With every set of quotation marks, I found myself pulled completely out of the story.

There were two plots going on in this book, and quite honestly, we could lose Kate's entire story. It reads as a subplot--it's not until chapter four that we read from her perspective or learn anything about her--and doesn't contribute anything to the other side of the book. I also wish that there had been more offered in the beginning; Louisa is picked to be in a cooking show because the other girl had an allergic reaction and her lips were swollen up… I don't buy it. Get some allergy medication. It works wonders.

I did, however, enjoy all of the details about pastries, though I wish that there had been more variety and that we'd seen Louisa learning more new recipes. One strong scene was when she got distracted from her agenda by buying ingredients and that was probably one of the only real scenes in the novel.

This book just wasn't a success for me, and I'll be reading other novels this Christmas.

nice book but did not really hold my interest. was a bit disappointed

Lighthearted holiday book about a Christmas cooking show.
As an older woman, the main characters were too young for me but this is a book that would appeal to young women who are just starting their careers.

It's a cozy light Christmas story with lots of food and lots of love. Perfect for the holidays!

Christmas in London is just what you want from a holiday romance. It is truly a magical guilty pleasure the will put you in the spirit of the season and leave you craving delicious sweets! Perfect for lovers of romance, holiday magic, and foodies.
Louisa Graham is a talented and dedicated pastry chef in NYC working at her friend's bakery, with a dream of opening her own restaurant. A week before Christmas a frazzled cooking show producer buys two dozen of her cinnamon rolls to cover an 'on set mishap'. Before she can say no she is on her way to London to film a Christmas cooking show with some of the top chefs in the business. Like Cinderella at the ball, Louisa's fresh approach, charm, and ultimately her talent are what draw people in. However, will Louisa find a space in her dream for romance?
Anita Hughes does a lovely job incorporating the unique location of London into the story, historical, countryside, commercial, all in relation to character and season, to really enhance the experience. I really enjoyed this aspect!
I received an advanced reader copy (eGalley) from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. This review reflects my honest and unbiased opinions.

It all starts with some overcooked buns…. Louisa Graham is working nonstop in a Manhattan bakery when a breathless assistant for a cooking TV show bursts in begging for cinnamon rolls. It seems the buns that were to be on the show were burned. Even thought Louisa baked the cinnamon rolls, she’s not the bakery owner, but she decides to sell the buns to the desperate assistant. The next day, Louisa finds out that her rolls were a huge hit, so huge in fact that the TV show wants Louisa to fill in for their baker, who hae taken ill. Louisa will need to pack her bags, because the whole show is headed to London for Christmas to prepare the Christmas Eve meal at Claridge’s. This is a fun, light story about finding love and good luck when you least expect it