Christmas at hope cottage is a lovely story about family and love, although there wasn't a huge amount of Christmas in it so could easily be classed as a wintery read - so grab a blanket, a mug of hot chocolate and settle down for a bit of magic!

Emma has returned home to Hope Cottage so that her grandmother Evie can help her recover after a nasty accident.
Along with Evies sisters, Dot and Aggie, the three embark of nursing Emma back to health - easier said than done when your senses are in a complete muddle -
Things that should feel hot like a shower, feel painful and tingly, her vision is doubled and her taste buds are disengaged.

Over time we learn more about the Halloway family and their secret recipe book, one that is thought to have magic linked to it.
I don't want to give too much away about this as you really need to read the story to get a feel for the history and the way the recipes work, but what I will say is that things don't always work out as planned and this has caused a long feud between the Halloways, Allen's and Leas over the years.

This is all well and good except Emma's first love, Jack, Is an Allen and over the years his family have made things difficult for the pair.

Emma coming home encourages Jack to come to Hope Cottage and he tells her he was a fool to believe everything that was said and that he wasn't going to listen anymore.

Ofcourse nothing runs smoothly, especially with Jacks jealously coming into play around Sandro... the handsome Spanish lodger also at hope cottage!

I enjoyed reading Christmas at hope cottage - this is the first book from lily Graham that I've read  - although I did find the first half a bit of a slow go, this is purely because the novel starts in the present day and we go back into the past a few times, this is is just a personal reading preference and nothing against the story, but I also felt that there could have been a little more spark or 'moments' between Emma  and Sandro which for me, would have made the ending slightly more believable.
Nevertheless I'm not put off and planning another book by Lilly soon!

If you are looking for a fabulous book which has a delicious combination of laughter, romance, tears and new beginnings, then this is most definitely the book for you. If you are a Christmas Grinch without an ounce of festive cheer in you … well read it anyway. Like me (I’m a Grinch) you just find you love it.

When Emma’s boyfriend Pete breaks up with her just before Christmas, she thinks that this is the worst of her problems. Until, that is, she heads to the shop to buy the necessary supplies to drown her sorrows and promptly gets knocked of her bike. Suffering life changing injuries, Emma has no option other than to leave her London home and head back to her old village and the safe care of her Grandmother. But she is no ordinary grandmother and Emma’s is no ordinary family. Much like her mother before her, Emma had been trying to forget her roots, to ignore the pull of the old family recipe book in the hope of living a ‘normal’ life without all of the baggage that comes with being a Halloway. But Emma soon comes to learn that life really is nothing without a little magic.

From the very beginning as a reader you find yourself drawn into Emma’s overly dramatic world. Battling relationship woes and avoiding her slightly eccentric family, Emma has been working as a journalist writing columns on the traditional aspects of cooking, a passion instilled within her from her time living at Hope Cottage. But when her accident leaves her incapable of looking after herself, her leg and arm broken and all of her senses rewired in the most dramatic of ways. Everything she loved is now out of her reach and this is captured so effectively in Lily Graham’s writing. It must be a truly awful feeling to have a passion for food but not be able to taste anything. A wonderous love of the sights and smells of food but not be able to see clearly or smell anything. The smell thing may be a bonus given than her broken arm and leg and lack of balance make it hard to shower, but it is still a truly unenviable position to be in.

Despite her woes, or perhaps increasing them, the injuries force Emma to return to the village in which she grew up – the village she had run away from in order to escape the impossible to achieve love she feels for local resident Jack Allen. The Allen’s and the Halloway’s have a very dark history, one which the Allen’s seem unable to forgive and forget, and as a result any relationship between the two children was impossible. But can age and a little distance make either of them see sense and can Emma rekindle a romance that never quite started with the person she believes is the love of her life?

Well… possibly. But then she didn’t count on meeting her Grandmother’s lodger, Sandro. Sandro runs the local Tapas Hut and has infinite patience for Emma, despite her moods. From their very first meeting he gets under Emma’s skin, his being the first face she truly sees in focus since the accident. He is warm and funny where she is testy and often cold. Easy to forgive when you think of her predicament. But is there more to their occasional conflicts, nearly always of Emma’s making, than meets the eye?

I really enjoyed the way in which the author has woven in a very subtle element of magic into the story. There is no outright statement that we are in the presence of a family of witches, although that is surely what is implied. The recipes that the Halloway family make are as much about hope as they are guarantee, and perhaps it is the power of belief, or superstition, which is the key to the recipe’s success far more than it is magic. But what is clear is that when a Halloway bakes, strange things start to happen, and a price must always be paid.

I loved the characters within the book, especially Emma’s Grandmother Evie and her two Great Aunts, who are all wonderfully eccentric and larger than life characters. The women definitely rule the roost in this book, quite right too, and for once the idea of the matriarch is strong and dominates the Halloway family line, something not all prospective suitors are happy about. However, it is possibly also due to the strong female characters in this book that the feuds continue way beyond what is reasonable. We ladies do seem to like to hold a grudge now…

With some of the story told in flashbacks to Emma’s childhood, we learn much more about her and her family. Of the conflict which caused the rift between the families of Whistling, and the past which will ultimately shape Emma’s future. And it is a joy to see her slowly recover, to rediscover a love for baking and perhaps find out something about herself which she isn’t expecting, even though to everyone else it’s as plain as the nose on her face. Perhaps Emma has her double vision to thank for that one.

This is a beautifully crafted story of family feuds and forgiveness; misunderstanding and suspicion; romance and a little bit of festive magic. How can you resist?

I agree as already said “A magical feel good romance novel”, but much more. My first Lily Graham read. Best novel of this Christmas reading. Most families have secrets that have to wait until the right time to open up and get on with life. I loved this book.

Christmas at Hope Cottage is a bit like a Sarah Addison Allen novel, transplanted to Yorkshire instead of the Deep South. Sweet, and a little magical, Christmas at Hope Cottage is a perfect Christmas read.

Things could be going better for Emma Holloway, she is dumped by her boyfriend and then gets knocked over by a parcel delivery van. To add insult to injury, the delivery van was actually delivering a parcel for her.

Contained within the parcel was 'The Book' sent to Emma to help her make some decisions. The only decision now is getting well again and it is going to a long process as Emma finds herself back at Hope Cottage with her eccentric grandmother and two equally as eccentric aunts nearby.

Now 'The Book' is back at Hope Cottage we start to see the magic that it may have and that perhaps the way to health, happiness and the future is to bake it. Trouble is magic can be seen as witchcraft and it seems these women are known locally and feuds and disputes go back years, hundreds of years.

So it will not help Emma, when her first love arrives back on the scene and happens to be from a family who hold onto family folklore and certainly don't believe in magic.

But perhaps when faith is tested, people will look to any means to aid them. Can hope be restored from the pages of the book, the walls of the cottage and Emma and her grandmother?

This is a wonderful tale of love and hope, of believing in something you perhaps cannot explain but know is right. Emma's story starts quite abruptly and her injuries from the accident that find her back at Hope Cottage were frightening and life altering, but it made her think a lot more about her life up until that point. The author uses this in the form of flashbacks so we can see how Emma found herself to be away from her family home, how her mother made the same decisions that she had and how the presence of something unexplainable can actually cause deep resentment in a community.

The book has everything you want from a Christmas novel and more, strong female characters recognising the fact that it is okay to be different, a sprinkling of snow and romance and delicious baking to wake up the tastebuds.

Perfect reading in the run up to Christmas and you cannot go wrong with Lily Graham's novels as I have read and enjoyed everyone. A wonderful storyteller.

I was completely captivated by this book; the writing style, the delicious recipes, the quaint comfort of Hope cottage, and the eclectic mix of characters all combined to pull me in and wouldn’t let go.

The dilemmas faced by Emma as she is forced to return to her childhood home was something I really connected with; that part of being an adult and from an independent life but drawn back home and, in many ways, back in to feeling childlike and vulnerable. Emma’s difficult background and how the flashback sections revealed her quest to find out about her parents and her family was very touching; the pain and animosity from the neighbour disputes and “curse” of the family was a very interesting aspect. The overwhelming pull of this book I feel is the wonderful sense of family and love that exists between Emma, her Grandmother Evie, and her Aunts. They are all eccentric, unusual and completely loveable in their own ways and you feel part of that close knit clan as you lurk on through their story.

I’ve read a few books with a mystical and/or paranormal element and this really worked here successfully; an air of nostalgia and tradition weaved through the storyline well and you could feel the importance and duty that the Halloways held for their community. Sandro’s story of being pulled to the countryside village and his dreams for his own cottage was a nice touch and I’d be interested in reading his story, or perhaps a sequel.

This book is uplifting, magical, romantic and full of hope which is exactly what you want in a good Christmas story.

A bewitching Christmas read!

I was initially attracted to this book by its ever so quaintly gorgeous cover. I have a bit of a thing for country cottages and love Christmas. However, I’m pleased to announce this was not just a shallow case of cover crush, but also one of story seduction too.

I loved this magical and whimsical story or family, feuds, secrets, gossip, baking, love and romance.

Filled with some wonderful characters, including a number of eccentric woman, like myself, how could I not fall in love with this book and the characters within it?

Christmas at Hope Cottage is an overall heart-warming and feel-good story that I thoroughly enjoyed. It would go well with a mug of something hot and freshly baked goodies. Remember, food not only fuels the body, but is also great for the soul.

If you enjoyed this, then I also recommend A Cornish Christmas by this author, as I really enjoyed that too. I love how A Cornish Christmas is set on Cornwall, where I live now, and Christmas at Hope Cottage is set in Yorkshire, where I grew up and will be moving back to in a few years.

Christmas at Hope Cottage is a lovely feel good festive read by Lily Graham. It’s set in Yorkshire and follows the story of Emma Halloway. Recently single and suffering a serious accident, she returns to Hope Cottage to be carried off by Evie and her aunts.

Emma has previously run from her crazy family and their baking antics, but now back in Whistling, Evie fries to bake Emma back to health and happiness - something the Halloways have done for generations. With her family and friends around her, and the help of Sandro, Emma slowly makes progress. Then in walks Jack, her first love bringing with him old feelings and family feuds.

This is a lovely book that I read in a few days, the characters and plot are heartwarming and it definitely gets you in the festive spirit.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

Review: I adored a Christmas book by Lily Graham last year so when I got the chance to review and be apart of the blog tour for this book I jumped at the chance.

This is a quirky read, with family history which courses drama over christmas and a new lodger that makes even the oldest pulses race. A new romance or an old romance which will be the happy ending for Emma.

I enjoyed cozying up with this book. Lily has a gift and can create the most eccentric of characters that leave a warm cosy feeling inside.

For me Lily Graham equals Christmas.

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This is a lovely charming Christmas story full of romance and families and being together when you most need it. The little village where hope cottage is situated is such a cute village where family feuds are evident and it's hard to over come. Emma is a food writer and lives in London but is knocked off her bike in London and is injured quite badly and can't live on her own so had to go and live back with her grandmother in beautiful hope cottage. As she starts getting better she comes to understand and believe her families traditions more. Then she sees her ex Jack and it brings up the family feud that they had but can she go with her family or go with her heart and who she has fallen in love with. A beautiful read but did find it a bit slow in places but certainly full of Christmas and romance.

This is my first book by the author and the cover is divine. I loved the characters. A totally georgous setting based around christmas... comes alive. I will definitely read another of hers again.....

A difficult one to get into, since there are apparently a few books ahead of this one in the series, but once you've gotten the hang of the background, it's quite simple to follow. The characters are unique and well-developed, and you're not quite sure how the book is going to end...which makes for a nice surprise!

Following an accident Emma returns to her home village on the Yorkshire moors to live with her grandmother Evie. Emma didn’t have a happy childhood here, moving there following her parents’ death and then being bought up by her grandmother Evie, who she’d never met. It also didn’t help that the whole village viewed the Halloway family as some sort of witches, probably due to their big recipe book and their ability to ‘help’ people. During her convalescence Emma meets up again with her childhood love, Jack. Jack was never really allowed anything to do with Emma because of the family’s ‘feud’, and things haven’t really changed! The one thing that has changed is the arrival of Sandro, a Spanish god who has the ability to turn women’s heads without the use of any magical powers.

This book was so not what I expected! I thought it would be a chick lit type book with lots of Christmas trees and snow! What we got was a magical story of friendship, love and family. And when I say magical I don’t mean Christmassy sparkly type of magic….I mean proper magic, from a big old magical recipe book which has been passed down through the ladies of the Halloway family! I love the stories from Emma’s childhood, and the tales of the ‘curses’ the Halloway ladies used to put on people. I also loved the stories of their recipes being put to some good for the village people who truly believed that they could work magic.

Emma’s character was lovely, but you really had to feel for her. Not only for the injuries sustained in the accident, but for the love that she has always wanted from Jack, but was never allowed due to his and her families “disagreements” throughout the years. She really didn’t have an easy childhood, and by moving back has bought everything back to her.

A thoroughly magical Christmas read but remember magic isn’t just for Christmas!!

5 Stars!

Only food and the comforts of home can soothe Emma Halloway when her life turns to crap. Home in Yorkshire, Emma’ grandmother will comfort her granddaughter with baked goods, and her old boyfriend, Jack will help heal her heart with friendship and laughter. With her sights set on turning the family’s love of baking into a going concern, and her attempts to convert a grumpy lodger from a grinch into a jolly old elf, Emma will be too busy to dwell on her unhappy past. A sweet, feel good Christmas story guaranteed to charm Scrooge himself

Cosy take reminiscent of Practical Magic but set near the moors. The whole village thinks the Halloway ladies are witches because of their big family recipe book that seems to influence people and situations. Some take advantage of this coming to the ladies for help and others...not so much.

When the youngest Halloway, Emma, is forced to go back to Hope Cottage where she spent her childhood lots of old problems resurface. There are some new things in town though. Most notably a dashing Spaniard named Sandro.

Lily Graham serves up a tasty romance here. I couldn't put this down and read it in one sitting.