A sweet and fun story for Christmas. When Lexi comes home after losing her job, she started working again for her parents, who run a seasonal store in town. During Christmas, she is busy making wreaths and helping customers, include hunky single dad Cal and his darling little 5 year old son George. A light and fun story, that should help put you in the holiday mood. Enjoyed this story and author and characters. Highly recommend.

I just loved this book. I struggled to put it down I had to keep reading to find out what would happen.
Lexi has returned home after a few ups and downs she wants to take stock and decide on what’s next for her career. So she’s home to help out in the family shop ‘The Four Seasons’. Then she meets Cal and his son George.....
A fab Christmassy book that left me wanting more.

Thank you to the publisher, and to Netgalley, for a free ARC in return for an honest review.

I love wintry, Christmas novels, and this one with the steamed windows of the shop, and iced gingerbread men I was looking forward to reading in December.

This is the thing about reviewing books is the difference in opinions of the same novel. I just did not enjoy this book. In fact I abandoned it at 47%.

It’s a romance, at Christmas, and the festive sprit is very present. I just could not connect with Lexie and Cal.

Lexi came home after her career as a chief engineer in F1 hit a wall, with all of the associated paparazzi attention as she was involved with the team’s driver at the time. The baby in the family with 3 older brothers, she’s always considered herself a tomboy, and is uncomfortable with all things ‘girly’ as she grew up rushing about to keep up with her brothers. Now home for the first extended time in years and finding herself enjoying her remove from the racing circuit more than she thought she would and working at the family’s shop: now transformed into a Christmas wonderland, she’s biding her time until the new year as she waits for a new offer from a racing team to return to the life she’s ‘meant to have’. Oh Lexi – it is so obvious to everyone BUT you that being home, pitching in at the store, spending time with your family and friends makes you happy: happier than the job offer you received. But when a little boy appears, a teddy bear with a wonky head and his gorgeous father appear in the shop, instantly Lexi offers to ‘perform surgery’, fixing Bear and giving him a jaunty new scarf. Thus Lexi meets George and his father Cal: new to the village, with plenty of interested females, single and attached, watching his every move.

Cal, a successful businessman who works with classic cars moved to the village with his young son George to give him a better life with more space and fresh air out of London. Taking full responsibility and custody of George after his mother refused to be involved, Cal is hoping to give George a good life- far better than his own in foster care. Cal is both fiercely protective of George and his feelings, and slightly flummoxed by the boy’s questions, interests and parricularly his instant attachment to Lexi. Not interested in allowing anyone in enough to hurt either him or the child, but somehow he just can’t stop running into Lexi. Of course, her best friend’s husband and her brother both work with Cal, and George has become friends with her nephew and niece, and her family has done (in typical fashion) everything they can to welcome Cal and George to town and making them feel a part of the family and community.

Cal is hard not to like – his relationship with George and his determination to keep him safe and happy is wonderful, and you can’t help but appreciate his warmth and willingness to help out those he likes. Lexi, on the other hand, while a wonderfully kind and clearly welcoming person was frustrating – SO frustrating as she first couldn’t see what was in front of her, then refused to let go of her fear of all the bad things that could happen if she took a chance. Oh the back and forth wore a hole in the carpet here: everyone: from her mother, her friends and even her brothers see just how well-matched she and Cal were – and if that wasn’t enough, her ex Marco, F1 driver and former fiancé saw it – and it was his surprising offer and words of sense that finally made a difference.

Full of emotions – this story fairly oozed family acceptance, love and goodwill. Even when Lexi was at her most frustrating, her brother Dan’s and her parents’ support and acceptance, even extending to quiet reprimands and gentle nudges into the fray of confusion she was experiencing was wonderful – everyone deserves family and friends just like that. When you add in a Great Dane that can’t help but be adorable even as he snores away in the warmest place possible, the Christmas festivities and the wonderful additions to the family and the holiday themed store that can’t help but put you in the spirit, the story fairly flies by to a conclusion that is expected yet surprising in just how well it works for everyone.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=”https://wp.me/p3OmRo-9vf/”> <a> I am, Indeed </a>

I have already managed to read some lovely Christmas books and I haven’t been disappointed!

I haven’t read a Maxine Morrey book previously but after reading her latest I will definitely be looking her up in the future.

I found this to be a lovely book to settle down with and found myself flying through the pages eager to find out that the author had in store for the characters. I love cosy books set in lovely villages and this didn’t disappoint. Add in a lovely close knit family and you have the perfect book on your hands! Cal and Lexi were lovely but also complicated characters who have suffered horrible disappointments in their lives and I was routing for them from the first chapter.

This is a lovely heart warming story and also an uplifting book about finding happiness and being brave enough to grab it with both hands.

I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend!

Never read any of hers before but really enjoyes the characters and writing style.

When I saw this book on Netgalley the cover caught my attention. When I read the synopsis I was very interested and when I was granted access I was very happy. I didn't take me long to read it and I started liking it from the very beginning.
This is a very sweet romantic story, but it is not only about love, it's about family, about taking chances and enjoying your life. I loved the characters, albeit I must confess I wanted to shake Lexi into her senses more than once. I loved Cal (Can I have one of those, please?) and George (One of those too!).
I felt connected with the story in so many levels. Being the only girl, and having three older brothers, when I started reading I immediately clicked with the story. And not just that, but also felt identified with some of the feelings and thoughts of Lexi and Cal.
I loved the story, the writing style is easy, light and funny (I loved Lexi's voice); the characters are lovely (the main ones and secondary ones as well-like Dan, Mum and Gis) and in the end it's a story that leaves you full of hope, Christmas cheer and a very warm feeling in your heart. I totally loved feeling that way and since it's the first Christmas book I read this year I'll definitely have a special place in my heart.

5☆The Perfect Beautiful Romantic Christmas Story.

I was so excited when I found out Maxine's newest Christmas Book was on Blog Tour. I jumped at the chance to read it.

The Best Little Christmas Shop is simply Charming. It will make you feel warm inside, fall in love with the characters, be swept away with the Romance, and the magic of Christmas.
I absolutely adored reading this book.

Lexi moves back to her small bedsit in her parents house after a really bad break up with a famous F1 driver.

So she sets out to help out in their beautiful Christmas Shop.

In walks Cal and George (Cal's adorable 5year old Son).
George is about to Charm Lexi with his innocence and the need for affection.
When Lexi fixes George's bear with special stitches a friendship and bond is formed.
I mean let's not forget Cal here, he is sexy,  endearing, Charming, a fantastic Dad and has an eye for Lexi!!!

I simply adored George, he melted my heart and for me he was the best Character. He made the story for me.
It truly was like I was experiencing Christmas through a child's eyes!

I loved watching Lexi and Cal's friendship blossom.
Both have their guard up but with Lexi she was so hurt she finds it so hard to let go.
I loved how close she was to her family and brothers.
I am a real family person and my Mum is my best friend so it was a joy to see.
Cal is a closed book and very private but when he is with Lexi you see his heart start to melt as he opens up and shares his pain.
Cal hasn't had life easy and to see him grow and let people in is so heartwarming.

The Best Little Christmas Shop will capture your heart as you become a part of the magic.

There is nothing more I can say except....If there is one Christmas Book you read this Year then let it be The Best Little Christmas Shop. You won't be disappointed.

Maxine has this way of captivating her readers with charismatic and memorable Characters and the magic of Christmas with a sprinkle of Romance and humour.

Maxine Morrey where on earth have your books been all my life?! My first time reading anything by this author and this story simply blew me away with its emotional narrative, beautiful descriptions, and characters that have burrowed into my heart forever.

Lexi likes to play to her strengths and she knows she is an excellent engineer as her previous career in Formula 1 has proven, but when she makes a personal choice it changes her life drastically and she finds herself living back home, working in her family's beloved store, unsure of what her next move will be. Relationships only ever seem to cause pain so Lexi definitely wants to avoid entanglements of the heart but when a little boy and his handsome father walk into the Christmas store one day, Lexi knows she is in trouble. Can Lexi find the strength and self-belief to take a chance at love? Or will she push everyone away as she tries to protect them from the hurt that she believes will inevitably happen?

I completely fell head over heels in love with this story and all of the characters, from Lexi, Cal, and adorable George, to Lexi's fabulously nosy family and friends who want to see their Lexi light up with love. Now there were times where I wanted to shake some sense into Lexi but I understood why she was acting the way she was, which made her all the more likeable.

​THE BEST LITTLE CHRISTMAS SHOP by Maxine Morrey is an emotional, romantic, captivating story about love, fear, and taking chances, and I could not put this book down. Reading this story beside the twinkling lights of my Christmas tree was the perfect end to a lovely day and I highly recommend that you all read this wonderfully festive story now.

An engineer for a top Formula One team, Lexi’s much more at home fixing a car in her overalls than glitzing it up with the rich and famous. It’s her dream job, though, and she even has a glamorous fiancé to match.

Now she’s back home with her large and affectionate family, minus both job and fiancé, and working temporarily in the family business - the best little Christmas shop of the title. It’s not just a Christmas shop though - the quirky village gift shop, called The Four Seasons, sells merchandise themed around the seasons of the year, changing along with them. It’s a lovely idea and certainly sounds like it would be hard to resist popping in for a browse around.

When handsome single dad Cal and his adorable five-year-old son, George, walk into the shop one day, Lexi’s life is about to take an unexpected turn, via a spot of impromptu teddy-bear surgery and some narrowly averted swearing. There’s more than a spark between them, but is Lexi really the right person to provide the love and stability this little family needs?

I’m not personally a fan of Formula One - the noise puts me off for a start, it always sounds to me like a load of demented wasps on the attack - but I know plenty of people who love it so it obviously does have a broad appeal. Anyway you certainly don’t need to like or even know anything about Formula One to enjoy the story as it doesn’t really play a big role.

The supporting characters are fun - Lexi’s noisy, loving family, her best friend Xander and his wife Giselle, and of course little George.

Cal really was the perfect man: handsome, caring and evidently besotted with Lexi. Call me cynical but I don’t think you get too many of them to the dozen in real life! There are no big surprises about the eventual outcome but then you wouldn’t want there to be...

I think the number one word I would use to describe this book is “cosy”. It’s warm, comforting and best suited to curling up with beside a roaring fire. Preferably while it’s snowing outside.

Thank you for allowing me to read and review this book. I am just not interested in this book anymore. Sorry for the inconvenience.

So cute, so festive, so almost had me in tears but also laughing...simply fabulous!

Easily one of my favourite Christmas books I've read this year, its full of family and Christmas and what really is the best little Christmas shop about. I loved this shop so much would have loved to work there myself. And the shop is central to the story, as its Lexi's family business and also where she first meets Cal and George.

Cal is the village heart throb, and not only that he is a single dad to five year old George. The reasoning behind his single fatherhood status is not something I would have predicted and generally with what has gone on in Cal's past I have felt really sorry for him at times.

George is the shining star of the book is is a bundle of cuteness, says some fantastic things and generally lightens up any scene. I absolutely loved him and his bear.

Lexi is a bit harder to really get to know mainly as the things she is hiding from Cal are also hidden infuriatingly to the reader so although we can guess at what exactly is going on with her, I wasn't completely sure and it did take me a bit longer to really start rooting for her. I think that is in part because is was a F1 race engineer but there is hardly any formula one in this book - with such an exciting original job I would have loved to have seen more about that life.

Lexi has a huge family and I loved getting to know them all. She is the youngest with 3 older, protective brothers, and they really added to the story, especially some of the sub plots.

This is a wonderfully Christmassy story, and its full of the warmth of the season. I loved pretty much every about this book and desperately hope this isn't the last we see of Cal, Lexi and George.

Thanks to HQ Digital and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Firstly, the things I loved most about this book were Bear, the teddy bear. Oh my goodness, my heart melted. This book won me over very early on with Bear, the injured teddy bear

This is the first book that I have read by Maxine Morrey and if this one is anything to go by I will have to catch up with her previous work. It’s not very often that a book has such a hold on me that I spent until the early hours of the morning reading it, only to pick it up again as soon as I woke up.

The plot is very family orientated, which is just perfect for a Christmas book. I can’t say any of the characters irked me. Yes, Lexi and Cal sometimes needed their heads banging together, but they were the characters that made this book so special, not forgetting adorable little George too.

I loved the vivid descriptions of a little snow covered village with Christmas decorations everywhere and warm friendly people. Maxine Morrey’s writing style just swept me along as it naturally flowed. I was intrigued to find out what Lexi was keeping to herself, but Maxine certainly made me wait for the answer.

This is a book that you will fall in love with. Grab that cuppa, make yourself cosy and dive right into, The Best Little Christmas Shop, where you will laugh, smile, rejoice, but most of all feel warm and fuzzy inside. The perfect book to get you into that Christmas spirit.

I was a little apprehensive on opening up The Best Little Christmas Shop by Maxine Morrey as her alternative book this festive season, the Christmas Holiday, was completely up there as a perfect book for me and I didn't know if she could do it again having the two novels out so close together.

Part of me wishes I'd read The Best Little Christmas Shop earlier, the other part of me is glad I kept it until I did as it came just as my reading was taking a dip but the way Maxine writes literally pulls you in and submerges you like a great big warm blanket on a cold snowy day.

In The Best Little Christmas Shop we meet Lexi  who has returned to her family home after a troubling past year - she's lost her job and called off her engagement.
Her family own and run the Four Seasons shop which specialises in seasonal goods and they are deep in festive decorations. It is here in the shop that we first meet Cal and his son George who instantly took a shine to Lexi and will certainly pull on your heartstrings throughout the story.
There is an instant attraction between Lexi and Cal and I love the way Maxine compels their dialogue - I felt like a gooseberry at times as I  felt I was there in the room with them and as with any good romance there is the drama of the will they/ won't they scenario and I felt the raw pain Lexi was feeling along with the heart ache Cal expressed at the same time as grinning at love being in the air!

The Best Little Christmas Shop was full of warmth and had the right balance of drama and sub plots. Mixed with the festive elements, and magical snowy scenes makes this the ideal book to snuggle up with this year.

This is definitely a book to escape into. Lexi and her family give the whole story a delightful feeling of warmth and home. It fitted perfectly into a seasonal Christmas story. It is pretty obvious how the story will probably develop from the beginning but there is no harm in that. There are lots of twists and turns along the way.

Lexi is a wonderfully developed character with sincerity and some humour. She has always worked in a man's world, in motor racing and you get to share her feelings of regret that this has ended and her indecision as to whether to go back into this world. The pull of home is strong and she comes across as a thoroughly grounded and kind person.

It is a perfect holiday read for the winter season, full of cosy Christmas customs. The descriptions of the Four Seasons Shop really sets the scene- it would be great to go there! Mince Pies, Christmas lights- what more can you want at Christmas?

In short: A light and heartwarming seasonal read, full of love and friendship.

Thanks to the author for a copy of the book

After having a pretty long week where it seemed to be one thing after another going wrong I really needed a pick me up. So I knew it was the perfect time to read The Best Little Christmas Shop. The question is did it have the ability to cheer me up...

Well that's easy, of course it did if you have never read a book by Maxine Morrey you really need to pick one up. After just a few pages I was drawn right in giving me a gorgeous warm feeling just like getting a great big hug.

The story is pretty family centered which I loved there is a lovely connection that Lexi shares with her family. Then add in the wonderful father/son relationship between Cal and George, it made me smile and sigh at the same time. At the start of the book Lexi is a little lost and Maxine Morrey has written a wonderful main character that I couldn't help but become attached to. I loved her journey throughout the book and how slowly but surely she finds herself again. With a little help from her family, her blossoming friendship with George and her flirty interactions with Cal.

I was easily smiling all the way through especially at some of the embarassing scrapes and situations that Lexi found herself in and pretty much all involving Cal! The Best Little Christmas Shop is flirty, fun and completely heartwarming but also has a softer emotional side to it which gave the story an extra special touch. It's the type of story where you don't want to put the book down but you also don't want it to end. There is the addition of Christmas to the story but it isn't too overpowering and just added to the overall charm and romance of the book.

Left me glowing with warmth, just perfect for those colder evenings. A fabulous pick me up!

Five stars from me!

With thanks to HQ Digital & Netgalley. for my copy. This is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Firstly, the things I loved most about this book were Bear, the teddy bear. Oh my goodness, my heart melted. This book won me over very early on with Bear, the injured teddy bear. I can cope with injured humans, but not an injured teddy bear. Oh, the horror! It actually reminded me of Mr Mousy. My Auntie Sharon gave him to me for my first birthday, and I still have him to this day. Apparently I was rather upset that despite him being a mouse he didn’t have a tail. My mum ended up attaching a plaited tail on him with the only colour wool she had in the house, which was mint green, and doesn’t go with the rest of Mr Mousy, but I didn’t care, I was just happy he had a tail. I may be almost forty years old, but I still love him so much.

I also loved the Four Seasons shop. What a great idea, selling gifts and decorations suited to each season. There was plenty of festive fun too, with an adult-sized elf, decorations, fairy lights, Christmas trees, snowflakes, candy canes, cuddly turkeys wearing Santa hats, cinnamon sticks, eggnog, a Christmas parade with decorated floats and Father Christmas on his sleigh.

The reason for 4 starts instead of 5 is because I didn’t fully connect with the characters within this story. I think that may the fault of the previous book I read, rather than this book itself. I just wasn’t ready to let go of the previous characters I’d been reading about, which made it harder to warm to the ones in this book, except for little George and Bear the teddy, of course.

Overall this is an enjoyable festive romance set within a fun and cosy close-knit community.

I first came across Maxine a couple of years ago when I picked up her book called A Winter’s Fairytale. I was instantly hooked on her wonderful stories and characters and found myself each year eagerly awaiting news of a new one. We definitely got spoilt this year, as this is Maxine’s second!

Lexi is an ex F1 engineer – used to globe trotting off around the world. She’s currently back at home after her work and personal life all went a little pear shaped and is now helping out in the little family business ‘Four Seasons’ – a shop which at this current time of year sells absolutely everything Christmas related. Not only is her career taking a little back seat, but also her relationship status. That is until single dad Cal and his son George walks into the shop…

Lexi is a bit of a different sort of rom-com character – she’s always been a bit of a tomboy. Growing up being the youngest of 4 children (3 brothers) as well as doing a predominantly male job means she’s a very feisty, stubborn and independent character. Sometimes a little too much so, I just wanted to bang her head and tell her to stop being so stubborn with Cal!

I always love the romance side to this author’s stories. This one had all the usual fun, flirty, will they won’t they moments, but the relationship was definitely a little more slower building than others, but I think this was correctly approached with the single parent issue. I’m a single parent myself and relationships really have to be so much more thought about in this situation, so credit to the author in putting little George at the forefront of both Cal and Lexi’s minds and highlighting these points.

In my reviews I always promise to be completely honest, and whilst I loved the ending of this book in one way, I also felt it was a tiny bit too open. I think it was maybe because I really rooted for the characters – I just wanted to share that next chapter in their special journey with them (even if it was just for another chapter or two).

For this time of the year you can’t lose with a book from this author. You always get a lovely, light hearted, cosy read – that sometimes you just need in life! It’s full of fun, romance, families… and what seems like a sprinkling of Christmas magic. The background characters are all wonderfully likeable ( I esp loved Giselle and Xander) and there’s also a tougher issue or two touched upon as well.