The story was charming, heart-warming and at times, heart-wrenching. Davin is a famous model-turned-actor and has a lot of secrets in life. Tansy's also been through a lot and has been carrying her grief, bundled tightly. And though they don't gel well initially, as time passes by, they find comfort and consolation in sharing secrets with each other.

Christmas Secrets by the Sea is the story of love, hope, and life. It makes you laugh. It also makes you cry. Tansy's grief makes you cry. Davin's childhood memories makes you sad. But past is now a memory. How two individuals, who have had difficult times in the past, meet and find hope is well portrayed in this story.

The twist in the story was when Davin's very curious to know if Tansy's signed the non-disclosure agreement. And when he recruits her as his assistant, Tansy puts two and two together and finds out the truth behind Davin desperately wanting an assistant.

The story is engaging and keeps you hooked on till the end. Lovering's writing style is superb. When you think that the story is going to end on a good note, there's a twist. And of course, all's well that ends well. The story does have a happy ending or two. There's a little bit of humor too but the story is inclined towards human emotions.

The characters are unique, with each of them having a story of their own. The characters and their stories are beautifully amalgamated into one big story. Life gives you second chances, never lose hope and faith in yourself and you are not alone, not even during your tough times - these are the things you get to take away from this book.

Thank you so much to Farrago and Netgalley for the eARC of this book!
Tansy has left her life in London behind and set out to the rough coast of Dorset. She soon gets adopted by a very rough looking little dog. When looking for work, she gets a tip about a tv production (run by an acquaintance of hers) that ends up needing some help with the broody, grouchy leading man.
This book was in some ways a typical sweet, slightly predictable (in a good way) romantic story- in the beginning that’s all I thought it was. But, about halfway through it becomes a much richer story.
It’s a nice holiday romance, but definitely with some substance to it as well.

What an entertaining, wonderful story. I was immediately absorbed by these two broken people – Davin and Tansy – and their initial mutual hostility was really well written.
Our aloof hero, Davin, is a great addition to the gallery of wounded heroes, hiding beneath layers of broodiness, rudeness and the “sulk factor” a great deal of vulnerability and a really caring and nice person. I loved how the author, Jane Lovering, slowly revealed the solitary man and the “lost boy with his dog” of the past. I also liked the fact that he and his family managed to succeed despite all the problems. However, I would have liked his secret to be more elaborated.
Tansy is a great heroine, too, her humor and sarcasm always tempered with intelligence and an innate kindness.
I loved the vivid descriptions of the Dorset coast, the secondary characters; and, finally, the dogs, Brian and Seelie: they are characters in its own right, with their animal personalities and quirks. They are endearing and so fun to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, for this free eARC.

Wanting to read all the Christmas books in December, I quickly requested this one, and really enjoyed it.

Tansy is down on her luck. She lost her business and her relationship, and her home is now a camper van on a Dorset beach. Soon she is adopted by a scruffy dog, named Brian.

Tansy finds a job as a location scout for a new TV show, and pretty much has to babysit the shows star, Davin O'Riordan.

As Christmas approaches, Tansy and Davin discover each other's secrets, and a new bond begins to grow between them. But how will they cope with the storms headed their way?


While I felt this book started out slow, it eventually picked up, and I didn't want it to end. I didn't feel any Christmas vibes with this book, but that didn't take too much away from it. I enjoyed all the characters and how everyone came to together to save the cafe. The two dogs Brian and Seelie were very unique, and I loved that they were a huge part of the story. This was a charming, and funny book. I am excited that there will be a second one, and I can't wait to get my hands on it!

Christmas Secrets by the Sea by Jane Lovering is one of the most entertaining reads I've had in a long time. This is a well thought out story featuring quirky characters, humor, romance and an stray dog that will win your heart. .
#ChristmasSecretsByTheSea #NetGalley

I loved this book!

It had a warm and endearing plot.

The characterisation was great and I loved the attention to detail - the characters were ones I could easily relate too and I really enjoyed that.

It was very well written and a really addictive page turner.

Five stars from me, an excellent story - very highly recommended!!

Another wonderful novel by Jane Lovering.The charming cover drew me right in to this warm emotional lovely story.Highly recommend. #netgalley#farrago

Christmas Secrets by the Sea, Jane Lovering

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Humour, romance

I've read several of Jane's stories now, and she has a style of writing I really like. I'm cautious when a book is styled as “humour” as so many are just that forced, OTT that I simply just don't like them. Jane's humour though is typical British subtle humour.
The romance is muted, a side part of the overall story but was very satisfying and the perfect ending.
I loved the characters, Tansy, clearly escaping from something – but what? It takes the full length of the book for everything to come out, little bits are released along the story but you always know she's holding back something more. Likewise Davin, he's so obnoxious to begin then as we get to know the real man, the secrets of his past I really liked him. He's got a real sensitivity about him, something that isn't apparent until we get to know him.
The rest of the cast are great too, Karen from the cafe, Rory, a typical teen, written so well. Everything's a drama at that age, its all highs or all down dramas....I loved his openness and how close he was to his mum, how protective of her he was. Even Larch had me warming to her by the end. People really aren't as they first seem all the while, some just need you to get to know them, in real life and in books.
Then there's the real stars of the story Brian and Seelie, they were so perfect. They brought a lightness into more serious moments, brought people together, brought in some gentle humour ( Brian and the ever present sardines and seaweed) and provided real emotional support to Davin and Tansy, something they both really needed.
Its a wonderful story, fully of whimsy and gentle humour, a terrific story and wonderful characters, all wrapped up in a very satisfying ending.

Stars: Five, a fantastic read, one that kept me gripped, sniggering one moment and emotional the next.

Arc via Netgalley and publishers

Tansy is living in a van, and licking her wounds after the loss of her company and fiance. Ashamed and tired, she just wants to get away from it all. While walking the beach she sees a pretty whippet being chased by a shaggy mutt, and closely followed by a gorgeous man in a weird coat. After he screams at her for the mutt attacking his prize dog he stomps off. It is not her dog, although he starts following her around and basically becomes her dog. When she goes to a local cafe for the wi-fi, she meets up with the lady and her son who run the place. Her teenage son takes her to a place where a tv show is being filmed, in the hopes she can find a job. Surprisingly enough, she knows the director, who gives her a job finding a local spot for a spin-off show. With the help of the teenager, they start looking, and also get stuck babysitting grumpy Davin (the gorgeous man from the beach) who is the lead in the show. Enjoyed this one a lot, and the banter is fun. Highly recommend this book and author, and hope to read more by her.

One of the reasons I chose to read this book is because I thoroughly enjoyed the author's previous book Little Teashop of Horrors and the other reason is I thought it'd be Christmas themed, but to be honest there wasn't much of a Christmas feel to it at all nor much festivities.

However despite that it was still a good read, a very well thought out story that is quite emotional at times and heartfelt in places throughout the story.

I loved getting to know the characters some of whom were a hoot as they came out with some very weird words and phases.  The two dogs Brian and Seelie were certainly unique and I loved how they had their own little storylines going on.

Looking forward to reading the second book to the series.

Tansy Merriwether is not where she expected to be. This time last year, she had a loving fiance, a beautiful apartment and a fast-growing business,. Now she's just scraping by, living in a run-down caravan by the beach with a scruffy dog who has adopted her as his own.

Okay so this one wasn't a bad read by any means. I loved the characters and the concept and I really thought it had so much potential. My big issue, was that there just wasn't enough substance, not enough action. I would definitely consider reading more from this series, if the storyline was more detailed and developed.

Christmas Secrets by the Sea by Jane Lovering, Fun, entertaining and heart warming story. Enjoyable start to a new series.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

I think this book just wasn't for me. Everything seemed so convoluted and I just couldn't get into it. Although I love all the tropes that were used in the story. I have friends who might like it and I would recommend it for them, but other than that I wasn't really a fan.

This was a very enjoyable story set right on the beach in Dorset. I loved Brian, the scruffy abandoned dog that Tansy took in and looked after and the beautiful whippet, Seelie, that he was in love with!

Tansy is living in a camper van on the dunes in Dorset after having lost her thriving business to her nasty ex. So she's licking her wounds and contemplating her next move whilst living in a freezing camper van in the middle of nowhere. But then she find out they are filming a very popular coastal series in the next bay over and the director turns out to be an old London friend of Tansy who offers her work scouting out locations for a new series, and 'adult-sitting' his star, Davin.

Davin was a right grumpy sod for about half the book, it did take me quite a while to warm to him, which is unusual for an Irish character for me, they're usually so charming. He did have his reasons for being grouchy, secrets which are slowly revealed as he and Tansy get closer.

The beach cafe near Tansy's camper van is in danger of closing as the elderly owner/benefactor has just died and his relatives want to sell. So Tansy and Davin work together to help save the cafe and help the lady running it, Karen, and her 14 year old son Toby, from losing their home and Karen's job.

I really liked Tansy's character, and did feel really sorry for her when the full story of how she ended up broke and living in a camper van after owning a thriving and expanding business in London was revealed. But it worked out for her anyway as she ended up just where she should be, in Devon with a (not so grouchy by the end of the book!) Irishman, instead of in London with a cheating, lying ex - every cloud has a silver lining.

Very enjoyable book with a fair bit of drama towards the end (the dogs are OK!). I see that it's book number one of the Seasons By The Sea series and I really look forward to reading the rest of this series.

Festive-infused tale pitting the forthright charms of down-on-her-luck heroine, Tansy Merriwether against the ascerbic wit of the brooding, arrogant actor, Davin. A slow burning romance transpires as they both discover each other’s ‘secrets’ and realise that first impressions can often be misleading. I did read to the end, but for books following this formula of: character’s life falling apart, followed by a retreat to a rural setting where they find themselves, love and a fresh start/more meaningful life, Jenny Colgan is my still my preferred choice.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

After losing her business and home to her scheming ex, Tansy Merriweather finds herself living out of a van on a beach in Dorset. While she has no intention of staying long, she knows she doesn't have the money to keep traveling, and is forced to look into employment. Unfortunately for her, the only job she seems to find is working as a location scout for a TV show. It's here she meets the prickly actor, Davin "Not Gavin" O'Riordan. Davin is a bit of a newcomer to the acting scene, but already has a reputation as being grouchy and difficult to work with. However, after some initial verbal sparring, the two find in each other something of a kindred spirit, and soon the two work to save a local cafe, as well as help each other overcome past sorrows.

While I was definitely expecting a much happier and lighter read, Christmas Secrets by the Sea was an engaging read with a delightful cast of unique characters. I loved the believable slow-burn relationship between Tansy and Davin, and enjoyed reading about both of their complicated, if a bit depressing, pasts. I do wish the explanations for Pansy's past were a bit less vague, and would have preferred the flashback scenes for Davin were slightly more substantial, but found them enlightening nonetheless. I also really loved the plotline involving Pansy and Davin's dogs, finding it adorable and hilarious.

Overall, I found this book to be incredibly entertaining, as well as both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Tansy was a compelling and sympathetic character I feel would appeal to many readers. While Lovering was a new-to-me author, I can definitely see myself reading more from her in the future, and would definitely recommend this novel to romance and women's fiction fans.

4/5

A most enjoyable book by Jane Lovering. As usual, she does not disappoint. A slow burning romance with normal and likeable characters. The story unfolds gently as we discover what has happened to the lead characters in the past and wait for their 4 legged friends to help them in the road to true love.

Never heard of this author before but the cover caught my eye and I'm glad I gave it a read. It was festive, entertaining and heart-warming. I liked this authors easy style of writing. Will be looking out for more by her in future

Tansy Merriwether has pretty much hit rock bottom, in the last year she has lost her successful cupcake business, her business partner/ lover, her home and her money. Now she's living in a decrepit caravan on a Dorset beach. When she befriends the single mother who runs an isolated cafe nearby she hears about a TV crew which is filing a series in a nearby cove who might need someone to run odd jobs. When Tansy approaches the crew she finds out that she knows the director from when she lived in London. He suggests she could help the crew enormously by scouting for locations for a new series and taking the obnoxious male star with her, he and his female co-star are impossible when working together.

Davin O'Riordan isn't the man the PR people make him out to be, he isn't the man he pretends to be, he has lots of secrets but for some reason he likes Tansy, she's the only woman who doesn't swoon at his feet and who sees more than just a former model turned actor. But can two people learn to trust each other?

If I say that this book contains a sexy Irish actor, a teenage boy with a bottomless stomach, a single mother, Christmas, a vegan actress, a beautiful whippet and a smelly stray dog, and quaint English villages would you be interested? Yes, me too. This was charming, funny and a saccharine-free holiday romance. Maybe if I was being really picky I would have preferred fewer flashbacks to Davin's past (which didn't generally seem to add much) and maybe more to Tansy's past which (to me) still remains somewhat shrouded in mystery.

Overall, if Poldark revs your engine then I think you'll like Davin, he's been described as looking like Chris Hemsworth and Aidan Turner had a baby!

Recommended for fans of Sue Moorcroft.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.