Fern moved to Chesterwood three years ago with daughter Lily for a fresh start after losing her husband and hasn't looked back since. Despite having quickly integrated herself into the community and made firm friends in fellow parents Davina and Cara, that doesn't stop her from feeling lonely and missing her husband especially with the festive season peeking round the corner. However, always keen to throw herself into a project Fern discovers the local food bank, a lifeline for many families year-round, is facing closure at one of their busiest times of the year, she vows to help.

With the plan to create a community living advent underway she knows she is going to need all the help she can get if she has even the slightest chance of raising the money needed to save the food bank and that includes tall, dark handsome Kit. The pair have been friends for a while but Fern has always kept their meetings a secret from even her closest friends without knowing why. Spending more time together organising the charity events, Fern realises there is much more to Kit than she originally thought leaving her questioning how much she really knows about him and where their friendship stands. All she knows is that she has to focus on her mission to save the food bank and deal with the fall out of her own life later, but will the pair manage to pull together with the rest of the community to make it happen?

Samantha has an incredible ability to create both relateable characters and situations by integrating heavy topics like bereavement, homelessness and addiction into her stories and The Christmas Calendar Girls is another wonderful example of this. You'd be excused for thinking this novel to be just another light, fluffy Christmas read, but it has so much more depth and substance to it with a real focus on what is important in life whilst firmly shining a light on the problems that many face all year round.

Having said that The Christmas Calendar Girls is a feel good read of the highest order with a fantastic sense of community running throughout, something we should all take heed of- It will definitely leave you feeling all warm and glowy! The pacing of the writing is perfect which is helped by Samantha's easy writing style and made it difficult to put down, leaving me wanting more! Whilst the blossoming relationship between Kit and Fern plays a prominent part in the story this book is more about moving forward, acceptance and loving yourself than your average rom-com/chick-lit story which I absolutely loved.

If you haven't read anything by Samantha Tonge yet I can highly recommend this as a way into her books, plus it has the added bonus of helping you get into that festive mood too which is NEVER a bad thing! If you are already a fan then please grab a copy now, you won't be disappointing! This is by far one of the best books I have read this year and I will definitely be giving a re-read in December when the full run up to Christmas has begun.

Loved it, loved it,loved it, beautifully written, fantastic storyline . Samantha Tonge has really done her best with this novel, It is different to any book I have read, and I am always reading every day, didn't want to put this down. This is a 5 star book, pity I can't give any more and I recommend that everyone reads and enjoys this Looking forward to your next novel and I hope to enjoy it as much as this one.

The Christmas Calendar Girls should be on every woman's reading list this holiday season! Samantha Tonge continues to impress me with her delightful stories and I am always eager for the next! If you need a book to read before Christmas this is the one I suggest reading!

I absolutely loved this heart-warming and gorgeous story about three friends who decide that they want to give back this Christmas. The homeless shelter in Chesterwood will shut if they don't raise enough money, and they're determined to raise the funds with a living advent calendar.

First off, I seriously want to do this idea! How amazing would it be to bring the community together with a living advent calendar! This aside, I really enjoyed the dynamic of their friendship and the developing relationship with the hunky and sensitive Kit.

A fantastically-written and festive read that will make you want to cosy up and not leave the house until you've finished it!!

5 well deserved sparkling stars.

Friendship, family, and community all play a part in this sweet love story. The holiday magic is brought alive through the story of saving the food kitchen. It was cute, easy and will be great read for a cozy night by the fireplace.

Nothing really grabbed me about this novel, although I applaud the idea of helping the homeless and the creative way they go about it.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Something about this fell flat for me. I didn't feel uplifted by it, nor did I feel any strong emotion. Quite a lot of space was given to stories from people using the food bank. I get the author wanted to raise awareness, but it could have been toned down a little. I would have liked more regarding Fern and Kit's relationship, and I think more time could have been given to Kit's story too. It felt as though the surface had only just been scratched. It's a good read for the festive period, given all the Christmas references. I loved the inclusion of the living advent calendar. Strong female friendships feature too, which are well-written. A good read, but like I said, for me it felt a little flat at times. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A lovely and sweet book, full of emotions and heartwarming.
It's more complex and multilayered than the typical Christmas novel as there're themes like homelessness and poverty.
I loved the gripping and enjoyable plot, the well written cast of characters and the setting.
It's an interesting read entertaining and thought provoking.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

A heartwarming, family and community based christmas romance.
All the characters felt like they were meant to be a part of this community.
All the stories like were genuine and heartfelt. The realism of the book was refreshing.
I wish there was an epilogue, that gave a glimpse into the characters future.
I received this book from Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

Luanna

A gorgeous feel-good festive story about friendships, community and finding love.
Samantha Tonge knows how to nail a good book that has a gripping plot, interesting characters and tackles complex issues. I am always excited to pick up one of her stories because I know they'll be entertaining and heartfelt.
This book looks at the complexity of homelessness, food poverty, loneliness and even toxic
masculinity. This certainly wasn't a typical Christmas romance book, and actually focuses more on the sisterhood of friends, and how different women can support, love and lift up one another without being in competition with each other. However, there is a very appealing love interest in the form of Kit who seems to be the British answer to Jason Mamoa and was a delight to get to know. The fact that both Kit and Fern have had their lives in the past thrown in to turmoil and are both dealing with their own pain of course means that their encounter is fraught with difficulty and you are routing for them both to get together and not get hurt.
A real joy to read!

This is a lovely, feel good, novel about the power of friendship, of facing the future, and accepting the past, wrapped up as a Christmas reading pleasure.

Fern moved to a small town after the death of her husband, enrolling daughter Lily in the local school where she met Davina and Cara who soon became fast friends. As the third Christmas without her husband rolls round Fern find out the local food bank is threatened with closure and decides to try to help keep them open. The living advent calendar idea she comes up with takes over much of her life but she still has time to help her friends with things going on in their lives as well as spending time with new friend Kit who she met when volunteering at the food bank.

Although this is a very easy read about a delightful time of year it doesn't shy away from the problems caused when families are touched by addiction, bereavement, loneliness or unemployment. There is a realism to the descriptions of these all too common problems which are treated with both compassion and understanding.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys an easy going read especially if they want a little early Christmas spirit in their lives.

Such a lovely book I adore Samantha Tonge books and this one is probably one of my favourites. It is so festive and so much more than the average Christmas story it has stayed with me since I finished it and now I really wish I could read it all over again!

Loved this book. Great characters, easy read, uplifting, funny, romantic and charming. A really nice story that is the perfect escapist read.

This was rather slow and over detailed at the start but did pick up and gather momentum towards the middle and beyond. Predictable conclusion but some nice touches approaching the need for a food bank and various addictive behavioural problems. Somewhat unbelievable fund raising support but a light easy read nonetheless

The main plot is the romance (obvs) but the main subplot is pretty awesome too. What a fantastic idea to have a living advent calendar! Then there are a couple of sub-sub-plots that add depth and intrigue.
Add to all the above the author's willingness to tackle social issues head-on (in a totally realistic, yet empathetic manner) and you have the ingredients for a darned good story. Throw in a bunch of close-knit friends, a hunky fella, and lots of festive cheer, and it becomes a thoroughly enjoyable read.

What a fabulous book. This is so much more than a cosy Christmas story, its packed with family and friendship dynamics , humour,love, loss, guilt, addiction. With the help of her friends, we meet Fern a woman who wants to get a community pulling together at Christmas time to try and help a much needed food bank from closure. A brilliant fundraising idea is agreed upon and soon it unites people in trying to help people that have fallen on hard times through no fault of their own doing, a very real and relevant theme in society today. There are some subject matters that are written with such warmth and depth and positivity. Add in a little romance a bit of snow and gorgeous sounding food and this book has it all. A heartwarming, realistic story. Thank you netgalley, Aria and of course Samantha Tonge for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

What a lovely Christmas book
I loved the characters and also the writing style of this book
I would love to live in this village

This one was just not for me. I found the writing to be stiff and unnatural while the characters were a mess.

It was a nice thought to try to bring to light the homeless and food banks in a book but it was not done well here. Everything just read really stiff and fake, at times almost laughably so.

Wish I had a better review for you but for me this is a big fat meh.

**I received this book for free on Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion**

Christmas! Romance! A sprinkling of drama! Yes! Yes! Yes!
This is my genre and Samantha Tonge executed this tale perfectly. Festive and adorable and all about friendship and everything we need in life.

The Christmas Calendar Girls by Samantha Tonge four-star wrapped up read. This could have been a five-star read, but in places it just went on a little, the story made me smile in so many places, it also made me sob in places as well, dealing with the loss of a partner and parent is always hard to do well, but Samantha Tonge did it very well. There is so much heart in this story, with loss and the risk to the food bank closing, as well as several other issues that we all face in life, they were all well done and couldn’t be faulted, it was the glue that held all of those bits together that just didn’t stick enough for me. Kit was the one that surprised me more than I could imagine, he was something I didn’t expect even though I had my ideas about his story from the start, there was still something to surprise and make the story whole.