What a beautiful book, always a delight to venture back into Middledip but the characters within this story have just melted my heart. Josie and Maria are just gorgeous!

The battles of Relationships, Parenting, Maternal Mental Health, Addiction and Eating disorders faced by some of the characters were beautifully written.

What I always love about Sue's books is the journey she takes you on. From the snowy coverings of Sweden to the Christmas warmth of Middledip, the highs and lows of family life and that this little village will ways have people within it to make your day that bit brighter.

If ever there's a book to get you into the Christmas spirit, this is it!

Christmas Wishes by Sue Moorcroft
Publication Date: October 29, 2020
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Description from NetGalley...
“Hannah and Nico are meant to be together.
But fate is keeping them apart…

When Hannah bumps into her brother Rob’s best friend Nico in Stockholm, the two rekindle a fast friendship. But Hannah has a boyfriend – and Nico has two children to look after. When Hannah loses her beloved shop in Stockholm, though, she is forced to move back to the little village of Middledip – only to find Nico has just moved in too. Under the same snowy sky, can the childhood friends make a romance work – or are there too many obstacles standing in their way?”
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Thank you to @NetGalley @avonbooks for the digital ARC in return for my honest review.
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My thoughts...
This is my first book from Sue Moorcroft. This book is more of romance than romcom. There were a few pages that I skimmed through but overall it was an okay read. I appreciated how there was a focus on Nico’s issues, the struggle he was going through, such as his eating disorder. I haven’t read many fictions dealing with male eating disorder. Moorcroft did this well. The descriptions of Christmas in Sweden and East Anglia was good. It made for a cozy Christmas read while dealing with serious social and familial themes.

What can I say other than I loved this book so much I read it in a day. Hannah who thinks she’s sorted with a business she enjoys, her brothers wedding to look forward to and an unexpected visit from a old school friend. Nico who has a difficult job, difficult ex wife and a boss who is very unsupported finds life becomes too much, when he unexpectedly has two children to look after. Both of their friendships grow but you have to read the book to see how many twists and turns they both encounter.

Any enjoyable cozy holiday story. Gets me in the mood for the holiday season. The characters were likable and story well written.

I have not read anything by Sue Moorcroft before, and Christmas Wishes was a bit different than I expected. It caught me off guard with some of the language and topics included in the story, especially in regards to Hannah's boyfriend Albin. I could have done without all that.

Beyond those issues, Hannah and Nico's story had some really great moments. I really enjoyed Nico's character especially. The kindhearted father to not only Josie, his own daughter, but to Maria as well. His unstable ex-wife and his irritating former mother-in-law put him in an impossible situation, but I was so impressed with how he handled it all. Not many would have handled it in the same way.

I also liked seeing Hannah's character grow stronger throughout the book. Both Nico and Hannah were thrown some major curve balls, but overall I really liked seeing how their relationship developed over time and how everything came together.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you @netgalley for gifting me a digital copy of Christmas Wishes in exchange for an honest review.

#christmaswishes #NetGalley

Christma Wishes is another captivating, reflective, feel-good book by Sue Moorcroft.
Nate and Hannah's story is told between the country's of England and Stockholm.
I enjoyed reading the developing romance between them both and escaping to Middledip, meeting up with some familiar characters and Stockholm.
Want a heartfelt story of adventure, romance, friendships and family. Christmas Wishes is for you.
Hannah lives in Sweden when she runs into Nico, a teenage friend from her youth. Nico stirs in Hannah a feeling that makes her feel good; but, she already has a boyfriend, and Nico has a problematic alcoholic ex-wife, and their children needs to think about.
Hannah's relationship breaks down, and her nan needs caring for, she is in Middledip, Hannah leaves Sweden to be with her. On arrival, she discovers that Nico has also relocated to the village. Can a relationship develop between these two old friends?
I highly recommend this book.
I want to thank NetGalley, Avon Books UK and Sue Moorcroft for a pre-publication copy to review.

Warm festive feel book to get you right in the mood for Christmas. Beautifully written and a wonderful read.

Christmas Wishes by Sue Moorcroft is a lovely, heart-warming festive read. It follows the tale of Hannah and Nico. They’re meant to be together but fate is keeping them apart. When Hannah bumps into Nico in Stockholm they quickly rekindle their childhood friendship. There’s an attraction but Hannah has a boyfriend and Nico had two children. When Hannah has to move back to England to her parents small village, she finds Nico has also moved there. Could Christmas work it’s magic and inject some festive love be in the air?

I really enjoyed this book with its likeable and relatable characters. The story flows well from chapter to chapter and you have a real festive feel from it.

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

If you are looking for a heartwarming read to get you through the chilly winter days then this is just the book for you. Set in both Sweden and East Anglia in the weeks leading up to Christmas, this has all the ingredients to keep the reader turning the pages. The heroine, Hannah, has both personal and professional challenges to face, the hunky hero is a tortured soul in recovery and there are a couple of cute children as well as a well drawn cast of secondary characters. This is feelgood Christmas romance writing at its best.

This is the Christmas book for warm cozy, a cup of hot chocolate and a lazy afternoon. Absolutely loved reading this book. A brilliant story of two lives and a brilliant character in Nico, a Single dad with complex ex issues. Nico is just lovely.

Hannah's situation with her boyfriend is not a happy one and from them start of the book I wanted a cozy get together for two lovely characters.

Hannah lives in Sweden and the descriptions of Stockholm are wonderful.

A must read for Christmas 2020, loved it!

#NetGalley #SueMoorcroft #ChristmasWishes
#christmasreads2020 #bookreview

This is a delightful holiday romance. The characters are sweet and entertaining. It's just the kind of light story that's perfect for the holidays.

There is nothing more romantic than a cozy Christmas story and this one is it. It was sweeter and more comforting than a Hallmark Christmas movie. Loved everything about it and the setting of Stokholm was perfect. I devoured this in 24 hours!!! It definitely put me in the holiday mood- something we need now more than ever!

What a very special book!! Hannah is living in Stockholm, with a family wedding coming up back in the UK. Her brother's best friend Nico drops in to see her, and their old friendship is warmly felt.
The story takes us from Islington in London to the country village of Hannah's family, to Sweden and Stockholm with Nico's family.
The amazing warmth and festive traditions from country English village to Sweden are wonderfully atmospheric.
After finishing the book I was inspired to make Swedish cakes, and only I could carry on in their world.
The characters and descriptions are really good, and will immerse you in a quite surprising and very real world.
Highly recommended for a fantastic Christmas read or present.

I so enjoyed this story and the setting of between Stockholm and Middledip was perfect! The perfect cosy Christmas story!

Another fantastic Christmas book by this author. I loved that we were transported to Icy cold Sweden during the festive season and back to the loveable town of Middledip and lots of previously loved characters from the town. It was nice to have a single dad character suffering an eating disorder. Sue is wonderful at her characterisation, creating relatable and unique characters each story.

I really enjoyed this book, it was a fabulous story, with characters that I found myself becoming attached with. Nico was so endearing, you couldn’t help but fall for his kind and gentle heart!
I loved the travelling between Stockholm and Middledip, seeing the different customs .
Hannah was inspiring too, and it was mesmerising watching her re connect with Nico.
Some very emotional themes, but written in such a thoughtful and honest way, it brought a very different dimension to the story that created a positive and uplifting end.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Although it is autumn and early (for me) to read books about Xmas but saying that I really enjoyed this nice easy cosy read. Great storyline and nice characters.

I loved the growing relationship between Hannah and Nico. The children were adorable. The only thing I found hard were the unpronounceable place names in the Swedish scenes. I much preferred the sections of the book that took place in lovely familiar Middledip.

I love Sue Moorcroft books and this one was no exception. It did take me a couple of chapters to acclimatise to this one, but once I'd got into it I couldn't put it down, sneaking off to read at every opportunity.

This book deals with some difficult issues, but with care and compassion. I liked it that these issues touched the hero too, as so often in novels it is the woman who has the problems.

Lovely to be back in Middledip and to see the character Ratty again. The chemistry was special between Nico and Hannah. Enjoyed the secondary characters too, especially Josie and Maria. Twists and turns galore to keep you reading.

Yummy Christmas Read.

This was an enjoyable story and an engaging Christmas read. The writing flowed nicely and it kept me turning the pages from beginning to end. I found the Swedish Christmas traditions fascinating to read about and they definitely added to the Christmassy feel of this book.

I did like that characters of Hannah and Nico, as well as the two sweet children, Josie and Marie. Although at times, I did feel they needed a bit of a kick, but still, they worked well together. Add in a villain in the form of Hannah's boyfriend and Nico's ex, a loving family, some misunderstanding and there is a really good cast of players.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. I felt some scenes were a little awkward and maybe overworked but I still thoroughly enjoyed reading it.