Poor Carly has her hands full but her heart is empty. The Christmas cake order books are thriving, and Carly desperately needs a steady and skilled hand with her cake business but instead she has her sister Bethany helping out whilst she recovers from a traumatic experience. The problem is, whilst Carly is desperate for her sister’s confidence to be restored, Bethany just doesn’t have the skills needed to decorate cakes. To make matters worse, Carly is pining for her best friend and love of her life Liam who is currently serving in the army. Can Carly help boost her sister’s self-worth, meet her cake deadlines, and find love this Christmas?
This is such a marvellous festive with romance, a huge community spirit, friendship and an enormous dollop of Christmas. What more could you ask for?
From page one I was overwhelmed by the warmth of the novel and fell head over heals for Carly and Bethany immediately. Both ladies trying their best to overcome heartbreak and move on and both struggling in their own way. I adored how much they supported each other.
The whole vibe of the cake shop teamed with the atmosphere and teamwork of the local traders created the ideal place to live. It was like being welcomed into a protective community and I became so involved with everyone that I felt as though I was part of it all.
Seriously, put on your pyjamas, grab yourself a huge mug of hot chocolate and a cake and take a trip to Whitsborough Bay. The only disappointment will be when you have to leave.

A wonderful read to get you in the christmas spirit. Full of friendship, love and emotions. I enjoyed reading this book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

Carly's Cupcakes is based in the North Yorkshire seaside of Whitsborough Bay. Four months ago Carly's sister, Bethany started working at the shop. She had mastered the art of baking sponges, decorating them - not so much.

The sisters are not alike, Carly is precise, organised, accurate, tidy and cautious. Bethany is younger, clumsy, disorganised but is good with the customers and always means well.

Bethany is getting married 3 days before Christmas and Carly holds a torch for her best friend of 16 years, Liam who is currently serving in Afghanistan.

This book is literally everything you want in a feel good Christmas book. It had love, tears and friendship.

I felt like I was in the book, it sounded like it was something out of a Dickens novel, so picturesque and beautiful.

I cant wait to read more of Jessica's books.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The night the lights are turned on in Castle Street has to be one of my favourite moments in any of the many Christmas books I’ve ever read, and I’m delighted to report that this book gave me another chance to be there on that rather special night. And “special” is a word I think I really must use again about this really gorgeous read.

I loved Carly from the moment I met her – her sister Bethany maybe a little less, as her ham-fisted efforts put Carly’s chances of a successful and profitable Christmas severely at risk. But she’s a character with real issues and problems, much loved by her sister who’s trying really hard to give her a reason to believe in herself again. The story is just wonderful – a lovely little community that pull together when things become really difficult, a supportive friendship with Tara at the Chocolate Pot Cafe, plenty of tension and drama. And then there’s that remote possibility of romance – if Carly’s willing to be brave and risk her long friendship with Liam by telling him how she really feels about him.

I just loved everything about this book – the beautiful cakes, the teddy bears, the snow angels in the farmer’s field, the friendships, the focus on family, the darker moments from the past, the tentative romance and the sheer joy that follows. And, do you know, I think there are times that a review doesn’t have to be very long at all – this is the perfect small Christmassy package, beautifully written, an excellent story, an emotional and thoroughly entertaining read. Put it on your pre-Christmas reading list without delay – you’ll love it too.

Oh what a book from an author who is quickly becoming one of my favourites to read, I loved meeting Carly and simply devoured this book.

What is not to love, a story full of love, family, Christmas and cake. Whilst reading this book I went on a wonderful journey with Carly as she juggled her ever growing business with family and the difficulties of working with family members.

Rich in loyalty and love, I loved this story and found myself racing through to see what magnificent cake she would produce next and how she would reassure her sister and find a way to overcome her anxieties.

I enjoyed the focus on how easily people can choose to hide their feelings and how quickly those situations can escalate and begin to unravel.

A wonderful romantic story featuring real life situations, festive celebrations and lots of cake, now to get stuck into her next festive read!

This was a quick read but completely satisfying. I genuinely read it in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed this happy story.
Carly and her sister Beth are just lovely and completely different from each other. The stories of Beth’s cake decorating catastrophes made me chuckle! Whilst they have different strengths, it’s easy to see that Beth is Carly’s rock; a constant support to her sister’s booming business. Sadly, Beth’s personal confidence has taken a hit and she no longer believes in her ability to be useful.
For me, the best part of this book was the description of Carly’s friendship with Liam and how her feelings for him grew beyond friendship as their lives have taken separate paths.
It’s easy to identify with Carly’s worries as she considers the ramifications of revealing her deep feelings for Liam after committing to do just that.
A perfect, quickish read that will leave you satisfied except for your longing for a vanilla cupcake.

What an enjoyable read! Carly owns a cupcake shop and employs her "flighty" sister after her sister has several disasterous jobs. Sister, Bethany, destroys baking masterpieces in the shop, but Carly just doesn't have the nerve to fire her. Bethany's wedding to Joshua is coming soon and more pitfalls for Bethany. Meanwhile, Carly is pining for her best friend, Liam. The two were bullied in school and found a special connection as a result. Although inseperable when young, they never got past the "friend zone". Is this the Christmas Carly will get her wish from Santa? Try this delightful read filled with friends from Castle Street, cake designs described so intricately you want to stuff your face with cake, and romance that will curl your toes!

As soon as you start reading this book it feels like you’re being given a warming hug. A feel good romance, two best friends since school, outcasts together, family, Christmas and cakes all in one book... This is just a recipe made for success.

I absolutely loved Carly and also felt for Bethany as she seems to have battled so much in her life already. I can just envisage the beautiful cakes that Carly creates and think that I’d probably be much more like Bethany in the kitchen!

The characters are so relatable and loveable that you just wish you worked on Castle street with them. The writing is fab and I spent the whole time reading this with a smile on my face. Wishing I was there and running around in the snow with them.

Even though it is a Christmas book, it isn’t too much, so it is perfectly acceptable to read this at any time of year! That’s for all you Scrooge’s out there ;) and yes I have also had a few mince pies!

I loved this book and can’t wait to find out more about the residents of Castle Street in Jessica Redlands other books. Not only would I recommend this but I’m sure I’ll be recommending her others as well once I’ve read them

Carly is supporting her sister Bethany who really has had a rough time.

Unfortunately Bethany has not inherited her sisters talent for baking and her friends are worried that Bethany is taking advantage of her sisters kindness.

Set in the lovely Castle Street in Whitsborough Bay, which is in it’s own community.

Carly does not have a social life, it is just work, work, work. Her best friend is Liam and he is has always been there for her since school. He can make her laugh, she is comfortable with him and she is also in love with him. He joins the Army and leaves Whitsborough leaving Carly devastated. After some disastrous relationships she decides she needs to take action.

It is Christmas in Castle Street and Carly’s friends are wondering what she is going to do this year, she is busy looking after Bethany, and busy in the shop. She always puts everyone else first.

Can Carly find sometime for love and herself ?

This is a lovely read, it is engaging and cosy. I loved the setting of Castle Street and I liked the sense of friendship and it was a joy to read, plus it has cake ! What could be better.

First, I want to thank Jessica Redland, Boldwood Books, NetGalley and Rachel's Random Resources for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.

Jessica had me craving a cupcake so badly I had to run out and buy one after finishing this book!! Christmas at Carly’s Cupcakes by Jessica Redland is one of the sweetest Christmas books that will not only put an everlasting smile on your face, love in your heart.

Christmas at Carly’s Cupcakes touched me on so many levels. It was a book about following your heart and never giving up on your dream. Weather that be in your career, or a friend who you have had a secret crush on forever.

I love the bond that the two sisters had with each other and that they were always there for each other through thick and thin.

Jessica did focus on a very important topic of bullying that was put upon Liam and Carly when they were younger. It was very important in their friendship as they formed a bond and friendship around that.

This is a lovely story about Carly and her best friend Liam who she suddenly realises she has been in love with for the last 16 years.
Also about her sister Bethany who has had a really hard time for the last 6 months after being attacked at the local children's nursery where she worked but is now working for Carly at her cake shop. But should family really work together.
This is a lovely Christmas story of love family friendships will bring a tear and a smile to your eye. I loved this book and all the characters can't wait to read my next book by Jessica Redland.

Carly owns her own bakery and has employed her sister to help her out as she's struggling alone. When her sister seems to be less of a help and more of a hindrance, Carly struggles to find a way of asking her to stop working there. She always puts the needs of others first and her sister has been through more than a little failure recently. Trying to balance work and family life proves difficult and Carly has to juggle her priorities. How long can she juggle them when her sister is causing the scales to stop balancing...

This book is sweet, heartwarming and the perfect uplifting book for Christmas. I've read one book by this author previously and loved it, this was just as glorious as my trip to Hedgehog Hollow. Carly was a fantastic protagonist and I really felt sorry for her having to try and make everybody happy, she often put everyone else's happiness above her own. She was extremely talented and I would love a trip to eat at Carly's Cupcakes!

Bethany was a frustrating character though I understood how she felt. She was clumsy and felt that she was being a failure in everything that she did, including her love life despite being engaged. Her negativity was hard to read as she had talents that she wasn't giving herself any credit for.

A thoroughly enjoyable festive novel that is engaging from start to finish.

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC!

Christmas at Carly’s Cupcakes was sweet and endearing! I especially loved the storyline between the sisters and Redland’s descriptions are divine. Beware: you’ll have a sweet tooth reading this one!

Redland’s book warms the heart much like a Hallmark Christmas movie! You’ll want to grab a cuppa and feel cozy with this one!

I've only read a few novels by this author but this is by far my favourite so far. The last one I read was about Tara and that was so emotionally draining so I was a bit hesitant to read about what will happen in this one. However, this one was a lot happier and more uplifting so I found myself enjoying this one a lot more. The cover is so beautiful, I love the thick snow, colourful lights and of course Carly holding centre stage first-footing in the snow.

In this novel we follow Carly who owns her own Cake Shop - Carly's Cupcakes. She makes cakes come to life and I really enjoyed reading about her designs. She works alongside her sister Bethany who is a really clumsy person and is always destroying Carly's bakes. I did get a bit bored reading about the whole 'failure' thing, but the more I read I kind of just blocked it out and focused on the rest of the story.

I liked the character of Carly, she seemed down to earth and really kind to everyone. Although she was a bit of a pushover when it came to her sister. I loved the cakes she made, the location of the story and all the other third-party characters (apart from Paige of course, if you've read the book, you'll get it!). With regards to Liam, you don't really hear much about him until he comes back for Christmas. I got to about half way through and then the author started mentioning him more but he come across as a really loving guy and I really liked how the author done flashbacks too so we understood the characters and their relationship that little bit more.

Overall, a really lovely novel. Not overly Chrsitmassy but enjoyed reading about the Christmas cakes. It was an easy and heartwarming read. Would definitely recommend. Thank you to the publisher for a chance to read an advance copy of this novel via Netgalley, which I have reviewed honestly.

A good read to get you started for Christmas.
We have carlya cupcake shop and her helpers who happen to very clumsy and useless qnd its her sister. Bethqny is getting married but things are proving difficult and with the run up to Xmas carly is rushed off her feet. Bethqny runs away and carry has no odea where to find her sister. Carly wants a man but she can't let go of liam, the boy she's always loved, he's in the Army and this Xmas he comes home.
Bethany is found qnd Christmas begins to work well for everyone. An all round happy ending
The setting is beautiful on the north Yorkshire coast. Great storyline. Loved it.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

Its almost Christmas at Whitsborough bay and this time around, we are to spend time with Carly at her cupcake shop. Things are not going too well, the workload being extraordinarily high and Carly's sister being in the way.
This visit to the town was about how our protagonist manages to live a little, find new friends and move on with her life. She has the classic elder sibling need to protect her sister by making excuses for her, while the sister would be furious if she heard the reasons. I liked the sister angle more and would have loved the book if the entire narrative had been from her point of view. I was not enamoured by Carly and her predicaments. It felt a little difficult to invest in her long-hidden feelings for some reason while simultaneously hanging on to her day-to-day of running her shop.
The most crucial part of the entire book has to be the writing style. It is simple, while still conveying the required emotions. Any fan of the genre will not go wrong picking up any books by the author because they are filled with vibrant women in unique jobs. I already have another queued up to read.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Brilliant storyline and characters but sorry not my type of book ,
Unfortunately I can only give a 3 star ,but others should read to see what they like.

Christmas, cupcakes, and second chances

Christmas at Carly's Cupcakes by Jessica Redland is a sweet and romantic short story about family, friendship, and second chances in love.

Our thanks to the author, Boldwood Books, and Rachel Random Resources for the advanced reader's copy.

Carly owned a successful cupcake shop and focused on her career more than on her erratic love life. Her commitment-reluctant ex-boyfriend, Jasper, had had no problem marrying someone else, and she had not dated anyone ever since.

Jasper hurt her pride more than her heart. Her real soulmate and best friend in the whole world was Liam. A lovely man that helped her survive the bullies during her school years.

But she was friend-zoned, and Liam had a girlfriend and was stationed in Afganistan with the army.

Luckily, things at the shop were going great, or at least they were until her sister came to work with her...

The relationship between Carly and her sister Bettany was very intricated. They reminded me a little of Elinor and Marianne from Sense and Sensibility. While Carly was all reason, Bettany was much more dramatic and quite a little selfish.

It was lovely to see how strong Carly's love for her sister was and how eventually, like Marianne, Bettany matured.

The setting was very Christmassy, and there was plenty of cake. You might want to have some cupcakes at hand while reading.

Christmas at Carly's Cupcakes is a lovely Christmas tale of family, friendship, love, and dreams coming true.

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

*This review will be posted on https://lureviewsbooks.com on 09/08/2020 as part of the book's blog tour*

There is something about Jessica Redland books that just do it for me!!! Thanks to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for a chance to read and review this ARC. Being in the middle of a reading slump made this a little slow for me; however, just like the previous Jessica Redland book I read the end is what makes it. One thing I really loved about this is the focus of the sister sibling relationship. My relationship with my half-sister has never been a good one, it is something I don't read about often; however, when I do I hope for a relationship like that. And let's not even get started on the romance development (that is all I am saying to avoid spoilers). Sometimes I did find myself a little frustrated with Bethany, but in the end, I understood her flaws more. Overall, an amazing read. I can't wait to return to this author more in the future.

**Not on Goodreads: Spoiler Ahead**
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the relationship between Carly and Liam that develops!!! As someone who is finally with someone who has been in her life for years (although ours is more off and on), I really appreciated this dynamic. I also grew up with a male best friend that everyone thought we would end up together, even though it didn't happen, it is still a storyline I enjoy reading.