This story has everything a festive read needs, cleverly crafted characters, conflicts and chocolate.

Charlee is feeling the loss of her grandparents when she decides to relocate to Whitsbrough Bay. She makes chocolate and decides to buy a shop. It's on Castle Street, familiar to regular readers of this series. It needs work, before she can open, and her boyfriend doesn't have the inclination or skills to help. Meeting Matt, who has professional DIY skills, gives Charlee chance of opening in time. There's chemistry between Charlee and Matt but many hurdles to their happiness to overcome.

This is a heartwarming read with believable characters and some lovely festive touches.

I received a copy of this book from Boldwood Books via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Anyone who knows me, also knows how much I love a Christmas book and combine that with chocolate and you have the perfect mix!!
Set in, the North Yorkshire seaside town, Whitsborough Bay, it was a wonderful, heartwarming story with a lovely sense of community and a sprinkle of romance.
I loved all the characters, even the ones I loved to hate!! I really warmed to the main character, Charlee, right from the very beginning.
The Christmas theme was wonderfully festive and I also loved the chocolately goodness!!
A lovely, heartwarming, emotional, romantic, Christmassy read…..

Being such a huge fan of Jessica Redland’s writing and having already read and loved Christmas at Carly’s Cupcakes, I knew I was going to love Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop just as much. The story follows the main character, Charlee, who has just lost her beloved Gran and is now very much at a crossroads in her life. Her boyfriend Ricky is moving to Whitsborough Bay where he grew up, for work, and he persuades Charlee to sell her grandparents home, and join him, which is how she decides to set up her very own Chocolate Shop.

It would seem the more successful Charlee is getting with the Chocolate Shop, the less Ricky wants to spend time with her – preferring to spend his evenings with his old mates getting drunk. At the same time her relationship with Ricky is almost over, the lovely Matt makes his appearance in Charlee’s life. Matt is a plumber who comes to Charlee’s rescue and saves the Chocolate Shop from disaster.

It really is a case of love at first sight for Charlee. There is just one small problem though – Matt is not only seeing someone else, but actually engaged to be married! Will Charlee and Matt get together? Or is it a case of the one that got away for Charlee? Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop is a beautiful, heartwarming and romantic story – a festive must-read for everyone.

First, I want to thank Jessica Redland, Boldwood Books and Rachel’s Random Resources for providing me with this book so I can bright you this review!

Ohh when I heard Jessica Redland came out with a new book Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop I knew I had to read it. She has quickly become one of my favorite authors in this genre! I absolutely LOVED this book!!!

Jessica would like to dedicate this book to her grandparents, Louisa Jane and Ted Williams, Jack and Polly Wiseman. No longer here in person, but forever here in spirit

Jessica will leave you with a bit of a sweet tooth craving all things chocolate!
At least I was!

Right from the very beginning Jessica pulled on my heart strings with the death of Charlee’s Nana from Cancer. Jessica had such a special bond with her that nobody could touch. I loved hearing her reminisce about good times they shared together.

Jessica had me cracking up laughing my booty off and shaking my head at some of the scenes. Oh how I loved how her mind worked!

I was torrn with my feelings towards Ricky. He seemed like a great guy until his true color was shown.

One major theme in this book is never give up and follow your dreams! Charlee did just that and was incredibly successful!

Wow what a delectable read oozing with fabulous chocolate creations and wonderful characters. As soon as we were introduced to the lovely Charlee I just knew I would love her and as I continued to read my heart broke for her.

Full of the magic of Christmas, this story filled me with festive joy and also left me with tears in my eyes as it packed such an emotional punch at times. I am a massive fan of Jessica Redland and this story just totally stole my heart.

I loved getting to revisit the wonderful Castle Street and spend time with characters I've previously met and loved in other stories. I really hope we get to go back to this magical location and spend more time with these wonderful characters.

A superb and heartwarming 5* Christmas story that left me smiling and wanting to revisit Charlee and her friends again in the very near future.

I love the Whitsborough Bay series and all the wonderful residents who live there. This time it’s Charlee’s story. I have read books with Charlee in them but never come across her story before so I was so excited to read this; Whitsborough, chocolate and a festive backdrop – what more could I ask for in a novel?
I love how the novel spans across two Christmas’s and it gives the reader a real contrast of how Charlee’s life changes over time.
Charlee is such a sweet character and quite vulnerable due to grieving for her grandparents but also the way sees the best in everyone and always feels she is in the wrong if she thinks bad of anyone. I felt really protective towards her and wanted to give her a little shake where Ricky was concerned at times.
I loved the idea of a chocolate shop and how the whole community rallies around Charlee when she needs it the most. I’m a sucker for novels with a cosy community and this series is superb for it. I’d definitely be visiting if it was a real place.
I adored Charlee’s story and loved how the different relationships develop, and change. It’s perfect for a cosy day of reading but chocolate snacks and drinks are essential.

It all starts after her Nanna passes away. Charlee is beside herself and can barely figure out what to do. Yet her boyfriend somehow convinced her to move from Hull where all her childhood memories are to Whitsborough Bay, where he grew up. Her bestie, Jodie, helps her to clear out the house she grew up in with her now deceased grandparents and sell it so she can move.

While in Whitsborough Bay, Charlee follows her calling as a master chocolatier to open up her own chocolate shop. Her late grandfather was a master chocolatier and owned a shop back in Hull, where Charlee learned much of her chocolate making. With the funds from selling her grandparents home, she was able to buy her own shop with a flat above it. And it helped to pay for renovations so she could get the shop running and the flat fixed up.

What started as Jodie coming to hang out with Charlee turns into Jodie moving into the flat above the shop and working for Charlee in the store, a win-win for both of them! All’s well until Jodie attempts to shower and the pipes leak into the chocolate shop! An emergency plumber, Matt, comes by to fix the botched repair job in record time!

Needless to say, Charlee is able to get her new chocolate shop opened and running due to the hard work of Jodie, Matt, and the new friends she’s met in Whitsborough Bay. Opening day is a whirlwind and the shop continues to bringing shoppers and people signing up for chocolate making classes as well as parties that Charlee loves hosting!

Matt seems to be the handsome handy man that keeps coming around. He might say he’s engaged, but he’s constantly arguing with his fiancée. It’s when he gets a frantic phone calls while he’s with Charlee and Jodie that he ends up spilling the beans about his fiancée’s past and how he’s found himself tangled in it.

Who doesn’t love a story about chocolate?! I’ll admit that chocolate is one of the triggers for my migraines so I don’t often eat it myself. But I’ve been known to taste, or sometimes devour, a good chocolate and suffer it’s consequences later.

Thank you to Boldwood Books, NetGalley, and Rachel’s Random Resources for access to Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop by Jessica Redland. I give this book 5 out of 5 chocolate tiaras because of the orangey twists and unexpected gushes of gooey chocolatey smears throughout this book! Best of all, there’s no migraines to deal with for me!

I've read a few of Jessica Redland's books now and I have to say this is easily one of my favourites. We spend time in this book with Charlee who is deciding what to do with her life after a few recent changes. She decides to move to Whitsborough Bay and set up her own chocolate shop, though it's not an easy process.

I liked Charlee and was rooting for her throughout, especially while she was dealing with her useless boyfriend who I hated partly because he reminded me so much of my ex. Charlee builds her new business and her new life with support from friends, other business owners and the general Whitsborough Bay community.

This is truly an uplifting book and it was one that I didn't want to end. Having discovered the warmth of Whitsborough Bay in a previous book I was thrilled to realise that it hadn't changed at all in this one. The community is just as welcoming and supportive as ever and it was a joy to be part of it in a way. Even the small details like the snow and the Christmas lights were lovely and had me wishing I was able to see them in real life. However, this is one of those books that is written in a way that I find very immersive so when I was reading I felt as if I was right by Charlee all the way, through the highs and lows and the special moments.

I love visiting this community and the people in it so I'm going to have to check I've not missed any books set here, but I'm also going to hope that there will be more books set here in the future as well. There are some books that are cosy and inviting and remind you that there is a lot of good in this world, and this book is definitely one of them.

Thank you to Rachel for letting me take part in this tour and to Boldwood Books for my copy of this book via Netgalley. Remarkably this is the first book I have read by Jessica but I know it won't be my last. Jessica managed to evoke lots of emotions in me with this book so I know I'll soon be reading her back catalogue.

Charlee really had a tale of two Christmas' in this book. My heart went out to her when she was all alone. I so wanted to be there for her. Charlee is a very strong woman. She might not see it but opening her own shop and getting it all ready in such a short space of time was quite a feat. I was immensely proud of her. Charlee goes through so much in this book, I'm glad she had such a good group around her to support her.

This book is about so much more than just romance. It was about friendships, community and a sense of that Christmas magic. This wasn't a book that is 100% Christmas but it was a big theme in this book. I loved hearing about all the Christmas lights and the chocolates that Charlee had in the shop. It made me crave a Christmas market.

I wouldn't be able to write this review without mentioning Matt. What a guy. I honestly don't think I've met anyone as genuine and as heartfelt as he is. He is a true one of a kind!

There is a lot of chocolate talk in this book. I mean serious amounts. I could have easily polished off a few boxes of fancy chocolates if I'd had any, I had to settle for some Cadburys buttons. I would definitely recommend getting some chocolate to eat while reading this.

I really enjoyed this book and I really hope we get a series from this because I want to hear Jodie's story!

Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate shop is another reworked title from Jessica Redland’s back catalogue. I discovered Jessica at just the right time, as I’ve read so many of her books, but been able to resist the previous titles, as I knew it was receiving the ‘Boldwood Touch’.

Once again, the characters and story, in this gorgeous book, captured my imagination. As we’re back on Castle Street, there are some familiar faces, but don’t worry if you’ve not been before, you’ll still enjoy this visit. Charlee is the kind of person that I would welcome as a friend. Kind-hearted and willing to go the extra mile, despite a history of heartache. Let’s face it, there aren’t many of us who reach 30 without carrying a fair share of emotional baggage.

Charlee’s background is perfectly developed to reveal both joy and heartache in her past. It was impossible not to hope that she would see the light over her ‘useless boyfriend’, I spent several chapters waiting for the penny to drop and for her to see him in his true colours.

Jessica had obviously carried out thorough research into the life of a chocolatier. I found myself craving a taste of some of the confections mentioned in this story. The development of the chocolate shop was a joy to follow, and like Charlee’s love-life, it wasn’t without the odd hiccup. It was wonderful to see that with the right people and support, even the most hopeless of situations can prove to be the answer to our hopes and prayers.

This story is about chocolate, friendship, family and forgiveness. It looks at the damage we do to ourselves when we put loyalty above our instincts and tolerate behaviour that should be unacceptable. It also shines a light on the problems caused by making assumptions!

Thank you Jessica Redland, Boldwood books and Rachels Random Resources for gifting me a digital copy of Christmas Wishes at the chocolate shop in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book and following Charlee’s journey of self discovery. This is a book of two halves; in Christmas wishes we follow Charlee a chocolatier who has reached a sad milestone in her life. What happens when you follow your dream job, supposed dream man? Can you make them both work or are hard choices needed to be made. I am really excited to read more books by Jessica Redland.

Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley, too,
For my copy of this book, here's my honest review:

Following the deaths of her grandparents Charlee decides
To change the location of where she resides.
With her boyfriend, Ricky, she moves to Whitborough Bay
Where she's previously spent many a happy summer's day.

She's a highly skilled master chocolatier,
So she's chasing her dreams instead of her fear.
Setting up Charlee's Chocolates on Castle Street
Is such a great plan, and her chocs are a real tasty treat!

However, with plans there come some surprises
Including meeting great folks as she soon realises.
This story has lots of family secrets to warm up your heart
As hearts start to heal that had fallen apart.

It is a delightful, festive story, with love and romance
From friends, family and others all given a chance.
I'm thrilled to have a chance to revisit this street
Where folks support and work together, its really neat,

I really enjoyed returning to this community so caring
And the opportunity again to see how they're all faring.
The story is heartwarming, emotive and uplifting, too,
I can't resist highly recommend it to you!

Oh, it is so good to be back in Whitsborough Bay, and, what makes it even better is that this visit is at Christmas.
I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the Whitsborough Bay series so I was hopeful for this book and I was not disappointed.
Once again the author casts a spell over the reader through the development of believable, fully-formed characters & backstories. I love the fact that there’s always a nod to some of the other residents in each of her books and this time it’s florist, Sarah who befriends main character Charlee as she tries to find her feet after heartbreak and setting up a delightfully sounding chocolate shop. Of course, the delicious descriptions don’t stop at the chocolate, with a gorgeous, kind & perfect-for-Charlee-but-spoken-for male lead.
Once again a wonderful visit to Whitsborough Bay, full of friendship, romance, festivities and of course, chocolate.
If this book was a chocolate it would be a Christmas truffle: a delicious festive centre surrounded by perfectly tempered chocolate that is just the right amount of sweetness, fully satisfying but also leaving you hoping for a little more (I am hoping there are more books to come in this series).

Ahhhh what a lovely feel good story of love, friendship, Chocolate, family, more Chocolate, dreams coming true and CHRISTMAS!!

A hug in book form which left me feeling all warm and fuzzy and excited for Christmas. Oh and also wanting to train as a chocolatier and open my own chocolate shop!


When Charlee’s beloved nanna dies she decides to make a new start and move to Whitsborough Bay with her boyfriend, Ricky, and follow her dreams by opening her own chocolate shop.

Having reluctantly sold her nanna’s house where she was brought up as her mother abandoned her, she finds the shop premises she has fallen in love with has surprisingly just come up for sale. She jumps at the chance to buy it. As her dream is taking off, her life with her boyfriend is going downhill as he seems to want to spend his evenings getting drunk with his old mates. She begins to have serious doubts about him and when she meets the handsome Matt, the plumber who saves her shop from disaster, it is love at first sight. Only problem is he is engaged to be married to someone else!

The close circle of independent and supportive shopkeepers gives this such a warm community feel. I would love to visit this little street to do my Christmas shopping.

I loved so many of the characters in this book. The villains of the story were also really well written and I loved to hate them!

Tears were shed on more than one occasion during the reading of this book so if you are a sensitive soul like me get those tissues ready!

A fabulous uplifting read to get you in the mood for Christmas which I would not hesitate to recommend

Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop was a fun, enjoyable read. Charlee has just lost her beloved grandmother, who along with her deceased grandfather raised her. She is a 30-year old master chocolatier who has just quit her job due to an antagonistic manager and decides, at her boyfriend Ricky’s encouragement, to move to Whitsborough Bay and open her own chocolate shop.

The story unfolds beautifully, and the characters are all well-developed. This was the first book by Jessica Redlands that I have read, and I can’t wait to read some of her other books and series!

Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my candid feedback.

I absolutely love Castle Street I’m Whitsborough Bay and couldn’t wait to return again, especially at Christmas! There’s just something so magical about these books of Jessica’s that I really hope we get another return to Castle Street at some point. (I think I’ve only got Seaside Blooms to read now)

From the very start there was something off with Ricky but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it until Charlee makes the move to Whitsborough Bay. It was then that I started getting a few ideas, especially when we meet Matt, I mean, Hello! but didn’t imagine things going down quite the way that they do (and that was an accidental innuendo btw).

I loved Charlee and the chocolate shop sounds absolutely incredible, I kept having visions of Hotel Chocolat but even better… all the little figures and the smell as you walk in… just 👌. But anyway, best move on before I start to drool! Charlee is such a lovely character and to see her as she was on the first Christmas was heartbreaking, I so wanted something good to happen to her and for her fortunes to change along with the shop.

My wish was answered and the next Christmas thankfully went a lot better, and I mean a LOT better. I loved the secret that Charlee uncovered and it really does fill your heart with a bit of joy when you see family, friends and communities coming together which is exactly what’s Jessica achieved with this.

And I can’t not mention the Christmas light switch on, I mean it sounded amazing in Christmas at Carly’s Cupcakes and Starry Skies over the Chocolate Pot Cafe but it just keeps getting better. I’d love to be somewhere like this one Christmas, such a special, close and unique moment.

As always, an absolute cracker of a book that I absolutely loved and will definitely be returning to! Can’t wait for the next instalment (pretty please!)

In the words of Charlee 'Whitsborough Bay rocks'.

Yet another of Jessica's books that I loved and couldn't put down.

Charlee and Matt's friendship is just beautiful and I was really rooting for them to get their happy ever after.

Jessica writes so beautifully and this book left tears in my eyes.

I'm obsessed with Whitsborough Bay and I love that characters from the other books in the series make an appearance.

If you've never read anything by Jessica, you absolutely need to pick one up, you wont be disappointed.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Charlee Chambers, master chocolatier moves to Whitsborough Bay to set up a choclate shop after the loss of her grandparents. With a useless boyfriend and no blood relatives left, it's a challenge for Charlee to achieve her dream.
I began this with the intention of reading a chapter to get a feel for the book and then getting an early night. However hours later and halfway through the book, I still struggled to put it down and get some shut eye! I loved every aspect of it! There are plenty of unexpected little twists to keep you reading and a whole ton of drama and emotion.
There was a great chemistry between Charlee and Matt, that had you her to get rid of the awful Ricky pronto!
It really opens up the idea that family's really do come in all shapes and sizes, and situations are not always as they seem.
Set in the magical Castle Street during the festive period, it really made for a cosy and special story. We were treated to the beautiful and warming winter traditions of the community that made you want to step into the pages with the characters.
The many laugh out loud moments really broke up the heavier and sadder subjects addressed in the book, meaning that whilst this was a emotional read, it was also light and in keeping with the Christmas theme.
I will certainly explore more books by Jessica Redland in the future, her writing style is light and witty but with great meaning behind the stories. I have been recommended other titles by this author many times and this has made me keen to get started on them!
Thank-you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the copy.

When Charlee’s beloved Nana passes away, she feels a little bit lost, as you can imagine. Her boyfriend suggests that she take her inheritance and start over in a new town, and since her boss is retiring and she doesn’t get along with the girl who would be her new boss, she decides to go for it, and move and fulfill a dream of opening her own chocolate shop. Her best friend comes with her and in the process of opening the shop, she finds out who’s really in her corner and that new friends can help to deal with loss better than you would think.
This wasn’t my fav holiday book, but it was an easy read. A little bit of steam, but not overt. My criticism if you can call it that was the writing style felt a bit choppy and the pacing was kind of off the mark. That being said, if you’re in the mood to settle in for a few hours and enjoy your typical hallmark type romance then you will probably enjoy this one.
Thanks to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for this Arc in exchange for my review.

A lovely book that pulls you into its world. I am not a huge fan of Christmas books but there was something that made me request this one. I'm really glad I did. This is my first time reading Jessica and I will definitely look for more from this wonderful author.