I loved this. The perfect wintery escape romance! Fliss and her family are wonderful, and I loved all the little story arcs.

An easy to read, feel good book. Not sure about the title though, the celebrations come at the very end of the book and are a tiny part of the story.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

When Fliss and her sisters inherit a chateau in France, they have no idea how much this will change not only their lives, but of the people around the chateau. Although there are numerous challenges to making the chateau a paying proposition, there are rewards as well, such as romance, improved relationships and finding purpose for your life. A heart warming read.

Celebrations at the Chateau by Jo Thomas

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

When their grandfather dies, Fliss and her sisters are astonished to inherit a French chateau! Travelling to Normandy to visit the beautiful if faded house, they excitedly make plans over delicious crepes and local cider in the town nearby.

They soon discover the chateau needs major work and a huge tax bill is due . . . Unable to sell but strapped for cash, Fliss determines to spruce up the elegant old rooms and open a B&B.

This is a truly wonderful book that I managed to read in a few hours. When the sisters arrive in France they are in shock at the size of the place they have inherited, especially as none of them knew anything about their grandfather's chateau.

I enjoyed the way that Jo has written the character of Fliss, growing with confidence as the chateau evolves into her dream. An uplifting French escape!

Rating: 4/5

Celebrations at the Chateau is an enjoyable read for anyone looking for a light, uplifting story this holiday season.

Fliss and her two sisters are surprised to learn that they have inherited a property in France from their grandfather and even more surprised when they arrive in Normandy and discover that it's an actual chateau! Selling is the obvious choice and Fliss stays behind to sort this out while her sisters return to the UK but it's soon apparent that their inheritance is complicated. There's a chatelaine in residence who can't be displaced during her lifetime, as owners they have to pay her a monthly allowance and there's a large tax bill that needs to be paid in January or they will forfeit the property. It's all up to Fliss to figure out how to make the chateau pay for itself - perhaps with a little help from the chatelaine herself and the attractive farmer who lives next door!

This is a lovely, feel-good story about Fliss learning to believe in herself and celebrating her own accomplishments. There's also romance and new beginnings for several of the characters but what I enjoyed most about Celebrations at the Chateau was the dreamy setting of this ancient chateau in a small village in Normandy. I loved the descriptions of the chateau, the village and the food that brought back so many good memories of my trips to France and made me dream of returning. It's a great escape for a chilly winter day!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC.

A cosy feel good novel set in France, Celebrations At The Chateau is a book that entertains.

There's work to be done and a chateau to save in this feel-good book. Fliss and her sisters have a large task on their hands in France. They end up with a chateau that needs doing up. They also need to decide what to do about a sit-in tenant they were not expecting. It very much makes me think of channel 4 series - Escape to the Chateau in many ways in that it needs so many reparations. It's such a huge undertaking to save it. It's entertaining to see what unfolds, but hardship also hits them as a huge bill arrives. The locals are not pleasant and are far from welcoming to these new incomers. It shows how society can be towards new people, or at least, part of it. It's a big undertaking and one that makes for a fun story to escape into.

It's lovely reading about the renovations as they get underway and all the food and drinks that wash over the book, creating the cosy factor with interesting characters.

Loved this story from start to finish! A warning story of never giving up and finding real love. I couldn’t put it down

Another lovely story by this author, great characters, a beautiful setting, family secrets and festive cheer make this a great Christmas read.

This author has a particularly beautiful writing style that you can't help but fall in love with.
The descriptive essence of her words really paint the picture as you read.
This had a wonderful history behind the story that I loved hearing unfold.
The cows, horse and peacock added humour throughout to an otherwise very lovely light romance.
It was a perfect Sunday afternoon read, other than stopping to eat I finished this in one sitting, just enjoying the flow wash over me.
Great characters, great setting, great read.

I read another book by Jo Thomas recently and when I saw she had released another I had to read it. I love her writing style, it’s very relaxed and flows so well. At first I was unsure how the story was going to pan out, whether the sisters would take on the chateau or not but I loved the story building up. I really felt for Fliss particularly as so much seemed to go wrong with the chateau. Everything came together so well in the end, and I thought the ending was truly beautiful. This was such a great book to curl up with, such a cozy read, full of hope and what life can be like with a new beginning.

Fliss and her sisters inherit a French chateau, because of a sitting tenant, they cannot sell, Fliss stays to run it as a b and b. Will the unfriendly towns folk deter her attempt? Another feel- good read from Jo Thomas, hard to put down, ideal for a cold winters day .

Fluids moves to a chateau in France and breathes new life into the place whilst finding love and belonging in the French community. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

This was lovely! Festive and gentle, a coming into yourself story that has heart. It made me want wine and cheese and to be able to travel freely!

This was a lovely read, very comforting and really easy to read. Following the story of three sisters who have inherited a château in France. Finding out what to do with it, one of the sisters Fliss stays behind to handle the dealings.
I like the tone of the story and the way Fliss has to deal with the locals while trying to make the château a working B and B.
I really liked Fliss’s can do attitude and tenacity to make things work.
The other characters in the story were well written and worked nicely with the story.

A lovely warm story of three sisters who inherit a French chateau that they cannot sell and how it changes their lives. Fliss takes it on by herself to start with and discovers how her grandfather and the Chatelaine had a love story of their own. Together with the grumpy neighbours she turns it into a b and b, and finds herself along the way. Great characters and the place is somewhere I would love to visit!

This was a light hearted novel that I really enjoyed. I love Jo Thomas novels so this was a real treat

Fun and heart warming story with lots of great characters and a lovely romantic story. Highly enjoyable!

After suddenly inheriting a Chateau. Fliss makes plans to turn it into a B and B but it feels like everyone is against her.
Throw in many hurdles along the way. Will she make it a success?
A heartwarming book where you can escape to France and imagine that you are sitting cosy by the fire!

this is a brill christmas story this author never fails to produce a good book to read and once again she as done it good story line and along the way plenty of food mentioned as normal just brill

Well! What can I say about this book! FANTASTIC,! I loved this book from the very first page.
When Sisters Lizzie, Nellie and Fliss lose their beloved Grandad it turns out they didn’t know him as well as they thought.
He has left them a property in France. They are shocked to find it not an ordinary house but a chateau. The Chateau come complete with its very own sitting tenant and lots of secrets from the past.
Fliss decides to stay on in France and try to make the most of the situation they have found themselves,.
When Fliss meets the local farmer Jacques everything changes.
Along the way we meet Jason Fliss’s nephew and clementine jacques step daughter and lots of locals.
This has been my favourite Christmas book this year, full of magical romance to lose yourself in.
Definitely worthy of 5 stars.
Thank you to Random House UK and NetGalley for this amazing ARC