Oh I really needed this story!
It is heartwarming and give us hope through our struggles. I'm a lot like flora in many ways so I was really able to connect to her. Wonderfully atmospheric. A must read if you're looking for a cozy Christmas story.

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

After a break-up and a lost job, Flora decides to do something refreshing. It is a cute grumpy, sunshine romance story. A real wholesome Christmas book.

Thank you everyone for this gifted copy of Flora's Travelling Christmas Shop!

I had a lot of hope for this book, because who doesn't love a good Christmas book with the Hallmark theme in it. Unfortunately, this book really fell flat for me. I found the main character kind of annoying, and the traveling bit wasn't as good as it could have been, and expected more, I guess.

Maybe I just wasn't in the right space for this book, but it was a bit of a flop for me.

A nice Christmassy relaxation book.
I have read a lot of books by this author and have enjoyed them all.
Christmas vibe perfect for when you want to let go of the stress and get away from it all.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC copy of this wonderful book. I gave it 4.5 stars. It took a little bit to start up for me but once I did get into the story I "lapped" it up. Rebecca Raisin has an art for making even the saddest thing amusing and so I found myself laughing out loud on more than one or two occasions. The way she paints pictures with her words is wonderful and much as I hate snow and winter I would love to go to Lapland. Sleigh rides, deer, the wonderful sounding food, the Christmas food and absolutely stunning scenery makes this somewhere I would very much like to visit. I adored all the characters. Of course it was hard to like the "villainess" but even she was written beautifully. I really liked how it all developed and I also liked how real Flora was depicted. Oh my gosh, I could see myself doing some of the things she did and coming up with the same excuses. If you have never had a chance to read Rebecca Raisin before I suggest that you read this one. A great introduction to her writing and also to the magic of the holiday season. If you are familiar with the author then you know exactly what I mean when I say this was whimsical, sweet, a love story, a Christmas story, family and friendship and oh so much more.

I absolutely loved this book. It gives you all the Christmas feels. Flora is such a great character who loves Christmas and not just in December.
I could picture the scene at lapland with the van market and who wouldn't love to go on a reindeer ride!! .
Highly recommended

I was 4% into this e-arc before I noted how much I already disliked the main character. I found her so far from mature and she seemed to lack retrospective abilities. This sadly continued throughout the entire novel, I didn’t feel like she grew much as a person. She kept being surprised at facing consequences for her own actions and choices, which got on my nerves to the point where I started hating the book for it, which was really sad. She did not respect boundaries or rules at all, and she acted as if the world owed it to revolve around her. The example I can think of to include, which does not contain spoilers to anything, is that at one point she gets to go dog sledding with a man and his huskies. She asks if she can pet the dogs and he tells her no, because they are working animals currently at work. She then proceeds to pet a dog when he turns his back. Later we learn she petted a lot of the dogs and even went so far as to remove the harness from one of the dogs in order to better pet it. It is worth mentioning that the man did not get angry, nor did she get any consequences for this, but I found it ricidulous that neither of those things happened because I was fuming! It is not funny or quirky to ignore boundaries and do something you were told explicitly not to do.

Rapid fire of some other things that bothered me:

- I also hated how Flora, our main character, insisted on changing the male love interest, whilst also being constantly told by friends that she did not have to change for a man. I’m sorry???
- The author also consistently called mulled wine glögge, which I have not been able to find exisiting in either nordic language. I have never heard a single person from Scandinavia call it that, and the book is supposed to be set in Finland.
- The male love interest is consitently described as a Norse god, but he is Irish?? I was so ready for a Finnish love interest.
- Flora did not solve a single of her own problems, couldn’t she at least have figured something out on her own? She felt so passive because of this.
- I could not think of a single reason why the male love interest should have been interested in or intrigued by Flora.
- One of the characters consitently remarked how the love story was following the Hallmark blueprint, which I found a huge mistake to push down our throats, it just made it even more obvious how the story simply followed a script and things happened for no good reason other than to further the plot or give the main characters time together.

I’m so sad to not have enjoyed this holiday romance, it sounded so lovely from the synopsis. But, take it from me, if the personality of the main character sometimes gets on your nerves and ruins books, steer away from this.

Flora is such a likeable character. Her narration is funny, light and incredibly easy to read.

There were some elements that were a tad unbelievable but if you can get past those it was a delightful read.

4/5.

Sweet Chocolate romance story. Love how festive Flora goes on a holiday adventure by way of a van to sell various Christmas trinket. Along the way she meets other market people such as herself and makes new friends but also goes out of her way to show grinchy Connor ((the manager of the park where the market is held) that there is such a thing as Christmas magic. Loved the storyline and enjoyed the various characters. The story definitely puts readers in a holiday mood. Highly recommend to all romance fans and Christmas fanatics.

Rebecca Raisin is a new to me author and I have to say I am looking forward to reading more by this author! I loved this book

What a cute and cosy christmas read. This was a lovely feel good christmas read that is perfect for reading on the couch with a cup of tea and a cosy blanket! Thank you for the gifted copy of this book to read and review

Another brilliant story from Rebecca. Loved it, I couldn’t put it down, reading well into the night and then I was sad when I’d finished it.

I really, really wanted to love Flora’s Travelling Christmas Shop. The premise was great, the setting perfect, but I just could not enjoy reading it no matter how hard I tried.

The writing style and Flora herself were a little too out there and dare I say it, eccentric, for me. It just wasn’t really believable from the get go and that was a theme through the whole book. Some of the ways of phrasing things and quotes honestly made me cringe a little bit, which ruined the book for me. The writing style just did not work for me personally, and I don’t think I’ll be picking up another Rebecca Raisin book.

The plot was predictable, which can have a place at times, but probably when done a little differently to this. Maybe I just lost a bit of my Christmas spirit over the course of reading after getting a mid-summer surge - who knows.

I’m sure it’s perfect for some other Christmas-loving reader, but I just was not that reader unfortunately.

Thank you to NetGalley for very kindly sending me an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

My favourite of the Travelling Shop series so far! I absolutely loved Flora, I could relate to her so much and she seemed like the most fun person. Someone I'd love to be friends with. This book contained some hilarious scenes and I laughed out loud. The Christmas vibe was perfect and I had the best time reading it.

This was a delightfully festive read. Flora buys a camper van and heads off to Lapland and the van lifer's Christmas market. Her van is perfectly Christmassy and I loved every page. Full of hot chocolate, romance, magical experiences and a real feel good read.

This checked off everything I look for in a book. Was not disappointed. Really enjoyed this book. I will read more from this author.

Cute,adorable, light and funny, giggle inducing funny read!
Perfect for when you need to beat those blues and especially at this time of the year!

Flora loves Christmas; she revels in everything to do with the season. Her current job in a Christmas emporium seems like a dream and she believes in spreading the cheer far and wide. She also says exactly what she thinks and believes in testing her compatibility with guys by asking them Christmas based questions the first time they meet!
A breakup, losing her job and her best friend moving to a different continent, all happening one after the other, have her wanting to do something to shake up her life.
Needing to be her own boss, she decides to purchase a van which she will turn into a Christmas shop and go to Lapland in Finland where there is a Christmas market.

While she is delighted to be amidst so much Christmas cheer in a place that is all about her favorite festival, she is stunned to meet Connor with the 'Norse God looks', who runs the market but scoffs at the fuss about it, calling it a commercial ploy and a drain on the environment which he is passionate about. Flora is determined to change his mind and get him to understand and enjoy the joy and spirit that she feels.

Flora is large hearted and happy go lucky and completely hilarious. Nothing can get her down for too long and she sees the humour in everything. Her reactions are fun and her interactions with Connor that leave him stunned even more so.

A read that makes you laugh and leaves you feeling very happy.

Ok so I didnt read this at christmas but everyone loves a christmas story in May right??!

It is great fun and a lovely christmas romantic tale.

Quirky and fun romance with plenty of Christmas cheer. Loved the adventuresome characters, the Lapland setting,, and the festive tone throughout. I am a sucker for a Christmas book - this was a good one!