Once again Jennifer Joyce has written an amusing Christmas book, that so long as you suspend your belief in reality at one rather key point, it completely and utterly believable.

Zoey is given a second chance at December, and has been told she has to create 6 new couples in order to survive the accident that that kills her first time around. But that is easier said than done, especially as she is determined to save her relationship with Scott, which very early on was frustrating me.

I just wanted her to see the obvious, but she seems rather oblivious, and instead is trying to match make all sorts of people, and as a result there are a lot of festive group activities. Oh and she works in the Santa's grotto department of a toy store, so there is Christmas all around in this book.

And I loved it, so festive, and fun, and has a wonderful cast of characters to get to know. I really enjoyed getting to know Zoey's colleagues, as well as all the festive activities they get up to, from the quizzes, to the karaoke. And the Christmas market was lovely too.

And then there is the Bake Shop which does the most delicious sounding cupcakes, and plays are rather key part to the story, not that I'm saying what that is! But the sweet treats certainly had my stomach rumbling.

A really enjoyable and entertaining Christmas story that I thoroughly enjoyed. Just hope I don't have to wait as long as I did for this book, for the authors next book.


Thank you to HQ Digital and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I was hoping to like this more than I did. The concept was good, and the writing was fine, but the obnoxious toxic boyfriend really wore me down. Do not see what she liked about him besides familiarity. Tended to start to skim through scenes with him, as she spends a lot of the time trying to find a way to be the perfect girlfriend so he doesn't leave her. Please! Kick him to the curb already, and throw his stuff out the window.

This was a feel good Christmas book. Zoey had such joy and embraced the holiday season it was like seeing it through a child's eyes. I especially liked her and Milo trying each other's favorite hot chocolates.

The Scott storyline made me cringe. I couldnt figure out why Zoey would want to try and save a relationship with someone who clearly just wanted a live in maid and not an actual relationship. Talk about a toxic relationship, but it does make one see that we sometimes don't realize the problems in our lives that are very obvious to all friends and neighbors.

I'm glad it all worked out in the end and love how much she is cared for by her friends and neighbors. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a feel good holiday story.

An absolutely glorious feel good Christmas story. With everything you need for that perfect Christmas tale, elves, santa, candy canes and naff Christmas jumpers to name but a few. I would recommend curling up on the sofa over the festive period to read this.

“Its time to forget about the past and move on.”

The Christmas Cupid // REVIEW
Pub Date: October 14th, 2022

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶

What I loved:

🎄The festive atmosphere of this book was so much fun! In addition to her job as a Santa’s Village Elf, I really enjoyed Zoey’s trips to the hot chocolate stand, as well as Franziska’s holiday baking! Jennifer Joyce has such a knack for describing Christmas-time, so I guarantee this book will put you in a festive spirit!

💞 The match-making aspect of this book was so fun. While most of Zoey’s attempts at matching couples were fails, the matches she did make were absolutely adorable, wholesome, and heartwarming — just all the feels!

🧣Zoey was such a fun MC to hang out with. She embodies the Christmas spirit, which I found myself connecting to a lot. She has such a kind heart, she is confident in who she is, and she cares so deeply for her close circle.

What I did not love:

👔 Scott. His whole storyline. I would have liked to seen him kicked to the curb around the half-way point so we could have had more time with Zoey and her true-love match. That change would have made this book a four star or even a five star for me — no questions asked.

If you are a Hallmark movie kind-of girl or you really enjoy Christmas-time books, I highly recommend you give this a read!

Thank you NetGalley for this Advanced Copy!

Quirky Zoey Beake finds herself in a peculiar situation and ends up travelling back in time with the job of setting up 6 new love matches. While this should be the priority, as it could give her a second chance at life, she consumes herself with the idea of saving her relationship with man child Scott.

This story was good, but i endured a mixture of emotions while reading that i can only explain in a bullet point pros and cons list.

PROS:
- The christmas vibes. Zoey’s job as an elf in a toy shop gave me all the “ELF” feels while reading. I think the way Jennifer Joyce described the main characters workplace gave me great imagery. I could literally picture the toy shop in my head! I enjoyed the other christmassy places like the market, and the christmas karaoke, and the famous hot chocolate stand!
- The christmas cupid match-making Zoey was doing. Although most of her attempts were duds, it was cute to see her finding a match for her best friend who was in a toxic relationship, as well as the couple on the bus. Small actions of kindness like giving up your seat can have great results!!
- Her relationships with the people she cares about and the lengths she would go to sacrifice their happiness for her own. ie, giving eloise good advice instead of steering her towards annie, while knowing it could result in a heart and save her life.

CONS:
- The entire Scott storyline. It was so painful to read how Zoey was trying to save such a toxic relationship. It was so clear as a reader he was cheating on her the entire time. He was a man child. He clearly only went on the dates to steer the bake shop girl away from milo and didn’t care to spend the extra time with his GIRLFRIEND. I wanted to shake zoey and tell her what i could see. I guess this storyline could be relatable to readers but to me, i was just frustrated at how poorly the sweet protagonist was being treated by 30 year old man who can’t use a dishwasher.

Anyways, this was a cute christmas novel and I did enjoy it aside from the scott storyline. I genuinely think i would have enjoyed this more if she was a single gal matching up people and then stumbling upon love with one of her coworkers in the end but im sure others would feel a connection with the part that i didn’t enjoy. I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys a hallmark christmas vibe!

Sadly, I didn't enjoy this quite as much as I though.
I liked the premise of the book: Spreading a bit of Christmas joy and love instead of having someone "surprisingly" fall in love just beore Christmas.
However, it was all too obvious from the beginning. I didn't enjoy the writing and while the characters were sweet, you could see what was happening from the start. Scott's (bad) character was too obvious from the start, no one could honestly believe she never noticed it before.
Overall I read it and it got me a little bit into the Christmas spirit, but I didn't enjoy the storyline.

Thank you HQ and Jennifer Joyce (an absolute sweetheart) for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Five stars for DNF as I cannot comment on the overall quality of the book.

Please do not be discouraged by this review. Although cliche, the line "it's not your, it's me" truly applies here. I am not a regular romance reader but I'm looking for a cosy Christmas read and this one appealed to me straight away. However, I found it a bit too saccharine sweet for my child heart. The female lead seemed like a big hearted, old soul... A little too old soul for my tastes lol. If you love knitting, befriending lonely seniors, and going ham with decorations, this is the book for you. I would also recommend to someone going through a break up, as the female leads grief is quite raw and may be relatable for others. Solidarity and all that.

Again, this is not poorly written or weird or offensive in any manner. It is just too sweet for me. Regular romance readers will certainly enjoy.

This is indeed a sweet and funny book. There are no prizes for guessing the match that completes the required set- it is clear from the offset, but that does not detract from the pleasure of reading to the conclusion!
grab some special hot chocolate and settle in for a wintery love story.

This was overall a fun story to read. It did take me a little while to get into the story. I was a little frustrated with how long the main character stayed in the bad relationship but I guess that is realistic. Overall I liked seeing 6 different couples come together instead of the focus just being on the one main relationship.

This story follows Zoey repeating December in a groundhog day month of holiday festivities to nudge along 6 love matches in order to reverse her inevitable demise on Christmas eve.

While this was a quick one sitting read, unfortunately it wasn't for me. Time travel is a plot twist that I don't enjoy. I had hope for the magical English countryside holiday setting and it kind of felt like the annoying protagonist that as much as you wanted to root for you just couldn't. I wanted more resolution for Zoey on how S/K got together, there was tons of speculation on her part about the love matches when her watch notified but the reader was left possibly speculating as well. I rooted for the friendship between Zoey and the hero and while we knew the romance was coming, that Zoey herself was one of the 6 love matches, it didn't feel like the sparks were flying until the end of the epilogue.

The holiday whimsical setting was cute, but the real page turner for me here was the pastries. I want to great british bake off all of the treats that were mentioned!


Thank you Netgalley and HQ for the ARC in exchange for my review!

Publisher description: ‘Laugh-out-loud funny… Everything you want in a Christmas book and more!’ Jaimie Admans Zoey Beake is having a bad December. She’s just been dumped, she’s had an extremely dodgy haircut that even the biggest woolly hat can’t hide, and then a tragic accident – involving an elf outfit, stilts, and a red double-decker bus labelled ‘The Santa Express’ – leaves her dead.
But then Zoey is given a second chance at life. Sent back to the start of December, if she can match six couples by Christmas Eve her life will be saved. Which gives her the perfect opportunity to win her boyfriend back too…
Can Zoey find love in time for Christmas?

I love a good Christmas Romance in books and movies (thank you Hallmark) especially one that is funny and involves second chances. Unfortunately this one left me feeling disappointed. When Zoey gets a second chance to pair up six couples and live after a run in with a double decker bus she is determined to fix her failed relationship with Scott.
What I liked:
Christmas theme and all the enjoyment and romance of Christmas we see in novels and movies.
Zoey setting up people for romance. She really needed to focus on other people to bring them together.
Zoey and another male character and there friendship growth.
Zoey taking advantage of this do over to spend time with friends and family.
All of the characters were average people living average lives. No unsuspecting millionaire or famous person.
What I didn’t like:
Zoey spending so much time trying to be the perfect girlfriend to keep her boyfriend. He had dumped her before Christmas and was seen with a new girl a few days later.
Fat shaming by boyfriend. Eat the cake Zoey with no guilt. Life’s short
There was so much time spent with Zoey being a doormat to her boyfriend and holding in her feelings and wants and needs. I wish that hadn’t taken so long to resolve.

I will most likely try another book by the author as I like the premise and the characters, when not being a doormat, as this was the first book I read by this author.
I was given an ARC through Net Galley to give an honest review of the book

I know there has to be character growth, because that is the whole point of a novel, after all, but I was so annoyed at how long it took for the main character in this romance to figure out what was going on with her "perfect boyfriend" that I wanted to take her by the shoulders and shake her hard.

Otherwise, this was a pleasant enough romance, though I had no idea that calling someone a banana was the same as saying they were silly. Perhaps it is regional to the UK, or it is the author's own device. But each time one was called a banana, I took me out of the story a bit.

Other than that, it was a pleasant enough romance, as the main character had to find six couples to get together before Christmas or she would die.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

Zoey’s Christmas is off to a terrible start- is it possible she’ll be able to turn things around and be given a second chance?

The Christmas Cupid is a quirky and humorous lighthearted holiday read. Definitely recommend for a festive and fun kick off to the Christmas season!

Thank you to NetGalley, Jennifer Joyce and HQStories for the ARC.

I loved Christmas Cupid. It was really lovely. Romantic, steamy and cute. Utterly full of the Christmas spirit and really enjoyable.

Zoey Beake is having a bad December. She’s just been dumped, she’s had an extremely dodgy haircut that even the biggest woolly hat can’t hide, and then a tragic accident involving an elf outfit, stilts, and a red double decker bus labelled ‘The Santa Express’ leaves her dead.
But then Zoey is given a second chance at life. Sent back to the start of December, if she can match six couples by Christmas Eve her life will be saved. Which gives her the perfect opportunity to win her boyfriend back too…
Can Zoey find love in time for Christmas?

From the plot it seemed like a very special and perfect book for me, but while reading it I realized that it was not the book I imagined, or rather, it was the book I imagined but it wasn't totally successful!

As I said the plot is very original and looks very funny but it has not been developed in the best way in fact many parts are confusing and I struggled to get to the heart of the story!

Apart from this small problem it was still a really fun book and perfect for the Christmas period!
I loved the idea of putting six couples together with some kind of Christmas cupid (aka our main character)!

I will definitely read more of this author because I liked the book all in all and m, i amused and entertained, but it could certainly be something phenomenal if it had, in my opinion, been better structured.

Thank You NetGalley and HQ for providing me with this e-ARC.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from HQ and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


A fun, cute, quirky holiday story for all.

The good stuff:
💫 I loved the plot of the MC playing the Christmas cupid! It led to a lot of interesting subplots and emotional arcs, and the pairings that resulted were truly wonderful
💫 The book is extremely Christmassy! The whole book is set between Dec 1 and 25, and a lot of the scenes and themes have a really festive feel to them! Hot chocolate, tree decorating, candy canes, etc etc 🤍
💫 I loved all the scenes between the MC Zoey and her true love interest [name redacted :D]

The not really bad, but ought to be mentioned stuff:
💫 Ok so, a large portion of the book is the MC trying to be a "perfect" girlfriend (aka, a doormat to a toxic bf) so that her bf doesn't leave her. She experiences anxiety and panic attacks throughout the book, and suppresses her emotions quite a lot. It's also extremely obvious to the reader that the bf is cheating on her (atleast emotionally), and doesn't really give a damn about her..
Now, this is possibly a pretty common theme in a lot of books and movies, but if the reader is like me (aka has anxiety, hates cheating/abuse in books, is looking for pure sunshine-y romances in books), it's best to know this fact going in, coz otherwise, they're gonna feel a lot of anxiety whilst reading the book.

TWs - cheating (atleast emotionally), MC having anxiety and panic attacks about her bf potentially leaving her, fat shaming, MC in a toxic relationship, death by head injury

This was a lovely and cosy festive read. I enjoyed the premise more than I thought I would, given that I had to suspend disbelief for the whole Christmas Carol story line! I just wanted a bit more from it! I liked the ending but it felt a bit flat - really wish it had an epilogue focussing on the Christmas the year after.

I received an ARC of, The Christmas Cupid, by Jennifer Joyce. Zoey was hit by a bus, she will get a second chance at life if she can match up 6 couples by Christmas, Zoey is not doing a good job of this at all. A nice read, I enjoyed Zoey and her attempts to play cupid.