Really cute book. I loved the Christmas feel and the idea of having a book club vacation. It was a little predictable but that was good. The characters are fun to get to know. It was a little slow and could have moved a bit faster and could have used a little less personal narrative.

Thank you to @netgalley and @HarlequinTradeBooks for this ARC.
Hattie owns a boutique hotel in Vermont that she is running by herself after her husband passes away. Erika, Anna and Claudia meet up once a year for a week for a Book Club get together. They choose to spend a week at Hattie's hotel and only one person knows the real reason they are there. A sweet story or friendship, love and books. #TheBookClubHotel #SarahMorgan #Sept2023

This book needs to be on your must-read list! It has all the feels! You'll laugh and you'll cry as you take a journey of friendship, family, love, loss and new adventures. These are the girlfriends that you aspire to be! Supportive, understanding, loving, tough, good in a crisis and always just there through the good times and the bad. Set at Christmas time, this book will totally put you in the holiday mood and make you want to reach out to friends and family just to check in! The characters are so well developed that you will forget that you are reading a book and rather feel that you are living through the experiences as a friend alongside the other characters in the book. I really wish that this was a real hotel that I could visit so I could also enjoy the quaint small town, the wonderful Christmas setting and the fabulous hospitality while of course, snooping on the characters to see what is going on with their lives. I always enjoy this author and I can't wait to see what she entertains me with next.

The Book Club Hotel
By Sarah Morgan

This is a light romance, a feel good book appropriate for the holidays. Three close friends, who have been through thick and thin together for the past twenty years, are all facing turning forty. The three – Erica, Claudia, and Anna – are as different as can be. And yet they are as close as sisters. They plan a week each year to go away together – in the guise of being a book club. This year each is facing major changes in her life.

The spot they pick for this vacation is called the Maple Sugar Inn, a perfect spot for Christmas with its snow covered hillsides, its Christmas trees and fireplaces, and its renowned kitchen. It is owned and run by Hattie, a young widow with a five year old daughter. While the Inn appears to be picture perfect to the guests, Hattie is over her head – close to drowning – trying to keep the Inn afloat.

The convergence of these four women leads to some astonishing discoveries about their lives and their pasts. By the end of the book, the reader will walk away feeling good about having read it.

I didn’t finish this story so I will not be giving a full, in-depth review. I enjoy Sarah Morgan’s books, along with stories of friendship and holiday tales, but I had trouble getting into this one. It felt very slow and too focused on the characters’ drama. Unfortunately just not a fit for me this season.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

4.25 🌟

This book is everything you'd expect from Sarah Morgan. Cute hotel, setting in Vermont, book club... what more could you ask for? 🤷‍♀️

I really enjoyed The Book Club Hotel. I enjoyed hearing narration from all of the women and loved that they have a book club. This is a light, easy book to pick up the holiday season!

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

Sarah Morgan is incredibly skilled in writing and bringing to life female friendships and this book is no exception. Three friends plan for a get-away to a picturesque inn to review their book club pick but it’s found out once they arrive that one of the characters picked the inn for a very personal reason. The story is told from each of the three friends’ perspectives as well as the inn owner’s perspective (alternating each chapter). This story kind of reads like a hallmark movie; it’s sweet, festive, and fun and, of course, there are a few love interests!

I enjoyed reading this book - the character growth for each character is very well portrayed and the inn seems like a place I would love to visit (especially after Hattie finds her voice). I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys hallmark movies and/or a lighthearted festive book!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A wonderfully written story of love, loss, friends, family, moving forward, getting out of your own way, getting “unstuck” and figuring out what is next. Hattie is trying to keep it together for her daughter and the memory of the love of her life, who is gone, while doing all she can to keep what was their dream alive. She is exhausted and questioning everything. When three lifelong friends have their annual meet up at her truly magical hotel, she recognizes they’ve got some heavy emotional bag as well. The author has crafted a terrific story about…life. Great characters, beautiful backdrop and a great wrap-up. An enjoyable holiday HEA.

Read this if you like:
•small towns
•found family
•womens fiction
•a touch of hallmark romance

This book was so cute. I also aspire to have a book club where we go to hotels around the world to discuss books for book club 😂

Thank you Harlequin for the copy!

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for a copy of this holiday romance. This feels very Hallmark starring, Haddie, a widow running an Air BnB and raising her little daughter. I love the small town vibe and how supportive the town was with her. A group of friends books a week there and they form a friendship with Haddie. I love the strong female friendships and the twist in the story as well. I do wish we got to see more romance between Haddie and the Christmas tree farmer.

Great story of four women who are together at a hotel where they learn to come to grips with their current situations in life. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Canary Street Press for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this Advanced Reader Copy, in exchange for my honest review.

The story of a group of friends that has been through all that life has to throw at them. And they come together a week a year to discuss their book club selection. This year the setting is The Maple Sugar Inn in Vermont.

What I loved about this book was the bond of the three friends. And even though they are each going through their own struggles, they are there for each other.

The setting was quaint and very Hallmark Movieish. But added to the overall charm of the story.
The writing really developed each of the characters well. Sarah Morgan is a new author to me, but I am definitely going to check out her bibliography.

This was a little heavier than the other holiday rom coms that I like to ready this time of year, but this was a lovely story.

I felt transported while reading this book. I loved the hotel’s atmosphere; it really shined through the book.


I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

This book was the definition of a "warm and fuzzy" wintry read, and I loved that. It was many more feels than I anticipated in the best of ways. Erica, Claudia and Ann schedule a meet-up at the Maple Sugar Inn run by widow and single mom Hattie. They're each carrying some "stuff" from life, so the getaway is a chance to clear their heads/hearts, discuss their read, and just spend needed time together as friends. Except, there's a bit more to each of their stories and even some connections to where they find themselves. This was just a delightful cast of characters as each of their arcs were explored and detailed, and I loved getting a window into the lives of each of them. This is a great holiday season read, especially if you're wanting to be all up in your emotions. Thanks to NetGalley for the look at this recent release!

This book appealed to me immediately as a festive and cozy read, which wasn't all romance but focused on friendships too. It's set in the picturesque Sugar Maple Inn, which twinkles on the outskirts of a quaint little town in rural Vermont, and it's told from the perspectives of four women. Three are in a book club, on the cusp of 40, and are each at a crossroads in their life. The fourth is a young widow juggling the demands of owning and running the hotel and raising her 5 year old daughter on her own, and she is at a crossroads too. The story is about how they intersect.

There was a lot that I enjoyed about this book. First, it definitely delivers on the cozy holiday vibes. The setting and the descriptions of scenes and foods are as Christmassy as the Hallmark Channel from September to January. If that is your feel-good jam, then you'll probably have a good time with this book. I liked the genuine and supportive friendships the story portrays, both old and new, and the way the characters grow and help each other. The writing is clear and descriptive, the stakes are high enough to give the story some tension but low enough to stay solidly in cozy territory. However, I'm actually not a Hallmark Christmas movie person, and there are also a few elements of the book that struck some discordant notes for me.

The biggest one is that the story is set in Vermont, all of the characters are American except for one, but everyone sounds very very British. It's always a bit jarring when an American author writes British characters who talk like Americans, and it's equally off-putting when British authors write American characters who speak like Brits. I'm never sure why they'd choose to set their stories on the opposite side of the pond if they can't write dialogue authentically for the setting they chose. In this instance, American characters say things like queue instead of line, surgery instead of clinic, cookery instead of cooking, round instead of around, "down to" something instead of "due to" something. When asked if they'd feel a certain way about something, they reply "I might do" instead of "I might". Anything good is "brilliant". Which would all be fine if the story was set in the UK, but it's supposed to be the US. It felt like the equivalent of watching the US version of The Office with the UK audio dubbed over it, and every time Michael Scott opens his mouth David Brent's voice comes out. The dialogue just doesn't ring true, and it kept pulling me out of the story.

Aside from this, something about the writing just seemed a little bit off. The dialogue sometimes felt stilted, and not how people naturally speak - eg. characters frequently referring to the innkeeper's daughter as "the child" instead of using her name. Positive emotions big or small are ubiquitously described as "pleased" instead of glad, happy, etc - I'm pleased we are finally together, she's not pleased to see me, I'm pleased you still love me, I'm pleased I never married that creep. It reminded me of Raiders of the Lost Ark when Sallah said to Indiana Jones "I'm so pleased you're not dead!" And if you tried to make a drinking game out of every mention of the book club ladies turning 40 you'd end up really wankered.

To explain any further I might give away spoilers, so read past this point at your own risk.

********************

Hattie is a 28 year old widow raising a 5 year old daughter on her own, and also the owner of the hotel. I'm very curious how she and her husband managed to afford to buy an entire hotel fresh out of college at 22 with no jobs, renovate and tastefully decorate it, and hire a multiple Michelin star chef for the attached restaurant from day one (but he put brains on the menu so of course the restaurant is an instant success). Hattie doesn't have any family around to help - her husband was killed by a random falling brick, and her parents have both passed away - her mother when Hattie was born, and more recently the Perfect Dad who raised her all alone. She's still grieving the losses, and there's a hole in her heart that can only be filled by a rugged man in plaid flannel who smells like pine and obsequiousness and drives an American made truck. She is lusting after the Standard Outdoorsy Guy from the farm next door, but she's conflicted, overwhelmed, and exhausted to the brink of narcolepsy, as well as embarrassed because they drunkenly made out at the town Halloween party. She's also trying to manage the terrible emplyees her domineering late husband insisted on hiring, including a cranky housekeeper and a star chef prone to violent outbursts, as well as accommodate the demands of nitpicky guests right down to custom bed sheet color requests. It's odd that she's so unsupported in a town full of people who will show up at your house with brownies and casseroles if you so much as sneeze. (Is there such a place? I've lived in the US for years and I'm more likely to get shot than ever given a pan of brownies.) When she takes a booking for an unspecified date in the middle of December from a trio of almost-40 (did I mention they're almost 40?) college friends for their annual book club meeting slash girls' getaway trip, things are about to change for all of them.

Erica is a single successful professional who doesn't think she needs a man in her life to be happy, but she's characterized as broken and in need of fixing, so you know the book is setting her up to learn how wrong she is. Her friends keep pushing her to have a more traditional relationship with her NSA FWB "Sexy Jack" (who probably smells like whiskey, leather, and red flags) because how could anything else be fulfilling? She has "daddy issues" because her father abandoned her and her mom 8 minutes after she was born, so of course her life has been bitter and joyless and completely devoid of any softness or fun. But he's not a Bad Guy. He was just a poor frightened lad who bolted from the delivery room, moved to a different continent, and made no attempt to contact them for over a decade, but he felt remorseful about it the whole time (but not remorseful enough to pay child support). The book wants you to know that he was a Good Guy, because he sent a card once and Erica's mom was the big meanie who wouldn't let him drop back into their lives on a whim. He married someone else, had a new baby, and became The Perfect Dad - to Hattie. (But probably not enough of a Good Guy to include Erica in his will.)

Anna is a trad wife and mother to 18 year old twins set to leave for college the following year, and she's struggling to deal with the prospect of an empty nest. I get it - you can celebrate your babies growing up and becoming independent and still feel sad about the swift passage of time and miss having them at home. Anna is married to Perfect Pete (who probably smells like stale coffee, takeout bags, and entitlement). He doesn't want to ruin her week-long girls' book club trip to the hotel, so he has a passive-aggressive phone tantrum while she's away because he's tired of her having silly feelings that aren't centered on him, and if she's sad about the prospect of the kids leaving home she obviously doesn't love HIM. He refuses to say "I love you" back to her, and proceeds to go radio silent for the rest of the week, ignoring all of her calls and texts, which definitely doesn't freak her out or spoil her trip at all. Anna is consumed with guilt for not putting his feelings first, and is worried their marriage is in serious trouble, until at the end of the week she learns that he had perfectly good reasons for giving her the silent treatment - he' wasn't sulking, he's just an incompetent clown. The very first time he attempted to do laundry on his own HE FLOODED THE ENTIRE KITCHEN (note to Brits: American homes don't typically have laundry appliances in the kitchen), and then on a completely different day he LOCKED HIMSELF OUT OF THE HOUSE and couldn't get to his phone. Of course this meant that for the entire week he couldn't call or text her back. (Is she really buying this silly BS? My bet is he spent the week on dating apps pretending to be divorced.) Anyway, she apologizes for being so busy being the only one carrying the load of childcare and domestic labour for all these years that she didn't make him feel special enough, and they both sing the praises of their traditional gender roles and traditional relationship. Cleaning up after Pete for another 40 years sounds like bliss.

Claudia is a chef who is still reeling after being unexpectedly dumped by John, her mediocre live-in boyfriend of 10 years (who probably smells like too much cologne, breath mints, and desperation), and being laid off from her hellish job. She's not sure she can afford the annual trip to see her college BFFs this year, but she's able to make it work. On the day of their arrival, the hotel's chef, who is prone to random fits of rage, assaults the sous chef with a frying pan and drives off into the sunset without even giving 2 weeks notice. Where is the hotel going to find a classically French trained chef who's willing to step in and work for free to fill in for him and save the day? Remy the Rat was not available, so Claudia jumps at the opportunity to spend her vacation working without pay. She brings calm and skillful guidance and some sorely needed sanity to the restaurant, and also rediscovers her love of cooking. (I enjoyed her story arc much more than the others, and I would have liked a whole book about her.) When John predictably calls to try to weasel his way back into her life, she kicks him to the curb and blocks his number, which I loved, but the only thing that bugged me was that she blamed Erica's mom for doing exactly the same thing to her deadbeat dad. Go figure. Anyway, the book club friends spend their vacation week doing free cooking, managing, and babysitting for Hattie, and Hattie pays them back by letting them. It's a win/win/win/win situation.

Based on my long, rambling, occasionally-snarky review, you might get the impression I didn't like the book, which isn't entirely true. In general I enjoyed it, but I didn't like everything about it. The British phrasing was a weird fit, and the characters' identities were mostly defined by their relationships with men (good ones, bad ones, absent ones, and incompetent man babies). But I liked the festive vibes. I liked the friendships between the women. And if I could write my own ending, Erica would tell her friends to back off about "Sexy Jack" and keep him around for casual fun while she keeps living her unapologetic best life, and Anna would tell Pete to grow up and stop whining, and to learn how to be a functional and responsible adult who won't destroy the place every time she goes away. Maybe read Fair Play.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a free advance reader digital copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 stars rounded up for Netgalley. This was a perfectly fine Christmassy book with a bit too sticky sweet of an ending. I don't want holiday turmoil, but a bit less tied up in a perfect bow would be good. All in all, an enjoyable, fluffy read.

I really enjoyed this book so much. It was so touching with the friendships, family, and love. There were some mysteries and great characters. The description of the inn and the little town really made you feel like you were there or you would like to visit it. Thank you so much to Net Galley, the publisher, and Sarah Morgan for the ARC for an honest review.

A heartwarming Christmas story of friendship and hope. I loved the setting and the characters. I wish I could become one of their group. I recommend this story, as I have for other books by Sarah Morgan. She really gets you into the spirit!

This novel was written pretty well. A story about friends and all of their trials and tribulations talking about books and being there for each other. This was my first read by this author and I thought it was super cozy.I liked that it gave moments of hope and friendship and comfort and romance but it was more focused on friendship and you don’t always see that a lot in books. This was an easy read and it was perfect for this time of year with winter and Christmas right around the corner. The only things I didn’t like was each character story was a little much and sometimes hard to follow and I personally love romance and smutty reads so I would’ve loved more of that. If you like books about friendship or holiday reads this is a great read. I was given this book as an arc by Netgalley for my honest review.
#netgalley

This setting was straight out of a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie and I loved the descriptions of the cozy Maple Sugar Inn. This is a lovely story of friendship with a cast of eclectic characters with a side of Christmas romance. As these types of novels usually go, it was a tad cheesy at times and had a too-perfect ending but it is to be expected if you are going to pick up this hot chocolate-type of novel.