A wonderful festive story with a heartfelt message. A lasting friendship of Greta and Bea from their childhoods in Vienna to present day. It demonstrates the value of keeping in touch. Sophie and Jennie have backgrounds that distress them but through the medium of Greta and Bea meet their pasts head on
Wonderful character portrayal

This is a heartwarming story about two friends writing letters to each other throughout their lives; but it is also about family rifts, forgiveness and seeing the good and bad in each other.
The setting was mainly in Vienna, and it certainly made me want to visit this city, especially at Christmas..
it took me a little while to become invested in the story and to relate to the characters, but eventually I took the bait and became hooked.
This festive story brings the elements of Christmas together, family, forgiveness, friends, giving, love and hope for the future.

This was not your typical Christmas story!

It was emotional and raw and a joy to read.

When Sophie, a carer in a residential home in London is faced with the loss of Bea, a kind-hearted resident who she has been helping write letters to her dear friend in Vienna every Christmas. she is devastated knowing she never had chance to send this years letter.

When she comes across a letter that Bea had left in her wake, she is expecting it to be for her friend Greta... but instead it is addressed to Sophie, telling her to go to Austria herself.
On a journey filled with love, dilemmas and secrets, Sophie makes her way to find Greta and deliver her her final letter from her departed friend.... but what she was not expecting was the trip to change her life in ways she never seen coming!

This was my first read by Helen Rolfe and It was a beautiful little book! I will definitely be adding some of her other books to my reading list!

This book has left me so emotional, my emotions were all over the place, lol. I love the unbreakable bond, family, friends, there is a mix of love and loss, and found family. I seriously enjoyed this one. Beware when reading this book, eyes might end up running uncontrollably. ADORED this book.

Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Care assistant Sophie loves the holidays, and nothing makes her feel more festive than helping eighty-two year old Bea keep in touch with her old friend Greta. In their Christmas letters, the women update wach other on their lives - Bea's in the quiet residential care home, Greta's in the heart of Vienna and the grand Wynter Hotel. But everything changes when Bea passes away before Sophie's has a chance to post this year's letter. Devastated, Sophie struggles to imagine this Christmas without her dear friend. But then Sophie one last note from Bea - and this time, it's not addressed to Greta. It's to Sophie, telling her to go to Austria.

With lovely well-developed characters, this book would make a good choice for a stocking filler. Bea and Greta have been best friends forever. Bea is in residential care, while Greta lives in Vienna. They send letters to each other every Christmas. Sophie cares for Bea in the home, and she will do anything she can to help Bea.

This is an emotional read, it tells us of love and loss. It has been beautifully written This is not yhour typical type of Christmas story.

Published 24th August 2025

I would like to thank #NetGalley #BoldwoodBooks and the author #HelenRolfe for my ARC of #SoThisIsCristmas in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed So This is Christmas. One of the things I really loved and I thought were done so well were the settings and descriptions. Especially Vienna - you felt like you were there. Walking through the Christmas markets. For a book on the shorter side this did feel a little long in some areas. I really hated the Amber character and how that storyline ultimately played out. It felt a little contrived. I loved the main characters and their relationship dynamics. Walter was clearly the star of the show. And the relationships that formed from him were a real treat.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood books for the chance to read this book . I loved it. A good easy Christmas read by Helen who bring you great characters in Bea and Greta .
I liked it because they are more mature characters but until death strikes it brings it down to the relationships you had in life.
A good feel good Christmas read , worth a read.

Sophie loves Christmas a resident in her care home Bea is lovely and she corresponds either friend in Vienna all the time. But then life hits and Bea passes before Sophie has the chance to post her latest letter, she finds a note and Bea wants her to visit Vienna.
She embarks in her journey to meet Beas best friend, but will thus Christmas be different for her..
Enjoyed this festive read by an accomplished author.

So This Is Christmas is a heartwarming look at Christmas through the eyes of two firm friends living far apart who have continued their Christmas tradition of sending each other a letter every year for the past fifty years.
Greta and Bea have been friends for most of their adult lives, meeting in Vienna as young women and then through their married lives living close to each other in Britain, before Walter and Greta returned home to her beloved Vienna.
Now both elderly ladies, Sophie, a care assistant at Tapestry Lodge writes and posts Bea’s letters and reads Greta’s to her. They have all become firm friends over the past four years.
Sadly, Bea passes just before Christmas and Sophie discovers she has been left a bequest by Bea, with the instructions to visit Vienna at Christmas. After a series of disastrous events Sophie decides to go and spend the Christmas season in Vienna and explore all the many wonderful things she has been told about by Bea and Greta.
As Sophie relaxes into enjoying Vienna, meets up with the delightful Walter, Greta’s husband, their son Nick and adopted daughter Jennie she begins to feel that finally she has found a family who understand family; something she has always wanted but never had.
But things do not go according to plan as Sophie’s past is on a direct collision with Jennies and when it is revelled to them both in the most horrific manner, she is devastated, fleeing back England heartbroken and shattered.
Can life ever change for her is the question she asks herself as she mourns the loss of a new love, a budding family and faces a bleak future. She realises she has to decide as to how she wants to lead her life and once this is done, she feels considerably better.
But the season of good will and glad tidings is not finished with her as she finally has to accept that understanding is healing and the future is bright with the man you love and who loves you.

Sophie has helped Bea write Christmas letters to her friend Greta in Vienna for many years. This Christmas holds many surprises for everyone.
This was a quick book. It has wonderful characters and some unexpected surprises. You won’t be able to put it down.

This feel good story touched on friendship that survives decides, a reminder that everyone has a past, happiness and forgiveness are choices, and Family doesn’t have to be blood. But add in the charm of Vienna at Christmas, blossoming friendships and budding romance. This book was so touching!

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood books for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This book was created to be devoured in a few sittings as possible. All of the characters were so beautifully written, you feel as if you really know them through Rolfe’s words. The twists and turns had me hooked and the character of Amber was so despicable that I felt angry for Sophie and the Wynter’s. Vienna is now on my list of places to visit, it was depicted so beautifully. I could have carried on reading about these lovely characters so much longer. Thanks netgalley for a lovely read.

4.5★s

Bea and Greta had been best friends for a lifetime; both originally from Vienna, now Bea's home was in London while Greta's was in Vienna. The two friends sent letters to one another all the time, but the tradition of their Christmas letters never stopped. Bea, now in her eighties, resided in a care home with kind, compassionate and caring Sophie doing all she could for Bea. With her eyesight failing, Sophie wrote the latest Christmas letter with Bea dictating. The letter was finished, ready for Sophie to post, when Bea quietly passed away overnight. Sophie was shattered.

Greta & Walter lived their lives in Vienna, with their son Nick managing the Wynter hotel and Jennie working there as housekeeping manager. Jennie had a traumatic past which she told no one but her adopted family - Greta, Walter & Nick. With Christmas almost upon them, the decorations around Vienna lit up everyone's lives; the snow flurries making it cold but authentic. When a stranger knocked on Walter's door, and he recognised Sophie, he was shocked but delighted. What happened in the next few days changed lives in a big way...

So This is Christmas is my first read of Helen Rolfe's and I enjoyed it very much. Greta and Bea's close friendship was heartwarming; Sophie and Jennie's connection with the families pretty special. Set in both London and Vienna, I found it a beautiful read, moving, poignant and uplifting. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley & Boldwood Books for my digital ARC to read and review.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this beautiful story.

Greta and Bea, both have known each other and been friends for a long time. They write to each, and every year they exchange Christmas letters.

As Bea doesn’t have family, she lives in a residential home and Sophie, a care assistant Sophie is someone who is like family to her.

Greta, with her Walter, her husband lives a long way away in Vienna. They both used to own hotels during their lives until now.

Bea and Greta have been trying to get Sophie over to Vienna for a long time. When Bea passes away, Sophie eventually goes to Vienna to deliver Bea’s last letter and the sad news to Greta and Walter.

But, what she didn’t expect to find was the way this visit would change her life and the surprises in store.

I loved how the stories of all the characters are linked throughout the story.

The story was about family, friendships and the connections that are made that can’t be broken.

I highly recommend this book.

This is a fairly slow-paced, but heartwarming Christmas story, set in England and Vienna. The author swaps the points of view of the main characters, which makes the storytelling more interesting. There are some unexpected twists in the story that surprised me. This book also made me reflect upon how childhood traumas can inflict lifelong wounds on people. I can recommend this novel to anyone who likes warm Christmas stories with great characters and a beautiful setting.

This is a tender, multi-generational tale that celebrates the enduring power of friendship, the lost art of letter-writing, and the quiet magic of human connection.

The story begins decades ago with Greta and Bea, two friends who left Vienna for England and began exchanging heartfelt letters — a tradition that grew into yearly “Christmas newsletter” updates. More than fifty years later, Greta is back in Vienna with her husband Walter, and Bea is in an English care home, yet their correspondence remains a lifeline for them both.

As age and failing eyesight make writing harder, others step in to help — Sophie, Bea’s devoted care home assistant who feels more like family, and in Vienna, Walter, their son Nick, and Jennie, a woman as close as an adopted daughter. When circumstances send Sophie to Vienna on Bea’s behalf, she discovers truths and connections that are both heartwarming and bittersweet. Greta and Bea’s lifelong friendship is portrayed with warmth and authenticity, and the relationships that branch from it — spanning generations and crossing countries — remind us how kindness can ripple outward, touching unexpected lives.

This is more than just a festive read; it’s a love letter to enduring bonds, old-fashioned correspondence, and the ways people can become each other’s chosen family.

So This Is Christmas is a touching festive read about lifelong friends, heartfelt letters, and the magic of Vienna at Christmastime. When Sophie sets out to deliver Bea’s final letter to her best friend Greta, she discovers friendship, hope, and a city full of wonder. Warm characters, a beautiful setting, and a message that lingers—perfect for fans of heartfelt holiday stories.

Such a quick and heartwarming read that is perfect for Christmas time! Told from 2 POVs Sophie and Jennie are connected by grief and loss and reading about their journeys that brought them together, was so sweet and good. This is going to be released towards the end of August and will be the perfect winter read! Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for my digital ARC!

If you were to look up cosy Christmas fiction in the dictionary I'm almost certain you would find a copy of this book - delightful writing with gorgeous characters, I adored it!

At the start, we are introduced to Bea and Greta, two long-time friends who continue to correspond over decades via letters, despite being separated by distance. Bea is assisted by Sophie who is the care assistant who bonds with her beyond the workplace norm.

One day, Sophie decides to visit Vienna where Greta is. The trip truly makes me wish I could visit Austria someday. I could envision how beautiful and lovely it was especially with the Christmas atmosphere .

As the story progresses, a twist is soon revealed and I definitely did not see this coming. Overall, it was a little too slow paced for me, with the pace picking up only after Sophie is in Vienna. There were too many different point of views too, and honestly, I don’t think we needed Amber’s.