“When Jenny inherits her estranged grandmother’s cottage in Sherwood Forest, she has nothing to lose – no money, no job, no friends, no family to speak of, and zero self-respect. Things can only get better…. 

Her grumpy but decidedly handsome new neighbour, Mack, has a habit of bestowing unsolicited good deeds on her. And when Jenny is welcomed into a rather unusual book club, life seems to finally be getting more interesting.  

Instead of reading, the members pledge to complete individual challenges before Christmas: from finding new love and learning to bake to completing a daredevil bucket list. Jenny can’t resist joining in, and soon a year of friendship and laughter, tears and regrets unfolds in the most unexpected ways.”

I always love a Christmas feel-good film or book during the festive season, so couldn’t wait to listen to this when I found it on Audible. It was the traditional festive tale, with Jenny moving to a new area after love has gone wrong and making new friends to have adventures with after arriving. Obviously, not everything runs smoothly and there are some funny – and emotional – highs and lows along the way.

I enjoyed the story on the whole, and there were enough twists and surprises to counter the typical predictability of this genre of book. I did find myself rolling my eyes at some of Jenny’s reactions and she slightly irritated me at times – she seemed wilfully ignorant and ignoring what was right in front of her to feel sorry for herself. However, the ending redeemed it all and I enjoyed the friendships she developed as she found her feet in the village.

If you want a feel-good festive read, you can buy your copy here.

Emily x