Oh my goodness this was such a perfect Christmassy book! I have read all books in this series and I must say that this one has been my favourite.
In this one we meet Lily who is badly in need of a new start and so she moves to Shipley. In trying to fit in she
invites along celebrity Ollie to judge the Christmas lights competition. Ollie shows up with his cameraman to try and salvage his career. He is absolutely hilarious and causes her so much hassle in the process!

The perfect Christmassy story that will have you smiling throughout!

While it took me a few pages to get into Karen Clarke’s The Beachside Christmas, once I did I had a very enjoyable time reading about the eccentric characters of Shipley, a fictional seaside town in Dorset.

Lily leaves London for Shipley because of the wonderful holidays her family used to have there when she was young and because those memories involve her beloved Dad who died three years earlier. Also, as a result of a bad relationship and an embarrassing altercation, Lily feels like she needs to start over.

Because she wants to ingratiate herself to her neighbors, she volunteers to find a celebrity for the Christmas lights celebration. Her best friend, Erin, a talent agent, recommends Ollie, an actor who was made somewhat famous by a reality tv series, but who had gotten booted off when he hit someone. He’s hoping to redeem himself.

Ollie is handsome and charming and Lily is attracted until she gets to know Ollie better and realizes he’s a bit of a goof.

The Beachside Christmas is just the sort of book to start the holiday season with. It’s extremely funny, but sweet, a feel good romantic comedy.

Lily is a nice woman who goes out of her way to make people like her, which includes buying an odd assortment of expensive delicacies she doesn’t know what to do with when she’s told Ollie (rather posh and schooled at Eton) is going to be staying with her. Craig comes across as a tough nut at the beginning, but the reader soon realizes he’s a nice, sensible guy, loyal with good values, and steady. No characters are over-the-top mean and even the ones who seem a bit sharp initially are softened over time. Most are fully developed characters.

Even the magical, life-saving cat, Marmite, is a fully developed, if still enigmatic, character.

While I understand that this is part of a series, it wasn’t obvious. This can very much be read as a standalone novel.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I saw the cover of this book and just had to find out more. i loved it. The description made it sound like the perfect Christmas read. Im glad to say i was not disappointed in the slightest. I loved the book. It was a lovely seasonal feel good book. The characters were all unique in there own way. Lily just sounded lovely. One of these lovely people you would just love in real life. When she arranges for a reality star to come and switch on the christmas lights in her new town things dont run smoothly. There are ups and downs and few laughs along the way. It was really enjoyable to read.

This book had me laughing from page 1. The story was light, funny, warming and LOL all the way through. You can just imagine the town and the people in it being real and Lily is just too funny!!! I cannot recommend this book enough. My sister and mum are waiting for It to be released.

Another trip to the village of Shipley. Whilst this book was fun, it was a little more predictable than other books in the series. With a good cast of characters - including the Christmas Lights gang and the visitors - Ollie, Erin and Craig - the story revolves around Lily who has fled to Shipley for a fresh start.

Humorous and realistic, this is a warm and cosy tale to snuggle up with. My only disappointment was that the previous characters from Shipley didn't have bigger roles in this book.

An enjoyable read 4*

I unfortunately was not a big fan of this book. I am not sure if it was the spelling errors (translated from another language to English) or just the time it took to "set up" the characters. I did not finish the book so it may get better as the book goes along.

Having adored both of the previous Beachside books I was so excited to read this one! Excited enough that I read a Christmas book... In September. (See latest blog post on my unhappiness of Christmas this early!). I finished this one in less than a day but I wasn't quite as in to this one as any of the others. I still loved the writing style - it was easy and enjoyable to read. I loved the Christmas light displays and the cozy feeling that the book brought. It didn't give me a 'festive' feeling but it probably would have if I'd read it a little closer to the day! There really was nothing wrong with the book or story at all, I just didn't enjoy it quite as much as the other two and I felt a little bit let down. However I'm still hoping that there will be another in the series - I'm sure Shipley has more than a few stories left and I can't wait to read any others!

Being an old yank from across the pond, I didn't have look up much of the Brit jargon. This story is tale of reality that men are cheats, liars, immature, handsome, hot, jerks, who can always surprise some of us when the time is right. Cute story. For a chic lit read the cast and sub plots were overwhelming. The theme was good, so I allowed myself overlook characters to keep straight who was who and why do I want to know them so I could complete the book. I am glad I did. Either you will love the book or toss, we all read differently. Happy Christmas.

I don't know about you but I love a good Christmas light display. I know its getting towards Christmas properly when driving about, you see neighbours and strangers houses all lit up for Christmas.

So when you give me a book that features a Christmas lights competition (and I'm talking outdoor lights and decorations), by an author that I love, set in Shipley, which I have enjoyed from two other books earlier this year, and you have a sure fire winner of a book for me.

This was a book that had me smiling early on in the book, and had me properly laughing once Ollie had been introduced. He is s shamed reality TV star, who has been persuaded to come to Shipley to judge the lights competition. He brings along Craig the camera man in the hope he can get a new one man show commissioned.

Lily on the other hand has just moved to Shipley, is trying to make friends with her new neighbours, and attempting to embark on a new career as a novelist. Previously a primary school teacher, her attempts at starting to write a novel, when she hasn't even decided a genre or direction will probably make established authors either cringe or laugh in recognition.

I loved being back in Shipley and felt right at home with the book and author's writing style from the opening chapters. Yet you don't have to have read the two previous books as this easily works as a standalone novel.

Ollie's madcap antics were a fabulous tonic, completely believable but at the same time, I was rolling my eyes at him being a smooth talker, while being seduced by his charm! Craig his cameraman is completely different, a lot quieter, but brings a more down to earth quality to the story. He is constantly there and seems to act as Ollie's babysitter at times!

The Beachside Christmas is a light hearted, fun, easy to read story that will have you giggling, while also wishing your own house has far more Christmas lights!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Bookouture for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I absolutely love Christmas/wintery books where I can cozy up and get sucked into the story. Lily is a totally relatable character and I loved the shenanigans she ended up getting sucked into with Ollie. The neighbors are absolutely crazy, but I enjoyed each of their back stories. The love interest in the book was adorable! I just wish there was more to their story! Shipley definitely seems like it would be a place I'd love to visit during Christmas!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers, Bookouture for this review copy which was provided in exchange for an honest review. Also thanks to Kim for organising the Blog Blitz Tour and allowing me to be part of this.

This is the 3rd book in the Beachside series. You don’t need to have read the other books before this one, and it can be read as a standalone.

We meet Lily Ambrose. She needs a fresh start from her job as a teacher after unknowingly dating the dad of one of her pupils and being ‘outed’ by his, what she thought, ex-wife! She decides to move to the seaside town of Shipley, the setting for the other two books. She moves into the house that was previously occupied by Isabel Sinclair – if you’ve read the other books, you’ll remember her as the one who tried to get the local sweet shop closed down! Trying to integrate herself into the local community, she offers to find a local celebrity to judge the best Christmas decorations competition and to turn on Christmas tree lights. Luckily, thanks to her Celebrity Agent friend, she manages to get Ollie Matheson, an ex-reality show star, to do the honours! He turns up with his cameraman Craig in tow, planning on staying at Lily’s house and also planning to film his time there for a new show! Unfortunately, things don’t go to plan, and Ollie ends up annoying the vast majority of the town. He also thinks that if he gets himself a ‘normal’ girlfriend, it will make great viewing! Can Lily fend of his advances and keep his mind on the job he came for??

I love this series, and have read the other two books. Karen Clarke has such a knack for writing hilariously funny one-liners. I have lost track whilst reading this how many times I’ve laughed out loud, and on a couple of occasions I’ve nearly spat out the drink I was having at the time! Familiar characters are back – I just love Doris Day! – and Lily’s character is lovely, although the vision of her drunk, topless and trying to wrestle a chicken leg from a cat’s mouth is one I need to forget quickly! I also love how Lily, being a teacher, will not swear but substitutes swear words with something else – “crabsticks”, “son of a banana” and “holy shirtsleeves” being a few examples!

This is a fabulous book!! It has more innuendos than a Carry On film!! If you are looking for a light hearted, funny, easy Christmassy read, then this is definitely the book you need! Saying that, just because it’s a Christmas book doesn’t mean you can’t read throughout the whole year!

Five Stars!

What I love about this authors books is that the Beachside books are part of a series but are all standalone stories. Each book introduces us to new characters with the odd reappearance from characters in previous novels but as their roles in this one are so low key, it really doesn't matter if you haven't had the chance to read the others, but I do highly recommend doing so as they are fabulous books.

I was quite envious of Lily uping sticks and moving to the fabulous little community. Winter is always a magical time and the street that she moves into with all the Christmas lights really stood out in my head.

As soon as Ollie comes on the scene the story turns into quite a comical one. The poor guy gets quite a hard time from being on a reality show and it certainly isn't long before he wins us readers over.

The Beachside Christmas is a fun and heartwarming read that had me feeling all toasty inside. With another great cast of characters, without a doubt, Karen Clarke has become one of my must read authors and is one I can rely on to cheer me up and chase those bad old blues away.

This is really fun filled book and full of Christmas and all that goes with it. Perfect Christmas read and you just wanted to read more. Lily needs a fresh start and she had has happy memories of seaside village Shipley so perfect place for a cost Christmas getaway. She wants to make friends with everyone so promises to find a celebrity to turn the Christmas lights on. Does this work out as she plans and can she settle in to the village. Ollie turns up and stays with her and can he with his cameraman as they plan to make a tv show but do things go to plan or does it go wrong. This is a perfect Christmas read and so enjoyable.