You don’t get a lot of Christmassy seaside books as it isn’t generally the place to be in the northern hemisphere with icy gales and lashing rain. So the very title of this book is an invitation to find out more about what is probably going to be a ‘different sort’ of romcom.
And it is! The cupcakes are firmly, and thankfully, behind her – there are way too many cupcakes in chicklit at the moment! – so Tansy is rebuilding her life and recovering from financial and emotional betrayal by her ex. She stumbles into a job with a TV crew that’s filming locally, and this is what throws into the company of Davin.
Irishman Davin is as miserable as a wet Irish week to start with. He takes some warming up to, but we and Tansy persist and eventually discover a nicer but hurting human being within.
A nearby café is in danger of going under and together Tansy and Davin become invested in helping to save it. We expect this of Tansy as she’s proved herself to be a kind, genuine, caring person, but it’s still a bit of a surprise that the seemingly self-centred Davin becomes quite so involved.
There’s fascinating character development, plenty of action, twists in the plot and a happy ending in this feelgood romcom. At times the comedy is almost dark but there was a twinkle in the author’s eye as she wrote it, I imagine, and it all works out the best for everyone – two- and four-legged – in the end!#

Tansy has lost everything, her smart job, flat and boyfriend and has ended up penniless in a camper van on a beach in Dorset...... her only friend Brian the scruffy dog who is determined to adopt her! As there is a TV company on location down there she manages to get some casual work..... looking after the grumpy star Davin! Things might not start off to well between them but if you add Davin's whippet to the mix to befriend Brian things can only get better!

Another lovely book by this author, you know that you are going to be left with a nice warm feeling without the book being too fluffy. I liked both of the main characters, especially Davin..... and Brian of course!

Secrets unveil little by little in this romantic novel, in which romance is not the most important aspect of the characters' relationship.
While moving around the country, Tansy gets to a seaside town where she'll meet new friends who will help her get a new perspective.
I really enjoyed reading this story, filled with real emotions and relatable characters.
Thanks Netgally and the publisher for my copy of this book.

This is just lovely! A real heartwarming Christmas tale set on the Dorset coast. We meet tansy who is a little down in her luck, David who has all the charm in the world - when he wants to and Brian who is dog with a taste for sardines!
Read it with a mug of tea, a warm fire and your pet at your feet!

Christmas Secrets By The Sea is a romantic comedy set in Dorset. This is a cute fun story. No big surprises, but it's enjoyable and entertaining. The characters are loveable and endearing. The story is heart warming and perfect for a little holiday reading. It's a charming romcom Christmas. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

DNF for me. I felt it to be slow and predictable up to what I read. I tried to get into it but could not.

Good old fashioned romance! I really enjoy a British romantic comedy - the witty repartee and the slow building of the romance. This book did not disappoint. I enjoyed watching the characters unfold and the story build to its ending. I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

A really heartwarming and engaging read! As an Irish person I loved the fact that the male lead was played by a traveller. So refreshing and different in these type of books. The character was not your typical one dimension portrayal of travellers. Instead it showed him with much depth and made his story so compelling. I loved that the relationship between the two main characters played out over the entire book and developed at a steady pace.

I've never read anything by Jane Lovering before, but I am going to look out for the name in my library! I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series!

A wonderful story, especially to read during the holiday season as it wasn’t just ‘fluff’. It has a good story line, romance, emotion and was quite heartwarming.

This was a lovely read - it was a little predictable in places, but the characters were well rounded and plausible, and the story kept going at a good pace.

Thanks to NetGalley and Farrago for the opportunity to read this book. All opinions are my own.

This was one of those light Christmas romance reads that ended up being much deeper than I anticipated!

Tansy Merriweather isn’t doing so great. She’s living in an old, broken down caravan in an isolated seaside town, not sure where her next meal is coming from or what her future looks like. She’s a long way from the successful London businesswoman she used to be, living her dream life. To top things off, a scruffy dog has decided she’d make the perfect owner – which is the last thing she needs. Fortunately, Tansy makes friends at a local café on the beach, and manages to find some work to tide her over. Unfortunately, that work involves spending the day with a very grumpy, conceited TV star, Davin O’Riordan. OK, so he’s handsome, but Tansy isn’t quite sure what his fans see in him. Until she spends some time getting to know him…and he starts breaking down some of her emotional barriers…and the two form a special bond. Christmas is fast approaching, and while this may not be the life Tansy imagined or dreamed of, with new friends and a possible romance, maybe this holiday won’t be quite as awful as she feared.

*Sigh* Christmas time, a seaside English town, a brooding Irishman, adorable dogs, romance… This was a charming read, with more depth that I anticipated. Tansy carries quite a few burdens, as does Davin, and parts of the novel were pretty intense. But overall, it was heartwarming and hopeful. The characters were charming and perfectly imperfect. And the setting! I loved the rich descriptions of the Dorset town. 4 festive stars for this one – if this is a genre you gravitate towards, definitely give it a shot!

What a heartwarming and emotional ride this book was! I loved it! The cast of characters were so enjoyable and realistic. I hope to read more of Lovering’s work. Thanks to Farrago and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am a fan of Jane Lovering and always enjoy her writing style, her humour and her quirky characters. This is another great read that warms your heart and entertains with great skill. The characters of Tansy, Davin and all of the people in the novel, along with the dogs, leap off the page and the author, as always, provides a good plot with an uplifting resolution. A wonderful read to cosy up with whether it's Christmas or after. "Christmas Secrets by the Sea" is about the struggles of life and how love can win through. Loved it!

Rescued from Drowning

This book deals with agony and loss and rejection and homelessness and abandonment--and is screamingly funny. Allowing that bad things happen to good people, nonetheless I was laughing out loud long before I was through reading the first chapter. The truly serious bits serve well to bracket the basic facts of life which tend to bathos rather than pathos and can generally be more realistically viewed with mordant wit than 'Sturm und Drang.' Of course it is the latter that informs the former and our author knows just how to twist a phrase to point out the general absurdities of life amidst the every day tragedies which can range from losing ones glasses to losing a beloved.

4 STARS!🤩

I seriously didn't expect THIS. I thought it was going to be some fluffy romance type and not so much deep. But i was completely wrong and i am very happy for it now that i have read it.
So moving on from me. This book is so much more than some sea romance despite what the cover indicates. It's about trust, betrayal, finding your footing again when your whole life turns upside down. It's about friends we find at very unusual moments of life, to trust again, love and to letting go.

I really connected with the characters specifically Tansy. She's so strong! And Davin..my god i am really happy that the author made him this different from the other romance heros. He's so handsome, understanding, emotional and i couldn't just get enough of him. I just completely loved him.

I loved the pace of the story ,the writing, the involvement of the other characters and Yes! The dogs.
So basically i really liked this book cause it's a romance not just about lust. It's a lot more than that. So go for it!
(Arc provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange of an honest review)

A heartwarming and heartwrenching read full of emotion and hope!

This is not a light fluffy Christmas story, this is a book full of emotion and struggle that will take you on a wonderful journey... as you all know I adore a fun festive story, but this book took hold of my heart and did not let go until the bitter end... an emotional ride that will make you smile, make you laugh, make you angry, make you cry, but at the end of the day it will leave you with a warm toasty feeling in your heart.... I truly loved this story from first page to last, I was completely captivated by these characters!

Tansy has lost everything her company, her boyfriend, her beautiful flat... The only thing she has left from her old life is a camper van, so she sets off in her van to temporarily live on the beach...Tansy finds herself in a small village where she befriends the owner of a café and her son, and takes a job as a TV location scout... turns out part of the job is taking care of the grumpy, grouchy, brooding, star Devin... i’m sure you can figure out where this is going? But let me tell you it was so much more than your typical romance, these two characters had some major depth and some major baggage... not to mention two adorable dogs who had a love story of their very own!

This was a very slow burning realistic romance full of angst and misunderstanding... both Tansy and Davin were likable sympathetic characters... both of their backstories were quite heartbreaking, but I loved reading about what made them the people they are today.... The secondary characters added so much charm to the story even the obnoxious vegan actress... this is the first book in the series, and I am really hoping that we will revisit these characters in future books...

Strongly encourage you to pick this up if you are a fan of a well done romance with some depth and emotion💕 don’t let the title fool you, this book can be read any time of the year!

*** many thanks to the author and the publisher for my copy of this book ***

Great book with believable characters. The book has a great plot and great writing. I highly recommend this book. My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my digital arc this is my unbiased review.

This is a fun read, very sweet, and who doesn't like a dog story? It's poignant and just a nice read.

I have read a few of Jane Lovering's books now and I always enjoy the way she uses one liners and non sequiturs to ground her characters and bring them into three dimensional life. This story, deals with Tansy and Davin, two people thrown together by circumstance on a film set on the stormy Dorset coast in winter.
We discover early on these two have pasts which have defined them in different ways and deeply affects their attitude and behaviour. Then there are their two lovely dogs, mutt Brian and the graceful Seelie, both of whom bring their unique personalities into the story.
Tansy has hit a large bump in the road, though her more obvious problems conceal a deeper, more traumatic one, so she was easy to empathise with. Davin wasn’t so transparent and his initial behaviour is so atrocious I wonder why she didn’t just kick him to the curb and move on. We don’t discover Tansy’s pain until almost the end, where the light-hearted humour makes way for an emotional revelation which I defy any reader not to be affected by. Davin keeps his innate sensitivity well hidden but once his past is laid out, it becomes easier to see where he is coming from.
The other characters are equally well written, like single-mum Karen at the café, he permanently hungry sensitive teenager, Rory and the prickly Larch all of whom convey that we shouldn’t take people at first impression. It wasn’t very festive, but I read it at Christmas so that helped, and a storm lashed Dorset coast is pretty characteristic for December.

I didn’t get far with this book. The sentences are really long and over-descriptive, and because of this I struggled to concentrate on the story and get involved in it.