A lovely story. Jane is an award winning journalist, but her boyfriend Simon, a journalist with the same magazine, felt neglected while she was working so hard on her major story, and left her. She is terribly upset and unable to settle at work, so her editor gives her an assignment to give her a break In routine, she has to go to Norway with a group of journalist from other publications, to join in with the selection of the Queen if the Forest, the giant Christmas tree that Norway sends to England each year in grateful thanks for all their help during the war, when England provided a haven for King Haakon and his government when Germany overran the country and demanded the puppet leader Quisling was put in place to run the country. Jane is horrified at the assignment, but she is made to go, along with Ben, a photographer who works for the same magazine. They don’t know each other well, Ben’s assignments take him out of the country for weeks at a time.

The journalists receive first class treatment throughout and Jane is starting to enjoy herself. They are accompanied by a very charming, very old man, Thomas Erikson, a famous war hero.. Jane notices that he seems troubled about something, and one evening they start chatting. He tells her a story, and asks her to do something for him. He wants her to go to a place in the forest a few hours away, and find something g for him., she will be in trouble with the tour organiser for missing the day’s activities, but she wants to help, so she agrees to go. Another journalist and television personality, recently embroiled in a huge scandal, Philip, meets her as she is sneaking out of the hotel and agrees to take her. They find what Thomas is looking for but Philip is a very unreliable bloke, and they run out of petrol on the way back, and have to be rescued. This is not the only time that he lets Jane down! Thomas shares the find with Jane, and Ben as he is Norwegian and can translate. It appears to be a very romantic and one-sided love affair, and Thomas is eager for Jane to find Marit and tell her story.

Lots of things go awry on the rest of this trip, there are moments of high drama, and some very funny moments as well. Everything goes badly wrong for Jane, but luckily some of the others help her sort everything out. She manages to please her editor with a very special story for the Christmas edition of the magazine, which is, of course Marit’s story; and we end with a very happy ever after which definitely has the aah! factor. A delight to read.

I have never read this author before, but thoroughly enjoyed it. The setting was beautifully described and very festive. The story was heartwarming with humour, romance and mystery. Lovely read.

Brilliant. I didn’t quite know what to expect. An interesting story line with brilliant, believable characters. Thoroughly enjoyable.

The traditional Christmas tree gift from Norway to Britain, what's the history?
A group of journalists and bloggers are sent out to report on the story of how the tree is chosen.
How will all of the people get on will reputations get the better of people?
Broken hearts, secrets and hidden agendas come to the forefront of this book.
It had me hooked from the start and my mind was over thinking everything. A great read.

Never too early to start reading Christmas books in my opinion! I found the descriptions of Norwegian festive traditions fascinating and the two intertwined stories from the present day and during the 2nd World War were both relatable and heartwarming. The late plot twist was a surprise to me, great to read about a strong, daring female character in wartime though. Would start your December reading off with a smile.

I loved this book. The writing was so descriptive I thought it was actually the season of good hope. A lovely, romantic, light read that I'll no doubt read over the festive period.

Norway in November, partly London, The descriptions given are great and you can picture where you would be, this has been so well written. from the first page I was hooked. This is a Christmas tale at its best, Read this and then buy it for a friend, it really is well worth it. I highly recommend owning this novel.

A nice story but I felt it rather dragged in places and Jane was rather bland, I struggled to see what all these men found attractive about her.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

A Christmas romance. A nice easy read for the Christmas period. Not a straight forward romance as I was not sure who I was supposed to champion and who was the goodie and who was the baddie but then all becomes clear. A warm, cosy romance, set in Norway, for your Christmas break.

A romantic Christmas story that is so much more than the usual cosy offerings . The story about why Norway gifts a tree to the United Kingdom each year and how it is chosen plus the Christmas customs means Norway, particulary a forest, is now on my bucket list .
Jane ,an ambitious journalist who has just broken the story of the year and subsequently been dumped by her fellow journalist boyfriend,is sent to Norway by her editor to cover the cutting down ceremony of the tree for London . The trip is a luxury all expenses paid jaunt for journalists , Instagram bloggers and a couple of celebrities. Jane is not happy at being sent on what she regards as a non story about Christmas which she hates . However, she soon finds herself embroiled in a mystery dating back to World War 2 , when she strikes up a conversation with Thomas Erikson,listed as a VIP guest . Meanwhile Philip Donnelly ,a washed up reality tv star who considers himself to be a VIP is also causing a stir ,good looking but arrogant he sets hearts fluttering .
I found the story of Thomas and events fifty years ago a nice counterbalance to the almost chick lit story of the trip . A lovely book to read informative and entertaining ,I loved it

Jane is an award winning journalist, dumped by her boyfriend for being too successful. Her editor sends her on a luxury trip to Norway to watch the felling of the Christmas tree that they send to London every year as thanks for the sanctuary given to the Norwegian government in exile during WW2. There she meets Thomas, a man who helped the King escape and hears his story.

There was lots of description in this book, some of it very good. The Norwegian forest in winter, the luxury hotels she was taken to, the endless plates of food. Unfortunately the plot and characterisation don't live up to this. Not much happens. Jane meets a man, there's another man, she's let down by one of them. Who will she end up with? So far so cliched romance. But it is the characterisation that really lets the book down. For a career woman Jane has a surprising lack of personality. Her two love interests could come from any romance novel. The only thing of any interest is the war story of Thomas but this is given far too little prominence in the novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC,

A sweet story. Not so much a mystery at all, more of a lovely, light, festive modern day romance. A slow burn book that ticks lots of lovely festive boxes. I now want to go to Norway!

I loved this book, telling of the Norwegian king who escaped in the war, by a modern day story through the eyes of the soldier who helped him escape. The end of the story is unique and totally unexpected but coupled with a romance that I couldn’t wait to happen.
The end bought a tear to my eye and I couldn’t put the book down until I was able to finish it. First class

Just what is required near Christmas. A book about snow, love and a Christmas tree, oh, and a spy story thrown in for good measure..
I loved the mixture of old and new, Christmas trees and Instagram, 1940s and current times.
A beautifully crafted story, with believable characters.

A lovely read with a story line to keep you interested and wonderful characterisation. A slow start but once it got into its stride I was hooked. Sometimes all you want is a good simple read that just makes you feel good and this fits the bill perfectly.
I would definitely recommend this one.

A sweet, warm-hearted story. Yes, it is full of cliche, but the characters are interesting, and the location in Norway makes things a bit more interesting. The secondary story of Thomas and his activities during the war elevates this above the usual light=hearted romantic fiction.

This is an easy undemanding read, a pleasant enough romantic story, ideal holiday reading.

Jane is an award winning journalist, recovering from a failed office romance, so takes the chance to escape the inevitable workplace gossip. She is sent on a trip to Norway to report on the selection and cutting of the huge Nordic fir tree which is gifted to a London every year, in thanks for the assistance given to Norway by Britain during the Second World War. She is part of a Press group, including a photographer colleague Ben, three young ‘influencers’ and a playboy ex-journalist, Philip, who has been on a tv series. There is also the very strong character of Natasha, the organiser of the trip, whom Jane is in awe of, for some reason.

The descriptions of Norway, and the sumptuous hotels and lodges that the group use, are beautifully described, and summon up a picture of snowy, Christmassy typically Norwegian scenes.

However it is all too predictable, to the point of being cliched, and the characters come across as two dimensional people. I had a real problem with Jane, as I find it hard to believe that such an accomplished and sought after journalist would be so hapless and immature, making so many unwise decisions and always needing someone around to help her out of difficulty, or advise her on what she should do, and even choose her clothes for her. I found her irritating and not at all convincing.

The story of the elderly man Thomas and his background involvement in the Second World War as a young Norwegian soldier, is brought into the book far too late for his and Marin’s story to be adequately told and to be satisfactorily resolved by the end. Their intriguing story was left unexplored, sadly.

There was a whole other book here, and I feel so cheated that their story was skimmed over, and then was very neatly and predictably wrapped up in the closing chapters.


My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my advance copy of this book.

A lovely easy read with likeable characters. Two interesting stories running alongside each other with a small twist at the end.. Some lovely scenic descriptions and even reading it in summer did not detract from the Christmas feel. Made me wNt to know more about the history behind the story.

Thank you to net galley for kindly sending me a free kindle copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

I enjoyed this one. It was a nice and easy read and I liked the characters. Nothing remarkable happened but sometimes it’s nice most to have a nice and steady read.

Sometimes a book takes you by surprise like an unexpected gift. A Gift in December is one of those books. Charming, beautifully written and like the best hot chocolate on a cold day. The descriptions of Norway including husky sled rides, the glass boxes on stilts in the forest, the twinkling lights in the dusky darkness all made me want to book a flight to spend Christmas there.

The story begins in 1940 in Nybergslund, Norway as a young soldier prepares to begin to get King Haakon out of Norway through the forests and into the mountains. King Haakon, refusing to capitulate to the Nazi's demands has no choice but to escape before the relentless bombing of his country begins.

We then fast forward to 2017, and meet Jane Brook, heartbroken, lost and dreading spending Christmas alone. She's a journalist and is being sent to Norway to cover the annual gifting of the Christmas tree - 'Queen of the Forest', gifted by Oslo to London in 'gratitude for its assistance during WWII. Amongst others accompanying Jane on the trip is Ben, a freelance photographer, Phillip Donnelly, a reality TV 'celeb' and journalis,t and Thomas Erikson, who is the guest of honour at the tree cutting ceremony. Thomas gives a beautiful speech at the ceremony, "One cannot be sentimental about the past. In fact, one must not be so...that is a dangerous road. And yet I think that traditions give us something valuable. They remind us of who we are, deep down".

Jane talks to Thomas and learns he was the young soldier who helped the King escape Nazi occupation. He asks Jane to help him with finding a young lady - Marit - who was the guide tasked with giving him the best route out of the forest. They spend one night together in 1940, and she wrote letters to him in London before they lost touch. He returned to Nybergsund after the war ended to try to find her but nobody had heard of her. He hides her letters in the chimney breast of the cottage they stayed at in case she should ever return.

Jane takes on the challenge and with Phillip she goes to the cottage and finds the letters. Ben who is from Norway translates the letters and Jane wonders why Thomas never wrote back. Thomas asks her to try to find Marit and eventually she tracks down her family. She was in fact called Margaret Elton, and she became a photojournalist travelling the world.

After a near fatal accident on a skiing trip, Jane returns to London and re-evaluates her life. She decides she's had enough of living a safe life and takes a job working for the Washington Post. At the tree lighting ceremony in Trafalgar Square, she is reunited with Ben and learns that Thomas has died, but has left her a letter asking her to write Marit's story. Jane has discovered that there was far more to Marit's story than helping Thomas out of the forest. She was in fact a spy and was able to smuggle out valuable information in her letters. Thomas and Marit's story has a massive effect on Jane, and she realises that during the trip she has developed feelings for Ben, which are reciprocated. In Thomas's final letter to her, he tells her, 'Love is not worth waiting for. Grab it with both hands'. And so, she does. Heart-felt and inspiring, A Gift in December is a gorgeous read.