The Country Village Christmas Show
by Cathy Lake

A well written book Christmas novel. This is full of beautiful descriptive scenes of the country at the winter season that make you wish you were there.

The story follows Clare returns home home to rebuild her life after her divorce but life is not what she expects. Follow Clare’s journey as she brings together the local community after the village hall is destroyed by a fire which is the hub at festive times.

A book full of lovely characters and of course Goliath the dog what is not to love.

i was really excited to read this book, but it archieved and now i cant download it im now planning on buying the book.

Really enjoyed this book - it had the perfect dose of Christmas and romance within. The characters were also beautifully written and I couldn't say a bad word about any of them.

The Country Village Christmas Show was a Christmas present from my husband and I couldn’t wait to read it. I read it in a week back in January and I am now catching up with reviews. The reason I took a week to read this book was due to the fact I did not want it to end. I absolutely loved it!

I am a countryside girl at heart and this read just took me home. As Cathy described the scenery and the countryside walks that Clare took with the family dog Goliath I could hear the sounds she mentioned and picture the hedge rows, woods and fields. The village could literally have been where I grew up too!

The plot follows Claire as she returns home to village life, to overcome her divorce and to decide what she does next with her life. As Claire settles in to village life again, meeting old friends and villagers she becomes aware that things may not be quite as they seem. There is a little village mystery feel to this story which was an added bonus and as Claire takes on the Christmas Show all will be reviled.

A beautiful book with a countryside setting is the perfect read to bring you home this winter. I loved cosying up with this book. Cathy Lake also writes under the name Darcie Boleyn and I loved her books but writing as Cathy Lake the story is even better and that is a hard thing for me to say as I adored the Conwenna series which I am planning to re-read this summer.

A brilliant story and I believe there is another coming in this series which I am so excited for.

I would like to extend my gratitude to the author, publisher and NetGalley for sending me this advanced reader’s copy in return for a fair, frank, and honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I love anything Christmassy. Story centers around Clare and her second chances at happiness. Characters were very loveable, and I felt like I was part of the village. Definitely a fab book that gives you the warm and fuzzies.

5 stars

Clare finds herself going back to her childhood home after her marriage breaks down. A home without her dad and where her mum who was always difficult and withdrawn waited.
Her mum seems depressed and without much will to live and desperately worries Clare. She used to have so much drive, both in her career and in the shows that were put on in the community centre. But it burnt down years ago and the new one has hardly been used.
As the weeks before Christmas begin and Clare's son Kyle arrives can Clare and her mum build bridges, and find common ground ?
A lovely story set at Christmas but with a lot of focus on the fickle nature of relationships.

I really enjoyed this book! The storyline was unique and not your typical Christmas romance, and the characters were brought to life beautifully and they were all so likeable from the start.
Claire's journey throughout this book is truly moving as she discovers who she truly is, and learns how to love herself, and love others again.
When Sam and Claire's romance really picks up it made my heart soar, both characters had been through so much in their lives, so seeing them adapt and adjust to life as they moved along together was so moving.

I enjoyed this very Christmasy book set in a small village with a range of likeable characters. This one will get you in a Christmas frame of mind.

A brilliant heartwarming family story. Clare is trying to come to terms with her divorce and returns to her family home to be with her mother, unsure what the future holds. Always being a Daddy's girl she finds this hard but to bond but realises that her mother is suffering too. With Goliath her Mum's rather large and uncontrollable dog by her side, she realises what is needed is a bit of community spirit. With the help of her son who has come to stay, the local residents and a dishy vet the newly built community hall is brought to life and with new found romances on the horizon for more than one of the villagers, the sparkle is injected back into village life.

An unputdownable book that will leave you feeling upbeat. Brilliant.

I like the setting (small village with a sense of community, wintery and snowy stuff too). The thing I didn't like is there's no romance as I was told, and what I found is a story about a 40 something divercee woman finding and accepting herself. I loved the family bonding that happened and some of the situations were pretty funny. But overall as an ok book, nothing really interesting happens. Also, it's a bit repetitive. The romance was bland and the conversation between them was robotic, not even a bit natural. Anyway, it was ok but definitely not a romance or something to read as a christmassy book.

When Clare returns to the idyllic country village of Little Bramble she does so with a heavy heart for her marriage is over and whilst it wasn’t a truly happy marriage, facing the uncertainty of life alone in her mid-forties isn’t entirely filling Clare with glee. However, moving back to her childhood home and spending time with her mother gives Clare the chance to start to put her life back together again. She has much to consider in her new life and the author highlights Clare’s very realistic problems and does so with warmth and a natural talent for making her characters feel like ‘real’ people with real life issues.

This is something of a slow burner of a book and it takes a while before everything starts to feel comfortable but once I had the characters firmly fixed in place I started to enjoy the story more. The author explores some interesting relationships, namely that between Clare and her mother, and also that of Clare and her son Kyle, who turns up in Little Bramble, with his own set of problems. Running throughout the book is the burgeoning relationship between Clare and Sam, the local vet, who she in initially meets in a less than perfect situation involving dog poo and a Great Dane called Goliath!

The Country Village Christmas Show is a delightfully entertaining festive story about finding unexpected romance and of being brave enough to take a second chance at love when it’s offered to you.

Claire is going through the break up of her marriage and her son is going to university.
Having to sell the family home Claire decides to move back in with her mum in Little Bramble.
While trying to sort herself out Claire decides to get the community together and do a Christmas show
Her son also helps her as he returns suddenly from university.
This is definitely a book to curl up with.
Thanks NetGalley

The Country Village Christmas Show by Cathy Lake was a great read. This book focuses on the main characters of Clare and Sam, about families and finding yourself and moving on. It left me with lots of Christmas spirit after I had finished it. A great festive treat.

„The Country Village Christmas Show“ introduces us to Clare – recently divorced, as her husband has decided he needs to „find himself“. Losing her job, selling her house, with a son being away at the University, Clare moves back to the village where she grew up. She’s sure it’s not a solution for ever, she only needs to get back on her own feet. However, at home, she starts to notice that her mother is not her old self anymore; her son comes suddenly back with a broken heart; and an absolutely not promising first meeting with a local vet is about to change her fate.

I started reading the book with high expectations – I mean, I really liked the sound of it. However, and rather quickly, I found myself struggling with it. The already highlighted in the title Country Village Christmas Show was mentioned for the first time at a 64% mark and I was already thinking that maybe I’m reading the wrong book? Then, of course, it felt much too rushed, the whole organization or auditions and – and it pains me to say – there was nothing that made it exceptional or different – it was very, very half – hearted.
I also had problems with the characters. Please forgive me but Sam must have been the most boring and uninspiring background character ever. The mood immediately changed when Sam was mentioned, his passages and chapters were filled with unhappiness and gloom. He came across as very passive – aggresive, always moaning about something and all the time having some strange angry outbursts, and I had no idea why.

The book promised community focus, and I love books with community at their heart. Sadly, I didn’t find it so community focused. It was a lovely village, yes, but the characters lived more for themselves, and really, the auditions didn’t have much to do with community, as everything was in Clare and her family’s hand. Meh.

I found this novel too superficial and lacking in storyline – there was not enough plot development to keep me interested and eventually I found myself skipping the text and skim – reading. Sadly. Because there was so much promise but the book simply didn’t deliver. The romance between Clare and Sam is so unbelievable and sudden, this falling in love bit didn’t convince me at all – there was little interaction between them and no chemistry.

The author likes words and to tell – there were many, many descriptions and they were nice but they were leading to nothing – apologies if it sounds harsh but this is how I feel. Still, I’d rather love more of „show“ than the telling. I also had a problem with the dialogues that simply felt unrealistic and lacking in depth and characters’ internal monolouges started to feel repetitive.

It is a story about relationships among a family, about friends and community. I can’t say that it was a romantic feel – good read, like advertised, but nevertheless do not feel put out by me, perhaps you will like it much better than I did – just give it a chance and it might turn out to be your ultimative perfect Christmas read.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bonnier Zaffre and Cathy Lake for my arc of the County Village Christmas Show in exchange for an honest review.

Published: 29th October 2020

The Country Village Christmas Show sees Clare at a crossroads in her life. Recently divorced, made redundant and with her only son off at university she is back living with her own mother in the hamlet of Little Bramble. So when cage finds herself running the village Christmas Show she discovers a purpose for herself again.

I'm sad to say that this book wasn't exactly what I was looking for. I thought it would be a fun festive read but it is fact in places quite the opposite. The character's stories are in fact all quite sad. I also wasn't a fan of the writing style which I found to be a bit overly descriptive and childlike in places. Which is sometimes expected of a debut author. Sadly not for me!

I'd say this was a pleasant, meandering read. I was expecting drama, as often happens in books of this genre, but it was far more gentle. I like the characters and enjoyed the story. It was a story that I could pick up and put down again and that was exactly what was needed.

This is the perfect festive read and really gets you in the mood for Christmas. The story in this was so so good, and I really loved the character Clare. She has just been through so much and we see her start to move on in her life and its exciting and you really just want Clare to get her happy ending.

Honestly when I was reading this I really wished I was there in that little village, the way it is described you can really imagine it well. It sounded like such an exciting place especially with all the festivities.

This is a book that once you pick it up you won’t be able to put down so best get cosy and curl up with this.

I am excited to read more from this author, I love her style of writing and she comes up with the best storylines.

really enjoyed the country village Christmas show, a real feel good festive read full of romance, Christmas cheer and fun! Perfect reading for a wintry night whilst your cuddled up on the sofa.I grew up in a little village community very similar to the book and can totally relate to the community spirit, friendliness and camaraderie that Clare experienced on her return home after her divorce, to be back in familiar surroundings with familiar faces, old friends and the sense of coming home can allow you to recharge/ heal/ mend and begin to live again! Optimism, new beginnings and opening up your heart are central to this lovely read, delightful characters both human and canine, a Christmas show,and cold frosty nights make for an enjoyable read.
Thank you net galley for this early read.

A wonderfully written book. The characters were likeable and you could actually believe the journey they were on. I looked forward to picking up my Kindle and following the exploits of Clare, her Mum Elaine and Son Kyle. I could picture the village of Little Bramble and wanted to move in and help with the Village show. This was my first Cathy Lake book, it won’t be my last.

Lovely book, but not overly festive, by a new author for me. Not too many characters and a lovable Great Dane called Goliath who gets up to mischief on occasions. Claire returns to her childhood home to stay with her mother, following her divorce. She reconnects with Jenny, her best friend from school who finds herself pregnant with twins. Claire also meets the village vet Sam on a few occasions and there are some will they, won't they moments. Beautifully written and I hope this book is a success for Cathy.