Snowbound At The Manor is such a light-hearted, warm, giant hug in the form of a book! We all need a good soppy, romance now and again, and this one was just that. Absolutely perfect. The two leading characters were immediately likeable, even loveable, with their pasts leaving them broken, yet the urge for love and passion was exuding all around them. I really loved watching the two connect and have a little fun, whilst managing Jessica's best friends social media account, in an attempt to gain attraction to the Manor. It's always nice to have a little bit of fun, however, when attraction becomes involved not only physically, but emotionally, it's hard to know where to draw the line. I found the ending so sweet and the perfect happy ending for Jessica and Rufus. This is my first read of Ellie's and I would happily take the time to read more of her work.

I don’t even care that it’s only October and I’m cracking out the festive reads. I, lover of Christmas and all things festive, have turned into the Grinch and one is not amused. So going on the fact that I love a snowbound romance and this one takes place in Yorkshire, in I went.

“Whatever plans she’d had for the house this weekend, he was sure that he didn’t feature in them.”

This was a great introduction to Ellie Darkins’ writing as she whisks us off to the Yorkshire Dales where scientist, Jess opens the door of her home for the holidays to discover a gorgeous hypothermic Yorkshireman in a heap on the doorstep. And what a wonderful couple she and Rufus turned out to be, real, relatable and with a chemistry that’s impossible to ignore.

“It was just the two of them. In the place he loved most in the world...”

Whilst closed-door, the tension and desire between Jess and Rufus shines with logfires and the beauty of an old but welcoming manor house all adding to the romantic charm of this story. An engaging read reminding you that even in less than perfect circumstances Christmas can be special, Snowbound at the Manor is worthy of a space on any festive-season lover’s shelf. I’ve already treated myself to several more of Ellie Darkins’ books.

4.25 stars

Jess finds herself stranded at a manor house that she and her friend Lara were meant to be staying at on the run up to Christmas. Lara is unable to get to the manor as her flight is cancelled and while Jess is trying to figure out what she is going to do, a man turns up at her door nearly frozen to death.

After taking him in and getting him warm she discovers that he is the owner of the manor, and he had asked Lara to stay so she could help promote the manor on her Instagram to try and increase the level of business. Without Lara there his plans seem to be fading as quick as the snow is falling. Never one to let someone down Lara and Jess hatch a plan for Rufus to get the social media coverage he was hoping for, falling in love wasn’t in the plan for either of them.

Rufus feels he doesn’t deserve it, and shouldn’t be given the responsibility of looking after someone, where as Jess has had to deal with her parents being stuck in an unhappy marriage since the death of her sister years before. Both feel that the risks involved in falling in love are not worth it, but they can’t deny their attraction.

This was a nice Christmassy read and on the whole I enjoyed it. There were parts of the story that seemed to be a bit repetitive but not to the level where I switched off from the story. There was a lot of build up to them getting together, and the time they spent at the manor was well written. I also liked that this was a closed room romance, so you could focus on their growing relationship rather than the sex.

For me the conclusion of the story was a bit anticlimactic, it almost felt like the writer was in a rush to finish the book. Don’t get me wrong you will get a happy ending, it just seemed the issues that have been talked about in the book, such as her parents marriage and the impact this has had on her relationships gets resolved very quickly. I am not sure how I would have liked to be different, I just think it wasn’t as developed as well as the story.

That being said I was pleased that there was an epilogue and felt that this added that extra bit to the happy ending that would have been really missed had it not been added.
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Thank you to NetGalley and Mills and Boon for kindly providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.
There’s some words that are like catnip to me if they are used in a book title- and snowbound is definitely one of those. I absolutely love that trope in romance novels, even though I’m not that keen on actual snow in real life.
So I couldn’t wait to get my grubby little hands on this and see what this author did with that plot point. And I wasn’t disappointed. Snowbound in a manor house doesn’t get much better for me- all those roaring fires and big rooms and quite probably a home library as well. Perfection. Although the author does include some of the more realistic elements of stately homes such as damp and the possibility of the roof caving in, so we’re not living in total cloud cuckoo land here!
I did like the 2 love interests and found their backstories justifying their current choices and thinking. I have to say though that I’m a veterinary nurse by profession and I know quite a lot of dogs called Rufus, so I could never quite get on board with the sexy image in my head, there was a particularly large labradoodle that kept bounding into my imagination uninvited!
Nevertheless I did enjoy this and read it in one sitting. It was my first book from this author but I’m sure it won’t be my last.

This was such a good story, fab characters, gorgeous setting, devoured it in a day! Perfect for these gloomy days

Firstly, I would like to thank Netgalley and Mills and Boon for the e arc copy of this book.
Jess hates Christmas for various reasons and when the opportunity to spend a few days in an English Manor house in the Yorkshire Dales with her best friend comes about, she grabs it with a huge sigh of relief. Not only will she be spending Christmas without her parents, she is also going to be helping Lara, with the photo publicity for the manor. Jess arrives earlier than she anticipated and is glad she did as the weather is closing in. Unfortunately, Lara is stuck in an airport and can’t make it due to the weather. As Jess is looking around the manor and contemplating whether she can make it back to her parent’s house, the power goes off and there is a knock at the door. She bravely answers and finds a man lying almost unconscious on the front door step. She realises that he has hypothermia and needs to be heated up, so she hauls him in and places him as close to the fire as she can get him. This is their story, how they cope with being stuck in the house, how they work together and each realises what it is they want from life.
Really good characters, a lovely setting and a great read. I read this in a day as I got so caught up in the story. This was my first Ellie Darkins and it won’t be my last. I would definitely recommend this book.

Snowbound at the manor certainly throws together the bloggers friend with the owner of the manor.

They enter into an intimate relationship, when they react to their instant attraction. With an end date of when the snow melts and no emotional attachments.

But when the heart is involved, these agreements, just don't work.

With a happy ever after ending in this romantic story of love, commitment, happiness and marriage.

Received an ARC from Netgalley/Mills and Boon in return for an honest review.

New author to me and I will be keeping my eyes open for more of her books. This was a delicious and delightful read. Great plot premise - two strangers trapped together in the snow over Christmas. A modern slant with the use of ‘Lara the Influencer’ and social media.

Two fabulous and believable characters in Rufus and Jess - each with their own hang ups. Almost the entire book focussed on our hero and heroine as we got to know them and their flaws, motivations and pleasures and watched them fall in love.

The prose flowed and the dialogue was real, lively and engaging, with lots of humour. I really enjoyed this one. I would have preferred the epilogue to have been set further in the future and not simply at the wedding But definitely 4 stars.