Just the perfect cosy romantic winter read. I particularly enjoyed that much of the book was set in Dublin..it added to the Christmas Magic. Norah and Joe were both believable and relatable. A must read!

Norah made a pact ten years ago with a summer romance to meet in Dublin on christmas eve 2019. The year rolls around and she decides to go along, maybe he was the one who got away and they can get their second chance. Her friend Joe comes along but his presence is about to force her to really look at what she truly wants.

Aww what a lovely story. This was beautifully written and well executed. This resonated with me even more so as like Norah I lost my dad and I was a true daddy's girl like she is. I could truly feel her pain. The plot is a steady one that flickers back in time to her memories with Andrew and some with Joe too. I had an idea early on, how I wanted this to go and I got what I wanted. Norah is likeable as is Joe, you warm to their friendship. The ending was of course perfect and I liked the epilogue and seeing how covid affected them if only briefly. A beautiful festive romance.

This was a lovely Christmas book I loved this sweet story. The descriptions of Dublin were vivid and I loved every turn of the page. A perfect book to read at Christmas. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #Penguin for allowing me to read #BabyIt’sColdOutside by #EmilyBell
A fabulous Christmas love story. 10 years ago Norah met Andrew whilst on holiday, they made a promise to meet in 10 years time in Dublin on Christmas Eve. Still single Norah is both anxious and hopeful as she decides to go to Dublin.
While she find her true love this Christmas. A lovely heartwarming read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a lovely story of Norah and she decides to go to Dublin on Christmas Eve to fulfil a promise made to a guy called Andrew 10 years previously. Joes her best friend travels with her and what follows is a witty and charming story of their travels.

This is the story of Norah and the one that got away. 10 years ago she had a perfect holiday romance and when her Christmas plans fall through she remembers the promise Andrew made to her that they should meet in Dublin on Christmas Eve…. Norah tells best friend Joe about her broken plans and when she tells him she’s thinking about Dublin for Christmas, he tells her he’ll keep her company.

Through their trip we get more details of how Joe and Norah met, hear about their teenage years, Norah’s little gang of friends and her dad.

It’s a sweet, witty and engaging read and ok, the title is a bit cheesy and probably doesn’t wholly do justice to the quality of writing, and you’ll probably figure out the ending way before the end of the first few chapters but don’t let that stop you from spending a joyful few hours with Norah and Joe.

What a fantastic Christmas book. This was just the right amount of Christmas. I’ve never been to Dublin but after reading this book I’d love to visit. I was instantly drawn to the two main characters Norah and Joe. This story was personally quite touching as I too have lost my dad but it was dealt with sensitively and realistically. The ending was everything I hoped it would be. I’d definitely read more books by this author and I’d recommend this book to anyone.

This was lovely, a story of a holiday romance, and ultimately real life over fantasy. It's nice to be reminded of young love and relationships and the scene was set beautifully here - Verona, London, Dublin. Some humour, friendship, families - it had the whole of Norah's life. Set to a abulous soundtrack too! Predictable, but no less entertaining for it. #netgalley #babyitscoldoutside

Anyone who enjoys a Christmas story will love this. Everything about this is lovely. Set in London, it tells the story of Norah Jones a music teacher who is also a jazz chanteuse. Finding herself with no solid plans for Christmas she decides to follow through on a promise made years earlier. In the midst of a holiday romance with Irish musician Andrew, they both agree to meet in ten years time, Christmas Eve 2019 outside Bewleys at 6 pm. With nothing to lose she recruits her long time pal Joe to join her on this adventure. Here is where the story takes off.
This book is like an homage to Dublin. It certainly gave me the feels. The other characters in this story are well fleshed out and are interesting in their own right too. For me this is a 4⭐️ Read which I thoroughly enjoyed and I look forward to the next book by #EmilyBell. Thanks to #NetGalley for an advanced copy of this lovely book. #Christmasfeels

I really enjoyed this searching story. The cast of characters were totally believable and the relationship between friends and family heart-warming. The settings, both in the past and the present, were so well drawn that although I have visited both places, I feel the need to revisit and find the lovely lanes in Dublin..
Nora feels that her life is on hold since the death of her beloved father, so when the 10 anniversary of meeting her past love Andrew arrives, she feels the need to keep the promise to meet up with him in Dublin on Christmas Eve. Taking her friend Joe with her for moral support, and in case Andrew does not show up, she is surprised by the consequences. of her actions.
A lovely read

Baby It's Cold Outside by Emily Bell
If you come to Dublin, in ten years, I'll be there to meet you
Norah Jones is known for two things, sharing a name with a famous musician and always being single.
After another year of heartbreak, Norah fears spending Christmas alone. Before she remembers Andrew, who she fell for ten years earlier.
Fate pulled them apart, but not before they made a promise:
If they are both still single on Christmas Eve 2019, they must stand under the clock at Bewley's Café on Grafton Street, Dublin.
So that's where Norah decides to go. To Dublin. To that clock. And, hopefully, to Andrew.
But it wouldn't be Christmas without a few surprises.
Baby It's Cold Outside is a cosy festive read and will please all readers who love a rom-com.
I want to thank NetGalley, Penguin Michael Joseph UK and author Emily Bell for a pre-publication copy to review.

After a magical holiday romance, Norah and Andrew, agree to meet up in ten years in Dublin. As chance would have it Norah doesn't have plans so decides to go ahead with the promise. A beautiful setting which has made me want to visit Dublin. A lovely Christmas story. Predictable in a lovely way.

A rom-com set at Christmas, so it obviously had a happy ending. I thought it was predictable, although it was an enjoyable read.

Norah and Andrew meet in Italy, share an adventure and then are separated by circumstances beyond their control. They agree to meet on Grafton Street in Dublin in ten years time if neither of them have found the right person. When she is let down by her mother, Norah decides to go to Dublin with her friend Joe... The ending wasn't exactly a surprise.

I liked the Dublin setting, I liked Joe, and Norah's mum is great.

A good example of a "seasonal" book.

Thanks to Penguin and Netgalley for the proof

A truly lovely Christmas story, all about friendships and romance!

In the midst of the December shopping crowds, Norah hears a song which takes her back a decade to when she made a pact with Andrew, a former boyfriend, that if they were both single in ten years time they would meet again under the clock in Grafton Street, in Dublin, on Christmas Eve. Perhaps that’s where the romance is that she’s been missing from her life? So, gathering her courage in both hands, she sets off for Dublin with hope in her heart.

What a fabulous festive tale! This book is just bursting with feel-good pheromones which will put you in the mood for Christmas. There is so much more to this than romance though; I have never been to Dublin but I now know a bit about it and the must-not-miss sights along with the best things to see off the tourist trail. This is a beautifully written novel which sucked me in from the off and kept me hooked until the very last. I loved how the story unfolded; alongside Norah’s trip across the Irish Sea we also enjoy her reminiscences of Christmases past and learn all about her friendships through the years. Truly delightful, and one I’m happy to recommend. 4.5*.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is – as always – my honest, original and unbiased review.

Just a nice book, with a feel good factor, pick it up and enjoy, it is set a christmas but not what I would call your "normal" christmas book, well worth your time

Baby It’s Cold Outside is a fabulous festive read that will warm the cockles of your heart. As Norah battles through Fortnum and Mason finishing her Christmas shopping, she hears a the first notes of a buskers song, transporting her back to the years ago and the most romantic week of her life. A week spent in Italy where she met Andrew. They made a vow that if they were still in ten years time on Christmas Eve they would meet under the clock in Grafton Street in Dublin. As the date approaches, single Norah realises she has nothing to lose so decides to go. Will it be a Christmas miracle or will she be in for a surprise? Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Michael Joseph UK and the author for the chance to review.

The story was easy to get into if not a little predictable but overall an enjoyable festive read. ( 3 ⭐️)

Baby It's Cold Outside - Emily Bell

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Penguin and I am leaving this review voluntarily

As Norah battles alone, yet again, through the bustling December crowds outside Fortnum & Mason, she hears the first notes of a busker's song that transports her back to the most romantic week of her life.

Laughing under an Italian sky, knowing they had to part, Andrew made her a promise:

If they are both single on Christmas Eve in ten years' time, they will meet under the clock on Grafton Street, Dublin.

Norah and Andrew met ten years ago in Italy - now she is considering going to meet him in Dublin as she faces Christmas alone. There are some flashbacks in this story, but these are very clearly marked.

Overall, this is an enjoyable and quick Christmas read, but one that you can put down and come back to. Like all good Christmas books this one will leave you feeling warm and cheerful.

Rating 4/5

This is not my usual genre but as a Dubliner now living the UK I was lured in by the blurb “If they are both still single on Christmas Eve 2019 they must stand under the clock at Bewley's Café on Grafton Street, Dublin”, and I’m so glad I was.! This is simply a delight to read. Lovely relatable characters, places in both London and especially Dublin that I know like the back of my hand and a great gentle tale
Norah and Andrew meet on holiday in Italy at the beginning of their adult live’s and immediately fall for each other, Andrew is from Dublin though off to New York and Norah from London. When they part after a wonderful week together they agree to meet up in Dublin’s Grafton Street in 10 years time on Christmas Eve 2019 if not before. Fate conspires against them and they don’t manage to meet again.
We follow Norah and her close group of friends over the intervening years and when her mother cancels her Christmas visit at the last minute she decides she may as well go to Dublin and see if Andrew has remembered. Joe, one of her close group of friends goes with her to Dublin. Brilliantly written you can feel the heat and the rain in Italy and the cold and the snow in Dublin and finishing with a nod to the difficult times we are all currently living through.
I read this is one day and I loved every minute of it

I'm not a massive romcom fan. I like them well enough, but I like them to be more com than rom, and a lot of them are not just predictable but badly predictable. There are so many out there where you look at the cover and you know exactly what's going to happen.

But I'd heard such good things about this one, I decided to try it. And I'm really glad I did. This is a sweet, gentle, beautifully described book. Both the winter in Ireland and the summer in Italy are so well described I felt as though I was there, living it along with the narrator.

I loved learning more about Norah and what happened in the ten years between her meeting Andrew and when we met her. I don't want to spoil the ending, so I won't say too much there, but I loved the tone of that second meeting ... it was exactly right for who Norah had become.

I really enjoyed watching her wander around Dublin and meet the locals, too. Emily described everything so beautifully, it was wonderful as an Irish person to follow along! I got some tips for next time I'm in Dublin, which was great.

All in all, I'm really glad I decided to try this, and I'd happily read another by Ms Bell. I think she'll be one to watch.


BE AWARE there is some loosely described adult fun time.