Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
Magda has her retirement planned out but then suddenly she's responsible for looking after her young twin grandchildren over Christmas and New Year. They already live with her so she knows their routine, she just resents being landed with them, and to top it all her best friend has suddenly become cold and distant - within a few pages I'd already decided I wasn't a great fan of this main character, and this was confirmed when we learnt about her relationship with her mother. I thought some of the plot (the Bake Sale and the Christmas events such as the Nativity play and church carol service) were nicely written, and the story was Christmas -themed. The budding romance was credible but the emails from 'Dr Gio' - it was bizarre he signed off in that way - was odd after so long apart. I thought the children and Den were the only nice characters, the book was overlong and rather predictable and I was very disappointed that it's clearly set in the UK but there were numerous American spellings which completely spoilt the atmosphere for me.

I adored reading this! More than a sprinkle of Christmas magic and yummy Christmas food. You will be smiling and laughing. It leaves you feeling very festive.

Thoroughly enjoyable story full of emotional challenges.
A warm cast of characters with some very real struggles needing addressing.
I'm guessing many readers will be able to identify with one or more situations described so credibly
For me, the twins were the cream. Beautifully drawn, completely credible, full of the charm and frustration that five year olds so endearingly possess and share.
I don't bake so the cooking didn't provide me with the magic it did the characters.
I did spend many years with infants though and the nativity scenes were my magic. Perfectly captured, and yes even down to the tiny mishap.
A warm tale told with love and about love in its many guises.

Cancel all plans while reading - I inhaled this amazing book over one weekend and resented everything that kept me away from it! The writing was top notch and the characters were very real. Lovely festive read ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A lovely heartwarming Christmas read. This book makes you just want to snuggle up by the fire beside the Christmas tree. I loved the characters and the storyline and really loved that the recipes were included in the book.

Coming Home To Mistletoe Cottage☃️❄️
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Super heart warming and got me so ready for the festive season🎄

~ Magda was quite frankly dreading Christmas; still dealing with the loss of her mother from earlier in the year, the best of friendships seems to be falling apart and now her son and his wife have left their twins with their grandma whilst they jet away to NY🎄
~ It’s possible an old recipe book of Magda’s mother could turn around the fear of Christmas, right? 📔

Such a unique story that I adored, the family journey was just amazing and overall felt so wholesome and gave me a fuzzy feeling! 🤍
(the recipes at the end were such a wonderful touch and made me want to run in the kitchen immediately after finishing the book to feel some extra connection) 🧑🏻‍🍳

@readwithmelc

This is a story about regrets, family choices and second chances. Magda has retired from her fulfilling job as a midwife and is looking forward to retirement, but her family throws her a curveball and her life goes in a very different direction. It’s about finding your true self, and selfwoth and finally coming to terms with your past. A delightful read, and a heartwarming HEA.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to Harper Collins UK for letting me see an advance reader's copy of Coming Home to Mistletoe Cottage.

I've never read anything by Celia Anderson before and I do have another one of hers on my TBR pile. I wanted to read this one first, though, as Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year and I like to read the Christmas stories. 

The story itself didn't disappoint at all. I loved the setting, I loved the cottage, I loved the kitchen and the baking, and only wished there was a scratch-and-sniff function so I could smell what the main character was also smelling. 

Unfortunately, I didn't like many of the characters. Apart from Den. And Blondie the dog. But I didn't find any of the others at all likeable. Every one of these was selfish and unpleasant, including the children. Even Hope seemed a bit snappy to me. I found the rift between Magda and her so-called best friend a bit weak, and I thought they resolved things far too easily.

The book is very well-written, though, and it does evoke the feel, the taste and the smells of Christmas. I'm glad I read it and I will certainly read more by this author.

Four stars.

A lovely, cosy Christmassy read, perfect for getting into the festive spirit.

The main protagonist is sixty-year-old Magda who isn’t looking forward to Christmas this year at all.

It’s her first Christmas without her much-loved mum, her best friend is avoiding her and she doesn’t know why and her son and his wife are jetting off to America for work and leaving her in charge of their young twins!

She’s got more than enough on her plate without her son’s estranged father getting back in touch and feelings for a friend starting to turn into something else entirely.

Can her mum’s old recipe book help her get in the festive spirit and save her Christmas?

Magda was a refreshing main character - slightly grumpy tendencies but a heart of gold underneath.
I enjoyed Magda’s friendships and how the recipe book brought her closer than ever to her mum.

It’s a lovely touch that some recipes are included at the back of the book for you to try out for yourself.
There’s moments of sadness, solidarity, hilarity and joy sprinkled with some Christmas magic in this book.

Many thanks to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. This was an enjoyable read, and one a bit different to a lot of Christmas romances. It was a gentle read with likeable characters.

This was a great Christmas story that I really enjoyed reading. I finished it in one day. It flowed nicely and was well wrote. I liked that the storyline included lots of baking. I loved the relationship between magdalena and Flick. I enjoyed that the story involved lots of family and friends working together to overcome some issues. The characters were very likeable and realistic. I definitely became emotionally invested in the story. I especially loved the ending it definitely put a smile on my face. I actually rated this book 3.5 stars rounded up as it was so close to getting that 4th star. It definitely worth a read and I recommend reading it if you love stories of friendship with plenty of baKed goods.

Many thanks to the author and publishers for creating this wonderful story. It also contains some of the recipes mentioned in the book. I will definitely be looking out for more books by this great author.
The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog today https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/coming-home-to-mistletoe-cottage-by-celia-anderson-harpercollins-3-5-stars either under my name or ladyreading365

A lovely, cosy, Winter read.
The characters grow through the story of this easy read.
A lovely touch to include the recipes too.

I loved this so much, it’s such a festive read it will really get you in the Christmas spirit , such a cute read full of warmth and cheer but also the right touch of drama , full of sparkle this is a great book

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy in return for an honest opinion

Thanks to netgalley and publishers for arc of this book
What an amazing fabulous book to read especially in the run up to Christmas I have enjoyed every single page of this book even though at times in the evenings it has made my stomach grumble with hunger at the description of the baking
Anyway the story follows Magda and her twin grandchildren who her son and daughter in law leave with her whilst they go to New York to work as actors. This is a very daunting prospect for Magda as she had been a single working mum to Jared she relied heavily on her friends and neighbours and eventually moved home to her mums Her mum had died a year ago and her best friend Fliss had been more like a daughter to her mum than she ever had but Fliss was being strangely cold to her but with the twins suddenly to look after Magda could just about lurch through each day until she stumbled across her mums old recipe book she opened it and felt a small surge of warmth seep through her could she actually attempt to bake something?? So she did with the help of the twins jam tarts well she tried! But from then the twins and Magda were like a tiny team even if she didn’t realise it
Beautiful story beautiful writing gorgeous recipes

A warm cosy and wonderful book that envelops you in a hug. At first I wasn’t sure about Magda but as the book develops, we get an insight into her perspectives over the years and the challenges she’s faced.
A lovely Christmas read that makes you want to dust off your apron and get baking!! 4*

A perfect seasonal read to curl up with over the festive season. I did wonder at first as the main characters were rather self-centred and unaware of other's feelings. However, they very quickly developed and what followed was a coming to terms with each other and accepting all without becoming too cloying. Loved the recipes at the back of the book and having just emerged from a village fund raising event involving lots of baking could totally empathise with the pre-Christmas fund raising scenario. Slightly predictable but this didn't diminish the enjoyment of the read. Plenty of festive cheer, carols, snow, nativity, trees plus a fair sprinkling of magic.

Magda has always felt guilty for working so hard as a midwife whilst being a single mum to her son. Returning to her hometown, she has the help of her mum and best friend. who have helped her as much as possible in the past. Now following the death of her beloved mum, and having to child mind her twin grandchildren, she picks up her recipe book and transforms her life. A wonderful tale of love and support.

This is a cute story, sometimes sad but mostly a story of family and friendship and it revolves around Christmas and a mother's recipe book, which I really enjoyed.

I enjoyed the descriptions of the recipe book, the smells and the memories it evoked. I liked the dynamics of the family and friendships as well as the cute little town and cottage. It is a cosy winter read, a book to curl up with and enjoy with a hot drink and maybe even a homemade treat.

I enjoyed the recipes included and plan to try a few out myself.

Magda is living in Mistletoe Cottage her childhood home. She's looking forward to retirement when her son gives her the shattering news that him and his wife are going to New York to star in a musical and she needs to look after her 2 grandchildren. Magda's never been a baker but with the help of her mother's recipe book she starts to love baking

I absolutely adored this cozy Christmas story that made me laugh a few times. I felt like i couldn't out it down and had to find out what was going to happen next.
Highly recommend this to anyone