To say this story took me by surprise is an understatement. I went in expecting a lighthearted Christmas romance. A second chance for a couple to reignite their love but what I got was a poignant tale of being lost in pain and grief.

I spent the entirety of the book being torn with how I felt about Eva, not only by how she was behaving but also how she was being treated.
At times I fully sympathised with how Eva handled things but when we got to see her through the eyes of others, you realise that Eva isn’t the only one struggling and dealing with heartbreak.
And that ending was gorgeous. Very real and true.

One Christmas Morning is a beautiful story, wonderfully written and deals with sensitive topics with care and tenderness.

I thought I’d give this 4 stars due to certain things, but it can’t be anything less than 5 because of how authentic it is. When a book can take me on a rollercoaster of emotions, including anger, I know I’ve connected with the story and its characters.

Thank you so much, NetGalley & HQ, for the eArc of this beautiful story.
Cannot wait to read more from Rachel Greenlaw.

Oh my goodness , I was not prepared for this book.
It is heart wrenching yet warming and full of hope. This is the perfect holiday read. Just make sure you have a box of tissues to hand.

This book could be described as a little bit of Groundhog day meets Christmas Carol but with its own twists. A beautifully written captivating story. Certainly one I would recommend.

This was my first Christmas book of 2023, and I’ve started strong. A great story, festive setting, believable characters and a fresh take on a Groundhog Day type situation.

Although the book is set mainly over the Christmas holiday and is in a sprawling country house surrounded by snow and full of turkey, champagne and games, the story isn’t particularly about Christmas. This doesn’t stop it firmly being a Christmas book in my opinion (Die Hard is a great Christmas film, no matter what anyone says!) and the spirit of family and reflection and new starts are definitely things I associate with that time of year.

The main character, Eva, has lost herself as she’s tried to navigate trauma she has experienced. Without realising it, she has become laser-focused on a coping mechanism (not that she knows that’s what she’s doing) at the cost of every other part of her life. As she relives the same day over and over, she starts to open her eyes to how she is really feeling/coping and what she needs to do to find her way back.

Another thing that cements this as a Christmas read is the threads of magic that are woven throughout the book. They are subtle, so as not to overpower the very real situations playing out, but they’re there and they gave me a warm festive glow, for sure. That being said, the story is quite intense and the topics covered can be hard going - this definitely isn’t a lighthearted read, but it is a read full of heart.

I have never read anything by this author before but this has been an excellent and enjoyable book. Thank you for the ARC.

3.5 stars
A clever spin on the traditional take of hope and redemption. Eva is an interesting character - you can see how easily she gets lost and starts to drift from everything that is close to her without realising. As she learns from messages from those closest to her, it’s an emotional journey of love, grief and forgiveness.

In this book, readers get to re-live Christmas Day over and over and over again. Phew, there’s a lot of roast dinners going on but thankfully, with none of the calories! However, despite being set on Christmas Day, I didn’t think it was a heavily festive book and I believe this was the right balance for my first Christmas read of 2023.

In truth, this novel was a grower; the more I read, the more invested I came into Eva’s story. Honestly, I didn’t really like Eva at the beginning and I think Greenlaw wants readers to dislike her. She is completely obsessed with her business, treating those around her incredibly poorly – from her suffering assistant to her husband of many years. Although she has been invited to a Christmas party in Cornwall, she is estranged from her friends because of how much she has immersed herself in her work – and Eva knows this is her doing. Yet, as far as she is concerned, it is all work, work, work, regardless of the day of the year and the hurt is causes to her nearest and dearest.

Yet, as Eva is forced to re-live Christmas Day, she starts to recognise the harsh reality of her situation. Waking up in a different body of someone at the secluded manor, Eva learns more about herself and the people around her. The lack of mobile phone signal means Eva is forced to take drastic action if she wants to continue working and this causes her to lean more towards her friends, really talking to them and finding out their honest opinions about Eva’s behaviour. And this is when it starts to get rather poignant.

A key theme in this novel is grief – not something you would normally associate with a Christmas story. Eva is grieving for the loss of her grandmother and another tragic event that happened at the same time. As the story unfolds, readers learn how so many of the other characters are mourning significant losses. Eva experiences their different griefs and this helps her understand how much unhappiness is from her own actions. There are a couple of days where tragedy dominates the story and I found myself getting quite emotional, racing through the pages and desperate to find a happy conclusion. Yet, the writer does not always provide this, acknowledging that growth can come from grief, however much it might hurt at the time.

I really enjoyed this story and the seclusion of the moors meant that you are really focused on Eva’s journey. She is not distracted by technology and is forced to admit that her behaviour has been abysmal. Seeing the different realities made for some uncomfortable truths but, by the end of the novel, I had grown to like the protagonist and was pleased to see her making every effort to alter her obsession over work, to caring more about her friends and family.

This was a magical read full of emotion and warmth. Some readers might find the topics incredibly emotive but the magic of the plot helps to soften such sensitive subjects. By the closing, it is impossible to ignore the feelings of warmth and contentment… although this might have been down to re-living Christmas dinner so many times!

With thanks to HQ Digital and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the idea of the book in that it’s similar to a Christmas carol but I really did struggle to enjoy this book as this wasn’t as light as I thought it would be. It covers some heavy topics and can be quite depressing at times so I would say this isn’t a typical Christmas cozy read.

Eva as a character as well was very hard to like due to her personality which made this even harder to get into and enjoy.

Really wonderful story threaded with the magic of Christmas. It reminded me of Its a wonderful life.

Such a heartwarming yet poignant storyline and I simply adored all the characters. The narrative was twisty and exciting.

Brilliantly paced and gorgeously written.

It moved and it made me smile: heartwarming, sweet and poignant. An excellent Christmas book
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

tmas Carol. Eva has spent the past three years throwing herself into work trying to forget the heartbreaking events of a previous Christmas. This year is the eve her of shop launch and the last thing she wants to do is drive to Cornwall to spend the festive period with her husband and friends. Just when she thinks thing couldn’t get worse, her friends announce they’re pregnant and she argues with her husband. She decides the best thing to do is sneak back to London in the dead of night, but as the clock strikes midnight, it seems the universe has other plans for her as the ghost of her beloved gran emerges and she is forced to relive Christmas Day again and again until she realises she needs to let get of her past and focus on her future. But is it too late? Not a Christmas novel in the true sense of the word as this seems to take a back seat to Eva’s personal journey of discovery. It did keep me enthralled but I was expecting more of a festive read. A good debut novel that I would rate 3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, HQ and the author for the chance to review.

I went into this book thinking it would be a festive and heartwarming story. A mash up between Groundhog Day and A Christmas Carol. Unfortunately it was an intense and saddening read with trigger warnings for miscarriage, infertility, death and bereavement.

I don't think it helped that Eva wasn't a likeable character. She had thrown herself into launching a new business just after Christmas and was practically living at her shop. She was only coming home to her husband to shower and sleep. I understand she was burying herself in work to forget about the grief she was going through. But why launch a shop after Christmas? It didn't make sense to miss all the festive sales. Also suppliers where trying to contact her on Christmas Day. This just seemed a tad unrealistic to me.

The story was a slow burn, which in itself isn't a problem but I was left feeling sad and disappointed instead of uplifted at the end of the story.

One Christmas Morning is not my normal genre but I was quite intrigued when I read the description as it sounded a little different. I'm so glad I read it as I thoroughly enjoyed it. I enjoyed the GroundHog Day vibes and it wasn't quite as heartwarming and fluffy as I would have expected from this genre which for me personally is a good thing.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for my ARC.

This was an intriguing read and I was pretty gripped by it - the Groundhog Day format meant that I genuinely didn’t know where it was going! It’s actually pretty deep and deals with some dark times, but it’s still a heartwarming story. I enjoyed that there was a strong focus on friendship as well as romantic relationships.

- Groundhog Day/Christmas Carol vibes
- workaholic FMC
- second chance romance
- rebuilding friendships
- fertility issues
- closed door

This was a nice festive read. Good well written characters and interesting character perspectives. A feel good read. Recommended.

I really enjoyed this book. Well written and easy to read. Just a nod to Dickens and to Ground Hog Day. Eva, the protagonist, gets to see herself as others see her. Food for thought. Not a conventional Christmas book but a very good read.

I loved the premise of this book and its 'Christmas Carol' vibe and expected it to be much lighter than it was. Although the book is well written I did find it very dark, depressing and not something I'd recommend to be read at Christmas. It could have been set at any other time of year and would probably have been better for that. Had there also been some lighter, uplifting and happy parts - and characters - to balance the mood I'm sure I would have enjoyed it much more. I didn't particularly like any of the characters who were all quite negative. I really wanted, (and expected), to love this book but it left me feeling very low to be honest. I would be interested in reading whatever this author comes up with next as she writes well but the subject matter in this book wasn't for me. Sorry. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I expected a cutesy Christmas story but One Christmas Morning was anything but as it covers sensitive themes including grief and miscarriage. Eva, the main character has become a workaholic due to tragic events 3 years ago. Her husband James insists she takes time off at Christmas to spend time with him and their friends in an old house in Cornwall. The old house has special memories for Eva as she used to holiday there with her late Grandmother. What happens next is a bit like a modern 'A Christmas Carol' meets 'Groundhog Day'.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an arc of this well written debut novel.

This book is the christmas version of groundhog day with a twist. I loved the premise and the setting and I was hooked from the first page.

It took you on a journey with the characters, watching as they fell in love and went from the heady first days to the days where indifference started to set in - set against the backdrop of a manor house in cornwall at christmas, this book made me cry but also made me smile - I loved it

A cross between groundhog day and a Christmas Carol. An enjoyable read for a first novel! Thank you #netgalley for the ARC.