Eva and James have been together over 10 years. They have been through a lot together, ups, downs, and everything in-between. But after one tragic Christmas they started to drift apart. 3 years later Eva is working all hours to get her new business off the ground. They have been invited to spend Christmas at a remote manor house in Cornwall and while James is seeing it as a chance to spend quality time together, Eva can only see the time she won’t be spending on preparing her business for its big launch.
During a snow storm on Christmas Night, Eva meets the last person she expected to and is given the chance to go back to the start of Christmas Day and see the day through someone else’s’ eyes.
Will it be enough to help Eva save not only her marriage but her other close relationships as well or is it too late for her.
I really enjoyed this, it’s festive, moving and engaging. A perfect way to lose yourself on a cold day.

Such an interesting concept for a book, a bit of a Sliding Doors/ Freaky Friday vibe but written so well that it isn't confusing, and so very gripping wanting to see how each experience works out. It focuses less on any Christmas themed really and more on relationships and how we often get so distracted/wrapped up in our own experiences and avoidance that we wander too far off the part that would make us the most happy!

A Christmas story with a different slant, reliving Christmas Day again and again to realise what’s really important in life!!
Eva has become a workaholic, totally fixated with her new business and new shop opening after Christmas?! Her life seems to be out of control and all she can think of is work. When her husband James persuaded her to join a house party with their old friends in Cornwall her instinct is not to go, once there she is snowed in and has to stay for Christmas…….
For me this was a slow build up and totally enjoyable in places, but I got sidetracked with the late afternoon’s being light, which never happens at Christmas and why would you open a new shop after Christmas?! Some parts were shocking and unexpected others a little predictable. Enjoyable reading nonetheless, and a great Christmas read.
Thank you NetGalley and HQ for the early read!!

I really enjoyed this book, as it was very reminiscent of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, and a little like The Midnight Library - both of which I loved. I had never read anything by this author before, but the blurb intrigued me, and I am so glad I read it.

When Eva's world collapsed 3 years ago just before Christmas, she threw herself into work to try and forget - to anaesthetise herself from the pain. Unfortunately all she has done is push those closest to her away - her best friends Hallie and Kian, her work assistant Diana, and even her husband James. When James makes Eva come down to xxxx in Cornwall for Christmas, this could be Eva's very last chance with all the people she loves best. Fortunately the house is full of the memories of the wonderful time spent there with her beloved Grandmother, and due to the magic of the house, her Grandmother decides to show Eva what could happen if she doesn't change her ways. To this end, Eva relives Christmas morning several times, each time in a different body, and sees the life she is heading for if things don't change.

A beautiful book, with believable and likeable characters, and more than a little magic

Eva is having Christmas, again and again. On the plus side lots of lovely meals and no calories. On the downside she seems to be condemned to waking up as a different guest of the Cornwall house party each Christmas morning until she can work out just what has gone wrong with her life.
A mixture of Groundhog Day and it’s a Wonderful Life it looks like Eva is going to get the perspective of true friends and onlookers until she gets her life lesson.
Eva and James have had ten years together and they want the same things. But Eva is starting her own business. She is obsessed to the point of neglecting her relationships. She has no time to solve her issues and what she gets is all the time in the world to work it out.
I loved this being themed around Christmas, traditionally a time of excess food, drink and extended arguments. The focus on Eva rediscovering what she has missed through the eyes of her friends and revealing the mystery to the reader of what happened to her three years before the book starts is completing intriguing.
I think this will be another Christmas favourite for a reread. In fact whilst compiling this review I slipped back into the story and now I want to finish it again.

In a Nutshell: 'Groundhog Day' meets 'A Christmas Carol.' Not as light-hearted or heartwarming as you would expect from the theme. But if you are looking for a more emotionally intense book, this will work well.

Story Synopsis:
Thirty-two-year-old Eva's life has been all about her new business since the last three years, after some personal tragedy caused her mindset to focus inwards. As her shop is due to launch on New Year's, she is busy even on Christmas, bringing her work and her assistant with her to a Cornwall manor to attend her friends Hallie and Kian's Christmas party.
Overwhelmed by some news announced at the party, Eva attempts to escape the moors at midnight, when suddenly she is visited by the ghost of her dear grandmother. Her grandmother warns her of the self-destructive path she has chosen, and tells her that she needs to make better decisions.
The next morning, Christmas day, Eva wakes up as...
Read the book to know what is in store for Eva.
The story comes to us in the first person perspective of Eva.


If you enjoy Groundhog Day kind of stories, this is a good one. While it takes the same trope of a day being repeated while the character makes some changes in their thinking and their choices, it adds a twist in the way the day is repeated. I'll not reveal the twist to you, but I will say that it adds a lovely novelty to a tried-and-tested formula.

If you enjoyed Dickens' A Christmas Carol, you'll like this one, as it incorporates a similar 'repent or regret' style threat through the grandmother's ghost.

If you like light Christmassy reads, this book isn't for you at all, or at least, it's not something I'd recommend you read during Christmas. (You can read it as a non-Christmas story.) Though it has a few heartwarming moments, a major chunk of the book is upsetting or infuriating or depressing, a great part of which is because of Eva.

Eva is a complicated character to relate to or root for. There's a lot of self-absorbed whining at the start (which always sounds worse in first person) and hence I was more irritated with than sympathetic for Eva despite her circumstances. I had forgotten that this was a Groundhog Day book, so I was initially befuddled by the author's decision to have such an annoying character at the helm of her plot. But once the time loops began, I realised the benefit of Eva's character development. So yes... though irritating, she works well for the story.

Of course, by its very nature, the book is quite predictable. (Though there was one incident at the end that I did not see coming.) So this book is not about the destination but about the journey. And the journey is handled decently.

Christmas itself is more of a minor background than a major setting in this novel. Except for the fact that the plot is set around Christmas day and that the characters are having a Christmas party, there's nothing religious or even festive about the book. The only role that Christmas has to play in the story is to highlight how Eva's shop launch needs to be on time so that people can do their post-holiday shopping at her business. As such, the book didn't generate any warm Christmassy feelings in my heart. To me, it felt more like a second-chance romance than a holiday book.

From the first page itself, you see how mental health and past trauma are going to be a strong part of the narrative. It feels a bit too much at the beginning, as within the first 10% or so, we see marriage issues, new business worries, broken friendships, imagined faces at faces, abstract mentions of something traumatic that happened three years ago, vague references to something that happened at the manor in Eva's childhood, Eva's assistant also having personal secrets,... It is overwhelming! But have patience at the start. The real story begins at around 18% or so, and that's when things become interesting.

A tiny niggle: There are four references made to a Coldplay song, without ever mentioning which song it was. Not all of us are Coldplay fans, nor do we know all Coldplay songs, nor can we be expected to Google Coldplay hits to figure out the song. Please, dear author, specify the song title at least once in the story if it has a key role in the narrative.

All in all, I don't think this is the kind of book I'd like at Christmas. I prefer happier and lighter reads, both of which are emotions present in this story only at a minimal level. But if you are a reader who likes introspective books during holiday time, you will definitely like this one better.

The author does have potential, and based on this debut, I would certainly read more from her.

3.5 stars.

My thanks to HQ and NetGalley for the DRC of “One Christmas Morning”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Content warning: miscarriage, death.

How many times can one person relive the same day? Not only that, but from different perspectives. Eva is spending Christmas with her husband James and their closest friends in the old country house in Cornwall where she spent so much of the past with her beloved gran. No longer a fan of Christmas since that fateful one three years ago where she lost her gran and her future. Eva has thrown herself into her work - a new venture turning her online business into a physical shop, to the extent that James feels he needs to take drastic action with their relationship. Will this holiday make or break the couple? So many decisions now it is time to face a harsh reality for Eva. #netgalley #onechristmasmorning

Wow! Wow! Wow! I want everyone to read this book that so we can talk about all the twists and turns as I am so worried about inadvertently giving away a spoiler!! Instead I’m going to try and tell you about the story line, as best as I can without giving too much away!

James and Eva met, fell in love and got married ten years ago and they planned their lives to include children until three years ago when everything changed one Christmas and since then things just haven’t been right between them.

Reluctantly attending a friend’s Christmas party at a manor house in Cornwall, Eva’s mind is elsewhere as she is desperately trying to launch her new shop back in London, all the while her marriage with James is teetering on the edge.

In a series of events, Eva is forced to look at Christmas day from the perspectives of the people closest to her.

Phew! I hope I haven’t given too much away!! Although this book is centred around Christmas Day, I think it can be read all year round – I am just astounded at the writing skill of the author with all the different threads and stories and angles!

Amazing book.

Eva and Jason, married but drifting a bit in their closeness, are invited to spend the Christmas holidays with their friends, Hallie and Kian in Cornwall, for their Christmas house party.
A house named Penhallow, a house on the Marshes.
Penhallow holds some bittersweet memories for Eva, she has history with this house.
Eva is stressed, she has business deadlines, can she afford this time away?

The book is set around a shifting timeline, Eva experiences Christmas Day briefly in different people’s bodies. Experiencing herself from a different perspective.
I found it very interesting seeing how Eva evaluated herself from watching herself, within another body. How her thoughts and actions were reflected, and how she processed this.
To be aware, it does cover some very sensitive issues.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions about the book are entirely my own.

After a tragic time in her life three years earlier, Eva has found comfort in throwing herself into her work and new shop launch. Her husband James has asked that she set aside her work to spend Christmas together, but Christmas is set to take place at a large manor house with some friends and family and Eva is terrified of slowing down.
The manor house has always seemed magical to Eva, and when she finds herself waking up to Christmas day every morning from the perspectives of those closest to her, she starts to see what she has been missing when she has been hiding from the world.
I really enjoyed seeing the same Christmas from the different perspectives, particularly the staff at the house who have to spend their Christmas away from their families to wait on people enjoying their own Christmas, I saw this first hand as a child when I lived in a pub with my mum and it was brilliant to have a story show the other side of the hospitality.
The character development was interesting throughout the story and I enjoyed being able to have the entire story set at Christmas time.

One Christmas Morning by Rachel Greenlaw is a simply beautiful contemporary novel that will warm your heart.
Though the setting is Christmas, this book is perfect and relevant for any day. It is about the choices we make and the consequences of those choices. Very rarely can we have a do-over but we can learn from past choices and make wiser choices in the future.
The book is also about grief and loss. No two people ever walk the exact same road but we can be there to support others. We do need to acknowledge our grief and let others help us. We were never meant to journey alone.
And the book is about love – between partners, friends and even work colleagues. We all need love. We need to give love and we need to receive love.
Everyone is fighting their own battles. Unless we have walked a mile in their shoes, we have no idea what others are facing. What would you do if you could be someone else for twenty four hours?
Christmas is a time for miracles. An old house conjures up past ghosts. One Christmas Morning is a unique blend of A Christmas Carol meets Sliding Doors meets Groundhog Day. It is beautifully written. Rachel Greenlaw has managed to capture the love, the grief and the pain – and although the scenario is totally unbelievable, we don’t really mind. Her words make it feel as if maybe, just maybe… Christmas is a time for miracles after all.
I adored One Christmas Morning and I want to read more by Rachel Greenlaw.
I received a free copy via Net Galley. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

This was a really enjoyable read, almost like Groundhog day set at Christmas but with a huge twist in that instead of living the same day over and over as herself, Eva instead wakes each Christmas morning as a different character!
Cynically, this could be subtitled The Parable of the woman who nearly had it all but, it is so much more than just that. It tackles the harder parts of life such as coping with loss and the effects on our mental health this can have. There are a lot of happy moments seeing Eva learning about how those close to her see her and who those people are now, at this point in their lives too.
This is a fabulous Christmas read, full of many traditions that we can all relate to but, will Eva find her redemption and find a way to the life that she really wants to be living before it's too late and it all crumbles away, you'll just have to read it to find out!

A heartwarming Christmas novel with a touch of magic! It includes a time loop which I love.
Definitely one for fans of The Midnight Library!
This is a novel about self discovery and second chances set in the English countryside. I really enjoyed this one!

I really enjoyed this book and found myself wanting to read on.

Eva is a workaholic who has neglected her husband, friends and even her own mental health to achieve her dream working life in her own shop. However, as Christmas rolls around she relucantly accepts an invitation to spend Christmas with her best friend Hallie and her friend Kian, with the hope that she can get a little bit of work alongside her assistant (who gets stuck with on the trip due to the weather).

Christmas Day is pretty much a disaster and Eva cannot wait to escape, however, when she awakes the next day it is still Christmas Day and she is now in the body of one of the other guests. As the story develops Eva experiences Christmas from the POV of some of the other Christmas guests and she realises how her behaviour has impacted her nearest and dearest. As this realisation finally hits her, she is desperate to get back to her own life but how does she even get back to being herself?

This book was very emotional, especially when we read about Eva's deceased gran and Hallie's desire to have a baby.

A heartwarming story that is worth a read.

A lovely debut by Rachel Greenlaw, that is reminiscent of Groundhog Day and A Christmas Carol. An emotional read that I really enjoyed.
Thank you to HQ and Netgalley for the e-arc.

Another groundhog day.
Eva is hard working trying to open her business after Christmas but gets invited away with her husband to have Christmas with friends, this is a bad time for Eva as it brings back memories of her miscarriage and the death of her gran last Christmas and her marriage is failing.
Every morning she wakes up in the body of one of her friends and so she sees her life from their view.

From the beginning I couldn`t understand how if Eva was opening a business in a few days she would then go away especially when the weather was forecast bad so she could get stranded just unbelievable from the start and I couldn`t relate to any of the characters.
Just not for me.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.
Posted to Goodreads

Oh my goodness, I wasn't sure what to expect and thought it would be another Christmas story, how wrong was I! An unexpected joy with a supernatural element that reminded me of Dickens A Christmas Carol. Eva is pushing everyone away as she gets ready to expand her business ready for the January sales customers. She is also dealing with grief at losing her beloved grandmother. A chance to get away for Christmas isn't what she wants but she goes to a house that she is familiar with to be with her husband, friends and her assistant that gets dragged along, and that is where the story starts to twist and turn. Reliving Christmas day a few times ( I won't spoil the story) gives Eva perspectives that she needs and a few surprises along the way as she struggles to get back to her reality and make amends. Will she learn?
I will be definitely gifting this book this Christmas and thank Netgalley for the chance to read it.

REVIEW
⚠️cw: Grief, anxiety, trauma, miscarriage, bereavement⚠️
Eva and James are soulmates. Together for a decade, their future seemed certain until everything changed on Christmas Day three years ago. With James hoping to reconnect at a Christmas getaway, the last thing she expects is to wake up repeatedly in the bodies of different guests. But maybe these new perspectives are exactly what she needs to work out how things went so drastically wrong.
I've read several Groundhog Day-style romances in recent years, and I've enjoyed them, but this might be the most emotionally impactful one.
I won't spoil the intricate details, but I overwhelmingly LOVED this story. You will need a LOT of tissues for this one. Eva starts the story overwhelmed but determined to succeed in her business. Part 'Groundhog Day', part 'A Christmas Carol', Eva is repeatedly visited by her grandmother's ghost. As the story progresses, we discover that every one of her relationships has suffered, possibly irreversibly. James is haunted by a secret, and, along with her best friend Hallie, has been pushed away. Her assistant Diana is also floundering. Eva has become so single-minded, she's lost sight of basic human kindness and it's heartbreaking to see how utterly bereft James and Hallie are as they try to reach her. And this is exactly where the story excels. Through the eyes of several people, she finally realises how lost she's become. Of course, you feel for Eva who is still drowning in grief, self-medicating through overworking, as well as shutting everyone else out. But it's seeing her through her closest friends and family that is truly heartbreaking. There's an incredibly important message about work/life balance at the heart of the story.
It's an incredibly moving, occasionally humorous, but above all, beautifully written and ultimately uplifting story of love, friendship, and found family.

Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Heat Rating:
Emotional Rating: 💓😬🤬💔😢💔💓😬💓😢😢🙈💔😢💓😢💓😢👏🏻💔😂💓🥰💔😢😢😨😢🤬👏🏻💔😢💓👏🏻💔🥰💓🥰💓💔💓🥰😭🥰

*Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to leave an honest review. One Christmas Morning is published on 8th August in the UK*

Favourite Quotes:

' "...she’s happy. With her family, with the ordinary. With a life where she strives for better, but not at the expense of what’s right under her nose." '

‘ "Some things you cannot change. Some things are going to go horribly wrong and there isn’t anything you can do about it. All you can do is work through it, day after day afterwards." '

(I will upload the same review to Amazon UK on publication day)

Not my usual genre I must admit but I felt like having a change. I am so glad I did as it was a beautiful well written book with well developed characters and I thoroughly enjoyed it from the beginning until the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ UK for this ARC which I can thoroughly recommend.

Firstly, thanks to Netgalley, Rachel and the publisher for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
I loved this book. It gave me Groundhog Day meets Christmas Carol. Eva saw Christmas from the perspective of those closest to her and learnt about herself in the process. It was very deep and thought provoking with a number of difficult subjects being discussed. It's a different spin on a normal Christmas story which is full of soppy romance etc.