Becca Freeman's "The Christmas Orphans Club" is a heartwarming and festive novel that captures the magic of the holiday season. The story follows a group of friends who, finding themselves without family for Christmas, come together to create their own holiday traditions. Freeman’s writing is engaging and filled with warmth, bringing the characters and their evolving friendships to life with charm and humor. The novel beautifully blends holiday cheer with themes of belonging and self-discovery. "The Christmas Orphans Club" is a delightful and uplifting read, perfect for celebrating the spirit of Christmas and the joy of found family.

I really enjoyed this book, as a debut I feel it is a really strong one and look forward to seeing what the author produces next. This is a feel good, heartfelt read that I will be encouraging others to read. Our main characters, Hannah and Finn are equally loveable and stubborn with each other and their Christmas traditions are very cute. Also likeable as side (but still very important) characters Priya and Theo, the group works well together and I think their story worked really well.

This was a quick, fun read about a group of friends throughout the years. I was expecting a more Christmassy read, but this was cute nonetheless. Definitely recommend for a lighthearted, fast read.

Oh this book! 😍💕

It was my FAVOURITE 2024 Christmas read. Brimming with love, all different kinds of love & the importance of found families.

I was rooting for the brilliant bunch from pretty early on, I had lots of heart and a couple of hell no heart in your mouth moments too.

I shall be keeping my eyes peeled to see what Freeman does next!

Great Christmassy story with some cute and funny moments and a lovely premise. Enjoyed the characters relationships and what brought them together. Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review the eARC

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. This was an enjoyable read. Freeman tells the story of a number of Christmases for a friendship group, and while the "when" could be clearer to help the reader follow, it was still an interesting festive read, focusing more on themes of friends who are family rather than being a typical Christmas romance.

I was pleasantly surprised by this read. Set in NYC over a number of years its fun to follow the journey of four friends celebrating their highs and drowning in their lows. It is a refreshing chance from most romance holiday reads.

The Christmas Orphans Club is formed when two self-appointed strays, Hannah and Finn, spend a Christmas together, after both choosing to stay on campus over the Christmas holidays. Hannah is an actual orphan, having sadly lost both her parents at the age of 15. Finn is somewhat estranged from his own parents, as his Dad refused to accept his sexuality when Finn came out as gay, and his Mum didn’t stick up for him. From that night onwards, Hannah and Finn become a massive part of each other’s lives and a tradition is born.

Over the years, Hannah’s housemate Priya becomes a member of the club, as does Finn’s near one night stand - Theo, and the foursome celebrate a decade of Christmasses together. Only now, things are set to change as Finn has a new job and is moving to L.A in the new year. Hannah becomes obsessed with giving Finn one last Christmas in New York to remember. But is this to the detriment of her own relationship with boyfriend David? And also to her friendships? And with Finn having strong feelings for Theo that he has never spoken aloud to him, is the group about to fall apart irreparably?

I was really torn with my rating for this one - 3 or 4 stars?? But I had to settle for 3 in the end because I just could not warm to the cast of characters. Hannah particularly really grated on me. I thought that her feelings towards Finn verged on the side of obsessive, and she really was incredibly self obsessed. All she thought about was how things affected her. And I’m really glad that Priya gave her some home truths towards the end! Whilst I did completely ship Finn and Theo, the fact that it took them nearly a decade to actually communicate their feelings frustrated me! I think that the friendships and relationships in this book verged too much on the side of toxic for me, and I don’t think they were healthy.

A decent read, but definitely not my favourite, and not as Christmassy as I had hoped despite how many times the word ‘Christmas’ is used!!

I really enjoyed this book. I loved how it had a festive feel without being too light and fluffy. I really enjoyed the relationships between the four central characters and how they developed throughout the story. I found Hannah a frustrating character at times, but this didn’t stop my enjoyment of the book, and it made sense once we found out more about her life. I’d definitely recommend for people wanting a festive read that isn’t too much like a hallmark film!

This wasn't a typical romance, romance wasn't the key storyline in the book, but there are two separate romances- I'd class it more as a contemporary fiction.

I didn't find Hannah that likable, but I did feel sorry for her. I wish the side characters had a bigger role.

I enjoyed reading about the past Christmas's and how everyone came to be friends and the found family aspects, but overall it did fall a little flat and felt drawn out.

I'm glad everything came together in the end ( of course) and there was a HEA.

This was a quick, fun read about a group of friends throughout the years. Their first meeting just happened to be at Christmas. I would absolutely not consider this a Christmas book which was a disappointment to me as that was my goal in selecting this book to read this month. My rating would probably have been a 4 star otherwise.

Becca Freeman has crafted a heart-warming and relatable tale in "The Christmas Orphans Club". The idea of a selected family getting together to create their holiday traditions is both sweet and new. The characters - Hannah, Finn, Priya, and Theo - are well-developed, and their friendship feels genuine.
I found the structure of this book to be particularly noteworthy. The alternating timelines between the present day and Christmases past add depth to the story and provide insight into the growth and dynamics of the characters over the years. This gives the reader a genuine understanding of the bond between The Christmas Orphans Club members and how crucial this annual tradition is to them.
The book explores the concept of family, both biological and chosen, as a central theme. The reader gets a glimpse into Hannah and Finn's troubled pasts and how they have found comfort and support in each other and their chosen family. The emotions that arise when Finn announces his move to LA, potentially ending their Christmas traditions, are tangible, and I could relate to Hannah's sense of loss.
Freeman's writing style is both engaging and evocative. She flawlessly captures the essence of Christmas and the enchantment of New York City during the festive season. Her vivid descriptions of the city's iconic landmarks and cheerful ambience transported me to the heart of the story, immersing me in the wonder and nostalgia of the holiday season.
I highly recommend the book "The Christmas Orphans Club" by Becca Freeman. It is a heartwarming story about creating your own family and the power of friendship and love. This charming tale emphasises the importance of treasured traditions and the strong bonds that can be formed between kindred spirits. "The Christmas Orphans Club" is a delightful read that will leave you with a warm and fuzzy feeling long after you've turned the final page.

A sweet cosy winter read that makes you feel all fuzzy inside.Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

The perfect Christmas story! I loved Hannah and Finn! Not just their friendship, but also their own stories as well. I liked that it flitted between past and present, I feel like it gave better character development.

For a debut, I thought the book was really well written and I never would have guessed it to be a debut novel. I was hooked right from the first page. Highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this eARC!

Big fan of Becca on her podcast and instagram and enjoyed this book. Yes a little cheesy and predictable but a nice read and loved all the NYC references, its a love letter to both friendship and NYC!

I do enjoy a Christmas debut novel, and this is certainly a great start from this author.

A very enjoyable story of Christmas's past and present with a group of people who are more like family than friends to each other.

We get to discover just what caused Hannah and Finn not to speak for an entire year, we get to discover just cemented all of their friendships in the first place and so many fabulous New York Christmas adventures in between.

And we get this year's Christmas which could be the last they spend together as a group, and as a result the pressure is on to make it even more memorable than normal. While the friends all have other pulls on their time this festive season.

I loved the group dynamics and I was definitely hoping for one specific romance to happen. And there are other romances present but this is a novel of friendship, and how close friends can really be.

I really enjoyed this story, and always love spending time in New York at Christmas between the covers of a book.

A really lovely book.

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

This was an absolute joy to read and totally lived up (& exceeded) my expectations! Despite it being a Christmas themed book, the theme of friendship is number one and I enjoyed reading it in September! It was so wonderful to read it after hearing this book develop over the past few years. I also loved all the little references BOP followers would know!

Thank you for my ARC (especially with the beautiful British cover!) I have also pre-ordered it to get a physical copy!

Hannah and Finn formed their friendship when they met in their first year at Boston College. Both of them stayed at the college dorms during the Christmas break, as neither had a family to go home to. From that moment on The Christmas Orphans Club was formed and the tradition continued even when they moved cities and two other friends Priya and Theo became members!

This is a lovely book about Christmas and told from a completely different perspective. This story is told Hannah and Finn who both find the festive season difficult, which was a breath of fresh air. A fantastic book which lovers and haters of Christmas will enjoy!

Stories set at Christmas is one of my favourite genres, and this one did not disappoint. The story of 4 friends who've spent Christmas together for years due to a variety of reasons are looking at what may be their last one together. The story jumps around to previous Christmas Days and we learn more about the group with each one. Really well written, the characters are well rounded and I felt for each of them. Thoroughly enjoyed this!

I loved Becca’s book. It was the perfect cozy read for this time of the year. I love a story about found family and this was a delight!