I absolutely love a seasonal read and this one really hit the spot!

Full of lovely characters and great friendships this was such a cute little read!

I'm definitely not a big Christmas person so it was very rogue of me to read a Christmas-themed book in October – but I was on a long train and very tired and this was the only easy reading I had on my kindle. Excellent choice, it was a 10/10 train book!

I don't really read commercial fiction that isn't romance because I tend not to enjoy them, but I read this because it was written by Becca Freeman, the co-host of one of my favourite podcasts, Bad on Paper. But it was actually really good! With the usual caveats of commercial fiction being less nuanced and less focused on prose, I thought the characters were great and well-developed, everything felt very real and true-to-life, and there was such New York geographical specificity. There's a great romance, too, which made me excited for her next book. I would have preferred the flashbacks to be chronological and there was a whole relationship drama that made no sense to me (why was the boyfriend grumpy cause she didn't want to get engaged after two years? So what?), but those are my only complaints and I really enjoyed it overall!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC of 'The Christmas Orphans Club' by Becca Freeman.

I really enjoyed this book. At first, it was quite slow but I slowly fell in love. Controversially, I don't think this needed to occur at Christmas. It could have been The Summers Orphans Club and it would have worked to the same effect. My favourite part of this story was how messy and REAL the characters were. I love that about a story.

Ahh I was so excited to read this one but I didn’t love it at all. Let me share my pros and cons about it…

Pros
- I really, really enjoyed the authors writing, I think she’s so talented. If I’m right in thinking, this was her debut book and what an achievement for her as it really shows off her writing to such a high standard.

- I liked that it about friendship and not just a romance (there is a teeny tiny sliver of romance near the end of the book) I was excited to read about this type of relationship in a Christmas book

-because of the above it made me have moments of thinking it was in the slightest bit a nod to one of my fave books and films Naomi and Ely’s no kiss list.

-I loved that it was a Christmas book genuinely set at Christmas, so many Christmas books don’t spend enough time being at Christmas for my liking.

The cons
-I just found the story really dull and boring. If it was a short story I think it would have been great but to me it just lacked so much substance to make that story the length of the book.

- for the main story to all be about the group of friends, I felt their connection really wasn’t very strong, we never see enough of them together or get to know them enough individually either, I feel we needed more to be able to root for them as a group or even just care about them.

I’m sad this one didn’t work for me but because of the level of the authors writing I’ll definitely keep an eye out from more books from her in the future, it was just that this story didn’t personally work for me this time.

This is one of the most charming and delightful books I have read in the last several years. It captured the full spirit of Christmas, and it felt like the book equivalent of curling up on the sofa with a mug of hot chocolate, with Mariah in the background. It surpassed all of my expectations with Freeman's quick wit and shrewd characterisation of the relationship between Hannah, Finn, Theo and Priya. More than that, it was an ode to the romance of friendship.

Easy to read Christmas story about friendship. Heartwarming and enjoyable. Thank you netgalley for the advance copy

I am very rarely a reader of seasonal fiction, but this was a delightful warm hug of a novel. Freeman expertly navigates the multiple perspectives and many timelines and I could not put this one down. I will be gifting many copies at Christmas this year!

I enjoyed this more than I expected. Hannah, Finn, Priya and Theo are the orphans, each with their own reason for being orphaned at Christmas. A lovely story of their meetings, traditions, loves and arguments.
Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review

Funny, heartwarming and enjoyable story! It's only August but this book made me feel Christmas spirit already.
I loved the story of friendship and different timelines. Such and easy and cosy read!

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.

I’m honestly not sure what I expected from this book but it exceeded my expectations!

Super enjoyable read- loved the New York setting and loved the different points of view. I love a good Christmas book so this was one a great indulge. Made me laugh at parts too!

I believe this is the first book by this author so looking forward to reading more!

Really enjoyed this story - lots of Christmassy content for me with the jumping of timelines and the different stories from Christmas past. Great way to see how the main protagonist was so involved with the group and attached to the idea of spending all Christmas together! Loved all the New York details and of course we all love a HEA!

I adored this book! I was already a fan of Freeman’s from her podcast and was excited to read this book, and it surpassed all of my expectations - I am not usually a “Christmas books” person, but this was so lovely and heartwarming without being overwhelmingly full of holiday spirit. The friendship chemistry between Hannah, Finn, Theo, and Priya felt so real and lived-in that I wished I could climb into the pages of the book. I also loved that the focus of this book is really friendship, not romance - yes, Hannah and her boyfriend’s relationship is sweet and realistic, but the real core relationship of the book is Hannah and Finn, who are platonic soul mates. I really appreciated how deeply this book respects friendship and how much it venerates those relationships.