This is my second book by Jaimie and I really enjoyed it! I’ve already been looking online at other books by this other as she’s fast becoming a firm favourite. All of characters were likeable and brought something to the story, The plot itself was great and I think the story could easily be continued into a second book; it would be great to see where things go for Essie and Joss. Loved it and would recommend.

This is a perfect, feel-good, cosy up with the fire and Christmas tree lit behind you kind of book. Perfect Christmas read, simple and easy! This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens was such an amazing read. I loved every part of it: the colorful characters, the town, the gingerbread house, the chemistry between Essie and Joss…. Everything!
Essie was a really interesting character and I felt connected to her, I also loved her love for Christmas and how she tore down Joss’ walls. Joss was such a complex character and I loved the way he grew and changed.
I love them together and struggled when they weren’t. However, loved the ending, it was perfect.
If you like cozy, Christmas stories this is definitely the one to read. Trust me! It’s so good that I cannot help to picture it as a Christmas Movie. It would be perfect!.

Ahh, I do love Jaimie Adman’s books & this book did not disappoint.
A wonderful winter-time read, perfect for the festive season.

I absolutely love a book by Jaimie they always make me feel festive and this book had all of the feels in buckets.

A wonderful story, brimming with wonderful characters set against the backdrop of a Welsh village.

Within the first few pages I knew I was going to love it and it didn't disappoint. I read this at every opportunity I had and was so disappointed to reach the end as I just loved everything about it.

4.25 stars
The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens is Jaimie Adman’s latest Christmas release. Her books are one-of-a-kind. They are charming, cozy, cultural, clean romances that have a fairytale quality pervading them, though they are set in the real world with real world problems. Each story has a creative theme with an almost magical feel, allowing the reader to get lost in the pages, making the story feel other-worldly and pure escape fiction.

This particular novel is set in winter in a small, quaint, Welsh town. The beloved Mistletoe Gardens with it’s famed mistletoe legacy is on the brink of demolition to make room for a more lucrative high-rise complex. The quirky residents are outraged and in search of a solution to save this historical site. Essie is thrust into action, high on dreams and ideas, and short of self-belief. When local curmudgeon Joss, who has taken over his late father’s failing construction business, is recruited to assist her in building a life-sized gingerbread house, he reluctantly agrees. The two brainstorm ways to make this unusual concept a reality, all while grappling with a tight timeframe, in an attempt to garner publicity and support for the garden. As they work together, a gradual friendship is built, which in time turns into something more, and the two help heal one other’s issues and pain from the past.

The one thing that did detract a bit from my enjoyment of this story was Essie’s mother. She was absolutely awful throughout the entirety of the novel until the very end, and by then it was a little too late for me to wholly revise my view of her. The turnaround of the headstrong, main male character, and the final resolution of issues the two shared, was also a bit abrupt. That said, The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens is a festive and delightful tale, and yet another wonderful addition to Ms. Adman’s fanciful, feel-good stories.

Like the residents of Folkhornton, I was quite outraged that the local council was going to flatten the beautiful and historic Mistletoe Gardens to build houses. When Essie came up with the seemingly crazy idea to build a life size gingerbread house in the gardens to highlight its plight, I was willing her to succeed. Her mother, who didn’t really seem to have much confidence in Essie, couldn’t see it working but somehow Essie persuaded grumpy builder Joss to help her out.

The relationship between Essie and Joss unfolds gently as they begin to work on the project and to get to know each other. Neither really wants a relationship having both been hurt before so theirs is a really slow burn relationship. Just as they get to know each other gradually, so we gradually get to know these characters too. We find out why Essie has so little confidence in herself and discover that Joss has some rather moving reasons for his irritability and crotchetiness.

There is, of course, a lot about baking in this book with Essie running the local bakery with her mum. I could almost smell cinnamon and ginger in the air when she was baking the gingerbread or snowflake cookies or any of the other festive delights we read about. It’s a book that might make you feel a little hungry and perhaps might inspire you to give making a gingerbread house a go yourself

I really liked discovering more about gingerbread with the facts about its history and the traditions associated with it at the beginning of each chapter. I also enjoyed getting to know the local community, which had some rather eccentric and amusing characters, and watching how it pulled together to try to save its beloved Mistletoe Gardens.

The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens has all the elements I’ve come to expect in a Jaimie Admans Christmas book. There’s a heroine who discovers her inner strength, a hero who appears ill-natured at first but is really a big softie at heart, a lovely setting with some great minor characters in the community and a believable and heart-warming romance. This is a sweet Christmas read about discovering what’s really important in life, finding love and with an uplifting conclusion.

By their very nature, books set around Christmas are supposed to be extra specially magical and joyful, a sizeable step away from the grim sheen of reality, festooned with sparkling lights, awash in mulled wine and festive-coloured candy with the air filled with the expressively happy tones of Christmas music pumped up to winter wonderland levels.

That’s what we expect when we pick up a Christmas genre novel and while we often get it, with everything possible Christmassy reference shoehorned like an elf gleefully overstuffing Santa’s sack, it doesn’t always come with the attendant humanity to make it feel truly meaningful.

The vivaciously delightful thing about The Gingerbread House at Mistletoe Gardens by Jaimie Admans is that it not only serves up all the merriness and festiveness you could want, but it does it in a way that feels so deliciously grounded that all the decking the halls and joy to the world-ing feels especially impactful and all the more alive with possibility, humanity and warmth.

That matters because while festive bliss is all good and wonderful, it pales and breaks down to ephemeral nothing when it lacks emotional robustness and a sense that here are real people living real lives.

You may think that’s surplus to requirements in a story which is dedicated to make you feel GOOD but for all the floaty, tinsely-y bliss to mean anything at all, you have to feel like it’s having an impact on real people.

Well, for this reviewer, anyway.

That’s why even though the lightweight Hallmark movies of the season can be fun and animated specials where everything get fixed super easily because Santa’s there, do make the heart swell with a deliciously buoyant seasonal joy, they often vanish just as quickly, leaving you vaguely blissful but unsure quite why.

A book like The Gingerbread House at Mistletoe Gardens stays with you long after the last page is turned because Admans has gone to considerable length to expertly world-build – the setting for the novel is a quaint south Wales village called Folkhornton filled with eccentrically well menaing souls and a bakery called dancing Cinnamon (how could you not want to eat there?) – create and develop fully-rounded characters, and pepper the Christmas rom-com tale with witty, fun dialogue and some searingly impactful home truths.

It means that while there are happy festive endings in abundance and people finding love and connection and belonging, and all the good things you want from a story like this, there’s also a leavening degree of humanity not at its best which makes the better angels of our nature, when they appear clutching eggnog and awash in Christmas spirit, all the more meaningful.

Admans cleverly makes some of the characters lovably flawed – with the exception of the bad guy of the piece (although even he is balanced by being misunderstood and misguided) – and it’s these unlikable attributes that actually make what happens to Essie Browne and cranky local builder Joss Hallisey all the more meaningful when it comes crashing into the darker side of the human equation.

And let’s be honest – we’re not talking people engaged in genocide and massacres here, obviously.

There’s a mother who’s too wrapped up in her own stridently expressed world to appreciate that her daughter isn’t a big, fat failure and might be capable of doing some marvellously creative things and townspeople who are as apt to gossip as they are to pitch in when backs are firmly against the wall, right when the Christmas spirit needs all the help it can get.

While the bulk of the story falls to Essie and Joss – she comes up with the idea of building a life-sized gingerbread house to reinvigorate the fading park environs of Mistletoe Gardens (founded by a 9th century ancestor of Essie’s), the town’s only green space which is slated by the local council for development into apartments and enlists antisocial, anti-Christmas Joss to help her – it’s the fallibility and all-too-real humanity of the supporting characters which adds real bulk and weight to the vibrantly frothy festive fun.

Not everyone is initially supportive of the idea to build the giant gingerbread house, and not everyone pitches in to help, and while Santa’s magic dust does rectify some fairly dire issues and everyone does eventually pitch in, it’s not all baubles and mince pies under twinkling fairy lights, all of which of course means that when the good things do happen, and they are warmly lovely and perfect, they will all the more weighty and important.

It all means that The Gingerbread House at Mistletoe Gardens is that rare and magical thing in Christmas novels – it has festive magic and a groundedness that amps up even more how absolutely wonderful this gem of a story makes you feel.

It’s damn near impossible not to lose yourself, and happily so, in Joss and Essie’s blissfully icing sugar-dusted romance which starts out as a clear case of opposites butting heads, though with baked goods and Essie’s vivacity involved that can’t last long surely, and turns into two lost souls, each with some existentially raw open wounds finding a home and a place of belonging with each other.

Because Admans takes the time to let the story build and to let Joss and Essie, and the cast of beautifully wrought supporting characters be lovely and not and hopeful and not, you never once feel like The Gingerbread House at Mistletoe Gardens is on a murderously fast run to a mulled wine-soaked, nutcracker-adorned sprint to a happy-ever-after Christmas finish line.

You get there, of course, because how could you not, but it all feels so real and grounded and relatably human that when all the festively vibrant descriptive passages fill the pages, and the romance is ramped up, and the lights twinkle and Christmas magic falls upon everyone, you feel as if this is one warmhearted, gorgeously alive story that has well and truly earned its payoff.

The story leaves you feeling like you’re wrapped up in a colourfully decorated festive hug and supremely glad that in a world that can be cold and angry and all spiky Initial Joss, that we have writers like Admans to remind us how gloriously good life can be when we let down our guard, believe in ourselves and life again and let Christmas, and beyond, do it’s quite vivaciously wonderful thing.

Once again, @jaimieadmans1 has knocked it out of the park! I LOVED this one and so wish I could visit Folkhorton and meet all of the characters. When the town council threatens to demolish Mistletoe Gardens, baker Essie is determined to save it by building a life sized gingerbread house. However, knowing nothing about building structures, she enlists the help of notorious town grinch Joss. Can they work together to save the town's most beloved spot? This story was all about lifting each other up, no matter how low you feel or how many hard things are happening. My heart went out to Joss, especially with his mom as my family is going through something similar. And Mr. Arkins character! What's not to love about a man always dressed as a dinosaur?! Seriously guys, if you listen to one holiday rec this year, go read this one!

My fourth read from Admans and this one returns to the magic that I associate with this author. Whilst my last read was not my favourite, this one sees Adman return to the story-telling that I really enjoy.

There is definite magic with this festive read as Essie and Joss look to construct a real-life gingerbread house in an attempt to save Mistletoe Gardens. Sounds fun, right?! Well, fun it might be but with the threat of the romantic gardens being taken away from Essie’s Welsh village, she is willing to do anything to help her community. Even if it does mean working with the grumpy and isolated Joss.

Sparks fly from the beginning between Essie and Joss, but Admans delays their relationship until right near the end. Instead, readers get to see their growing friendship and how much both Essie and Joss rely on one another. I enjoyed learning more about Joss – peeling back the hard exterior to see a much softer side to the man that apparently is intensely disliked by so many. Essie cannot stop her growing feelings for Joss and whilst readers can see the attraction is mutual, I was always keen to understand why Joss doesn’t reveal why he doesn’t want to go further with Essie; it adds to his character and another element of mystery to him.

This is a great Christmas read as it contains everything festive. The gingerbread facts at the beginning of each chapter were a brilliant feature and I enjoyed learning more about the history of this delicious treat. Whilst a bit of imagination is required when it comes to the plot of building a gingerbread house (Admans tries to make it as realistic as possible but I think there is a bit of creative license going on here), I loved the idea of making a shed-like construction that is on par with the witch from Hansel and Gretal… just featuring a dinosaur and a Father Christmas, naturally.

There was plenty to love about the story, even with the characters that threaten the future of Mistletoe Gardens. I didn’t really like Essie’s mother and thought she was particularly hard on her daughter; I thought Essie had the patience of a saint to put up with her! On the other hand, Essie has such a good friend to support her that she makes up for the lack of charm that Essie’s mum does not show. Some of the other villagers are quite quirky but I enjoyed learning their background story as the novel progressed.

I enjoyed this festive offering from Admans and it is perfect for those with a sweet tooth! There is a bit of sadness running in the sub-plot but I liked the happy ever after. It has certainly got me in the mood for the festive season.

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

Jaimie Admans has become an auto buy Christmas author for me. Her books are joyful, fun, full of Christmas spirit and happily ever afters. If you want to be put in the holiday spirit, Jaimie's books will help!

I really enjoyed reading this story that took place in a small town. I loved the quaint vibes and the sense of community. When the town's beloved Mistletoe Gardens is threatened to be torn down to make way for a new development, residents get really upset. So just in time for Christmas, local baker Essie takes on the daunting task of building a life size Gingerbread house. She hopes this will bring recognition to the area and convince the powers that be that the gardens need saving. But Essie needs help from a builder and the only one available is Joss, grumpy as can be and not a fan of Christmas at all. But he agrees to help out and soon finds himself caught up in the magic of the season, largely thanks to Essie.

Their love story was very sweet. Grumpy vs sunshine! There was more to Joss than meets the eye and their chemistry seemed genuine. Essie also grew through the story as well, learning to go for what she wants and gaining confidence.

I loved the gingerbread facts at the beginning of every chapter. It was a fun little addition! Now I've got major Gingerbread cravings! Add this one to your holiday reading!

Let's be honest, it's never really Christmas unless Jaimie releases a Christmas book right?

I felt the loss of no Christmas book from Jaimie last year, but she has absolutely knocked it out of the park this year. Christmas books are absolutely Jaimie's forte - she is brilliant in creating such magical worlds, magical storylines and magical characters. Everything is just magical! This stunning sunshine/grumpy duo will have you swooning from their very first meet up, as they come together to build a real life ginger-bread house to save Mistletoe Gardens. I absolutely loved Essie, she was such a beautiful character, with such a creative mind flowing. She had the power to lift everyone's spirits, including that of the town's grump, Joss. Joss has to be my favourite book boyfriend of this year so far, he was a grump, but deep within he was such a softie and his true self blossomed the more time he spent with Essie. He has a heart of gold and due to previous accusations and trauma, he embraced the title of grump as he had no intentions of changing his ways. Essie brought a side out of him that was so heart-warming and so beautiful to read about, I couldn't love them more if I tried. Jaimie always has a way of making the quirkiest of characters and she didn't let us down. The side characters were as quirky as can be, but were such a delight and some had a lot of depth within that explained said quirkiness. The whole community felt like a big hug and they provided lots of laughter. This was definitely a comfort read for me and I would highly recommend, as all readers are about to be swept away into a world filled with magic, love, loss, creativity and miracles!

Essie Browne is devastated to hear that Mistletoe Gardens will be demolished in January. She wants to do what she can to try to save it and, on a whim, she suggests to the town that maybe a life-size gingerbread house would bring in tourists. She realizes after it comes out of her mouth that even though she’s great at baking gingerbread, that she has no idea how to build a large structure and that she’s in over her head.

Joss Hallissey is a local builder who initially refuses to lend his expertise. Joss wants nothing to do with Christmas nor a large gingerbread structure. Essie with her Christmas-loving ways finally wears him down and the two work day and night to build the structure. Will this be enough to save Mistletoe Gardens?

Will Essie be able to break down the walls that Joss has built around his heart and show him the true meaning of Christmas and what is possible with the help of a community?

I really enjoyed this book and how a community can come together when one person has a vision. A great holiday story that I will recommend to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel. #NetGalley #TheGingerbreadHouseinMistletoeGardens

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. I was able to find the audio version through my local library.
I will say I didn't like the narrator for the audio version. The main female character is supposed to be 35/36 and the narrator sounds like she is in her 50's. And she talked really slow enunciating every single word it just got on my nerves. I suggest you read the book instead.
But besides that. I really enjoyed this book. It is very light hearted. Perfect Christmas romantic drama. There are some funny parts that I actually laughed out loud. All the characters are great and I really really enjoyed it l a lot. Perfect for Christmas 🎄⛄ season, which is right around the corner.

ometimes you find an author whose books become the ultimate comfort read.

I absolutely adore Jaimie Adman’s books and this one has been no different. In fact, I want say that this is one of the best books by this author to date.

Essie and Joss are just gorgeous and this is a wonderful, charming and completely heartwarming story. I’ve been pulled in and left full of love.

I definitely felt able to relate to Essie. We’ve all had our hearts damaged, as a result I become fully involved in her story.

Admans has created a real gem with this one. I can safely say there is nothing to dislike about this book. This is brilliant from beginning to end and I have devoured this in one sitting.

This is a Christmas read from one of my favourite authors. An instant winner. However, there is nothing negative I can say about this one. It is magical from beginning to end.

I have loved every thing about this book. A book worthy of all the stars.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Essie Browne, a local baker, discovers that Mistletoe Gardens is set to be demolished in January, prompting her to devise a plan to save the beloved place by building a life-size gingerbread house. Despite Essie's baking expertise, constructing an actual house proves challenging, leading her to seek help from local builder Joss Hallissey. The catch? Joss despises Christmas and nearly everything associated with it. Despite Joss's initial reluctance, he agrees to assist Essie with her whimsical plan. The novel unfolds as a delightful and heartwarming tale, exploring whether the gingerbread house can save Mistletoe Gardens and if Essie can find her magical kiss under the mistletoe before it's too late.

An utter delight! A true embodiment of the magic of Christmas!

This is a lovely grumpy/sunny romance set against the backdrop of the small Welsh town of Folkhornton during the Christmas season. The magical Mistletoe Gardens park is in jeopardy of being bulldozed to make way for a new apartment complex nobody wants. A plan forms to make the town’s annual winter wonderland the biggest and best event ever to help save Mistletoe Gardens and Essie foolishly promises to make a life-size gingerbread house to help draw more people to the holiday celebration. Has she bit off more than she can chew? Definitely. Essie will need a Christmas miracle–and a grumpy builder–to pull off this daunting task.

Essie is a beautifully crafted character full of life and promise. She’s a little battered because she’s lost her confidence after some past mistakes but she’s determined to save Mistletoe Gardens. Essie is a multigenerational baker and has made many gingerbread houses over the years, but none to the scale of a full size house! She visits Joseph Hallissey Jr.–owner of a local construction company–in hopes of getting his help with the house, but is quickly and firmly rebuked, repeatedly. Luckily, Essie is determined and fully dedicated to making this gingerbread house the best thing ever, despite all the naysayers.

Joseph–prefers Joss–hates Christmas and people. He’s busy with his own business problems and has no time to help some flighty baker make a life size gingerbread house in three weeks’ time. There’s just no way. Well, until Essie brings him a basket of sweets from the bakery where she works and her annoying persistence–and her kindness–has Joss thinking up some good ideas on how to begin the process. Soon he’s grudgingly swept up in the gingerbread house construction and spending more and more time with Essie. And the more time they spend together, the harder it is for Essie to remain detached. You see, Joss has plans of leaving Folkhornton after the new year, and never coming back. How can Essie not lose her heart to this gruff man, who secretly has a heart of gold? I know I couldn’t!

I mean, I love Essie and Joss together but I was absolutely enamored with the citizens of Folkhornton! So many lovely and quirky people with so much love and generosity and wicked senses of humor! They are the perfect complement to the story and were the royal icing that held everything together so brilliantly!

The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens is a story full of joy and heartache, of love and loss, of courage and doubt, of faith and hope, and of miracles. It will melt your heart and have you reaching for the tissues! I was quickly swept away into this magical story and held captive until the very end.

Whenever I need a joyful read to brighten up my holiday season, I turn to Jaimie Admans who never disappoints! I highly recommend The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens!

Jaimie Admans has written yet another perfect festive romance. I don’t know how she does it. Her books are always so feel-good and full of hope, but there’s something extra magical about her holiday books.

The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens is hilarious, romantic, heartfelt, heartwarming, hopeful, and oh-so-swoonworthy. 😍 I had a smile on my face throughout, and was cheering for Essie and Joss, both with the gingerbread house/saving Mistletoe Gardens, and as a couple.

What to expect:
🎄Grumpy/sunshine
🎄Dislike to love
🎄She’s a baker, he owns a construction company
🎄Set in a small town in Wales
🎄All the warm, cozy festive vibes
🎄Grief rep
🎄A hilarious and eclectic group of side characters
🎄Sweet/kissing only

Author Jaimie Admans is the absolute queen of sweet Christmas romance. Her novel The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens is a festive feel-good delight that will actually have you craving all the cheer and lights and mistletoe (and maybe just a little bit of winter.)

This novel has an array of eccentric characters that occasionally steal the show. It has some heavy moments, but the tender sweetness of this novel will warm the cockles of your heart and inspire you to maybe undertake some big dreams for yourself!

I will say it is not necessarily a fast paced quick read - it meanders and seemingly slows right down in places. However the pacing definitely works for the story - it's just not a clutch-your-pearls-whats-gping-to-happen-next type of novel. It's pure cozy Christmas.

*I received an eARC of this novel compliments of NetGalley, but the thoughts are entirely my own

Oh I do love a good Christmas book and this one got me right in the festive spirit. And how could it not with a title like this. There is baking, gingerbread and even a grinch. What more could you want.

I love Essie Browne and her determination, love the setting and who couldn't like Joss the Grinch. This is fun, entertaining, enjoyable, Christmassy and down right fun to read. I am in the holiday and Christmas spirit now for sure.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.