Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton for providing a copy of this book via NetGalley – views remain my own.

This was my last festive read for 2023. I have to admit, although the book was enjoyable I found myself a little disappointed overall by the time I finished it.

Thea is making her way home to London from Portland for Christmas, but when her flight is grounded by a snowstorm, she books the last room available in any of the nearby hotels – a fancy, five-star hotel room, booked on her emergency credit card. But as she’s settling in, another guest arrives for the same room, and the double-booking leaves them with only one choice – to share the room until they can catch their rescheduled flights the next day. For Thea, it’s a luxury she doubts she’ll ever experience again, but it’s soon clear Logan is used to the five-star treatment. When they part, they do so as friends, with the possibility of more hanging over them. But before the holidays are over, Thea discovers Logan may have been hiding a pretty big secret, and vows to forget all about him. But their paths cross again when Thea finds herself on the team tasked with convincing Logan to take his business in a new direction, one he isn’t keen to follow.

This was a sweet enough book, and it started really strong. I liked Thea almost instantly; she bursts onto the page, and I loved her relationship with her grandmother. Logan was easy enough to like, too, and during their night in the hotel, I found myself really eager to see which direction this was heading in.

However, by the midway point I was getting just a touch bored. The book does pick up later, but I think this is another romance novel that could have been trimmed down a bit. There’s some repetitiveness with Thea and her job, and the miscommunication aspect felt a touch contrived. Like I said, this was my last Christmas read of the season, but the vast majority of the book takes place after the New Year – it soon lost the kind of festive sparkle I like in my books which have Christmas in the title.

I liked both Thea and Logan, and the way Logan really comes through for Thea when she needs him. I also liked Thea’s ‘backstory’ with her ex – we get glimpses and ideas of the toxic nature of her previous relationship, and the way Thea felt towards him and his portrayal felt realistic. There’s a great scene when Thea and Logan go axe throwing with a group, and it was a really nice, funny scene. Overall, the secondary characters were really good, too, and I loved Thea’s work bestie, Teddy, always there for her when she needs him.

There’s a lot to like about this book, but I think I would have felt much better towards it if it wasn’t marketed as a Christmas book and was maybe cut down just a little.

I am an emotional wreck after reading this one 🥲🥲🥲 Very bittersweet - so beautiful but so sad too!!

Thea is flying home for Christmas with her family from Portland, where she is currently working, to London. Or at least she would be if there wasn’t a storm stopping her! With the storm causing chaos, Thea thankfully manages to book a (very expensive) hotel room for the night before she can try and get another flight the next day. Only, with all the carnage, the room has been double booked!! Thea and handsome stranger Logan decide to share the room for the night…little do they know that this decision will change their lives. They get to know each other over dinner and part ways the next morning promising to see each other on their return.

As Thea celebrates the Christmas holidays with her beloved Nan and co, she stumbles across some photos on Logan’s social media that lead her to believe that he is not the man she thought he was. Whilst this does turn out to be a misunderstanding, Thea and Logan face even meow troubles when their companies end up intertwined. With Thea’s horrendous boss (this author is the queen of casting horrible bosses!), warring business partners, and hearts on the line…will Thea and Logan’s relationship make it off the ground??

Amazing characters - so well written! Logan was an absolute dream, especially towards the end. Thea was a perfect main character, I loved her so much. I loved how much she cared for her family and how she would do anything for them. How she put up with Fuchsia I have absolutely no idea. I’d have had a nervous breakdown working for such a horror! There are some very tender moments in this book that were incredibly well written. I cried a lot at certain parts and that is credit to the author’s storytelling and ability to evoke such emotion for her characters. Another brilliant Helen Whitaker novel!

First book I’ve read by Whitaker. It was an easy read. Abit festive with a few plot twists. The writing style is easy. Overall an enjoyable read.

Thea and Logan were lovely characters to read about individually and together. I also enjoyed Thea’s relationship with her Nan.

There was some miscommunication which I know not everyone loves but it works in this book.

This book has me laughing at some points with great writing that made the book easy to read.

While this book had some Christmas elements it largely wasn’t set at Christmas so you could read and enjoy this book any time of year.

This was an enjoyable rom com I’d recommend to others.

4.5 stars

Flying Home For Christmas is the second book I've read of Helen Whitaker's and has solidified her as an auto-buy author for me. I love her writing and I love how heartfelt and fun this book was.

I loved the premise of this one and that we got the one bed trope, but what I loved more was seeing their journey after they both left the hotel. While there was some miscommunication in this book it honestly didn't bother me and I actually felt that it added to the story and the tension between Thea and Logan.

This book made me laugh out loud but also sob because some parts just really hit home for me. This was such a beautiful story about love and family and one I really recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a confusing one for me. So the story the blurb tells on the back of the book was why I wanted to read this, forced close proximity, airports at Christmas, missed flights, the sweetest meet cute annnnddd that all happened but within the first couple of chapters!

Seriously I was like what is going on, how has this played out so quick, I thought that was going to be the whole storyline of the book but it absolutely wasn’t.

The book then goes on a completely different journey and I found it just boring for me, a little sad/depressing to be honest in places and it definitely didn’t feel festive. After those first few chapters, the romance sort of just didn’t really exist for me either!

I really thought I would love this one but it was a no sadly for me!

“When her Christmas Eve flight home to London is grounded by a snowstorm, Thea is desperate to make it back to her family. The only flight available is first thing the next morning, so she books a night’s stay at the closest hotel.

But there’s a problem: there’s only one room, and someone else has beaten her to it.

Logan is tall, gorgeous and charming - and determined to get home for Christmas too. The solution? They’re going to have to share . . .”

*ARC from Netgalley ✨

Loved the meet cute between Thea and Logan, as they both end up booking the same top price hotel after being stranded at Portland airport due to weather cancellations.

Naturally as this is fiction they after sharing a ride to the hotel, discover they have managed to double book the same hotel, and end up spending the evening together while they pass the time to the point where the airport reopens.

However they soon go their separate ways for the holidays, but keep in touch only for more and more coincidental meetings to happen in the New Year.

Despite the title this wasn't an overly Christmassy book in fact the majority of the story takes place in the year after the first Christmas. And thus it could easily be read at any time of the year.

I loved getting to know Thea and Logan. Logan I especially loved his job in the same was as I hated Thea's boss. There is a lot of miscommunication throughout, and it's really touching some of the moments with Thea's family.

I loved her voice notes to her Nan.

This was an enjoyable story, from an author that made me very curious to visit Portland, as it's not a place I've ever read a book in before, but could really get the vibe of the place from her words.

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

This book was amazing! From start to finish I was surprised, as the book took directions I didn't see coming. It had a fresh take, and the writing style was very pleasant. I adored this book, and can definitely recommend it to people looking for a great holiday read!

A really enjoyable one about a chance meeting that became a meet cute! Thea and Logan are forced together when a storm diverts their Christmas plans (I am reading so many books with this trope lately, and I’m loving it!)

There is the added dimension of Thea’s work, where she is struggling to keep going in a job that blackmails her ( she is from the uk but on a us visa that’s dependent on her job.

The standout in the book is her friends, work colleagues and of course her family. There are some sad moments that I’d have been happy without but I did really enjoy this book. Thanks to the publisher for the advanced review copy, all opinions are my own. Recommended!

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Helen Whitaker for letting me have an ARC copy of Flying Home For Christmas review.

Traveling home for Christmas is one of those festive rites. Christmas never feels truly like Christmas without the anticipation of the journey home to be with our loved ones. We pray for an easy journey, for the weather to behave, and for our fellow travelers to be full of joy and Christmas cheer (not channeling Scrooge or the Grinch). Unfortunately, Christmas travel plans rarely are plain sailing or go to plan, but a perfect meet cue for a sweet, heart-warming festive romance where the two strangers collide on the fateful journey on the way home for Christmas.

I loved the premise of the story and meet cue to bring Thea and Logan together. There is an instant connection between them, bringing warm chemistry between them and easy camaraderie with comical banters. There are some big bumps in the road for Thea and Logan in their story, but I found their character development didn’t always live up to the conflict thrown into the story.
Thea is a charming, kind, intelligent, and relatable character, but at times a wallflower and conflict evasive that causes her more trouble. She finds a backbone after the all-is-lost moment of the story, but I feel she could have been a bit fiery at points. I liked Logan’s supportive nature and his problem-solving instincts, but at times I thought he was pushy and stand-offish with other characters.

The secondary cast of side characters is full of some wonderful personalities that bring a sparkle to the pages. I loved the dynamics of the relations between Thea’s family and her work colleagues. Be prepared to laugh and cry with the side characters, I feel they stole the limelight in the book for me.

The writing starts elegant with a slow-paced Christmas lights twinkle rhythm but ramps up into dizzying rapid flickering changes that can leave your head spinning. I felt there was a lot packed into this book. Thea’s life couldn’t catch its breath with a revolving door of unfortunate events that happened to her. Part of me struggled with the reality of getting a working visa for the US. It’s not that simple, yet Thea seems to have zipped through it. I did like the real portrayal of the difference in work ethos and vacation time between the US and the UK in the book.

The one weakness for me was the busy plot, there were a lot of secondary plot conflicts going on for me. It gets very crowded and rushed at some points in the tension between Thea and Logan. I would have a little more of the romance between Thea and Logan, which starts brilliantly when they are in the midst of the Christmas travel chaos but seem to get lost in the mayhem of Thea’s life after the festive season ends. After the heart-wrenching moment happens, it does bring Logan and Thea back in a satisfactory way rekindling their warm romantic connection that sparked at the start of the book. However, I feel they lost their way a bit in the middle, still enjoyable once over this molehill.

A sweet, heart-warming festive romance where the two love interests meet on the fateful journey on the way home for Christmas. If you have a journey to face this coming festive session, this is a sweet Christmas Cookie romance to chill out with listening to Chris Rea sing ‘Driving Home For Christmas’ to you.

This book was actually quite interesting. I do like a romcom Christmassy book so this peaked my fancy I know it’s been on my reading list for awhile but between life I didn’t get round to it but I did read it and it is a really good book I think is about what I expected and it was just a fun cosy read generally and I will be reading more from this author in future as I thought the writing style was Really interesting.
The main character was easy to understand she wasn’t a bimbo or dumb. She was really very intelligent about things, and I actually really love that because sometimes these books can fall into the category of the female being dumb.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and of course the author for gifting me this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this festive romp which was really magical and i loved the romance between Thea and Logan. It fulfilled all my desires from a cosy festive book.

"Flying Home for Christmas" by Helen Whitaker is a heartwarming holiday romance. Whitaker's storytelling captures the magic of the season, delivering a delightful and cozy read filled with festive spirit.

A lovely heartwarming festive read. I really enjoyed the ‘only one bed trope’ and the drama of being marooned at the airport by the severe weather conditions. Hotel rooms are at a premium and Thea and Logan find themselves double-booked in the only room left in a luxurious hotel. I liked their connection, their humorous conversations and their obvious sizzling chemistry. Aside from the romance, the book also had other poignant themes going on and I liked how these were dealt with. A thoroughly enjoyable Christmassy read.

Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for the eARC for review.

A great Christmassy read! Loved the premise of the double booked room and glad they suggested to share it! (Although gutted for Thea she never got to enjoy the bath!) Many classic tropes for us to enjoy - one bed, miscommunication, secret kisses and also some that really hit home - bad bosses, death of a loved one, being away from home. I really enjoyed the writing style and the humour. It was also fairly pg which is great as a bookseller to be able to recommend because some people just don’t like the spice! Overall I really enjoyed this book - one of my favourite reads so far this October.

Logan and Thea meet at an airport when their flights are cancelled. With only one hotel room left they end up sharing, and a dinner that gives them both hope that will lead to more when they are back from the holidays. But things don't go how either expected and they meet again when they least expected to. A fun read, but I would have liked something more from Logan's point of view.

Took me a while to get into this but I was excited at the fact that they got stranded at the airport and ended up in a one bed situation at the only free room they could get close to the airport.

They had an instant connection though circumstances kept them apart until they met again, this time in a situation that would have them in a forbidden romance of sorts, each being on opposing sides of a company war.

The story took a heart-wrenching turn towards the end as Thea had to deal with a life-changing turn of things, but Logan was there to support her even as they tried to figure out where they would end up.

He also supported her when she was having a dilemma about work and her manipulative boss. He was her cheerleader even if he messed up at a point, but it all worked out.

Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lovely Light and Festive - The perfect holiday season read!

I really enjoyed Whitaker's fun new spin on the 'There's only one bed' trope, with the sprinkle of Christmas. We follow Thea desperately trying to get home to London for Christmas before being marooned in the airport by snow. Left with no choice but to stay the night at the airport hotel and try again tomorrow, Thea is hit with another issue, the last room in the hotel has just been taken - by Logan, who is also desperate to get out of town. (Side note: if I had to share a room I would nominate him to be honest!). As they jump back and forth in their story ( a lot of backstory), you become wrapped up in their airport hotel world and almost forget the reasoning for being there in the first place. The sparks between them light up the page and I was addicted to them instantly.

This was fun and enjoyable read, perfect for lazy wintry days. A great Christmas stocking filler!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Poignant, sweet romance with a dash of festive cheer. Thea is trying to get home to England for Christmas but when her flight is delayed by a snow storm she ends up booking a fancy hotel room the only problem is Logan had booked the same room…

Thea and Logan’s story was likeable and lovely and I might be a bit in love with Logan. This book also dealt with heavier themes of family and escaping clergies control. It was a beautiful festive story. Low in cheesiness and hig on the real meaning of the season,

A good book. Highly predictable. But still enjoyable. A nice romance running throughout and good character.