A grieving young women heads to New York City for the lead up to Christmas to help out her Aunt in her Christmas store. A pleasant easy read. Thank you Netgallery and boldwood books for this ARC. Great way to settle under a blanket on a cold night. It was like making friends at first sight, the characters were interesting but unfortunately you only get to know them on a surface level. I was getting annoyed towards the end of the book with the main characters inability to get over her it's all my fault attitude, it seemed to be mentioned on every couple of pages.

Meet Me in Central Park is a lovely story of loss, healing and finding yourself. Jo Bartlett has you falling in love with the characters, rooting for them to triumph and crying for them when they make decisions for all the wrong heart-breaking reasons. Watching Libby finally start to heal slowly after grieving her parents for two years is a wonderful journey to be on - and you just might get to see her not only fall in love, but choose it.

Overall, this was a really great book on grief and healing, on hope and sorrow and on the many different ways that you can find yourself falling in love and piecing back together after breaking apart. Libby drove me mad at points, because it was so painful to watch her go through this and it was frustrating to see her limit herself, and let anger and grief win. This is not a happy, go lucky book. It covers a lot of hard topics, but I thought the author handled it so respectfully and truthfully.

I would recommend this to anyone that wants their Christmas love story to have just a bit extra. Those who want a bit more grit and real life in their Christmas miracle. I know that I will be looking for more by this author!

Half can’t bear to read/half can’t bear to put it down. It’s marvellous - so tautly plotted and don’t see the end coming! Will be a smash hit!

A sweet story about a woman grieving the loss of her parents. Dealing with her grief, guilt and anger , she goes to NYC to work for her aunt for 2 months for a fresh start. Here she makes a group of friends, finds potential love and is able to begin to move on through her grief. I enjoyed the story and the characters. As a frequent visitor to the city, I enjoyed watching her explore during the Christmas season.

Meet Me in Central Park by Jo Bartlett is a beautiful story about loss and finding one's way back into the light. The fact that the novel is set in New York at Christmas is the star on top of the tree.

Two years after the fact, Libby is not only mourning the tragic loss of both of her parents, but is continuing to blame herself for the accident that claimed their lives. Encouraged by her grandmother to go to New York to help out in her great aunt's Christmas store, Libby is reluctant, but knowing how much her mother always wanted to see the city for herself she agrees to go. A chance meeting with a handsome ranger in Central Park will lead to feelings that Libby thought had been forever repressed. Will she take a chance on love, or return home to the place that holds so many precious memories of her beloved parents?

This one will resonate with anyone who has lost someone extremely close, and Libby's journey is both wrenching and heartwarming. You will be rooting for her from the very first page.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for sending me an arc of Meet Me In Central Park by Jo Bartlett!

I was absolutely drawn to this book by the cover and the fact that it is about Christmas, also being set in New York makes it that much better.

I loved everything about this book, especially how by the end of it everyone was able to help Libby understand that her parents death was by no means her fault at all, they were all great for that. I may be biased because i love everything to do with christmas but honestly this book was great, I've been in such a christmassy mood recently even though the summer has just finished so I'm beyond happy that I've been able to read such a feel good, cosy christmassy book to make me look forward to christmas even more, as well as convince me that i need to experience a new york christmas at least once in my life.

Libby's found family in her group of friends in New York are honestly the cutest group of people ever I'd love to know people like them in real life, they're such a wholesome group, they were exactly what Libby needed to get back into not only the christmas spirit but also her usual happy self.

If you're looking for a quick read to put yourself into the christmas mood I would absolutely recommend this book!

Release date 20/9/23

I have read some really good holiday books this summer unfortunately, this isn’t one of them. Imagine my surprise when I found out that this isn’t a new book but a re-issue of The Christmas Shop at Central Park.

I understand what this book was trying to say, Christmas isn’t a happy time for everyone. But I felt this book was really repetitive. I got so sick of hearing Libby whine about her dead parents. I mean I get it, dead parents is something to be sad about but she constantly reminded herself that they’re dead and she is to blame. It’s been two years for crying out loud.

Okay, don’t come at me because I also know that there is no timeframe for getting over a loss that big. I felt it when my grandmother died in 1988 and I still feel it 35 years later BUT I don’t whine about it constantly and feel sorry for myself. I didn’t have much empathy for Libby because she was a complainer and not a doer for the most part of this book. She just wallowed in her sadness and had a big pity party.

Libby constantly told herself she couldn’t be happy because her parents were dead and they couldn’t be happy. Would her parents be happy with her feeling that way? Would they want that? I also didn’t like that she needed a man to feel better or worthy. I don’t like the takeaway of this book, find a man and move away so you don’t have to think of what’s making you sad and that will solve all your problems. Ummm, NO!

Two years after her parents are killed in a car accident, Libby goes to New York City to help her Great Aunt Dottie run her Christmas shop. Her grandparents send her there so she can get away from the memories of her parent's death. Libby hasn't celebrated Christmas since her parents were killed in a car accident heading to New York City. After reluctantly heading to NYC Libby starts to find new friends and a love interest in New York City in a Community Center. There she starts taking art classes with friends to help her deal with her grief. As she explores New York City, she remembers all her happy memories with her parents and how excited they were to enjoy NYC. This is a lovely story of someone trying to work through their grief and find their joy again. Definitely recommend this read!

I loved this book. Jo Bartlett told a moving story at times. Begun in Canterbury and ended in New York. I loved the Christmas shop. Some great twists with the painting .The main character Libby had a difficult life as you will find as you read. Her Nan and Aunt were great double act. You had a lovely love story . It was brilliant and a great neat ending.. Read it.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Libby's grandmother asks Libby to assist a family member in New York. That is the last thing Libby wants. After suffering a loss a few years ago, Libby has a hard time enjoying life. When she gets to New York she is open to many possibilities. This was an enjoyable read.

.I knew from the synopsis that our main character was grieving the loss of her parents but I was not expecting grief to be such a huge part of the storyline.

This is not a romance. This is a story about a woman working through her grief, anger, and misplaced guilt over the loss of her parents. Grief and all its messiness is present on every page and made this reader sob more than a few times.

While there are secondary characters, and even a love interest, we don't really get to know them all that well. Told in an introspective first person point of view, everything is through Libby's lense. Unfortunately, this made it difficult for me to connect with the romance part of the story.

Overview:

Libby Cooper is lost. She lost her parents in a terrible car accident, while they were set out to finally see New York City, her mother’s lifelong dream, because she bought the tickets for her birthday. She finds herself made to head to New York City to help out her great aunt, who has just had a major surgery and needs to recover. There she finds love, family, and purpose again.

Harry has always loved New York City from the moment he stepped foot there. Working as a full time park ranger, part time author to children’s books he illustrates, he never thought the stranger he found crying in the park would become to important to him. As he introduces her to friends and found family, their relationship grows.

Review:

This story took me on a journey I didn’t realize I could have in a place I have been before. It had me laughing out loud and even crying at certain points. We see Libby’s love for her parents through her ‘interactions’ with her parents, as well as the clear dreams her parents had for her through the stories we get from her aunt and grandma. The way she dealt with her grief not only felt really relatable, it was likely actually references from how many deal with grief. You hear stories of individuals going on trips after loss, whether to spread ashes, see loved ones, or experience what the lost individual wanted. We see a lot of that in this story.

I loved the found family aspect of this story, especially the diversity of the group itself. Bartlett really encompassed a lot in this story, grief, happiness, anger, second chances, and newfound family. This book is a great one to get you into the Christmas spirit, even if it is only September.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Jo Bartlett, and Boldwood Books for this early copy to read for an honest review.

Libby has had a tragedy in her life and has worked through all of the first holidays, birthdays and other special occasions without her parents. Many readers will be able to relate what she has gone through. If she feels a little happiness, she then feels guilty for enjoying life without them. The turning point comes for Libby when her grandmother and aunt devise a plan to get her NYC. she will be immersed there in Christmas and the Christmas spirit by working in her aunt's specialized gift shop. She meets wonderful people and makes new friends and begins to feel like her old self again. She is still torn between what could be a wonderful new life and what she has left back in England.. Anyone who has felt this sense of grief and trying to move on, will relate to Libby and how hard it is for her to make the right decision. Fortunately, she has great family members and friends who help her see that what happened was not her fault and she deserves happiness. I would highly recommend this book. It might be a good book for grief support groups because Libby is probably expressing what many of them are feeling.

Meet Me in Central Park….

This is a very heartwarming story. We follow Libby who lost both her parents to a drunk driver a couple years ago. She has trouble moving on from that. Especially at Christmas time. Her Nan convinces her to go to New York for a couple months over the holiday. Libby is going to be helping her Aunt Dottie’s Christmas store. While there Libby meets many wonderful people, especially Harry. Harry works in Central Park and the two form quite the pair. While Libby still experiences her grief, it seems New York is a good place for her to start letting go. Libby needs to decide where her heart is and what she wants to do after her stay in New York! Does her heart/love win in the end?
This is a heartwarming story, it’s cute and charming. While there is talk of grief, which is heartbreaking, you can find the love in there too.

Meet Me In Central Park is a heartwarming story that will stay with you long after the Christmas season is over.

Libby Cooper hasn’t celebrated Christmas since she lost her parents in a terrible accident but her grandmother has other ideas. Libby’s grandmother wants Libby to start living her life just as her parents would have wanted her to do. Libby’s grandmother and her great Aunt Dottie come up with a plan for Libby to travel to New York and help in her great aunt’s Christmas shop, a few blocks from Central Park.

Can the magic of Christmas in New York, friends she meets along the way and a Central Park Ranger, help Libby realize she deserves her own chance of happiness?

A touching holiday read with a wonderful festive setting and a charming cast leading to a happily-ever-after.

Another great story from Jo Bartlett filled with warmth, compassion and humor. I absolutely adored it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read Meet Me In Central Park by Jo Bartlett. This was a sweet cozy read exploring, grief, family and friendship with very enjoyable characters.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. Jo Bartlett is one of my favourite authors of this genre, so I was excited to read this ARC of her latest book. A book from her set in New York, at Christmas was the absolute dream, and thankfully it did not disappoint. I was engaged in the story and its well-written cast of characters, and Bartlett sensitively explored grief against the beautiful New York backdrop.

This book was five stars for me! I devoured it in one sitting. This story covers grief, happiness, anger, second chances, and newfound family. It had me laughing out loud and even crying at certain points. This is the perfect read for a cozy winter night. I absolutely loved getting to know Libby, and I found the way that she felt and dealt with her grief to be realistic. This story also showed how grief can come and go in waves. Another perspective within the story that I loved, was that even when those we love are gone, they are still with us. I recently lost my Mamaw and found that much of this story struck home for me in a beautiful way. This story is so well written, that I will be recommending it to everyone!

This story follows Libby Cooper on her journey of dealing with the grief of losing her parents in a terrible car accident. After losing them, she lost herself and the will to want more for her own life. However, for the Christmas season this year, her grandmother makes plans for her to help her great aunt with her store in New York City. Libby dreads leaving her grandparents as they are all she has left who share the same heartbreak as she does. Once she arrives in New York City to help her great aunt run her shop, she finds her life changing. New York City during Christmas time seems to be working its magic on her. She starts enjoying working in the shop, makes new friends, feels like she has found a second family, and her feelings end up growing for her friend Harry in particular. As much as Libby wants to enjoy her time in New York City, she can't help but feel sad knowing that in a couple months she'll fly back home to her grandparents. She knows she can't stay in the city because she could never leave them, and after her parents' accident she doesn't believe that she deserves a happy life.

Will Libby be able to not let her grief consume her and enjoy the happiness that has come out of the city, or will she fly away from it all to be close to where her parents' last memories were.

Enjoy this story by an innovative author...Central Park. Realistic characters in a story that reads like nonfiction. This is a great book. I liked the story. I like the author. Thank you Netgalley.