Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for this ARC.

For every NetGalley reviewer there comes a time when the first Christmas books arrive, and it's usually in the middle of summer. I managed to delay reading any until August but now they have built up so let's dive headlong into wintery days and Christmas cookie baking.

Lexie's world fell apart when her Dad left the family when she was seven, and started a new family, resulting in her half-sister Rachel. She has never forgiven him because it was also the end of her travels with him, and she never formed deeper attachments to other people, preferring to work on short-term contracts as a chalet girl and nanny in Austria.

She is therefore more than shocked when her Dad dies of cancer after a short illness and she is told that she has inherited half of his travel agency in Bath, together with her Dad's mentee Theo. The will stipulates that they have to work together for at least a year and make a profit before they can sell or walk away.

Theo's a grumpy man with a temper (not my favourite for a book hero) and it takes a while for them to start tolerating each other and working together as they both seem to be committment phobes with trust issues. Unfortunately, we get my least favourite trope, misunderstandings and miscommunication, coupled with a third-act break-up. Lexie often feels like a wounded, cornered animal but it's hard to like a person who constantly runs away when a problem presents itself. Nevertheless, her journey feels believable. And I liked how she opens up to Theo, makes peace with her Dad and befriends Rachel. They both grew on me for their willingness to change.

It was nice to go on travels with her and Theo to Madrid, Austria and Ireland. The French lemon festival sounded brilliant and I would have liked to read more about other countries and their celebrations.

I don't think the book is too Christmassy as other seasons are available throughout the book. Thank God, right now it's 27⁰C outside!

As for the book title, I think it's too generic. I would have liked something like The Christmas Wish Jar, as this is what a huge chunk of the book was about - the wish jar Little Lex started with her Dad so many years ago and which became a big part of her life. She travelled light but took the jar with her everywhere she went.

I liked feisty Ange but I'm not sure I would have given Harry a job - he seemed very green!

This is a heartwarming romance book about complex family situations and traditions and reads very well - perfect to start the holiday season with.

It’s never too early for a good Christmassy book, Lexie has a Christmas jar which she takes everywhere on her travels, a tradition she remembers fondly from her childhood.
Lexie’s life changes drastically when her estranged dad dies, he leaves her half of his travel business, sharing it with Theo.
The pair instantly dislike each other and so starts the perfect enemies to lover trope.
The growing tension between them is evident, Theo softens as he uncovers why Lexie is so angry with her dad.
I loved the progression of her character, the elements of travel is really fun and lightens the book so well.
A really great read and I look forward to reading more of Emily’s books.
Thank you NetGalley, Emily Stone and Headline for this ARC, all opinions expressed are my own.

Home Again for Christmas by Emily Stone is an absolute joy to read. It spans a year, starting and ending around Christmas so could honestly be enjoyed at any time of year.
When Lexie and Theo meet, it is under difficult circumstances. Both have been bereaved, but while Richard was a beloved friend and mentor to Theo, to Lexie he will always be the father who abandoned her to start another family.
Richard has left his travel company to them both, which they must run together for a year before they can sell it or walk away. As they get to know each other, they also learn more about Richard and ultimately themselves.
I thought the story was beautifully told, and the supporting characters were also fully fleshed with interesting story arcs of their own. The descriptions and details of all the trips Lexie and Theo take are so intriguing I definitely want to check out a few of the locations myself! Enjoy!

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I enjoyed this book.

Lexie loves to travel, something that she loved doing with her Dad too. He and her mother separated when she was a child and afterwards she didn’t have much to do with him.

When she hears that he has died, she attends the funeral, after which she is informed that she has to look after his business along with Theo.

She’s not happy that she has to change her own plans to stay in England and work with someone she doesn’t know, and neither is Theo.

But after them both not liking each other, their relationship develops into romance.

We read about the different upbringings Lexie and her sister had and their feelings about each other. I loved the tradition that Lexie carried on after her father passed away.

I loved the characters, the different countries that were described throughout and the food.

I highly recommend this book.

Every year I eagerly await the release Emily Stone’s latest book and this years offering, Home Again For Christmas was as wonderful as ever.

Stone is one of my absolute favourite authors. She writes the most beautiful, though often devastating, stories that ultimately leave you feeling hopeful and uplifted. Her characters are beautifully real, fragile, complicated and messy, and goodness do I love them. Her writing also never fails to make me cry and we all know how cathartic a good book cry can be!

Home Again For Christmas centres of Lexi and Theo who are thrown together following the passing of Lexie’s estranged father Richard. In his will Richard left Theo and Lexie his travel company in Bath, but with the stipulation that they must work together for the year and turn a profit. Having worked with Richard for the past 5 years Theo is desperate to proof himself, but for Lexie, who never stays in one place for more than 6 months, it all feels too much. Will she find reason to stay in one place and will the undeniable chemistry between Lexie and Theo ignite? Will she discover the secret her father kept from her, and finally learn the meaning of home?

This was such a beautiful book; it’s a stunning and sensitive exploration of the complicated nature of families, both traditional and found. I don’t want to say too much about the intricacies of this so as to not give anything away, but this story has so much heart, but also some really wounded people. What was so beautiful though was how this group of people, both the MCs and the wonderful supporting characters, gained so much healing from one another once they allowed themselves the chance to open up in new ways. I love that the notion of home ended as being tied to who you’re with rather than where you are.

I adore Stone’s books and this one was no exception. The travel and different locations that the MCs found themselves in added such a wonderful extra dimension and left me wishing the travel company was real so I could go on their trips!

This was a delight and I couldn’t recommend it more.

The story explores Lexie's passion for travel, inherited from her father, who divorced her mother when she was young, leading to their estrangement. After his death, Lexie must manage his business with Theo, starting with a rocky relationship that develops into a compelling love story. The book features rich side characters like the strong and influential Angela, who plays a crucial role. The narrative also delves into Lexie’s family dynamics and her father's impact on her and her sister, evoking strong emotions. The wish jar tradition Lexie shared with her father adds a touching element. The detailed trips and the intertwining personal stories make this more than a typical romance novel. It’s a heartwarming Christmas read, prompting readers to cherish family bonds and traditions."

When Lexie’s estranged father, Richard, dies, she discovers he’s left her a half-share of his travel business and awkward conditions with an employee, Theo. Their discord is palpable, and they act like spitting cats at each other based on wrong assumptions they’ve made. Both have complex family divisions, scars and wounds to heal from childhood. Lexie is a rolling stone with massive trust problems, a lack of commitment and insecurities, so the relationship is thorny. She has a default setting of defensiveness. However, there’s dramatic irony and chemistry cooking between them and Theo begins to get under her skin. This changes the dynamics from hostile to amiable banter when they allow themselves to know each other and establish similarities in their future agendas and childhoods. Neither had ideal parental models.

I confess that initially, I didn’t care for Lexie and Theo. They seemed so immature and brattish. However, the novel is so sensitively written that they grew on me when their backgrounds and thoughts were exposed. The characterisation is excellent: the outgoing Lexie, who can’t commit to anything, and Theo, who is scared of failure. Harry, the enthusiastic puppy with a fixation on cool ties; Fran, her serial online dating lawyer friend. Ange, the company mediator and astute matchmaker. Rachel - the troubled half-sister who got the best from their father, Richard. Lastly, her long-suffering mother who deserved better in life than was granted.

I’m left uncertain how the relationship might progress, as Lexie is volatile, an escapist, and short on commitment like her father. Can love solve their issues, or will they end up throwing plates at each other? It’s an inspiring journey of discovery in relationships. The description of the various holidays offered by the business was fascinating. I wanted to join them in their fun. Thank you for a well-written, emotional, thought-provoking novel, NetGalley and Headline.

Well, this was lovely. I cried numerous times and enjoyed that stomach clench when something emotional just draws you in. This is an absolute pate turner, all romance, and loss and gentleness that really appealed. Some fabulous friends and family and the upset of losing a parent and then finding out who they are. Well worth a read.

#Review: *Home Again for Christmas* - Emily Stone
4.8/5✨

It's been a tradition for me, for a couple of years, to read at least one book by Emily Stone. This year though, I had the chance to read in advance this book and I really appreciate that you accepted me for this ARC, Emily and NetGalley!

The main character of this books is Lexie, who is a travel lover. She is always in other country and she inherited this passion from her father. Unfortunately, he divorced her mother when she was little and she totally disconnected from him after many disappointments from his side. But now, he passed away and she is faced with another aventure - to handle half of his business with another man, Theo.

I loved their journey to find more about each other and to learn more about the business of Lexie's belated father. They had a really bad start but the author delighted us with a really slow burn and an on-off hate-love between them.

There was a side character which I really liked: Angela, who is one of the company's employee. She was portraited as a very strong, influential woman and she played a big part into this story. I'm sure that nothing would have been the same without her.

Another thing which I found interesting was the wish jar. It was a tradition which Lexie started with her father when she was little and every Christmas she would put in there one wish. Throughout the book, Lexie founds out many things she hadn't known about her father and how unique their relationship was, even though she refused to speak to him.

As expected, another beautiful, heartwarming story from Emily Stone! I really enjoy her books! This one is so well built that it was inevitable to not fall in love with everything in it: characters, details, story overall. I truly recommend it!


✨Tropes:
#EnemiesToLovers
#ForcedProximity
#OppositeAttract
#WorkplaceRomance
#ThirdPersonPov

My Review: I felt and feel absolutely blessed to have been given the opportunity to read this ARC, Emily Stone is one of my go to authors and this book has been like a message from beyond. I completely identified with the Lexie who was estranged from her father for a large part of her life it it’s not until his passing that she realises a lot of her thoughts were not how things were. How do you mourn someone you love and didn’t love? How do you remember someone you didn’t really know? We find out through the pages, they really hit home for me. Lex inherits 50% of something she doesn’t want and shares the other 50% with someone she doesn’t like, Theo! What she does like is the scent of his aftershave that is a hint of Sandalwood. We also meet her mum, half sister Rachel, her best friend and her work colleagues. There’s a beauty to the writing that reminds me of that of Margaret Amatt. There’s grief for time lost, grief for a future lost, memories of her happy and unhappy childhood. I was completely engrossed in the father/ deserted daughter dynamic. There’s that will they? Won’t they? between Lexie and Theo as they peel back the layers and break down walls, the story also takes us to Spain, France, Vienna and beyond. The wish for a truth trade was a fun part of the story. If I could give all the stars I could find they wouldn’t be enough, because I literally felt spoken to and for that I cannot thank the author enough. I know it's not a self-help book but it helped me!!

Ah I love an Emily Stone Christmas book! This one is no different, it has complicated relationships (be it family or romance ones), heartbreaking and warming scenes as well as comedy. More please!

Really enjoy this book. One minute I was laughing the next I was crying! Defo worth a read! Thanks for the early read

Lexie’s dad died and left her half of his travel company. She has to work with Theo who loved her father, instead of her who always felt abandoned.
It was a sweet love story about family that makes you travel (I loved earring about Menton where I spend my summer time has a kid).
Emily stone is my auto buy author.

This will make you laugh and it will make you cry. Relationships are complicated and the death of Lexie's father affects different people in different ways, each of them seeing different facets of the man they knew. Lexie struggles to come to terms with her inheritance, her new life and new partner in a business she thinks she doesn’t want and Theo has his own struggles resulting from his family dynamics. I liked Theo and Lexie a lot and their romance is beautifully written.

Thanks to a great author we have warmth, wisdom and emotional intelligence, this book was a huge pleasure to read! A fabulous, really enjoyable read.
I would highly recommend to family and friends. I love author’s that can describe a scene and you are immediately there, you close your eyes and you picture the scene. This author does that for me.
Fabulous festive read

I received a free copy of, Home Again for Christmas, by Emily Stone, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Lexie is always on the go, but she keeps a sacred tradition from her childhood. When Lexie dad dies, he leaves half the company to her, and half to Theo. I really liked Lexie and the traveling parts of this book. Its an enjoyable holiday read.

It did not matter that the sun was shining and I was reading this book in a heatwave, I was transported to Austria, Madrid, Bath and France; and I enjoyed every minute of it!
When Lexie’s Dad Richard left her and he4 Mum, Lexie never got over her feelings of abandonment and rejection, especially when he started a new life with a new family.
Now, more than 20 years later, Richard has left half of his travel company to Lexie in his will.. the other half to Theo, his protégée. But the terms are that Lexie has to settle in Bath for a year, work in the company and that the company makes a profit. Only then can she sell.
I love a book that pulls you into the story from the very first page, and this one does just that. You could feel the restlessness in Lexie, her desire never to get hurt again, never to trust completely. Theo had a different family background which made him insecure and doubtful about his decisions.
The descriptions about the different holiday destinations were amazing, especially the festivals.
Excellent storytelling

Thank you Headline and Netgalley for this ARC Copy. I really loved this book, it wasn't just primarily focused on christmas, it deals with greive, complicated family relationships and a sense of found family. I will be 100% recommending this to my friends and family this festive period.

A whimsical Christmas story written by the Queen of Christmas fiction!

Perfect for those who enjoy:
- The magic of Christmas
- Complex family relationships
- Family dramas
- Love hate situationships

With thanks to Headline and Netgalley for an ARC copy in return for an honest review.

A lovely heart warming Christmas story about loss, hope, love and family. A great early Christmas read that isn't overly christmasy.