I really enjoy Phillipa Ashley's books and this one is as good if not better than others of hers that i've read.

The concept of this story, having a retreat for people who want to avoid Christmas is really good. I like the sound of it to be honest. I absolutely adore Christmas but there is always an element of stress that comes with it.

I love the added drama in this story, the characters that are new and ones that are in it from the beginning are well thought out and I got a sense of thought, that the author really took into consideration the dynamic of each character and how they would react and connect with each other.

Brilliant. I know it's Easter in two days time but I can't beat a Festive story.

Another fantastic read from one of my favourite authors. As Sophie starts a new life in the country, trying to ignore Christmas, she doesn't Bank on failing for the local vet Brody, who is sadly already taken, but it's all as it seems?
Sophie decides to open her first house as a Christmas free zone over the festive period that brings in an array of unusual characters, all with their own stories. Snow and emergencies change everything and as the new year becomes, can Sophie open her heart and find happiness?
A lovely read with great characters.

A lovely Christmas novel, with a great setting and some great characters.
One or two twists and surprises and a well developed storyline.
This isn't the first Phillipa Ashley I have read and it won't be the last!

Such a lovely book. I really love Phillipa Ashley's books and this one didn't disappoint. I absolutely loved Sophie's little hotel in the Lakes, Sunnyside. And I especially loved her idea of offering an Escape for Christmas that isn't your typical Christmas break. Thankfully, it was a joyous and heartwarming. There's romance but it's really a book about hope, new beginnings and celebrating Christmas in your own way.

I have given this book 3 stars. It is a romance novel but not that bad hence the 3 stars. There were a few cliche’s but not as bad as mills and boon. The end was a bit rushed but they got there in the end.
The jist of the story is girl meets boy, boy cheats on girl, girl moves away, hates Christmas as that was when her boyfriend cheated on her or she found out, girl meets another boy, boys other girl comes back there’s a back story, girl and boy keep getting thrown together, girl and boy end up together. All in all a good read the reason for 3 stars I don’t like romance books

Sophie has moved to the Lake District to run a guesthouse after she caught her fiancée balls deep in her best friend in the store room of her Christmas shop. Now, a year later she doesn't want to have anything to do with Christmas so instead of celebrating a traditional Christmas, she decides to host an "Escape for Christmas" for her guests with a Spanish theme.

She ends up being fully booked for the weekend as after all, not everyone wants to celebrate Christmas for whatever reason. Though things do not go to plan for Sophie - a whole host of misadventures await Sophie and her guests over the 24-48hrs, which seemed a tad unbelievable really. It was one crisis after another, after another!

I wanted to like Brody and it was drilled into us from the start that he's a "good guy" but he clearly has feelings for Sophie, has an arrangement with his fiancée and while he agrees they won't tell anyone about it, he goes and tells his best friend but refuses to tell Sophie the truth! If he was such a good guy, he would have told her the truth about what was going on so she wouldn't be left hurt.

I really loved the description of the Lake District during the Christmas period though, it sounded so magical and it makes me want to go there one year for the holidays.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

After Sophie is jilted by her fiancé she loses her love of Christmas and goes away to run a B&B specialising in avoiding Christmas (a great idea btw). The cute vet next door is on hand to help out where needed and maybe melt her heart at the same time?! A lovely read.

Cute and perfect read for winter.

This novel was the perfect example of how magic Christmas is and how your life can change in a single moment.

It’s quite magical how finding your person makes everything right if when you’ve been jilted by your fiancé and loose all your Christmas spirit, which is exactly where we meet Sophie.

Apologies for the late review but I am currently under going strong chemotherapy. As always Phillipa's book lived up to expectancy. A great easy to read book with lovely characters, helped me escape to the Lakes. Always some quirky parts and unexpected turns. I love all the books I have read by Phillipa and look forward to the next book.

𝗘𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀

Sophie used to LOVE Christmas until she was jilted by her cheating fiancé last year. Upping sticks to the quaint Cumbrian countryside, she opens a hotel and is set on running a Christmas-Free festive period for those who don't want to celebrate like her.

This was such a lovely, funny Christmas read with great character development for both Sophie and local vet, Brody. Loads of mishaps, power cuts, unexpected births, rival siblings booking the same stay and Sophie has a lot on her hands!

Final festive read for the holidays. Finished on the last day of the holidays.

It was everything I wanted from a cosy romance - main character Sophie moves to the Lake District, trading in the Christmas shop she ran in her home town (Stratford-upon-Avon) for Sunnyside Guest House when her partner cheats on her.

Cue a meet cute with a handsome neighbour with his own complicated past …

📚AD-PR 🙏 Penguin Random House and NetGalley

Who doesn’t love a good Christmas read & this ticked all the boxes for me.
I soon lost myself in the pages of this lovely story.
Well written with likeable characters you could imagine yourself there.
Sophie is trying to avoid Christmas & everything about it, after being jilted by her fiancé, which happened one December.
She is now running a lovely guesthouse that is set deep in the Cumbrian countryside.
The one unusual thing about it is she never celebrates Christmas.
She advertises a no Christmas policy to any guests wishing to avoid it & everything that goes with it.
She is promoting fun & laughter for the Christmas season but without the tree tinsel Christmas food & anything else that says Christmas.
Absolutely loved this heartwarming read it was a lovely page turner for me.

A lovely Christmas read about Sophie, who is trying to avoid Christmas, and the lovely village vet, who has his own secrets. Sophie is running a guesthouse and is having an Escape from Christmas themed break. The guests are all interesting and have their own stories. Throw in a snowstorm, power failure, and a multitude of other enjoyable little sub plots, and this book will have you happily turning pages late into the night. Nicely done without obvious cringe moments with an interesting mix of characters, human and otherwise, this is a winner.

Thanks to netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Another great read from Phillipa. Sophie opens her hotel to people who want to avoid the Christmas celebrations.

I really enjoyed Escape for Christmas by Phillipa Ashley. The characters were well written and relatable and the setting was beautifully described. I could visualise myself in the guesthouse and surrounding countryside. A cosy Christmas read. Fab.

A lovely festive read, I really enjoyed the story lining and the emotions, it's definitely a book you'd read at Christmas time, year after year.

Lovely gentle, story of a young woman who has changed her life following a betrayal who finds herself drawn to the local Vet. The characters are well rounded, the story is engaging. I particularly enjoyed the planning of the alternative Christmas and the reflections that not everyone will enjoy Christmas and the various reasons for that explored through the varying characters. Fabulous comfort read.


With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Maybe I should have read this book before Xmas rather than after so I was still somewhat in the Xmas mood!

Quite a different way to spend Xmas but the book did work although I did think there was a lot of padding in it and found myself skim reading it quite a bit until the inevitable ending did arrive. Characters were good but just felt let down by the storyline itself.

A very predictable Christmas romcom. Lovely to read and characters you can empathise with. I loved this book.

Another perfect beauty from Ashley with every special ingredient required for a flawless (non) festive read. Sprinkle over a handsome vet, a stranded pregnant traveller, an honesty bar and rest by a cosy fire. Dreamy.