Perfect Christmassy Holiday read. Absolutely loved this book. Full of festive drama. Certainly one to curl up with under the fairy lights this Christmas.

Well Fiona Gibson really hit the nail on the head about what it is like being a mom during the holidays! I loved this book about friendships and relationships that took place the picture perfect Scottish Highlands. I really enjoyed all the characters and loved how it all came together in the end.

📚 BOOK REVIEW 📚

'Tis the Damn Season By Fiona Gibson
Publication Date: September 11, 2024
Publisher: Boldwood Books

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚MY REVIEW:

'Tis the Damn Season is the greatest pre-holiday read! This book is a reminder that the best parts of the holiday aren't due to the hustle and bustle, the image of 'perfection' and stressing ourselves out to be sure everything is 'just right.' This is a reminder that the magic of the holidays comes from being present in the moment and enjoying the good things around you -- whatever that might look like.

This was such a delightfully fun read! While there's a little bit of romance, I wouldn't call this a rom-com; it's more of a combination of women's fiction and just a really damn good story.

This is about three female friends, Shelley, Lena, and Pearl, all of whom feel like they're kind-of 'over' the stress of planning and the lack of appreciation from their family members this holiday season. They decide, on a whim, to spend the four days before Christmas at a Bed & Breakfast in The Highlands in Northern Scotland. This B&B is owned by Michael, a 'second cousin and old friend of Pearl's, who she's always stayed in touch with but hasn't seen in more than 20 years.

Shelley, Lena, and Pearl are all incredibly relatable women, managing the stresses of daily life, making sure everyone in their families is taken care of, and being solely responsible for creating a perfect Christmas. Anyone who has ever felt unappreciated or unseen by their families or friends will have no trouble relating to these women. I truly enjoyed the personalities of all three characters, and getting to be a witness to the 30-year friendship they shared was pretty special.

The additional guests at the B&B all added to the fun of this read, and the setting of the story seemed like such a magical place. With the number of my recent reads set in Scotland, it sure feels as if the universe is nudging me to visit its idyllic landscapes.

There was such a sparkle and joie de vivre within these pages, and I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a light hearted, feel-good book ahead of the busy holiday season. This was my first read from Fiona Gibson, and her authentic writing style and endearing characters have ensured it won't be my last read by her. Thank you SO MUCH to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

#TisTheDamnSeason #FionaGibson #BoldwoodBooks #BoldwoodVIPs #boldwoodbookclub #NetGalley #NetGalleyReviews #ARC #booklover #bookaddict #fictionbooks #holidayreads #feelgoodbooks #bookreviews #bookrecommendations #bookrecs

Any book with a Taylor Swift lyric as the title is one that I'll pick up! Add in a girls trip, the Scottish setting, and women who have reached their limit, and I was very thrilled that I was provided with an ARC. I found this book really compelling, and the women's friendships felt real and so did their worries. This book made me feel seen, known, and made me both think and laugh!

I was happy to follow Shelly, Lena, and Pearl to the Scottish Highlands! I really enjoyed the breakdown of the very different lives of these three middle-aged friends who decide to do what they want for once- instead of what everyone else wants for them. The fuss of holiday season and the opportunity falls into their lap to get away from it all. In leaving it all behind they are met with some challenges, meet new people, and learn more about themselves then they ever have before. This is a story of bonding and rebuilding with a few laughs and some tears shed along the way. Definatly recommend for a quick and cozy read!

I adored this read and it made for the perfect Christmas read to get you into the festive spirit. The plot is a pure joy, full of laughs as well as despair and moments of sadness and change. This was incredibly enjoyable and was a feel good read that put a smile on my face.
The three main characters are great and came across as very realistic, it was entertaining to follow their festive stress and they go through scenarios that many people can relate to. Gibson has a great balance between setting this in London and the Highlands, both locations felt Christmassy in their own ways.
This book is a joyous Christmas read that will not fail to put a smile on your face.
Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an advance copy.

What a joyous read this is, read in one sitting. Three amazing friends with different problems and life struggles. Their families and friends a true soap opera of festive life. These three ladies pack a punch in their resilience and together are a force to be reckoned with. I howled laughing throughout this gem of a festive read by Fiona Gibson.
All the situations and problems are real life the up and downs of family life the redesigning of changes in life.
A truly wonderful read for the festive season to really indulge in dramas and resolutions with hopeful hearts!
#tisthedamnseason #netgalley #top10festivereads

Witty, Hilarious and charming..... this book provided everything you need for a perfect festive read!

Fiona Gibson’s ‘Tis the Damn Season focuses on 3 middle-aged women. Pearl, Lena, and Shelley, for various reasons, are seriously stressed out by Christmas preparations. Needing to get away for a few days before Christmas, they head to Scotland to a remote B&B.
I loved that the story focused on middle-aged people. I could really relate to all three women. At first, the story started off a little slow, but after a few chapters, I could not put the book down at all. This story had some surprises which I was not expecting. Overall, I really enjoyed this holiday romance. This was the first book that I have read by this author, but it won’t be the last.
Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

A totally realistic and extremely relatable read for so many middle aged women juggling homes, work, children, husbands, menopause and then you add in the annual festive organisation, present shopping and wrapping, food shopping, cooking, relatives, tree buying and decorating and you wonder why we are stressed, harassed and totally not full of Christmas cheer!
Well this year it’s different for three friends who book a last minute break to Scotland just before Christmas, leaving their loved ones to continue the never ending Christmas preparations!
What ensues is totally different to what was anticipated being left to run a B and B, getting snowed in and entertaining paying guests, but during this time they bond, reflect on their lives and make life changing decisions buoyed by the wonderful friendship group they have!
A really enjoyable feel good read filled with plenty of laughter, perfect for getting into the festive spirit!

Old friends Shelley, Lena and Pearl have reached their limit with the festive preparation that has always fallen to them, and five days before Christmas, they’ve booked a mini break at the Highlands without their families. It's exactly what they have imagined until they're snowed in. They're forced to re-examine and confront their real reasons for needing to escape.

This book is such a heart-warming read, perfect for the Christmas season! The setting is just perfect - the Highlands with snow and a B&B.

We have three middle-aged women - Shelley, Pearl and Lena as the main characters with their husbands, in-laws, children and the B&B guests as side characters. All the characters are nicely written with their required depths. Nothing too dramatic or overly written.

If you're looking for a holiday romance, this is not it. It is more about self-growth. I like how these three women were troubled and each of them was coping with their own problems before Christmas and how they came out stronger after the season.

Although the ending and the plot is slightly clichéd, it suits the Christmas mood with a festive-hopeful vibe.

Overall, this is a good Christmas read. If you love Sarah Morgan, Lucy Diamond and Veronica Henry, you'll love this too.
𝓜𝔂 𝓻𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5

Thank you NetGalley @netgalley and Boldwood Books @theboldbookclub for this ARC. This review contains my honest opinion about the book

A cute read. I love Fiona Gibson’s wit and charm which come with her books.

Three old friends Lena, Shelley and Pearl plan their pre Christmas escape. They were so relatable. Although Shelley always deserved better.

Fiona Gibson- your books are always a joy. It’s a cosy yet real life read for these autumn evenings.

This book is hilarious! I was chuckling my way through it from the very first page, and my husband kept looking at me like I’d grown another head!

Shelley, Pearl and Lena are three middle-aged women, going through what many middle-aged women do at Christmas and beyond. They’re buying presents, wrapping presents, food shopping, cooking, baking, decorating Christmas trees and still doing the normal run-of-the-mill things such as the washing, the ironing and feeding their family! Phew, I’m exhausted just thinking about it all! Then they get the opportunity to leave all that behind for a few days before Christmas and hole up at a B&B in Scotland. Well I’m sure you can all guess what happens, yep, they get snowed in and have to spend Christmas there.

Fiona Gibson is a brilliant author. Her books make me laugh all the way through and as soon as I saw the title of this one, I knew it would be the same; The characters are brilliant and we get to see how important friends are to each other and how good friends will stick by each other through everything,

‘Tis the Damn Season is a lovely book to sit down with in the lead-up to the holiday season, so why not grab a copy and immerse yourselves in these ladies’ lives for a few hours.

Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and Rachel’s Random Resources for the opportunity to read ‘Tis the Damn Season by Fiona Gibson.

In this fun and exciting holiday romance novel, readers join old friends Shelley, Lena, and Pearl who are at their holiday season breaking point and book a last-minute holiday without their families in the Scottish Highlands. As their holiday plans change and they get this well-earned escape, getting snowed in has definitely derailed their holiday plans and led to some unsupervised chaos at home. Forcing them to improvise and confront their reasons behind this spontaneous holiday, Shelley, Lena, and Pearl must make the best of their new holiday situation and their lives back home before they return -- and if they do, how will their lives change? With fantastic, charming characters and some interesting perspective switches throughout the novel, readers get immersed in Shelley, Lena, and Pearl’s stories and the struggles they go through during the holiday season and at other times in their lives. With brilliant character development and a series of chaotic holiday tropes, Gibson has done a fantastic job bringing these characters and this narrative to life. For readers looking for a fun holiday romance novel with fun tropes and some chaos and a happy ending, Gibson’s latest holiday novel is exactly what these readers need this holiday season.

A nice festive read. Struggled to put this novel down. A great story by Fiona Gibson. Would recommend

A festive, fun and cute read! This will get you ready for Christmas!
I'm a big fan of Christimas romance books - so not a suprise that I liked this one too!

December, I'm ready!

This book took me a lot longer to finish than I would have liked. I almost gave up on it a few times, but by halfway in I was hooked. I wanted to know how these three women made it through their trip. Then I learned more about them and their love lives. I was suprised, upset, happy, all the emotions going through this book with these women. Having this story follow three seperate women in different areas of their love lives, on a holiday no less, made me feel a little less alone in certain feelings and moments. I feel this book can be empowering in a way depending on how it is interpreted by the reader. Would definitely read this again to see what else I could gain from their stories.

This book was a Christmas escape to the highlands for the characters AND for myself. I love how these characters did what most mums probably wish they could around the hectic chaos that is Christmas and took themselves off for a relaxing stay at a b&b. I really didn’t like Shelly’s husband at all!!! I liked the characters though I liked the premise and the writing was good, definitely a good book to pick up during the festive season especially if you feel as though it’s all getting on top of you

Very entertaining, yet filled with some difficult moments for the characters as well.

This book is light-hearted (mostly) and describes what sounds to be an idyllic holiday in the Scottish Highlands, right around Christmas time (not jealous or anything!). The ladies are simply lovely, and it was an enjoyable journey reading how they navigated their respective challenging times at Christmas.

Fun and quick to get you into the Christmas spirit!

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read this delightful book. I loved it! I loved the friendship of Shelley, Lena and Pearl. I loved how they put themselves first and have such a wonderful time finding themselves. A great holiday read.