The Christmas Cottage by Sarah Morgan is a most charming Christmas contemporary novel that I absolutely adored.
Once more Sarah Morgan has captured the essence of Christmas within her book. Christmas is family, fun, laughter – all things that had been missing from the leading lady’s life.
We see the loneliness of never having anyone to depend on, the feeling of utter abandonment as a character throws herself into her work. “When life is hard, it sometimes helps to have no time to think about it.”
When burnout is close, a character realizes that something must change. “You couldn’t undo the past, but you could do your very best with the future.” The past is gone, the future lies ahead. “The past was gone and she wasn’t going to let it contaminate the present.”
Everyone makes choices that have consequences. “The choices were their own and you had no control over that.” We are not responsible for the choices of others. We are only responsible for our own choices.”
A Cotswold community is a welcoming place to be. “The community had wrapped itself around her… and provided a warm and comforting layer of protection between her and the world.” The community is a place of safety where strangers become friends.
Animals turn a house into a home. I adored Golden Retriever, Ralph, who was very much a character in his own right.
We witness a character who rescues lost and abandoned animals. There is always a home for them with her. It is her life’s mission as she feels guilty for the one, she couldn’t save many years ago.
All the characters were well drawn and totally believable. I absolutely loved young Ava with her openness and her zest for life. Sarah Morgan had perfectly captured the mannerisms of a young child.
The Christmas Cottage is the perfect read for a winter’s day – whether it is in the lead up to Christmas or a grey January day. The Christmas Cottage will brighten any day.
I received a free copy. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

One of my favourite Christmas books in 2024! Yes it was festive and typically sweet but there was a surprising arc of self discovery also.

Always feels like no one does Christmas books like Sarah Morgan and she’s got quite a few to pick from too. This is a great addition and gives the right amount of emotion and joy.

My book of the Christmas! Sarah Morgan never fails to delight. What a fantastic read, everything I needed for a cosy festive book - without being at all contrived or trite.

4.5

I adored this book. I loved the characters and the range of friendships and relationships throughout. The author covered the sensitive topics brilliantly and nothing was completely predictable. I also loved the character of the youngest niece she was charming. Another fantastic festive book by Sarah Morgan.

I love a Christmas book and I especially love reading them in ‘twixmas or the New Year. January is such a dull month and in my opinion a festive romance is the perfect antidote. This book certainly delivered on that front. It was like a warm hug and left me feeling very festive and uplifted.
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The book is told from multiple POVs. Imogen, an events manager, who is about to make a huge mistake at work. Dorothy, Imogen’s client, who lives in a gorgeous village in the Cotswolds and offers for Imogen to stay in her holiday cottage over Christmas. And Sara, Dorothy’s daughter, who is concerned about her mother’s close relationship with Imogen.
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I loved all the characters in this book. Imogen is a strong and independent woman, who thinks she can handle anything that life throws at her. But really she is vulnerable and is completely isolated. She just longs for a real life and a real family. I also adored Sara. She made me laugh lots. And I loved that she concerned herself with the business of those around her. Dorothy, was also the perfect matriarch and a kind and generous woman, who’d faced a great deal of heartache.
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This was such a lovely book. I thought the big reveal and everything that followed was well handled. And I adored Imogen’s relationship with Miles, the vet. He was lovely. A complete darling. He was there for Imogen but never took over or interfered. He was a good listener, romantic and had a brilliant sarcastic sense of humour.

Imogen is a workaholic and loves her job, but when something goes wrong she is persuaded to take a break. Client Dorothy invites her to stay, and what follows is a lovely story of family, revelations and romance.

The book was easy to read, with some fabulous characters in a lovely setting. I personally felt the twist and the resulting story was a bit rushed, but I did enjoy it, and I liked Imogen's character progression. Sarah Morgan is a must read author at Christmas.

An emotional Christmas book with a heart-wrenching family twist.
I loved reading about Imogen and how she found her 'family in the country'. A great book by Sarah Morgan that I didn't want to end.

Such a lovely read after disasters at work. And taking some time off finding out a client you have worked with for 2 years is actually your family is a lot to take in. But this was truly a perfect Christmas read. Love these books and never feels like Christmas till you have read sarah Morgan.

I always enjoy a book by Sarah Morgan especially a Christmas one. A fantastic read with brilliant characters and i couldnt wait to see what happened next - a lovely Christmas read

Just the book to get you in the mood for Christmas. I loved the latest Sarah Morgan Christmas story. The characters are so well written and likeable and the plot is engaging. A great read.

Another lovely Christmas read from Sarah Morgan. Family drama with a sprinkling of romance, and the perfect amount of Christmas sprinkled in there.

A brilliant read and one I really enjoyed. The characters are loveable. The plot is one that is engaging and I found myself completely drawn into the story and enjoyed the writing style. I think this was Sarah Morgan's best book yet.

Another fabulous Christmas offering from Sarah Morgan. I absolutely adored this one. It was a perfect feel good Christmas story but with a twist I didn't see coming.
It was a brilliant easy read that I devoured over the festive period. Can't wait for the next one!

Is it even Christmas, if you don’t read the @sarahmorganwrites Christmas book. I thought I was going to miss out this year, as I have been in a bit of a slump, but I was so happy to get stuck into this one.

The book is true Sarah Morgan style. The book made me feel so cozy inside and in the true Christmas spirit. Whilst the book was predictable in parts, that’s what makes it for me.

I would like to have seen a few more chapters when Imogen returned to London and see how that panned out. But it leaves room for a sequel 😉

I just love this authors writing and her impeccable festive story telling.

Already looking forward to next years!

For me, Christmas isn't Christmas without a @sarahmorganwrites book to curl up with and The Christmas Cottage was everything I hoped for.

Many Christmas books focus on romance as the central plot but I personally find them a little boring. Although I love a Christmas love story, I need a bit of depth too. This story puts some tough issues front and centre, with just a little sprinkle of romance along the way; perfect for me

The Christmas Cottage is also full of Christmas fun (i'm talking snow, markets, gifts, trees, singing)..... oh and it gets bonus points for including a dog.

If you like a Christmas themed book, this is definitely one I would recommend. Reminding the reader that Christmas can be tough for some and inviting us to reflect on the meaning of family, I found it an emotional read in parts, however it remained a light , easy read . Overall it is a gorgeous book, warm hearted and uplifting, that gave me all the festive feels......it's a luxurious hot chocolate in a book. 🎅❤🎄❤⛄

It’s not Christmas without a Sarah Morgan. Imogen finds herself very alone until a stay at Holly Cottage. Always rejected by her mother. Imogen discovers family and love . Heartwarming festive read.

A Sarah Morgan novel is a go to for me at Christmas time. I’m slowly working my way through the back list of novels so I was delighted when I was approved by HQ and NetGalley to read and review the newest release, The Christmas Cottage!

As expected with a Sarah Morgan novel, there is a cosy wintery setting, wholesome characters, and a storyline full of charm of warmth. I adored the unexpected journey the storyline took the reader on and the protagonist, Imogen, is a brilliant and endearing character.

A heartwarming and emotional read which is pure escapism! Thank you to HQ and NetGalley for my copy.

You can’t go wrong with a Sarah Morgan Christmas book — there’s a reason why HQ market her books as “read yourself happy” (it’s true). Morgan has a real warmth to her writing and a deep understanding of human relationships which she writes with compassion and heart. Including animals and food adds to a winning combination!

The Christmas Cottage was a lovely take about Imogen who is haunted by her past, and tries to hide this by working hard. However, nothing really stays buried and so when her hidden life collides with her work, Imogen has to learn to swim rather than just treading water. There are some challenging moments but the friendships formed within the narrative are real and supportive. I enjoyed Dorothy, Miles, and Sara, but my favourite was Ralph. Another feel-good Christmassy story by Morgan. Recommended!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher, HQ, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was my fourth festive Sarah Morgan book and for the first 50 pages I was worried that I wouldn’t enjoy this as much as I’ve previously enjoyed her books, however there was no need for me to worry because I loved this and really wanted to keep reading.

The Christmas Cottage is Sarah Morgan’s 2024 Christmas release following Imogen who loves her job and by keeping herself busy she can keep her painful herself busy she can keep her painful history out of her mind. When Imogan realises she needs a break and her client Dorothy invites her to her place for Christmas it sounds like the ideal getaway until long-buried secrets resurface and Imogen’s peace is threatened.

One of my favourite things about this book is the family bonds and relationships that are featured. It was really nice to see how close Sara and Dorothy were throughout the story, you could tell that they were really close and wanted the best for each other even when the other didn’t appreciate it when they were doing it. You could also tell that the things they had been through together in the past had brought them closer together.
Family is such a key part of this book and in many different ways over the course of the story too. It was so special to read and I think it really works with the festive feeling that Sarah Morgan is so good at creating year after year in every book. Sarah Morgan is so good at writing family dynamics and I always love reading the family that she creates and develops. They always feel like real families and the dynamics or arguments don’t feel exaggerated instead things that you could see happening with real families.

Imogen was a character who throughout the book really grew on me. At the start of the book I wasn’t sure what I thought of her but by the end of the book I really liked her and wanted to spend as many more pages with her as possible. I got to really understand why she was and why she behaved the way that she did throughout the book.

There was a slight romance during the story which I really enjoyed and fitted the story perfectly. It created some scenes that I absolutely loved and wanted to read. It was nice to see that it was built into the story and the key family part of the book which I don’t think I was expecting but it made the family feel so much stronger.

I loved all of these characters and the depth that every character had and how likeable everyone was. Sara and Dorothy really made the story what it was but also alone they were just characters who I really liked. Miles was a character who when we first met I didn’t expect to be a key character but was and I just loved what he did for the story and other characters. Then Ava and Iris were just so much fun and added some needed lightness when things felt a bit sadder. Ava especially made me laugh.

This was definitely a festive book that I will recommend in years to come and makes me excited to read whatever festive book Sarah Morgan releases next. I also think that this is one I will be returning to and rereading.