This was such a perfect Christmas read, full of everything you could ever want in a book, the setting was just perfect, I can't recommend this book enough!!

Christmas isn't always hallmark and that is absolutely the case for Isobel whose only family is a mum with whom the relationship is fraught.
A call from the hospital derails Isobel and a generous offer from a client changes the course of things for her.
Brilliantly written and I'd love a further installment from these characters.

Sarah Morgan is my go to author for a festive read. Her books are always a cosy read without being too predictable.
I will be honest, I did struggle for the first 20% of this book but it was getting to know the characters and all made sense once reading more. I loved the characters in this book and was rooting for Imgoen from the start.
I did however feel I wanted to know a little more at the end about her mother (won't say much more in case I spoil it for other readers).
Maybe a short follow up story? 😊

Thank you for allowing me to review this Christmas book. It is a different kind of Christmas story from what I had expected. If only real life was able to bring together such happy experiences after a life of struggles. I enjoyed the story and can recommend it to all lovers of light reading, romance & Christmas.

🎧Audiobook Review🎧

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I want to thank NetGalley and @hqstories for approving me for an ARC of this book.

With a beautiful snowy setting, this book is littered with Christmas traditions to put you in a festive mood.

On top of that, we have some furry four-legged friends of many varieties to entertain us. Although Ralph is definitely my favourite!

Family, secrets, regrets and trust are all at the centre of this story. Imogen's hard exterior and work ethic are better understood as we get to know her. The relationship, or lack of it, that she had with Tina is devastating.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really loved this story. It made me laugh and cry and I really loved the story of family at the heart of this book. The romance was cute but the relationships between the women was the main focus and I appreciated it a lot.

I don't give a 5 star review very often but I absolutely loved this book, it was right up my street!

Sarah Morgan always writes a lovely Christmas tale - and this one didn't fail to impress.

Imogen is an event planner and is maxed out, she runs from one work event to another, and tries to fix every problem that it throws her way, Her personal life is a complete lie, from Midas "her" dog and her wonderful family and fake boyfriend.

On a fateful day, she has a call from a hospital to say that her mother is unwell and her fate is changed from that day forward... she is forced to take a month's holiday by her boss (as she hands over her resignation) and is forced to face Christmas head on. She is asked to stay in her client's cosy cottage, and everything starts to fall apart....

Imogen is forced to face her past, unexpectedly... and her solo escape to the country helps her to unravel, and rebuild who she is and what she (doesn't) believe about herself. She discovers how Christmas should be, and there's even a lovely dog (that is a double for Midas) that comes along with it...

I would recommend this to anyone who wants to snuggle next to the fire with a hot chocolate and mince pies.

One of my favourite authors and I loved this gorgeous, festive, escapist story of second chances and fresh starts.

Imogen lives in London organising corporate events and rarely stops working. Her colleagues all admire her but they don't realise Imogen's cheerful exterior is a facade she invented to cover her loneliness.

Beneath her carefully curated professional persona, Imogen is desperate to fit in and protect herself from further rejection. Imogen has created an imaginary life, complete with fake family, a fake boyfriend and a fake dog, but in reality she lives alone in a dingy uninviting flat whilst she tries to save up for a deposit.

Imogen's only family is her mother who insists on being called Tina and forgets she has a daughter until she needs something.

As well as being lonely and difficult, the build up to Christmas is very busy for Imogen with multiple events happening at the same time, and she is at the point of burnout when she receives the final straw in the form of distressing news from her estranged mother.

Imogen is convinced she will be fired, but instead of accepting her resignation, her boss demands she takes a whole month of work. For Imogen this is even worse! How is she going to stop herself from thinking about the family Christmas she yearns for if she is all alone with nothing to keep her mind occupied?

Luckily, one of Imogen's best clients has the perfect solution in the form of a beautiful, newly renovated cottage in the Cotswolds.

Although there are a few bumps along the way, Imogen's trip turns out to bring her more than she could have dreamt of from the perfect life she imagined.

One of the first authors to come to mind when I am thinking of picking up a new Christmas book is Sarah Morgan as she really knows how to pull off a festive favourite so it was time to start reading her new release The Christmas Cottage.

Any of you who have read any books by Sarah Morgan before will know that she typically writes her stories around three women’s points of views and this time we meet Imogen, Dorothy and Sara. There seems in the beginning to be a loose connection between these women, Dorothy and Sara are mother and daughter and then Imogen works as an events organiser and does some work for Dorothy.

One thing I picked up early on in meeting all of these women is an element of sadness and a hint of loneliness so it was something that made me connect with them all straight from the offset.

For the first time reading a Sarah Morgan book I found a unexpected twist in the story that I didn’t see coming, who new going to the loo could change someone’s life so dramatically is all I will say so as not to give any spoilers away.

With a new romance looking to blossom and hidden secrets revealed meaning that so many wrongs can now be put right this really did have a heartwarming feel to the storyline. This isn’t one of those books that have a fabulously festive cover but barely a mention of anything Christmas themed inside, oh no, this book will get the festive spirit kicking off.

I was a little surprised that it ended where it did and how it did, it was a lovely hopeful and peaceful ending but I still had things to explore with Imogen’s mum and watching the logistics of how things worked out in the long run and to see how Imogen would have been greeted when she returned to work! But this all just showed show much I was invested in the story and characters and that I was just greedily wanting more!

It's been a while since I just sat back after dinner and just didn't want to put my book down, and basically ignored the whole world while I read the rest of this amazing story, that I had only started this morning.

It's absolutely Christmas perfection from Sarah Morgan once again this year,, and I was even on the verge of tears a few times.

It's a wonderful story of Imogen, Dorothy and Sara. I literally don't want to say much about the plot other than it enchanted me, and although I wasn't keen on Sara initially, once I understood certain things, I absolutely loved her.

And then there is Miles the local vet, well I'm totally in love with him!

There is all manner of family drama and secrets, and with Ava especially providing light relief, this was just a fabulous festive read.

It's definitely Christmassy, the setting was gorgeous, and there are some truly memorable moments. I couldn't get enough of this book and I was totally immersed in the action. Just wonderful.

Thank you to HQ and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

A wholesome festive delight…literally a hug in the form of a book. I LOVED this book so much, it made me cry with its raw emotion and heartwarming moments…definitely a new favourite of Sarah Morgan’s for me! 🎄

Imogen loves her job working in events. Maybe a bit too much - she’s sending emails in the middle of the night, working on Christmas Day, and she’s taken on nearly double the amount of clients than her colleagues. We discover that Imogen’s home life has never been a happy one. And when an encounter with her estranged Mum spills over into her work life, Imogen’s boss forces her to take a month off work before she hits burnout mode. A month off seems alien to Imogen, but when client Dorothy invites her to spend Christmas at her cottage in the Cotswolds, Imogen wonders if this could be the break she needs after all.

What Imogen doesn’t bank on is the dramatic revelations that follow - revelations that will change her life forever. And the lives of Dorothy and her daughter Sara. I absolutely loved the strong female characters that we saw in this story. How much they tried to be there for each other despite things being tough. The bonds between them were so beautiful, they really did warm my heart. Special shout out to Ava and Iris for bringing the sweetness and humour!! And then we have Miles too and of course Ralph - both gorgeous characters!! This little cast of characters just had the warmest of hearts and they spread kindness wherever they went. It was so lovely to read and brought a huge smile to my face (in between the tears).

The frank, emotional conversations were written incredibly well, and the scenery was described in a way that has me wishing I was spending Christmas there too! A truly joyful read 😍

Having a difficult relationship with her feckless mother, Imogen has always hated Christmas, spending it alone in London. When her boss insists she takes some time off and one of her clients offers her the use of a rental cottage in the Cotswolds, Imogen ends up finding family and has the perfect Christmas she could only dream of.

Although this is fairly predictable, I really enjoyed the way it was told. This is another classic Sarah Morgan Christmas story. It has likeable characters, a chocolate box setting and a feel good happy ever after. I particularly liked the contrast between the two halves of the story, set in London and the Cotswolds, as they couldn’t be more different.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Didn't really enjoy the start of the story but decided to keep going to understand the connection between the characters. By that point I was hooked and disappointed when it ended.

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book. I found it really difficult to get into. I usually enjoy books which are told from different character POV but I struggled with this one.

A perfectly nice and wholesome Christmas read. Something didn’t really sit right with me during the first 50% of the book and then it went somewhere totally unexpected and improved. The romance felt rushed but hey who am I to judge! It just all fell very, very neatly and a lot of feelings were explored.

This book is about Imogen whose life is Pitt’s she as a mother who doesn’t want her so she commits herself to work but then ends up making stories up to her work colleagues but along comes Dorothy who is a client for the company she works for and how she dreaded Christmas coming along but Dorothy is he fairy godmother a joy to read this book and easy to follow

Imogen loves her job but hasn’t been truthful about her home life to her colleagues and has invented one to fit in with them all.
When she makes a mistake at a big event she’s told by her boss to take a break as she’s close to burnout. Her favourite client, Dorothy, offers her her cottage to stay in for the month.
She settles in to the cosy cottage and thinks she will be able to relax and unwind.at last but then a long buried secret comes out. Will she be able to forgive the people involved or will she remain alone again this Christmas?

Usually love this author's books, but this one was a hard slog for me. It dragged a lot, I wasn't expecting three main POVs throughout, and nothing much was happening on the page, the characters feeling a bit humdrum and not really likeable or relatable. Had great hopes for this, but it was a let down, sadly.

This was such a gorgeous Christmas read that went in a direction I never would have expected but absolutely adored. Imogen was a very sweet character that was definitely not handed a luxurious life but rather a hellish one, courtesy of her mother and it was heart breaking to see the way she struggled to let anybody in because she felt so worthless of being important enough to really give someone her all. I can't say much more as the story that follows is a surprise that Sarah does not include in her synopsis, however what I will say is that it was a very heart-warming story bringing Imogen the love and acceptance she has been craving her whole life. There are a host of charming and wonderful characters throughout Imogen's story, including a sweet golden retriever and a handsome vet, your heart will swoon and melt at the endearing journey that lies ahead.

Oh Sarah Morgan, I adore your Christmas books so much. Every year I get excited and cannot wait to pick it up. Now I just want to be in a cosy cottage in the Cotswolds with Christmas decorations and my book. I loved Imogen as a character and Dorothy and loved the way the story all came together in time for Christmas. Always an auto buy author!