I really enjoyed this book. It was a nice feel good Christmassy book and it involved my favourite thing, Chocolate! I feel like this book was different from others I’ve read and I found it quite interesting. I love Clara’s love for chocolate. I love how the friendships develop in this story, I’d love another book to see how the friendships and relationships develop. I also now want to take a chocolate making class and develop my own box of signature chocolates!

A Recipe for Christmas is a heartwarming Christmas romance that takes readers to the snowy mountains of Switzerland. The story follows Clara, who has always dreamed of a perfect Christmas filled with warmth, loved ones, and delicious food. When her new boyfriend invites her to move to Switzerland, she eagerly agrees, envisioning an idyllic holiday in the Alps.
However, things take an unexpected turn when Clara signs up for a chocolate-making class, only to find herself in a rigorous chocolate-making bootcamp. To add to the surprises, her boyfriend isn’t quite what he seemed. Despite these challenges, Clara begins to make new friends, including the intriguing Gabriel. With all the ingredients for a magical Christmas at her fingertips, Clara sets out to create her dream holiday.

Here's comes Christmas!!🎄

A Recipe for Christmas is utterly gorgeous, it's heartwarming with the most delicious chocolates, yup I'm completely hooked!!

I am a big fan of Jo Thomas's writing, I love her feel-good stories which are always full to the brim with romance and friendship and this is no different, I loved the story of Clara starting again and taking chances, she is proof that you can start again no matter your age. Her journey is one of following your heart, finding your true self, learning to love and respect yourself and taking a step out of your comfort zone which leads to new beginnings and love.

It's a beautiful story and very inspiring, and there is a sweetness and kindness to Clara that you can't help but like, she has a good heart and is supportive though I do feel her kindness wasn't appreciated and even taken for granted at times, and I adore her

There is a lightness to this, especially with the Chocolate BootCamp, which brings a lot of fun scenes which will make you laugh and wonder what on earth Clara has got herself into, It's so much fun to read!

A great feel-good, beautiful book, with the most amazing setting sweetly lovable and very relatable main character and all the joys of the season, a definite must-read!

Another lovely festive book from Jo. I love chocolate too and this book was a much enjoyed fusion of new beginnings, friendships and the creation of all things chocolate.

I love all Jo’s books. It’s always a treat when a new one is published. This one is exceptional and a must for all chocolate lovers. After a whirlwind romance Clara decides to move to Switzerland when her boyfriend is offered a job out there. She manages to be accepted on a course for apprentice chocolatiers. She is desperate to make a go of it but there are challenges which make life complicated for her. While reading this it felt necessary to eat chocolates to live in the moment. Enjoy.

Aww I have the biggest smile on my face after reading this book. It is literally perfection. Christmas and Chocolate.. what more can you want! It's definitely the best combination. Loved this character. Such an easy book to read.

This book is making me crave chocolate so badly. It's a brilliant story.
The views sound amazing and where the writer has described them you can see them in your mind.
I love the idea of 12 dates with another person being like a box of chocolates.
So glad that the person got their sense of taste back.
But I'm sad now that I've finished it can't wait till I can buy it and read it again.
I love the recipes in the back. And look forward to trying them especially the hot chocolate.

“HOW MANY LINDOR CHOCOLATES CAN YOU FIT IN YOUR MOUTH AT THE SAME TIME?”

Clara is feeling stuck. She’s determined to not let her recent redundancy right before Christmas affect her vision for the year ahead, yet she still feels a loss of connection and appreciation after 23 years in the same job. When she examines her life she realizes that she’s just existing instead of living and she’s determined to change and do something adventurous before her 40th birthday in January. Perhaps it was fate to be let go!

Suddenly, Clara finds herself in a new country, in a new apartment and with a new partner facing a very different Christmas. For the first time in 39 years, Clara feels like she has a future.

She enrolled in Ecole Chocolate, hoping new skills would launch her into a new career, but soon discovers that “sometimes things, like chocolate, are not always what you think they’ll be.”
She’s stuck again.

In a desperate attempt to free herself from this familiar feeling, Clara presses the reset button on her new relationship and decides to take each day at a time, chocolate by chocolate. With the help of her mentor, the two realize that they are hiding from something and encourage each other to face the past so that they can move forward.

Armed with all the ingredients for a successful Christmas, can Clara move forward with this new information? Can she whisk up a sweet Christmas?

I loved this exploration about how we consciously and subconsciously hide from things we don’t want to deal with and the danger of thinking we’ve ‘swept them under the carpet’. I was inspired by Clara’s willingness to make changes, ‘pull the plug’ when she discovers that things aren’t as she imagined, and forge ahead when she’s feeling sidelined and bullied. We could all learn from Clara’s determination to carve out the life we want. I also appreciated that the male main character in Switzerland was also flawed and needed Clara to hold a mirror up to his life so that he could see that he was stuck and hiding, too.

Jo Thomas knows exactly how to connect with her readers. Allow yourself to be swept up in this sweet story about taking stock of one’s life and making changes.

I was gifted this copy by Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Oh my, what a wicked combination. Chocolate, friends, romance and Christmas. All rolled into one fabulous book. If you are going to chose only one novel to read this Christmas, make it this one!

This book was a joy to read. Clara goes from novice chocolate lover to apprentice chocolate master, or at least that is the course she signed up for. The descriptions of the mountains in the snow and the clear bright air are beautiful, along with the delicious alpine food and cheese. The chocolate is the star if the book, following Clara and her fellow students through their chocolate lessons was eye opening and so entertaining. Clara breaks down barriers by her joy and tenacity and her kindness thaws the reserve in her flat mates and colleagues. Romance is there, although doesn’t jump off every page - it didn’t need to.

Oh my goodness I am hungry after reading this book! Gorgeous scenery, gorgeous food and gorgeous writing, a Jo Thomas book at Christmas is always a lovely treat!

A Recipe for Christmas is a gorgeous book. It contains all the things you need for a perfect Christmas read - snow, mountains, chalets, chocolate, cheese, friendship and love.
When Clara from HR leaves her long-term job, she takes a leap of faith and moves to Switzerland with Daniel, a man she barely knows. Enrolling on a chocolate school course, she quickly falls in love with all things chocolate.
This book should come with a weight warning. I just wanted to eat chocolate and raclette all the time I was reading it!

Book Review: A Recipe for Christmas by Jo Thomas

From the moment I picked up A Recipe for Christmas, I was whisked away to the enchanting Swiss Alps alongside Clara, our hopeful protagonist. Clara's dream of a perfect Christmas filled with warmth and loved ones resonated deeply with me, especially as she embarks on what she imagines to be a fairy-tale holiday after moving for her new boyfriend.

The initial excitement quickly gives way to reality when Clara signs up for what she envisions as a delightful chocolate-making course, only to find herself in an intense chocolate-making bootcamp. I found her experiences both humorous and relatable as she navigates the challenges of this unexpected adventure. The setting is vividly described, making me feel the crisp mountain air and the cozy atmosphere of the workshop.

What really captivated me was Clara’s journey of self-discovery amidst the chaos. As her relationship with her boyfriend begins to unravel, she encounters Gabriel, the aloof yet intriguing chocolatier. Their chemistry is palpable, and I appreciated how their connection developed over shared experiences and mutual interests. It added depth to the story, showcasing how sometimes the best things come from unexpected places.

Jo Thomas's writing is warm and inviting, capturing the essence of holiday magic while tackling themes of love, identity, and the importance of community. The delightful culinary elements, especially the chocolate, made my mouth water and added an extra layer of charm to the narrative.

Overall, A Recipe for Christmas is a heartwarming tale that reminds us that sometimes our dreams can take unexpected turns, leading to even greater joys. I finished the book with a smile, feeling inspired and ready to embrace the holiday spirit. This book is a perfect festive treat for anyone looking for a cozy, romantic escape this Christmas season!

I always look forward to a Jo Thomas Christmas book as I know it will be filled with warmth, humour and plenty of festive imagery. This book was no exception to that, in fact it was so much more as it was all of that covered in lashings of chocolate!
Clara seems to have been coasting through much of her life so far, keeping to the safe option of no change due to things that happened when she was growing up. But, when she is offered the chance to change it all up, she decides to take a chance and moves to a new country with a new relationship and to learn about a possibly new career, Go Clara!
Obviously life is not as simple as all that, it wouldn’t make for a very interesting book if it was, but the way we see Clara coping with all that happens shows she is a much deeper, more well rounded character than she first seemed. This is a book of new beginnings, of trying and keeping on trying despite those boulders that appear along your path and it is a very lovely story of hope, redemption (kind of) and lots and lots of chocolate!
As always with a Jo Thomas book after turning the last page there are some of the recipes that were included in the story, I always find this is a lovely addition especially when the food sounds as yummy and incredible it does in this one!

Snow, Christmas, Chocolate. What's not to love!
I loved the easy style of this book and how the characters grow page by page. I wasn't sure who Clara would end up being romantically involved with, but loved the storyline to get her there.
The descriptions of the scenery, coldness of the season, and all those chocolates made me want to catch a plane and live it myself.

A Jo Thomas book is a little like the chocolate she is writing about in this romantic novel. It ticks all the boxes and has an interesting storyline to get you to the end. A lovely autumn read, curled up in front of a fire with a hot chocolate....what else.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for the advance copy of this book.

First of all thank you for approving my request!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The authors writing style had me hooked throughout this book.

I didn't want it to end, a book I really couldn't put down.

Meet Clara, the safe dependable Clara, who doesn't take risks, doesn't like change and has worked as an HR manager in her current position forever! Single after failed relationships, Clara's highlight of the week is her weekly catch up with her 2 best friends, after all it features her all time passion chocolate and maybe some prosecco. Every week she listens how her friends lives are moving on while she is stuck in the same old rut and Clara decides something needs to change and soon.
When the company she works for are seeking voluntary redundancies, could this be her chance, she doesn't do risks, but she'd have enough money and she'd also get money towards retraining (how clever of her to put that in the HR policy), she could even do that chocolate making course she has dreamt of. Mulling it over Clara, discovers her new online boyfriend has accepted a job in Switzerland and he suggests she could go with him! Well the policy doesn't say where the retraining has to be and Switzerland is the home of the best chocolate. Trying to make a go of a new relationship and then discovering the chocolate course is definitely not for beginners, everyone's waiting for Clara to give up? Will she get the next flight home or will she persevere and become the chocolatier she dreams of.

Grab a velvety hot chocolate, a cosy blanket and curl up with this gorgeous read.

Thanks to NetGalley and to Transworld for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Transport yourself to the snowy Swiss alps as Clara finds herself on an exciting adventure featuring a move to Switzerland and attending a chocolate making course. She loves chocolate so how hard can it be? It’s not all plain sailing as her class mates clearly having more experience than her and they’re not all friendly. Add in Clara finding out a shocking secret and you’re all set for a fabulous snowy festive read. Great characters and a plot that will keep you entertained to the end, but will probably make you hungry. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK and the author for the chance to review.

Chocolate and Christmas set in a beautiful country, what a brilliant combination for a novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, loved getting to know the characters and really enjoyed the descriptions of winter in Switzerland. The theme of chocolate running throughout the story was genius. Thoroughly recommended.

After reading a Christmas book in September I know am feeling full of Christmas cheer .A nice read by Jo Thomas and I recommend this book .