I absolutely adored this book! It is such a beautiful read. Lovely characters and location. Loved the festive feels. Will definitely recommend.

I want to thank the author Cathy Bramley and @netgalley for allowing me to read an arc of this book.

This is a lovely festive story about best friends Merry and Nell and their respective families. They run a candle shop together called Merry and Bright by day and go home to the husbands and families at night. Most of the time.

For some people, this book might need to come with a trigger warning as it touches on a variety of sensitive topics including death, miscarriage and infertility. Not that they affect me as I seem to have a heart of stone these days.

It's a really good book but for me it's lacked a bit of ooomph!

Merry and Nell are best friends, but when Merry becomes pregnant and it is not happening for Nell who also wants to become pregnant, their friendship is really tested. They both work together in their candle shop and tensions rise.
Some great characters are introduced - Nell's airbnb guest who also has a sad tale to tell, and I particularly liked Nell's Polish parents-in-law.. I enjoyed the descriptions of the Polish Christmas traditions.
Some difficult topics are covered in the novel, but I found it a feel good Christmas book.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Lovely third instalment in this series, truly festive feel good book. I do think it's better to read the series than read as a stand-alone, that's no hardship as they are all good. Thank you netgalley for the advanced copy

An absolute Christmas joy of a book to read.

This definitely had me feeling Merry and Bright by the end, even if there is an absolute rollercoaster throughout the book, as we catch up with Merry and Nell in their respective quests for motherhood.

And at times I didn't recognise either of them, as they were acting so out of character, but equally it felt very familiar to be back amongst these characters and their lives. And I found myself wishing for a Christmas miracle at points for both Merry and Nell.

There are secrets, lies, emotional outbursts, and some storylines that potentially could be tricky to read if you are desperate for a baby of your own. Merry at times feels oddly delusional, while Nell is bottling so much up, it's bound to explode badly.

It's a story of friendship, of new beginnings, of strengthening relationships and just an all around fabulous book to read.

I devoured it in a day, happily curled up on the sofa, ignoring real life, just absorbed in the pages of this book. I really really hope this isn't the end for these characters but fear it could be. I have absolutely adored this series, and there is something really quite special about a Cathy Bramley Christmas book - I just hope there will be more!

Just fabulous.

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

Another visit to all my favourite characters, Merry, Cole, Nell, Olek and a host of others (it can be read as a stand alone story).
Best friends for longer than they can remember, Merry and Nell are partners in Terry's candle business Merry & Bright, but with problems for both of them in their personal lives, their friendship is tested more than it has before.
Can they put their own gears and problems behind them and get their lives on back on track?
A powerful story of love, heartbreak, trust and hope.
I struggled to put this down.

Thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing group for this ARC.

3.75⭐️

Trigger warning: if you are sensitive to topics around pregnancy and infertility this is heavily included in this book.

What can I say about A Merry Little Christmas? I didn’t hate it. In fact there were parts I really enjoyed - the older characters stand out more than the younger, they feel true to life and real. The main characters however, for women in their thirties (as am I), the dialogue feels old fashioned. They are millennials, yet sound like women a decade older. It’s not a big problem, but it does sometimes make me cringe and pull me out of the story. The two main characters are also not the most likeable.
My main issue with the book was that it just didn’t feel festive. I wanted more Christmas, more happiness, more cosey vibes. I liked it, but I never got to the point of living it.

2024
Loved this series, but this one was quite sad in places with how the friendship between Merry and Nell changed, but everything gets sorted it a lovely Christmas read i enjoyed cathy writting style it pulls you to the story I can picture it all in my mind

A perfect book to curl up and lose yourself in. This book has all the emotions simmering together in the most wonderful melting pot, the storyline is intense at times but this sets up the book for a most fabulous conclusion. Easy to read as a standalone book but the whole series is fabulous and highly recommended.

Thank you Netgalley

This was another superb read from Cathy Bramley! It is part of a series of connected books, so I feel it's best if you've read the others, otherwise there are things that won't fully make sense or information you'll be missing. But anyway - this is a lovely, cosy read, but it does deal with quite a few tough topics, which I won't give away here. It's well written, engaging, a page turner and even had me in tears as well as laughing. Another triumph from Ms Bramley and one I'd definitely recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley & publishers for this arc! While this book had a lot of really touching & meaningful moments that filled me with warmth, I’m just not sure it was for me but can appreciate how much other people have loved it and how well it was written. Especially how sensitive the author is to the hard subject matter & it was handled/written really well. Not sure if it is because it was my first Merry book & I should have read the books before but I just didn’t connect with any of the characters or felt invested in the story. The first 70-80% of the book really dragged on and felt very doom and gloom and a bit repetitive, not a cute festive christmas book as I was expecting. Both main characters were equally a bit annoying & cringey and as I also don’t really enjoy the miscommunication trope I think that also played an aspect.

Overall I think if you enjoy the stories & characters from the previous books you would really like this one but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me.

The third book in the Merry and Bright trilogy brings readers back to Merry’s cosy candle shop, where she works with her best friend, Nell, in a story that balances festive charm with heartfelt exploration of sensitive themes. Although this book fits seamlessly into the series, it also stands on its own, making it accessible for new readers.

The author’s vivid descriptions create a warm, inviting atmosphere, perfect for the Christmas season, while the narrative thoughtfully touches on challenging subjects like pregnancy, infertility, loss, and bereavement. This adds a depth that may resonate deeply for some, but it may feel heavy for those seeking pure escapism.

With memorable characters and a mix of cosy romance and real-life issues, this book offers both comfort and catharsis, capturing the complexity of navigating joy and grief.

Cathy Bramley can always be relied upon, to envelop you in the story from the off. It's wonderful to be able to catch up with Merry, Nell and everyone and see what has happened in their lives, since we last saw them.
Love, friendship, families, happiness and anguish.....it's all in there.
Issues in the story perhaps a bit more gritty than usual, but that is no bad thing. My life's experiences meant that I was shedding tears at the end, but despite that I thoroughly enjoyed the read.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and Cathy Bramley for the chance to read.

Another great one by Cathy.
I Merry and Jess are both desperate to become mothers, when life gives you a great blow one misheard conversation can change everything.
Filled with lots of Merry and Brights usual Christmas charm this book is also filled with sadness and emotion.
I loved every page and as always would love to visit the store
Thank you NetGalley for another fab ARC

This was very nearly a DNF. I hadn't read any of the other books involving the characters and it didn't really grab me to begin with. Glad I persevered though. Ended up really enjoying it and found the ending quite emotional.

This was a real page turner. A story of love and friendship which was a difficult read at times especially with Nell and Merry's friendship on the line. I loved this story with so much support and friendship from friends and family Heartwarming and a great festive tale.

#AMerryLittleChristmas
#Netgalley

From the the best selling author Cathy Bramley this is her latest Christmas book. It follows on from last year's fantastic Christmas book, Merrily Ever After, and the previous years book The Merry Christmas Project, but don't worry if you haven't read them, you will soon be engrossed in this book. We meet best friends Nell and Merry, and Merry's half sister Emily. Nell and her husband Olek are having trouble conceiving and Merry has been admitted to hospital earlier than she wanted as her waters have broken and the doctor insisted that she should have bed rest, but she has too much to do that just now, what with moving house and work commitments on the lead up to Christmas, she just doesn't want to wait until the baby is deemed full term in three weeks time.
As it gets nearer to Christmas Day things don't go to plan, friendships are strained, baby plans are strained too and Merry's Shop desperately needs some staff to help bring festive cheer. No spoilers but in this close knit community, people pull together whether they are family, friends or complete strangers and very soon Merry and Nell are beginning to look forward to Christmas but then nothing goes to plan and friendships are strained to the limit! You will certainly be pulled into the storyline from the very first few pages and I couldn't put it down, a lovely heartwarming festive and christmassy story, I always have to read a Cathy Bramley book at this time of year, it wouldn't be Christmas without Cathy Bramley.

A really lovely festive tale. This books covers love and friendship and the impact lies and part truths can have on all our relationships. Well written with strong characters, I really enjoyed it.

Merrily ever after was one of my favourite festive reads last year, I was so excited to get started on A merry little Christmas to see what Merry, Nell and Emily were now up too. It was fun and heartwarming, touching on more serious subjects such as infertility and death. However this book gives you all the festive feels, I have devoured this over two days with endless cups of tea. Huge 5 stars from me

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review.

It was nice to be back in the company of Merry and her best friend Nell and although not a particulary jolly book in places I did enjoy this. Goes to show that family isn't always blood.