Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the E-ARC. I am very much fifty fifty on this book. The story line was good but I just could not get behind the MFC and that blocked me from probably truly enjoying this book to the fullest. While there we lots of parts I did enjoy I felt like while it dragged on the non important parts the parts that were important were rushed. But overall I did enjoy the story.

Kate runs an away from her new fiancé and her life across the pond to sort out a case in Vermont.
I could have cheerfully placed her overbearing mother in the nearest trash can.
I thought Lance wasn’t a bad guy he just had outdated ideas about marriage. I did feel sorry for him because I think he was really heartbroken.
I laughed heartily when Kate and Sam circle each other like hissing cats. From putting each other in jail to all the other stunts, it was obviously foreplay.
It has a nice ending but I was hoping for an epilogue..

Too many toxic relationships in this book for me. Also, I didn’t realize from the description that the FMC was engaged and cheating with the MMC.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

4 stars - I totally enjoyed this one and I’m surprised at some of the rather harsh reviews for this title. I really connected with the FMC Kate, who tries too hard to please her family & friends and hates surprises; which leads to an unexpected and mistakenly-accepted marriage proposal followed almost immediately by a long work trip where she meets grumpy Sam in a super cute Vermont town. I really liked how Kate ’s character grew along with her backbone. I also really appreciated that this one was “closed door” and found it both quick and easy to read. Many thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for my copy

This book read like a sweet and cheesy Christmas movies and I mean that in the best way! Those are my favorite movies and I absolutely loved this book!

I love how there was more to this book than just being a sweet rom-com! I really enjoyed the addition of Cora's diary entries and I got caught up in her love story with William as well. The whole issue with figuring out who would get control of Cora and William's company was woven in throughout the book so well!

The only reason I didn't give this book five stars is because I wish there had been a little more tension before everything got resolved at the end. I would go into more detail l, but I don't want to spoil anything.

Overall, I highly recommend reading this book if you love Christmas rom-coms and closed-door romance!

Sadly, despite repeated attempts I was unable to 'get into' Snow Going Back.

I enjoy reading immensely and this very seldom happens and tbh it's usually 'a me problem.'

Recognising this I tried again and again to no avail but have decided to dnf this one.

Thank you to Bookouture for the opportunity to ARC read this.

3,5 ⭐️
After her boyfriend Lance unexpectedly askes her to marry him, Kate need to go for 6 weeks in Vermont for work. She is a lawyer and has to evaluate the final settlement of an estate.

What she did not know is that someone already lives in that house. The first interactions with Sam were funny.

The story has only Kate’s POV, and is written in 3rd person.
I liked the fact that Kate managed to make friends in Vermont and eventually confrunted her mother and fiance. Also, the diary and Cora’s story was a nice addition.
But I did not like is that, even if from the beginning she did not want to be engaged she only told her fiance a week before the wedding. The fact that she started to have feelings for Sam while still engaged was not ok.

Also, there was too little romance and too much miscommunication.

Overall this is a cute rom-com with holiday vibes.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley and Bookouture. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A light romantic read.
Kate's boyfriend proposed in front of family and friends and he thought she said yes, but she has her doubts and doesn't know how to tell him, then her job sends her to Boston to deal with the estate of a long friend of the firm.
In the will she has to stay in the house for 6 weeks and decide who is entitled to the company, house and assets.
But she didn't know that Sam is also living in the house and things don't go as planned, hating each other from the start and her mother is pressuring her to finalise her wedding plans.
Loved the characters, you know what is going to happen but still enjoy the journey.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC and I give my honest review.

I hate having to say this but the female main character was awful! I wanted to dnf it a million times. I just could not connect with the characters and the romance.

Snow Going Back was a fun read.
I honestly loved getting to know the characters.
I enjoyed the dilemmas they found themselves in.
I enjoyed the chemistry between Kate and Sam.
I enjoyed the mystery element throughout the story.
I enjoyed the authors writing….the flow was perfect.
I do wish there was a bit more to Kate and Sam’s relationship…..it was lovely but I could have used a bit more :)
My final thoughts?
Snow Going Back is a fun, enjoyable read that kept me engaged, smiling and laughing out loud. When that happens……it is a book I feel justified ifor a 5 star read. A perfect story to start off my holiday reading.
Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I wasn't sure I was going to like this book. For the simple reason that the lady was seemingly going off to fall in love when she has a man at home waiting for her. Which made me feel automatically a bit "nope"..."not ok".
But it was clearly different and so I plunged ahead. And I'm really glad I did. Emma is a really great author. And you can tell she's got the knack of writing about weightier subjects.
I liked how this all came together and the story had a deeper presence to it than my usual seasonal romance.
A bit different but no lesser for it.

** spoiler alert ** This was gifted to me by Netgalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not entirely sure where to start with this review to be honest.

It was a romance. It did have a HEA (Kind of) and it would usually be right up my street.

HOWEVER! For this just missed all the marks. It had a classic enemies to lovers trope but here is the thing, the FMC was already engaged to someone else. It was hard for me to enjoy the story wondering and and waiting if and when she would cheat on her fiance.

The back story of why she was in Vermont wasn't well done. It was there but FMC was more concerned with not wanting to marry her fiance, avoiding speaking to her mother and figthing with the dude who was letting her stay in his house. It kind of annoyed me. For a lawyer that was in Vermont and this town to decide who got what she did very little researching and meeting people and looking through the house for evidence do more that read a diary from 1955.

It was slow to start and I think the fact she was at least emotionally cheating didn't pick it up for me.

There was one scene where she was threatened and I thought "Oh here we go, things are gonna get going now" and they didn't.

The book follows Kate, a London lawyer, who unintentionally says “yes” to her boyfriend Lance’s proposal and is swept into planning a rushed wedding. However, she is soon called to America for work, tasked with resolving a legal issue involving a will. The story picks up pace in America when Kate encounters some villains, including Aubrey and her grandmother Janice, and gets entangled in a dramatic family conflict.

The plot takes on a new dimension with this gangland drama, which adds depth to the story and keeps the reader engaged. While the “enemies to lovers” theme with Sam plays a secondary role, it is still well-executed. Kate’s relationship with her fiancé Lance becomes strained as she connects more with Sam, who challenges her in unexpected ways. Her growing attraction to Sam and the realization that her relationship with Lance might not be right for her adds emotional weight to the story.

Kate’s mother, Eleanor, also stands out as a humorous and unpredictable character. Although the romance between Kate and Sam could have been developed further, the story strikes a balance between personal growth and drama, ultimately making Kate’s journey compelling. The book lacks a steamy romance element, but this fits the overall tone and setting, especially in the lead-up to Christmas.

This book fell flat for me.
First there was no spice. I tend to read books with open door spice and I’m not sure why I picked this up.
With that being said it did start off great so I wanted to continue reading.
As I got further along it really did bother me that the FMC was having an emotional affair. Reading the book details, I genuinely thought the FMC completely ran away from her BFs proposal and never got engaged. But boy was I wrong, FMC kept planning the wedding and even bought a dress! It wasn’t until a week before the actual wedding that she called it off!

Honestly if you’re ok with emotional cheating, then the rest of the book was good and I would recommend it for you

I love discovering new authors and learning their writing voices. Emma Tallon immediately struck the right tone, and I was soon invested in Kate’s story. From the start, it was clear that there would be plenty of laughs along the way, and I thoroughly enjoyed the snarky exchanges.
Kate was a great protagonist, and her mindset was admirable. After being hijacked by a surprise proposal, she needed a quick exit strategy, so she was delighted to accept a secondment to Boston to manage the final estate of a client who had died without a will. Arriving in America was when the fun began, as she had to learn more about the late client and their business. Remaining in control was clearly Kate’s modus operandi, and she stuck to that like a barnacle on a cruise ship.
Sam was everything she didn’t need to contend with, and his determination to upset her plans proved a great source of entertainment. Their tit-for-tat pranks became increasingly entertaining and brought about a shift in their positions. From descriptions alone, I imagined Sam as an action here with a big heart and found myself willing them to find a future together.
Snow Going Back is a fabulous winter fun read with a terrific helping of romance and witty exchanges. I loved the depth of character development and saw some complete shifts from one position to another. The less-than-appetising presence of the characters who felt entitled to inherit added a level of jeopardy that complicated her solutions.

A wonderfully witty romance that is sure to warm and entertain. I can highly recommend it.

A complete turn around for crime writer Emma Tallon. A wonderful, funny, warm-hearted story guaranteed to lift your spirits. A great Christmas romance. More of the same please.

Charming story set in a small New England town. My favorite parts were Kate’s interactions with her father, I saw so much of myself with my dad.

There were a few parts of the book that left me confused and while it was sort of cleared up by the end it just didn’t flow completely for me.

Cute novel to get you in the cozy mood of the holidays.

Thank you Net Galley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 Stars

*Special thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a copy of the ARC - this is my honest review*

This was so enjoyable. Slightly out of season for me (I’m taking a side quest from Spooky month here) but heartwarming and cosy all the same.

Kate, a London lawyer, heads to Boston very soon after her boyfriend proposes to sort out the terms of the will of the late Cora Moreau. Kate is definitely not running away from her sudden short engagement, rushed wedding planning timeline, and fiancé who’s starting to show his true colours. No, she’s just settling into small town Vermont in the lead up to Christmas with her new nemesis, Sam, whilst she sorts out the will.

Except why does staying feel right and why does Sam seem to get her heart racing more than her fiancé ever has?

I really related to Kate and the way she felt about marriage, kids, settling down and all the things Lance was starting to come out with. I felt that panic attack strongly and was borderline triggered by the way this book started. But that only made me root for her more and although it made Lance a bit of a movie villain, I think it would have been harder to root for Sam if he hadn’t.

I loved the one upmanship between Sam and Kate though I do think their romance could have been executed a bit better. I was happy with how it went though and as sad as I am to have had no spice with my Christmas romance, it wouldn’t have made sense for the story.

This is a cosy read, perfect for Hallmark Christmas romance lovers.

This is an unexpected charmer from Tallon, who usually writes crime novels. Yes there's a bit of a trope thing going on but it's also about finding yourself in unexpected ways. Kate didn't expect a proposal- in public no less- from Lance and she's on the fence about getting married so a trip to Boston gives her breathing room. It also means she meets Sam. nephew of Cora whose diaries she finds herself reading. The Kate-Sam enemies to lovers thing is ok but I liked this most for Cora. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

⭐️2.5
Kate is caught off guard by Lance's marriage proposal. Her family is no help, dismissing her anxieties and dread, so she just pretends she is happy.

A last minute work trip comes up, and Kate is desperate to get out of town, while everyone else is heading home for the holidays. This is where Kate meets Sam.

I LOVE a good enemies to lovers theme, but this one was too heavy on the enemies part for my taste. The banter between Kate and Sam was a little much-I wanted more romance.

Overall, a cozy read, but this one just didn't work for me.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/218429858

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. My reviews are my own.
Pub date: October 24, 2024