Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I enjoyed reading this fun story.

Bryn who is soon getting married, invites her ex-friends to her wedding in Canada. As they’ve not been in contact for a long time with each other, she wants them to fix what went wrong and become friends again. For them to do this, Bryn pays for them to reach Canada together. But not by plane, but for a Christmas train trip.

So, for four days they all will be together as the train goes through beautiful Christmas scenery like snowy mountains.

Theirs tension between Cali and Luke as they have to navigate their old feelings for each other, the brother and sister, Joss and Joe fight, yet Sara is feeling that she doesn’t belong there.

But that’s not all they have to contend with, also on the train is Ember, Bryn’s ex.

Then a snowstorm happens and the train is halted. The group then take the time to talk about what happened years ago and whether they’ll actually make the wedding.

A story of friendship, second chances and love.

I recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book.

The premise of this book sounds so magical - a sleeper train in Canada at Christmas time? Sign me up. The setting doesn’t disappoint and it was really nice to read about Canada throughout the book.

That said, the rest of the book just didn’t gel with me. There are 6 POVs which is too many to build any connection with each character. The big reveal at the end wasn’t as big as I was expecting and fell a little flat personally.

I would recommend to people because they may appreciate multi POV - a lot of people do!

Bryn invites her old friends to her wedding in Vancouver hoping they will all make up after they all fell out 5 years ago after all living together in a big house in London. All friends end up travelling together by plane to Toronto and then train across Canada. When they arrive at the airport they all try to ignore each other but notice that Bryns ex girlfriend is also travelling with them and they soon find out that she wants to go thinking they still have a future as her wedding plans are alike what they would have had as their perfect wedding.
The journey to Vancouver is not peaceful with multiple arguments between them, will they find peace before they arrive and will Ember ruin the wedding.
It was a lovely story to read which makes me want to travel on the train across Canada now also!

I enjoyed reading this festive book, especially as it was set in Canada. I enjoyed the different point of views depicted in the book. The only thing I was not keen on was that you didn't really get the chance to really know any of the characters in depth.
The story line was great and I couldn't wait to start a new chapter to find out what happens next.

Thank you very much to NetGalley for giving me an ARC copy of this book.

I had chosen it because I thought the idea of a sleepy train through the snow at Christmas time sounded like the background for a nice story

However the big reveal of the fight that the main characters had at the end ; I feel like should have been revealed at the start. The multiple POV that changed every chapter didn’t really give the characters any development or letting us fully get to know them. It also felt a bit rushed.

I did enjoy learning about the Canadian countryside though.

Lovely book to cosy up in front of a fire and read. I loved reading more about Canada; would love to visit at some point now I’ve read this book!
The story was really good, friendships, broken hearts and misunderstandings all revealed as the book goes on; and I definitely could relate to some of the characters thoughts and feelings.
Overall, definitely recommend this book.

This was an ok read for me. The idea of a train chugging through the snowy landscape made me want to read this book as I thought it would be a cute and cosy read which I was wrong about. I wasn’t a big fan of the multiple POVs, I just find it annoying. Overall I found the characters to be annoying and didn’t really enjoy it
Thank you netgalley for an advanced copy of this book, all opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for this ARC.

This novel is about bride Bryn who invites five former friends to her wedding that she hasn't seen in five years, due to some unspecified but spectacular falling out of the entire group.

The wedding will be in Vancouver, Canada but the friends are in the UK so Bryn gets them flights to Toronto, then cabins on a four day sleeper train to Vancouver, so they can use the time to kiss and make up with each other.

I requested this book because the premise of a Christmassy sleeper train chugging through a Canadian winter wonderland sounded irresistible. However, there was not enough to keep me interested as all we got were six people sniping at each other for reasons unknown.

I got no sense of these characters and so I never got to care about or even like them. All I know is that while everybody was holding grudges, some carried torches for others, including Ember who once dated Bryn and wanted to see her again before the wedding.

The reveal about the cause of the big fight should have come at the beginning but came at the end, and I rolled my eyes about how stupid and pointless it seemed.

The story was told in multi POV but some people got a lot more airtime than others. Most characters remained disappointingly underdeveloped as a consequence. It also wasn't very festive - I can think of better ways of celebrating Christmas than being stuck on a train in a snowstorm. I'm sorry but this fell flat for me. At least it was a fast read.

2.5 stars

Hi, review below and next up ‘Traitors’ by Roberta Kray

‘The Christmas Express’ by Isla Gordon published Nov 7th by Little Brown Book Group/Sphere

What a gem of a find this was

Six old friends….now not friends after a ‘2 do’ a few years back are all invited to a mutual friends wedding…..the only catch being its in Canada, it involves a 4 night train journey and none of them can now stand each other

The Canadian setting was enough that I would have enjoyed the book, bonus it was set on a train and the combo of it all being
described so wonderfully, at Christmas….and then the crux of the matter, was the story good? Did it match the surroundings and journey, between us I doubted it would be….but I was wrong, it did, it was fun yet had sadness in it, it was honest yet there were tall tales to be told and there were no twists, until there was…..I was carried along on the tracks, the mesmerising scenery going past, and it almost had me believing I was there, with them, experiencing it

It also did very well, really well at not highlighting a couple of characters lives and relationships in some over dramatic ‘look at me, this is an inclusive book, rather by just being inclusive and not making a song and dance over it it WAS inclusive and it felt good for it

A very likeable, surprising find that was impossible not to fall for

Isla Gordon takes us again to the most gorgeous setting you can think about - Canada in winter. What could be better? And the descriptions really bring the setting and the places to life.
The author introduces us to many characters in her new book and each chapter is told from a different point of view. Some of the characters get more chapters, some less, and I think we could live without one or two characters, actually one of them was so insignificant for me that I've already forgotten her name. Nevertheless, with this number of characters, it would be easy to loode track, but Isla Gordon has done a really great job and I've never had a problem to know who is who and what's their background.
I think I'd prefer to know what has happened with this group of friends those few years ago to bring them apart at the beginning of the story. There was not enough suspense in the air to keep me this interested, it made me rather annoyed - I mean, a group of adult people behaving like small children, and why? Because of...? What? Put it at the beginning and I might have understood them better. And, let's be honest, it was not SO tragic and dramatic, this what has happened those few years ago.
Nevertheless, I think that the author has done really great to keep all of the characters and their stories in the line. The plot was interesting ans fresh, there were some funny one - liners and altogether, it was a lovely, wintery read. I missed a bear perhaps, somwhere on the way, but oh well, you can't have everything :)

A group of former friends all agree to go to Bryns wedding in Canada even though they haven’t seen or spoken to each other for years. The tickets are paid for but the twist is they have to travel together on a train through Canada for 4 days.
What follows is tension along with romance, friendship and fun.
I enjoyed the fact that each chapter was told from a different characters point of view which added to the story.
A lovely cosy Christmas story which I would recommend.
Thanks to NetGalley , Isla Gordon and Little Brown Book Group UK for an advance copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

A fun story about six ex-friends who are invited to a winter wedding in Canada. The bride-to-be, Bryn, really wants them to fix their broken friendships, so she offers to pay for their travel. However, instead of booking flights, she surprises them with tickets for a cross-Canada Christmas train trip. For four days, they are stuck together in a cosy cabin while travelling through snowy mountains and beautiful Christmas scenes. Tensions rise as Cali and Luke deal with their past feelings for each other, Joss and Joe clash as sibling rivals, and Sara feels left out. Things get even more complicated when Bryn’s ex, Ember, tries to crash the wedding. When a snowstorm stops the train, the group has to face their issues and decide if they can make it to the wedding together. This heartwarming story is about friendship, love, and second chances during the holiday season.

This was a very intense read. You have to be on the ball as the book is told in chapters by different people. I loved the story . Set in Canada .Mainly on a train. 5 friends get thrown together by another friend after they all fell out. Throw in a mixed up x and you do have a great story . I personally would have liked a neater end

I’ve never read anything by this author before but after reading this I’ll definitely be reading more. I loved the premise of this as it is a bucket list trip of mine- a cross Canadian trip on a train. In this one a group of 5 former friends are travelling on the train to another of their former friend's wedding. Also on board is the bride’s ex who is travelling to possibly disrupt the wedding. I loved the train and the stops in route but I really liked that the characters perspectives were introduced to us in stages - focusing on two initially and then introducing the others in stages. It stopped me feeling overwhelmed. Overall I loved this and raced through it because I wanted to find out what happened. Red it. You’ll love it!

I read The Christmas Express over a couple of days and really enjoyed it. The main part of the novel takes place on a train travelling from Toronto to Vancouver over four days at Christmas. Five former friends board the train to head to Bryn’s wedding. They’ve not spoken for five years so being confined to a train could prove to be somewhat awkward but Bryn is desperate to reunite them all and rekindle their friendship. But tensions are steadily simmering and Bryn’s ex who wasn’t even invited is also on the train. This novel takes place across a winter wonderland and is guaranteed to get you into the festive spirit. Thank you to NetGalley, Little, Brown Book Group UK and the author for the chance to review.