Christmas at the Board Game Cafe

I enjoyed the book and the characters. I would not change anything about the book. I love Kate's growth as the main character and how she came out on the other side of the issue. I thought the plot was entertaining, but it had a lot of ups and downs. Kate tried hard to remain true to herself and her best friends. I would recommend this book because it is an emotional rollercoaster.

Jennifer page does it again with another amazing story of family,friendship and love with a added bonus of some Christmas magic!!! I almost shouting at the pages for these two to stop mucking about and get together. In all seriousness this book also highlights the need for community and to support small local businesses and each other. Well done Jen......when's the next one?!!!! ❤️📚

Cozy up this holiday season!🎄
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Luckily got an ARC for this one and I was surprised how fast I read through it. It was a really cozy holiday read that I might reread as the holidays come by.

I enjoyed that it had ‘modern day’ things such as the jobs etc and the MC wasn’t overly sickly sweet (as I see in other holiday romances) but it didn’t really feel cringe for me at any point. I feel like so many holiday romances can lean on cringe due to the whole Christmas vibe, etc.

Definetely a book to read by the fireplace 🔥☕️

I am loving all of the Christmas reads that I read lately. Christmas at the Board Game Café was my latest and I loved it. Don’t miss this one.

Christmas at the Board Game Cafe hits all the right notes. It was a comfy cozy read and I can definitely see it as a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie. The characters were very well drawn and I felt like I knew them. I loved the friendships between the characters - they felt very real and I was sorry that they didn't exist in real life. It was very easy to identify with the main character: an overachieving perfectionist who felt like she didn't measure up, wondered what she was actually supposed to be doing with her life, and despaired of ever finding a loving relationship like her friends had with their partners. Set against the backdrop of a charming English village that is financially struggling, the main character, a Christmas curmudgeon, sets out to use her marketing skills to come up with a plan to help her friend and other local shopkeepers drum up business during the holiday season and ends up unwillingly spearheading the entire community wide event. It's a lovely story and I was sad when it was over.

If you are looking for a feel good book with a Christmas theme, definitely do not miss this one!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book.

I was surprised at fast I read this mystery. It was a sweet but real six fic and not cringy cozy mystery. This is part of a series but works well alone as well. This book is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster in all the best ways.

What a charming and cozy Christmas read! I adored the characters and the town, and the whole book felt Hallmark-esque. The overall theme of family, friendship, and community made me wish all these people were real!

"Christmas at the Board Game Cafe" hits all the right notes for a perfect holiday read. This cozy, comfy story feels like it was made for the Hallmark Channel, bringing to life a charming English village and a cast of characters that you can't help but love.

The characters are exceptionally well-drawn, making them feel like real people you wish you could meet. The friendships between them are authentic and heartwarming, adding depth to the narrative. The main character, an overachieving perfectionist struggling with feelings of inadequacy and uncertainty about her life's direction, is incredibly relatable. Her journey to find a loving relationship like those her friends have is both touching and inspiring.

Set against the backdrop of a financially struggling village, the main character, who initially despises Christmas, uses her marketing skills to devise a plan to help her friend and other local shopkeepers drum up business during the holiday season. What starts as a reluctant effort turns into her spearheading a community-wide event, bringing the village together in a heartwarming way.

This lovely story is not just about the holidays but also about community, friendship, and self-discovery. It's easy to lose yourself in the picturesque setting and the endearing characters. By the end of the book, you'll feel as though you've been part of something special and be sad to see it end.

If you're looking for a feel-good book with a Christmas theme, "Christmas at the Board Game Cafe" is a must-read. It's a heartwarming tale that will leave you with a smile on your face and warmth in your heart.

I am not only a huge board game nerd and book nerd, but also a person who appreciates a Christmas story year-round. This book made me SO ready for the holidays despite it being the middle of July! lol What a cute holiday romance with humor, lovable characters, and all the atmospheric vibes. I'm probably going to have to buy this in hard copy because it just has to go with my Christmas book collection!

Major major props on the board game allusions and tidbits. Loved this so much.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I say this after every book I read by Jennifer, this one's my favourite. But this time I really think this is it.

I loved getting to know Kate, after her appreance in the previous books. her vulnerable side, but also her relaxed side, the side she discovered about herself.

I adored Xander. He cooks! And I even liked Peter this time. He definitely redeemed himself.

As always, it was so nice to catch up with my old favourites. And the more serious, real-life "issues" with struggling businesses and eco mindedness-( I loved Kate's reaction to overhearing a certain phone call!)

Jennifer, there needs to be more in this series. I adore this little village.

This is book 4 in the series. It can be read as a standalone, but I would highly recommend binging the entire series.

Oh my goodness what a heartwarming and fun-filled book.

I absolutely fell in love with the characters and the Board Game Cafe all over again. This is such a lovely community Jennifer has created and built.

Sometimes when you read series' they can become a bit samey but Jennifer's books are connected in a way that you don't feel this at all, in fact you feel the opposite. I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book and I am so grateful to Jennifer and her publishers and also Netgalley for allowing me and early copy of this book.

I am in awe of you Jennifer, to come up with all these ideas based around the lovely Essendale. I love that some of this story was inspired by elements of your life, this is so heartwarming.

I loved the idea that Kate came up with to revitalise the town and the way everyone got involved was brilliant. I especially loved the last part and I definitely shed a tear or two about the display of Christmas in a different time (trying not to spoil it for anyone but when you read it you'll know what I mean).

Can't praise this book enough, it was romantic, heartwarming, funny, the community feel of this book stands out a mile and I love that it wasn't all about perfect relationships, because no relationship is ever perfect, this is just an honest and beautiful story and I'm in love.

Ok, who is ready for a cozy Christmas romance??? ✋🏼Me!!! Once I realized what I had read, I had to reread the prologue cause I just ❤️ it so much!!

This is Kate’s story. She’s super talented at work, heck she has 3 Little Miss Perfect mugs from different coworkers! but she’s at the point of her life where she’s ready for love and companionship.

Meanwhile, all the businesses in town are struggling, including her best friend Em’s Board Game Café. Kate takes it upon herself to try to figure out a way to increase tourism during the holiday season. She comes up with the idea of a living advent calendar with local businesses dressing up their window displays. Kate hopes to get some media attention to help draw outsiders to town. I’m telling you I love this idea; I’d be hoping in my car each day heading over to see the newest window!!

Kate's story has a love triangle. Enter Peter, Em’s ex who Kate bumps into and soon starts dating. He’s great, and she can totally see him as a fit for her life. Even Em thinks they make a great couple. Meanwhile, Kate keeps thinking she sees Xander and we start getting flashbacks of him. And omg, he's so adorable! Their first date just melted my heart!!

Even though this is the 4th book in a series, it reads perfectly as a standalone. Definitely pick this one up if you’re looking for something cozy and cute!!!
4.5 ⭐s

PS, are board games a big thing in the UK on Christmas?

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Love the Board Game Cafe books. Kate loves living in Essendale, has a wonderful job and great friends. The only problem is that visitors are stopping coming to the town and the shops are not getting enough customers. Kate comes up with what she thinks is a great idea for Xmas but she's not sure if it will work.

It's Kate's turn for romance! As the marketing guru who has helped her friends successfully launch their businesses, Kate may seem like she has it all together, but deep down, what she truly desires is a family. Unfortunately, she has a tendency to fall for men with all-consuming hobbies, like fishing or golf. After witnessing her mother's loneliness while her father spent every day tinkering with his transistors in the garden shed, Kate knows she doesn't want a relationship like that.

When her friends begin to worry that the rise of Airbnb is threatening their businesses—since visitors only come to the village during the warmer months, leaving them struggling through the colder season—Kate comes up with a creative solution. She proposes a real-life advent calendar, where local businesses create window displays that are unveiled each night in December. The plan is to generate publicity and attract visitors, with a walking map available so people can explore each window in turn.

As the holiday season unfolds, Kate finds herself caught between two potential love interests: one who seems perfect on paper and another who is the one that got away.

This book delivers exactly what I've come to expect from this series: a feel-good romance set in a charming Yorkshire village.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

I requested this book, because I believed it to be a regular Christmas romance. I love Christmas romances. This is nothing like anything I’ve ever read. This is a story about endings and new beginnings and real friendships. Kate deals with heartbreak, hardships, new love and so many other emotions, it’s amazing! She learns about herself, her parents and her friends. This is a super slow burn, but such a satisfying romance. I’m going to find, buy and read book one as soon as possible..

This was such a fun book! I loved the main characters and the sweet setting of this story. It caught my heart from the very beginning.

Kate seems to have it all in the charming Yorkshire town of Essendale—except for the feeling of belonging she craves, especially at Christmas. To boost the town’s festive spirit and help struggling local businesses, Kate organises a magical living Advent calendar with new window displays each night. Her plans hit a snag when her ex-boyfriend shows up, eager to design the Christmas Eve display. As Kate wrestles with old feelings and the pressure of the season, she must decide if she can trust him to create a memorable finale and whether she’s ready to move forward and embrace the future she’s always wanted.

This is the fourth book in the bird game cafe series and these books just get and better. Fabulous characters and a real community feel and also love the references to board games throughout especially as someone who loves scrabble.

This instalment focused on the character of Kate as well as the continued lives of the Yorkshire village the book is set in.

These books are lovely feel good heartwarming reads and cannot fail to make the reader smile. I would love to live in essendale and frequent the board game cafe.

Can’t wait for the next instalment

Loved , loved, loved this latest book. Whilst the places are fictional there are some similarities to local places to me. Heartwarming story featuring Kate this time but keeping up with the lives of all the other characters. Great to see the Living Advent Calendar featuring.

Absolutely loved it. It's finally Kate's turn for romance and love. I think Kate is such a relatable character as at some point so many people have felt like the third wheel or the odd one out in friendship groups due to being the only single person. I know I have. Kate also reminds us that no one is perfect and it's ok not to be. My favourite book out of the series.

Thank you so much Jennifer Page, Head of Zeus and NetGalley for the ARC

Thank you Netgalley and Aria and Aries for my ARC copy.

I absolutely love this book. I knew it would be a high rated book when it had a mix of all my favourite things in it, Board games, Christmas and Found family. Xander is such a loveable geek that you can't help but fall in love with. This was such a well written festive read.

I've enjoyed the Boardgame Cafe series by Jennifer Page, and to find another book was fantastic!
Kate is happy (ish) in life, being Little Miss Perfect at work and being there to help and support her friends and the community around her. However, it feels like she's stuck in one place while everyone else is moving on. Her best friend, Jo, is loved up, and happy with her partner and running a successful business, and her other close friends are in relationships or even pregnant. It's just her sitting there alone, even though the others never make her feel like an outsider or a spare part.
She embarks on a relationship she's unsure of and finds another cause to support, as the local businesses and residents lament the B&B generation where summers are lovely and busy. The cold weather starts, and there is no one here... no holidaymakers, no affordable housing for those who would like to live there, and no trade...
I won't go into it too much, as you need to read for yourself, but it was great to read about how Kate grows as a person, coming to grips with some long-held beliefs, repairing some relationships, and severing others.
Oh, and I just loved Xander! I'm just saying... who can resist a man who cooks?
Of course, we are treated to updates on all the old characters through this book, as their stories entwine, however you could read this as a stand alone.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for an ARC.

A lovely Christmas tale with the community set right at the heart of it. I really loved how Kate took the high street to another level and gave her all to supporting all the small businesses. I really wanted to go and visit all the windows myself. Great slow burn romance with just enough tension - a cracking read!

ARC REVIEW - CHRISTMAS AT THE BOARDGAME CAFE BY JENNIFER PAGE

BOOK #4

5⭐s are not enough - congratulations Jen and thank you for this beautiful book.

I was delighted and honoured to be sent the arc of the 4th edition to the boardgame cafe series. Being a huge fan of Jen's writing, I knew it would be good, but I wasn't prepared for the depths this book would lead me to.
In previous books, Kate's character has been so masterfully crafted, almost in the background rather than the forefront of each story. This insight has brought us to this book beautifully and whereas previously, she may have not been relatable to many with her somewhat 'perfect' life, despite her dating mishaps, as the layers of her character are peeled back in this book, she becomes far more relatable.

We learn how it is to have fractured relationships and grieve someone that is still alive. Covering abandonment issues, we see Kate go on a journey of revelations, unwrapping her concept of perfect and learning to love her 'imperfect.' I can probably relate to this part of the book the most. The need to feel validated from others.

There is so much depth and feeling to this book that whether you share the experiences of the characters or not, you can't help but feel empathy for Kate.

Aside from all that depth, there is a genius and wonderful concept of bringing the villages of Essendale and Hebbelswick to life with the power of Christmas. Of course, with her invaluable marketing skills and her selfless drive to help her friends, Kate is at the forefront of this uplifting project.
We see our usual favourites within the book, including #mrbsbaubals which was perfectly fitting to the character. Snippets of the next installments of relationships built in previous books which was a very welcome addition to the story. A second chance love story and a happy ending.
If you've read the other books, your jaw will hit the floor in the first couple of pages! But no spoilers here!
I have never connected to a series as much as I have this one. The characters are truly relatable and by the end you will want to go and live with them in their beautiful little village.

@jenniferpagewrites

I wanted to read this book, having read the previous three books in the series and absolutely loved them all!
The idea of the living Advent calendar trail windows is genius and plays out against the background of the Board Game café and burgeoning romances.
There is something really reassuring, when you already know many of the characters well. Especially when they are all brilliantly written.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and all I needed was a roaring fire, some hot chocolate (with or without marshmallows) and mince pies. That would have rounded it off nicely!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the author for the chance to read this book.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

What a cute book. I really enjoyed it. Only problem was I didn’t realize this was book 4 of a series (facepalm) lol other than that it was a quick and easy light read.

Cosy, humorous and heartwarming, Christmas at the Board Game Café by Jennifer Page is about a woman who feels lonely during the Christmas season and discovers that someone she dated four years ago has moved to her hometown.

Summary: Christmas is coming soon, and Kate Harker feels lonely. Her friends are all dating, and despite being their dating guru, she's still single. She still pines for Xander, a guy she went on five dates with four years ago. Then one day, Kate finds out that Xander has moved to Essendale.

Tropes/Genres:
• second chance romance
• christmas
• small town
• contemporary romance
• set in Essendale

Review: The best part about this story is the living Advent calendar. It sounds so fun! The romance is sweet, though it doesn't seem to be the focal point of this story. Admittedly, I didn't enjoy this book as much as the first three in the series, but I liked it nonetheless.

Kate is a relatable person. She is someone who strives to be perfect because she feels that she needs to be perfect to be liked. I liked her character growth throughout the story. It's heartwarming. Xander is such a nerdy sweetheart. Who wouldn't love a cute nerd? He also cooks, which is a huge plus. The fact that he has a collection of toy soldiers is also so cute! Ah, nerds :) The two of them are good together, and they have a cosy chemistry.

The characters are awesome. It's so nice to see the ensemble Even Peter who appeared in the first book as Em's ex-fiancé became much more likeable here. It's so nice to see his personal growth throughout the series.

This feels less like romance and more like contemporary fiction. After all, we don't meet Kate's love interest Xander until the 40% mark, though she spends some time before the reunion mentioning him and pining over him even though they only had five dates four years ago. That's fine. It's okay for this book to feel more like a story about Kate's personal journey of growth. However, I somewhat feel that something is missing.

Kate's relationship with her father significantly impacted her views on the guys she wanted to date, but I felt that the development of the father-daughter relationship wasn't impactful enough. There weren't really any clues or foreshadowing to the grand revelation of why her father was the way he was. It's hard to believe that her mind instantly changed after learning the truth about her mother, especially considering how long she had that negative perception of her father. I still find their relationship heartwarming, though. Her father was truly amazing.

However, I liked the whole thing about the living Advent calendar a lot. I kind of wish I could've seen them. I like how this book sheds light on struggling local businesses, especially in periods when there are fewer tourists. The issue with EcoEssendale regarding how eco-friendly the living Advent calendar is for the environment was also done well. It honestly shows what a good person Kate is.

Overall, I recommend this book to those looking for a cosy second-chance Christmas romance. It has minimal drama, and fans of the first three books in this series would be delighted to see the beloved close-knit community. History geeks may like this as well due to the war references!

P.S. I want to eat Lancashire hotpot now.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the read.

I devoured this book in an afternoon! I love a Christmas feel good read and this was a perfect read with that criteria in mind. Based on a living advent calendar and the relationships between Kate and her friends (be they male or female) I absolutely loved it.