Winter Magic at Hollybrae Castle by Jamie Admans ~Blog Tour

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Publication Date:  9th September 2026

Genre: Romance

Summary:

A Scottish castle, a fake marriage… and one very real Christmas romance?

After a window display goes disastrously viral – thanks to a malfunctioning animatronic Santa and an unfortunate encounter with Paddington Bear – Lula Haines finds herself without a job just weeks before Christmas. So she jumps at the chance to decorate Hollybrae Castle in Scotland for the holidays.

There’s just one complication: her handsome new boss, Oliver Bracewell, needs a fake wife for the festive season. To secure a promotion that could save his family’s castle, Ollie has been pretending to be a married father-of-two to impress the family-focused firm where he works. Now his bosses are coming to stay at Hollybrae over Christmas… expecting to meet his non-existent wife and children.

At first, playing along is easy as Lula is swept up in the magic of turning Hollybrae into the perfect festive escape with Ollie. But as Christmas draws nearer and she and Ollie grow closer, Lula begins to wonder if Hollybrae could become more than a temporary escape… and if the man she’s only pretending to love might actually be the one she’s been waiting for all along.

Review:
Firstly thank you to Rachels Random Resources, Boldwood Books and Jamie Admans for having me on this tour and sending me a copy of the book.
I've been looking forward to reading this and starting off my festive reading. And it was such a warm hug of a book, i loved Lula from the first page i frequently have moments where a perfectly planned out thing goes horribly wrong so i had instant empathy for her. She was just a lovely FMC, so brilliantly written that I'm sure everyone could see a little of themselves in her. Then there was Oliver, such a Cinnamon roll MMC that you couldn't help but fall in love with him. I loved the way instantly hit it off and were comfortable with one another and it made the whole fake wife scenario so brilliant to watch unfold. I've never read anything by Jamie Admans before but her writing style was an instant hit for me and her character building was spot on so i have every intention of adding more of her books to be bulging tbr! Now of all the characters she wrote in this book i have to say my favourites had to be Rory and Maisie, their comic elements and timing were just so perfect in the situations and brought a smile to my face every time.
This has been the perfect book to get me into those -Ber months mood, and dare i say it a Christmas mood. The descriptions of the decorations that Lula did around the castle have already got me thinking about my decorating plans for this year, and I'm not mad about thinking about it in September. It was just what i needed to read this weekend.

Krystina xx

 

A Winter Wonderland by Rosie Green~Blog Tour

 Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: 28th November 2023

Genre: Romantic fiction

Summary:

The festive season is fast approaching and the Little Duck Pond Café menu has been given a mouth-watering sprinkling of December magic. Jaz is hoping for the perfect festive season with little daughter Emma. But her feelings for next-door neighbour, Milo, are getting in the way. With his old love back on the scene, is she really prepared to risk her heart and make it the best Christmas ever?

Review:
Firstly thank you to Rachel's Random Resources and Rosie Green for having me on the tour and sending me the book.
I have to say I enjoyed this visit to The Little Duck Pond Cafe far more than the last one I read, and I think that's down to having read the other book and now knowing who everyone is and how they connect. Plus we had a single Point of View in this book which I preferred, i like just hearing from Jaz and getting updates on situations in the last book from her point of view. Shes a really relatable character, we've all had our hearts broken and had new relationships coloured by past hurts so what she's going through during the book is definitely something we all understand. Aside from Aurora's ex, I don't think there's a character I dislike in the book, we have a cast of likeable people with faults that make them human.
I loved seeing Milo and Jaz's relationship evolve through the book and it was also nice to see Jaz and Harry's relationship change into friendship, It is rare to stay friends with an ex but it is important to at least try and be civil when you co-parent, so the friendship was so nice to see.
I liked the cover of the book, it had a very festive feel to it and the book was nicely written and flowed really well. I enjoyed reading it, and it was a quick one to read.

Krystina xx

A Village Called Christmas by Jodie Homer~Blog Tour

 Publisher:  Independently published

Publication Date: 11th October 2023

Genre: Christmas Romance

Summary:

Is the answer to Holly's broken heart hidden in a village called Christmas?

Holly loves Christmas but when she comes home and catches her boyfriend in bed with her boss she escapes her life and ends up in a village called Christmas. When she meets the Claus family she begins to realise it definitely does take a community to celebrate Christmas. As she gets stuck into the village festivities, can the dashing single farmer Joseph Claus fix her heartbreak? Is the answer to Holly's broken heart hidden in a village called Christmas?

Review:
Firstly thank you to Jodie Homer for having me on this tour and sending me the book.
I absolutely loved the blurb and the idea of this book, it's a perfect-sounding Christmas book. And it's brilliantly written, I really felt for poor Holly and I don't blame her for running away the way she did. I did so enjoy all the little Christmas-themed names of all the villagers, each new one that came up made me smile. 
It's written in a very easy-flowing way, and I enjoyed the writing style. The only issue I had with the book was the pacing, it started off really well and the first section I felt was paced well but as soon as Holly reached the village it sped up too much for me and it ruined my emersion of the story. When we first meet Holly she says its the 1st of November because its when she can officially wear a Christmas jumper at work but then when she's been at the village maybe a week or so it's suddenly the 1st of December and I don't know if i misread that bit but it really jolted me out of the story. I did feel like this could have been a longer book, maybe spaced out over a year so everything isn't crammed into the space of a few weeks. But I will give some more of Jodie's books a read because I did enjoy her writing style.

Krystina xx

The Christmas Love Letters by Sue Moorcroft~Blog Tour

 Publisher: Avon

Publication Date: 26th October 2023

Genre:Romance

Summary:

A secret romance was just the start of the story…

Tucked into a crook of the Norfolk coast lies Nelson’s Bar – an idyllic village where time seems to stand still. Maddy Cracey has called this beautiful spot home all her life, as had her husband Adey – until an epic row sent him storming out into a blizzard, with no sign of him since that fateful night.

Six years on, and Maddy’s life in the village has settled into a gentle pattern with her young daughter and Great Aunt Ruthie. However, when handsome stranger Raff turns up with a handful of long-forgotten love letters, their quiet life is upended as family secrets from the past are unearthed.

As Raff and Maddy get to know each other, they grow closer and a love story of their own seems inevitable. But when Maddy receives a mysterious message, she can’t help but wonder whether her own past is as distant as she'd thought it was…

Review:
Firstly thank you to Rachels Random Resources, Avon and Sue Moorcroft for having me on this tour and sending me a copy of the book.
I've not read a book by Sue Moorcroft before but I know she's got a reputation for writing fantastic romances so I knew I was in good hands with this fab Christmas helping of romance. And I've loved it, it's got me in an early festive mood reading about Maddy and Raff and I so loved Ruthie.
It's a fantastically written book and it drew me into the story from the very first letter, and the very quick change of scene confused me until we got our first glimpse of Ruthie and then it slotted into place. Learning about Ruthie and Nigel in little snippets was brilliant, it meant they were still a big part of the story even if they weren't the main focus of the romance.
The whole bit about Maddy's Husband I saw coming, love is never easy so there had to be something to get in their way, but whilst I knew it was coming I was still sat there wanting to know what would happen next.
I've loved every page of this book, it's definitely a re-reader for me and I will be heading to the library to find more books by Sue Moorcroft now.

Krystina xx