Twenty-five-year-old Lily King is wondering when her life is going to start. She adores working at the much-loved Castle Teashop, surrounded by familiar faces and delicious cakes. But she’s stuck in a rut. She’s just been dumped by her boyfriend and her dream job seems to be slipping through her fingers.

When her best friend Emily Campbell needs urgent help to organise her enchanting Christmas wedding, Lily realises it’s finally her moment to shine and reach for the opportunities she’s been wishing for. Can she pull off the biggest celebration Castle Cove has ever seen or will something - or someone - make things more complicated than she imagined?

Rebellious and handsome photographer Josh Havellin-Scott has always felt like an outsider, especially next to his perfect older brother, who is about to get married. At the last minute, Josh finds himself roped into plans for the Big Day, the very last thing he wants to do, until he is meets creative and quirky Lily King…

When Lily and Josh are thrown together, it’s clear they couldn’t be more different. But they begin to realise that opposites can attract – and sometimes when you’re not looking for love, it comes and finds you when you least expect it. With some festive magic, will they manage to work together and save the day?

My thoughts: The characters were fun and I enjoyed getting to know them. The town was so cute and everyone helping each other out. Lily was raised by her dad and her 2 brothers. Her mom had run out on them when Lily was a baby. Now all of a sudden she wants to meet lily. Josh is the kind of guy who never settles anywheres and his career is photography, which his parents hate. They want him to be a doctor like his brother. Watching Lily and Josh interact and pull the best features from each other to show they can be who and what they want.

Lily has been tasked with planning the wedding of her best friend alongside the groom's brother, whom she hasn't met before... It's not plan sailing he is always unapologetically late, not afraid to stand up for what he believes in and he is hot. Can he bring out Lily's wild side and stop her trying to please everyone else all the time?

This novel is delightfully filled with hope, happiness, and humour. It's perfectly set in the idyllic Castle Cove in the run-up to Christmas, (if only I was curled up in the Castle Teashop with a hot chocolate and a slice of that infamous chocolate cake!). I was hooked laughing at the antics Lily and Josh find themselves in as they disagree, compromise and sometimes (surprisingly!) agree on the perfect cake, flowers, car and shoes for Paul and Emily's wedding! The chemistry between the two characters is perfectly steamy but nothing is plain sailing - can they ever learn to stop running, let go of their hang-ups and give each other a second chance?

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for sending me this in exchange for an open and honest review.

Lily has lived in Castle Cove all her life. She has a father and two brothers who are her family. She has close friends who care for her. She works two jobs as a waitress, but her dream is to work as a chef. Once she gathers enough courage, she is going to ask to become an assistant to learn the business from the bottom up.

Josh is a professional photographer. He is in Castle Cove because he is going to have a showing of his photos. His brother Paul is planning marriage to Emily, Lily's best friend and Josh will be best man.

This is a story of Lily and Josh dealing with disappointments in life. Lily's mother left her when she was a toddler, ill and in the hospital. Lily has never known her mother.

Josh's mother is still trying to convince him that he needs to stop playing at this picture taking thing and become a doctor, like his father and his brother Paul.

Josh is vocal and says what he thinks at every opportunity. Lily whispers and bites her lip and pretty much never says what she thinks about anything.

I really liked Josh. He was a kind and thoughtful man who is loyal and caring. His apparently open nature hides some issues beneath the surface.

Lily is loyal and caring but she spends much of her time whining to herself. She accepts responsibilities, instructions and orders from other people and does not say what she feels.

Lily was not my favorite heroine. It got really old for her to continually surrender to what other people want. Also, I cannot accept the fact that she would never have felt anger at someone who had abandoned her.

The plot is a charming one. Lily and Josh are working to arrange Emily and Paul's wedding because they are stranded on the other side of the world. Although their choices do not always agree, they work out compromises. Who knew wedding cakes could be so difficult to select?

At the same time the wedding choices are going on, both Lily and Josh are working on other parts of their lives.

The secondary characters are absolutely perfect. This village is populated by wonderful caring people. And each of these people feel it is their prerogative to insert their opinions at every opportunity. Nothing is private in Castle Cove. Any secret in Castle Cove does not stay secret for very long.

There are stories to be told and each story adds to the texture of the village.

Although this story is part of a series, it is easily read as a stand alone. Characters and relationships are explained. The reader is immersed in Castle Cove and its comfortable and comforting atmosphere.
I enjoyed this book and have read an earlier book in the series. Both of them are fun stories. Ms Ashcroft has done a terrific job.

I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review and all opinions are completely my own.

Lily works at the Castle Teashop, but her dream is to work as a chef. Lily has two jobs, but when her best friend Emily ask her help to organise her wedding, Lily can't say no. Lily is not going to do it all alone, the groom's brother Josh is going to help her. While Lily and Josh are working together on such an important task, will there ignite a spark between them too?

I absolutely loved this book, it was so sweet and charming and had great characters. Such a fun and festive book, I'd definitely recommend to pick up this book during the winter/Christmas season.

I was extremely excited to read this book as it was right up my street so as soon as I was able to I got stuck into this and oh my goodness it is fantastic. It has everything you want in a good book, its Christmas and there is cake oh and a love story! For me the characters really made the story they were perfect! I really liked the character Lily - I think a lot of people have been in her position and could relate to her.

I absolutely adored the whole story it was beautiful. It is definitely a read to cosy up to in front of the fire on these cold winter nights and it will get you in the festive mood!

Cute, but nothing to really write home about. The characters were fun and it was good to see Lily grow, but it didn't pull me in and make me fall in love.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. What a happy read this was even though it is way too early to even think about Xmas - would highly recommend.

This was a cute book of a woman finding her confidence and inner fire and going for her passion. All Lily wanted was to be a chef and all that was stopping her was her insecurity. The way she saw herself. Till she met Josh and their interactions gave her the confidence to leap for the brass ring

Donna Ashcroft has weaved main her characters in the plot brilliantly. It was endearing to see Lily blossoming in every page in the latter half of the book. Donna has etched Lily's character with a loving hand. Conversations and flirting with Josh was the highlight of the book.

Lily's overprotective father and brothers, her reappearing mother Aubrey, boss Simon all add to the plot. But some parts niggled me, the prose was too descriptive and pace went slow.

But I loved the book only for the romance and relationship between Josh and Lily.
A car accident and first interaction between Josh & Lily

Her mobile started ringing again, making her turn towards the car.

'You broke the Beast.'

'Looks more like a Mavis than a Beast.'

Lovely book. Lily's got a lot on her plate, what with helping to plan her friend Emily's wedding and this is her big chance. She's also recovering from a rotten relationship and trying to deal with her mother (not the nicest person). The last thing she expects is Josh, a photographer who has his own stuff and work to cope with. This isn't so much a Christmas book as a book set during the Christmas season. It's nicely written and has a positive vibe, with a good cast of characters, some of whom will be familiar from the first book (but don't worry- this is fine as a standalone.). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'm looking forward to more from Ashcroft.

3.5 stars. A hard book to review. I liked the plot and the character growth. There were a few cute moments that had me chuckling. I quite liked Josh the H, however I found the h very bland and insecure and difficult to relate to. There were also a few story threads that were not tied off and that bugged me. Overall, a good story that had my attention the whole way through. *I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and this is my voluntary and honest review.

This is a really good easy read. Christmas, romance and a wedding all put together into a good feel good story. The title is great and I really liked the characters and the descriptions of the scenery. I hope that there are more books to come.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Such a lovely book and I must say I fell in love with Josh from the beginning. He's quite funny! This is a perfect romantic Christmassy read and throw in the wedding element and I feel its just the perfect cosy book!!

I have not read any of the other books from this series but I must say that it works well as a stand alone and I didn't feel I lost at any point.

I'm absolutely loving all these festive reads! This one I was particularly excited to read, just look at that cover! The mince pies, the Christmas cakes, the snow falling outside the window and all the holly just looks so beautiful and Christmassy! I absolutely love it, and if you weren't feeling festive after reading the blurb, then you definitely would after seeing this cover!

The story itself is just as festive as well. I found myself really relating to Lily's character. It's clear that Lily has big dreams but is - quite frankly - too scared to do anything about them! It wasn't until Simon spoke to restaurant owner Luc about Lily getting a job there as a chef that anything was done about it. Lily came across as quite timid to me at the beginning, and I instantly warmed to her character.

The Castle itself sounds glorious, this novel is set in such a beautiful sounding place that you'd soon be feeling Christmassy after you read this. The overall story kept up a good pace and was entertaining. At no points was I wishing the plot would hurry up a little and I felt all warm and fuzzy at some parts. So it was a great read all together. Lily goes through a lot in this novel, what with her job, her mother (who walked out on her when she was just 18 months old) contacting her out of the blue and her 'relationship' with Josh, she feels completely overwhelmed.

Some characters I didn't really warm to or necessarily like but it was so lovely to read about Lily and Josh's growing and changing relationship though. I really enjoyed reading about them. Thank you to the publisher for a chance to read this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.

Pleasing people is good, but don't put your own wishes on the back burner ...

The author has taken me to Castle Cove before and I loved that story. It's not easy to surpass a good book, but the author has shown she has not one single problem doing that.

Although the story takes place in the run up to Christmas, it's not soggy one. I, for one, am very happy about that. This has so much more depth. It's about standing up for yourself and chasing your dreams, about family and accepting people for who they are or what they want to be. Of course it is all spiced up with a lot of love and romance.

It was very hard to put this lovely and fluently written book down. I hope I will be able to travel to Castle Cove again real soon.

Thank you, Donna Ashcroft, Bookouture and Netgalley.

Ah, Christmas...a lovely season for romance, and maybe, a good time to figure out what it is you really want in life. Lily would like to be a chef, would like to find love, would like to re-connect with her mother but her lack of confidence is holding her back. Enter photographer Josh, who is dealing with his own confidence issues, but helps Lily to find out what she truly wants out of life.

Lily lives in Castle Cove and works in the castle’s tea shop. Lily’s dream is to be a chef but is she brave enough to accept the invitation to cook for the castle’s fierce, French head chef Luc to make her dream a reality?

Set at my favourite time of the year, Castle Cove sounds idyllic. It is easy to picture the streets and the beautiful castle where the story is set. Lily’s best friend Emily is working in Nepal with her fiancé Paul and they have been stranded out there leaving them unable to sort out their last minute wedding preparations. Emily asks Lily if she would mind taking this on and tells her that Paul’s brother, Josh will help her.

Josh is a very talented photographer and, as you can imagine, extremely handsome to boot! Lily isn’t sure if she likes Josh and the fact that he is always late really annoys her! They have cake tasting, wedding menu tasting, cars to choose, flowers and most importantly, Lily needs to attend Emily’s final dress fitting while Josh choose the suits and shoes for the groom and himself.

Lily was abandoned by her mother, Aubrey when she she 18 months old and in hospital suffering with pneumonia. She is surprised when a letter arrives from Aubrey asking Lily to meet. Aubrey is pushy and outspoken, something that Lily struggles with. I really didn’t like Aubrey which I think is exactly how the author wants you to feel about this character.

Josh can see there is so much more to Lily than what she shows and encourages her to explore who she really is and be more wild. Watching their relationship grow will make you laugh and frustrate you and you can only hope that two lost souls can find love again.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and really wish Castle Cove existed because there’s nothing more I’d love than to go and spend Christmas there with all the wonderful characters in this book!

The Little Christmas Teashop of Second Chances is a lovely read. Set in Castle Cove on the run up to Christmas the book follows Lily. She works in the castles tea room and restaurant but wants nothing more than to be a chef.

She’s been unlucky in love and feels stuck in a rut. When her best friend Emily asks her to step in and finish organising her wedding as she’s working in Nepal, Lily realises it’s her moment to shine.

Add in a spot of romance and an overbearing mother and you’ve got a very enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

Having read the others in this series I was super excited to receive this one, another great installment, cosy with just the right level of drama. Look forward to more from this author

What a joyful, uplifting read this was! Even with the word Christmas in the title this would be a gorgeous and inspiring read at any time of year - very highly recommended.

In this brilliant novel we're introduced to Lily King and the rather delectable-sounding Josh Havellin-Scott.

Lily is working in the local cafe and also restaurant dreaming of becoming a chef herself one day. She is tasked with trying to arrange a wedding for one of her best friends, Emily, who is stranded abroad during the countdown to the big day. The groom's, Paul, brother will also be helping Lily arrange the finer details in time for the Christmas wedding - enter photographer Josh.

I loved reading about their separate professional lives as well as potential romance and really felt the characters and their relationship develop. There truly is a theme of second chances running throughout the course of the book and Lily's mum (pantomime boo from me!) was a very interesting sub-plot.

There were so many elements to this book I found it difficult to put down - Lily trying to carve out a new career, Josh has an important photography exhibition to prepare for, Lily's relationship with her pushy mum, a dream wedding to organise and obviously whether love will find a way.

Lily was very relatable and seemingly always thinking of others first and wanting to please and as Josh was trying to bring out a more forceful side of her, in a good way, it did not feel fake or unrealistic. It felt like Josh was almost scared of commitment and tried to hide his good-natured character but as soon as he took in a dog in need of a home I knew he was all heart and was rooting for him.

I recently saw the first book in the series in my Kindle recommendations but I spend hundreds (& hundreds!) of pounds on books a year so, as it was a first-time author for me, I reluctantly carried on browsing. I was therefore delighted to receive this book to read and review prior to its release date - I can guarantee the next book I buy will be it's predecessor 'Summer At The Castle Cafe' - thank you Donna Ashcroft, you've made a new fan!

Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for providing me with this advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received an early preview of this book from Netgalley.

This book is a sequel, and I was concerned that I wouldn't understand the story, as I had not read the first book in the series. After the first few pages it was easy to work out who the Characters were and what was happening.
The main Character Lily is desperate for a change, as she feels stuck working in the teashop. She would love to become a chef, but is not brave enough to apply for the job or speak to the head chef. She is a people pleaser, and always does what her family and friends expect her to do. She is thrown together with Josh, who thinks that he doesn't conform to his family's expectations. They clash to begin with but then they have to organise a wedding together at short notice for Lily' s friend, and Josh's brother. They help each other to overcome their problems, before realising that they might be calling for each other.n
The setting was lovely, and makes you want to visit the teashop. The story is romantic and festive. I did feel at times that Lily was frustrating to read about, as she could be annoying when she wouldn't take advice, and didn't know what she liked. For an adult, she didn't act like a grown up sometimes. Her character improved throughout the story with the help of Josh. It was predictable but a nice festive read.