Christmas is just the right time of year to read something warm and fuzzy about friendship, forgiveness and thinking of others less fortunate. Young widowed mum Fern fights to save the local food bank and supports her close friends through their own family problems. While bringing the local community together as they take part in a fun 'living advent calendar' project, her friendship with a lovely but troubled man is slowly turning into something more. If she can just find out why he is holding back, could he be the one to thaw her frozen heart? A lovely seasonal read.

This was not one of my favorite books. It moved very slow and I didn't understand the character development. I liked the plot idea. I also really loved the ability of the author to weave in the plight of the homeless and what it really means. She did a great job getting across the feelings when you are about ready to lose your place of business. I did like all of that and she did a good job expressing that piece of the book.

This is a heartwarming story about a community coming together at Christmas to help each other and others. It has a plethora of believable, great characters with three friends and their families at the heart of this story.

Fern moved to Chesterwood after the untimely death of her beloved husband, hoping to help her and their young daughter, to make a fresh start. Fern is a journalist and has met many people in the area through her job and others whilst taking her daughter to school. She did an article about the homeless in the area and the food bank which helps them and others who are in dire straits. She is shocked to discover it is going to close unless additional funding can be found and so comes up with the idea of organising a living advent calendar to help raise money for this worthwhile cause. With the help of two other mothers who are her best friends, these three Calendar girls strive to raise the much needed funding. Whilst she's involved in all this, Fern also has opportunities for romance but not everything goes to plan as she isn't the only one who needs to let go of the past and look forward to the future....

This is a fabulous story about a community working together for a common goal. It involves people getting to know each other, having fun, facing problems together and making a difference. There are other threads running through the story concerning fresh starts, how people may become homeless, why people use food banks, the impact of jealousy, how people hide their anxieties and the problems associated with overcoming addiction. These are all skilfully interwoven into a fantastic festive read which even has a lovely romance, too! I really enjoyed reading this and have absolutely no hesitation in highly recommending this book. I requested and was gifted a copy of this book via NetGalley and this is my honest review after choosing to read it and not wanting to put it down until I'd finished it.

Inspiring.

Can I leave this review as just this one, word? No. At least I've made this just in time for the Publication Day!

Not for Samantha Tonge a light, fluffy Christmas novel. This is a book with a message and it's a message for all ages and one that we nowadays, especially presently, should learn to take notice of. Christmas should be about how we can help others and not so much how much we can spend on each other.

Fern and Kit are both damaged in different ways and this is centrally their journey. Fern's friends particularly Carla and Devina are pivotal in the story and both, of course have issues of their own to deal with. I'm not going to tell you more about the story, there are plenty of other reviewers who'll happily do that for you.

Ms Tonge is one of the most honest, hard-working author's I've come across and if you've never read one of her novels before, then you're in for a treat. If you're a fan, like me, then your Christmas's have come early!

My thanks to Aria UK and Netgalley for the Preview copy.

A beautiful fun romance but more a wonderful town of people. You will fall in love with the town of chesterwood. The people, a true heartfelt story.

It took me a little while to get into this book. With around eighteen character names introduced in the first two chapters, I wondered if I might need a spreadsheet to track them all!
Luckily, the story of bereaved single mum, Fern and her ambitious plan to create a real-life 'advent calendar' at people's homes began to weave its magic.
I loved her close friends, Cara and Davina, each with their own trials and tribulations. And a little piece (OK, a rather large chunk) of my heart was lost to gentle giant, the enigmatic Kit. The unfolding of his life was an integral part of the tale. 'A teacher once said to me that having every advantage could be a disadvantage.' This is certainly the case with Kit, and a lesson for us all.
The book is laced with lovely festive imagery, and the overriding message that friendship, community and kindness go a long way. 'Poison was easier to remove whereas an excess of goodness left its mark – the memories and that warm, fuzzy glow.'
I don't normally get the Christmas 'feels' till late in November, but this one definitely put me in the mood. So much so, I unearthed a box of mince pies from the cupboard. Shame they were dated March 2019! All in all, an entertaining and heartwarming read.

Fern and her three best friends have always been active in the town, and are saddened to hear of the rent increases which would make the community food bank have to close. With so many volunteering to help, and knowing the good work they do, Fern is determined to raise enough money to keep the foodbank open, and enlisting the help of her two best friends Cara and Davina they come up with a plan. In their small estate (and with the help of the Christmas Faire at the school their children attend) they will raise the money – and ask residents to host a window tableau in the vein of an Advent Calendar – where donations will be solicited.

Oh this was fun – from the community spirit and ideas to the friendships displayed, along with Fern’s healing from her husband’s death from cancer and her budding romance with former homeless man, now temporary school caretaker Kit. With Cara having her own ‘issues’ in her formerly well-ordered life, all after the arrival of her mother-in-law who needed support after breaking her ankle, and Davina’s formerly closer than close twins now at odds over strange things – the story is laden with attractions, drama, spirit and imagery that show both the enormity of a community-wide project during the holiday season,

I love Tonge’s writing and her characters, and she manages to make everyone feel very “plausible’ as well as providing ideas that are unique and innovative, with ideas that can easily (with lots of work and attention) be translated into real life. A story that is proof that giving is better than receiving – and need crosses spaces and time, not to mention economic situations and education – the story is one of my holiday favorites for the heart and optimism it displays.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-axo/”> <a> I am, Indeed </a>

Lovely festive read. It was a heart warming romance. It was a wonderful book to read. It was well written and flowed well.

Lovely and heartwarming Christmas story about friendship. There are serious themes tackled within the book but they are handled with compassion and sensitivity.

What a great read to get you in the mood for the festive season. Fern having lost her husband to cancer is making a fresh start with her daughter. She might just find love again with the handsome caretaker! Her new best friends Cara and Davina are always there for her and together they set out to help save the food bank which is under threat. This book will warm your heart.

I loved this book. It caught the magic of Christmas and brought the community together. What a wonderful way to raise money to save something so important to many many people and many new friendships along the way.

I loved the cover. The purple tinge to it made it so attractive that I was immediately drawn to it and I had to read the story. Wouldn't you do the same?

The Christmas themed book are weaving their magic on me. In this, in order to save the food bank, 3 best friends Fern, Carla, and Devina came up with a new plan of a live Christmas advent Calendar for 25 days. The entire community of Chesterwood worked together and contributed to the event.

My second book by Samantha Tonge drew me in slowly with the 3 women. Their friendship pulled me in and I loved the way they supported each other.

New to town, Kit added to the mystery when he kissed Fern, and backed away. He was a good, kind man and I was burned with curiosity to know his reasons. Some of his furtive actions made me very suspicious of him.

Characters were aplenty, each had their own problems and crisis. The author's pen made them deal with it in strength, helping each other. Social issues were written sensitively.

I needed a book to divert my mind and this book clicked with me. Enjoyed it completely.

A fabulous festive story with feeling and grit.

What an inventive idea a living advent calendar is, and seeing how it all came together and the ideas that each day had for their turn were incredibly imaginative.

There is a lot of depth within this story, all three of the main characters are struggling with various things in their lives. Fern, Davina and Cara are great friends, and I enjoyed seeing how their stories would develop.

What really hooked me as the storyline that felt a bit like it came out of a Christmas film - where the friends are asking to community to rally around and save a much needed amenity, in a race against time to raise the funds, from the nasty scrooge like landlord.

It's an eye opening story in that it takes in just how important a local foodbank is, gives plenty of examples of people whose circumstances mean they need to use it, as well as a character who is starting to turn their life around, and is someone I was really drawn to.

There is plenty of Christmas Cheer, and its such an enjoyable story. All the children are great, and there are some incredibly touching moments.

I really loved this book, and it is so great to see Samantha Tonge go back to writing a more light hearted book, but still taking in some of the more serious topics that were dealt with in her darker books.

I'm trying to not give too much away, but safe to say I would definitely recommend reading The Christmas Calendar Girls. And I promise unlike The Calendar Girls film / musical there are no naked calendars... this is completely different!!

Thank you to Aria and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

A festive book that has lots of charm and warmth When Fern meets Kit he's at a really low point in his life a d she decides to try and help him and others like him by raising money to try and keep the local food bank from closure She comes up with a really novel idea and with the help of her close friends organisers a living calender A story of love and heartache at times but beautifully written and with friendship at it's heart this makes for a heartwarming read

This is a tricky one! I absolutely loved the message at the heart of this novel - it truly reminds you that Christmas is a time for giving, for helping others and supporting your local community. It shows you how important female friendships are, and how vital it is to have people in your corner to support you throughout everything life may throw at you. I also loved how the story went against the stereotype of homeless people being drug addicts and alcoholics, and instead showed there are many reasons why people may struggle and need the support of a service like a food bank.

But despite loving the heart of the novel, I just didn't enjoy it. The romance was just completely flat and forced, thrown in at the start for something to bulk up the storyline even though it was just dull to read about. The subplots with the other mums also didn't really grab me either. And the ending was completely predictable, which I don't mind in a Christmas book, but given the rest of the book was completely lacklustre, I was hoping for a surprise improvement at the end. I was disappointed.

Also, I found there were some issues with the quality of the writing. Particularly at the start, sentences were muddled and paragraphs jumped from one topic to another without making much sense - random bits of information dropped in with no relevance at all to what else was happening. Sadly, the dialogue was also quite poorly written - at times it was overly formal, and sounded very unnatural, especially when some of the children spoke, as it wasn't even remotely age appropriate.

Overall, quite a disappointment. The plot summary sounded good, but the writing was just poor. I feel like the idea at the heart of the novel could have been used to greater effect by a stronger writer, who wouldn't have made the tone so stiff and would have cut out most of the unnecessary bulking up of the plot.

Fern and friends set about making an advent calendar with a difference.
Widow Fern is getting close to her friend Kit, but he thinks he doesn't deserve a chance with her. Can she convince him he is worth it?

A great festive read.

Fern moved to Chesterwood three years ago with daughter Lily for a fresh start after losing her husband and hasn't looked back since. Despite having quickly integrated herself into the community and made firm friends in fellow parents Davina and Cara, that doesn't stop her from feeling lonely and missing her husband especially with the festive season peeking round the corner. However, always keen to throw herself into a project Fern discovers the local food bank, a lifeline for many families year-round, is facing closure at one of their busiest times of the year, she vows to help.

With the plan to create a community living advent underway she knows she is going to need all the help she can get if she has even the slightest chance of raising the money needed to save the food bank and that includes tall, dark handsome Kit. The pair have been friends for a while but Fern has always kept their meetings a secret from even her closest friends without knowing why. Spending more time together organising the charity events, Fern realises there is much more to Kit than she originally thought leaving her questioning how much she really knows about him and where their friendship stands. All she knows is that she has to focus on her mission to save the food bank and deal with the fall out of her own life later, but will the pair manage to pull together with the rest of the community to make it happen?

Samantha has an incredible ability to create both relateable characters and situations by integrating heavy topics like bereavement, homelessness and addiction into her stories and The Christmas Calendar Girls is another wonderful example of this. You'd be excused for thinking this novel to be just another light, fluffy Christmas read, but it has so much more depth and substance to it with a real focus on what is important in life whilst firmly shining a light on the problems that many face all year round.

Having said that The Christmas Calendar Girls is a feel good read of the highest order with a fantastic sense of community running throughout, something we should all take heed of- It will definitely leave you feeling all warm and glowy! The pacing of the writing is perfect which is helped by Samantha's easy writing style and made it difficult to put down, leaving me wanting more! Whilst the blossoming relationship between Kit and Fern plays a prominent part in the story this book is more about moving forward, acceptance and loving yourself than your average rom-com/chick-lit story which I absolutely loved.

If you haven't read anything by Samantha Tonge yet I can highly recommend this as a way into her books, plus it has the added bonus of helping you get into that festive mood too which is NEVER a bad thing! If you are already a fan then please grab a copy now, you won't be disappointing! This is by far one of the best books I have read this year and I will definitely be giving a re-read in December when the full run up to Christmas has begun.

Loved it, loved it,loved it, beautifully written, fantastic storyline . Samantha Tonge has really done her best with this novel, It is different to any book I have read, and I am always reading every day, didn't want to put this down. This is a 5 star book, pity I can't give any more and I recommend that everyone reads and enjoys this Looking forward to your next novel and I hope to enjoy it as much as this one.

The Christmas Calendar Girls should be on every woman's reading list this holiday season! Samantha Tonge continues to impress me with her delightful stories and I am always eager for the next! If you need a book to read before Christmas this is the one I suggest reading!

I absolutely loved this heart-warming and gorgeous story about three friends who decide that they want to give back this Christmas. The homeless shelter in Chesterwood will shut if they don't raise enough money, and they're determined to raise the funds with a living advent calendar.

First off, I seriously want to do this idea! How amazing would it be to bring the community together with a living advent calendar! This aside, I really enjoyed the dynamic of their friendship and the developing relationship with the hunky and sensitive Kit.

A fantastically-written and festive read that will make you want to cosy up and not leave the house until you've finished it!!

5 well deserved sparkling stars.