I inherited my love for this genre from my sister. We both used to read in Dutch, but she tried a chicklit in English about 20 years ago and she persuaded me to try one too and the rest is history. We both preferred this and now about 2500 books later, we are still going strong. 

Although I switched genre about 5 years ago - now preferring thrillers and mysteries - I still occasionally go back to my first love, because you never forget your first love. :)

I really enjoyed baking as well and feel good books about cakes and cookies always attract me, making me want to dive into the kitchen and create something again.

You often see from afar which direction the story will follow, but it's usually not a very straightforward road but one thing is certain: you will get a happy ending.

The author introduces us to Cathy, a lovely lady who had to take some hurdles before she finds the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

The book is build on tears and laughter and I really enjoyed the banter between the two cousins Iris and Dora.

A warm story about finding true love and true friendship. 4 stars

Thank you

I feel this focused too much on Cathy's life and not enough on Christmas. The main characters are the most enjoyable. Needs more Christmas spirit.

A cute festive read with loveable characters and a a heartwarming plot, perfect for winter time. The setting was atmospheric and you can almost picture yourself there which is a sign of great descriptive writing

What a sweet (pun intended) wintery story! Full of yummy baking, lovely characters and lots of heart, Cathy's story was easy to read and easy to love. I really want banana loaf now...

I enjoyed this one! I can’t quite put my finger on what it is but I always like Tennant’s characters and writing.
The main character in cosy Christmas stories often have tragedy in their background, and I feel like Tennant has done a good job with Cathy of having that element of something painful that she is emerging from but without that overshadowing the cosy/festive vibe of the story.
The romance in this one was sweet – I liked the way the characters got to know each other and their relationship developed. I also liked that the challenges they faced were a bit different to the usual blow-up over a misunderstanding. One of my favourite things about this story was the friendship between the group of people in the cooking class, and the way that these relationships got as much time and attention in the book as the romantic one.

Overall this one is a sweet story that gives enough depth to the characters that you feel for them, but stays light enough at the same time to feel hopeful and uplifting. I’ve already added Tennant’s upcoming title, Christmas in Paris, to my tbr for the 2022 festive season!

Even though it wasn't Christmas when I read it, I couldn't put this story down! I got into the festive feelings and wanted to snuggle up with a blanket and a mince pie. The characters were wonderful and it was so easy to care about them and everything that happened in their life. (Well - I didn't care about all the characters, but you can't like everyone!). The cookery classes seem like the kind of thing I'd love to do and I wish we had them where I live! I've enjoyed this author in the past, and will continue to read her again and again.

Val is hosting a private tea party when things go wrong. One of the volunteers ends up dead by eating one of the gingerbread cookies that were mysteriously served to the guests. It's a complete mystery how this could've happened, so Val and her amateur detective grandpa go to investigate the unfortunate situation.

Val is working on her catering business, while grandpa is trying to fill up his retirement days. I can't remember other books I've read where grandparents where part of the team, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Grandpas make everything cozier.

As with most murder mysteries, there's a process of finding the right suspect. So we go through multiple suspects and eventually arrive at the real culprit. This middle part of the book felt long and I needed some time to get through that. While the middle part felt long, the first part and last part of the book where quick and compact. The characters beside Val and her grandpa are developed well. There's no deep understanding of every characters life, but enough to be able to see their guilt or innocence. The suspects are clearly suspect for a good reason and don't get away with innocence easy.

Val is a big fan of cooking, explaining her catering business. At the end of the book you will find some recipes from the book. A nice touch if reading the delicious foods in this story made your mouth water.

Gingerdead Man is the seventh book in the series, but don't worry if you haven't read any of the other books. I haven't read any of the other books in the series and found no problem at all in understanding what was going on. This book can be read stand-alone as well. A pro for cozy mysteries, as they often don't require to read a series from the beginning to feel indulged in the story.

Really enjoyed this book would recommend to all my friends funny in parts and sad in others but you could really picture the cookery school and florist shop.

An absolutely brilliant Christmas book. Definitely one to get you in the mood for the festive season. Brilliant story.

Loved the book. Loved the cakes. Loved the story. Made me happy. Tilly Tennant seems to hit the spot to make me pick up her books. I will recommend to you and my friends.

Lovely story of Cathy having to move on after the death of her mother but trying to keep part of her alive by sharing her baking and recipes. Great characters, you immediately fall for Cathy, good storyline and plenty of humour make this a lovely warmhearted read

Pretty average read with nothing overly Christmassy about it; just a few references here and there. I will say that for once it wasn't the typical boy meets girl, they fall in love, they fall out, then make up and live happily ever after - this plot went a little differently which was a refreshing change. Easy read but not my favourite book by Tilly.

Really great read. Enjoyed it so much.
Really got into this book and read it very quick. I just wish the book of recipes and little doodles was available!

Cathy’s Christmas Kitchen is such a gorgeous read! It is the perfect story to lose yourself in and forget the real world for a little while.

Cathy is an instantly likeable character, and you can’t help but feel for her. She is facing her first Christmas alone since the death of her mother, who she spent many years, selflessly, caring for. She has inherited their cosy cottage and her mother’s love, and natural flair, for baking.

Brilliant writing and laugh out loud funny at times. I love it!

This is a lovely, lovely book and I thoroughly enjoyed every page. I’m sure you would love it too and I don’t think it really needs to be Christmastime to enjoy it either, I read it in July and I am SO ready for the Christmas months to arrive!!

This was a nice, lighthearted read.

I liked Cathy, Matthias and the members of Cathy's cooking club! They were quite the interesting mix of members! I especially loved Iris and Dora's double act. They were funny together.

It was well written and had a good pace to it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tilly for the chance to read this book.

This was such a great entertaining and enjoyable story, it really was. It was fall of drama, secrets, yummy sounding food, delightful characters, laugh out loud moments and so much more. You definitely get more than you bargain for with this book. I wouldn’t say it was overly filled with Christmas festive moments within the story, but despite that I still really enjoyed it.

I loved getting to know the characters, and experiencing what they were going through and what they had been through in their past, you truly do get a feel for the characters and they just come alive within your imagination.

So all in all a great story which was wonderfully written and a delightful way to lose a few hours whilst lost in the story. Oh one last thing, when reading this book, do prepare to feel hungry, as the food that gets baked truly does sound delicious.

I really enjoyed this book, enjoyed the characters, the story, and the strong relationships which were formed within the book. This book was about Cathy finding her feet after the death of her mum and having the courage to start to make her own choices in life. I would recommend this book- sheer Escapism!
Thank you to Netgalley, Bookoutre and Tilly Tennant for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

Cathys life has been dedicated to her mum for as long as she can remember. After her dads death she became her mums full time career and now her mum has gone leaving Cathy feeing lost. She has no friends or family and in a bid to meet some new people goes along to a community baking morning. Her bakes are a huge success and before she knows it she finds herself running baking classes. Before long she has made friends with Erica and romance blooms in the form of Erica’s brother Matt. However, their niece Tansy, who’s having issues at home begins to cause problems for Matt, Cathy and her baking classes.

I found this a really enjoyable book but it did take me quite a while to read. It was a case of really enjoying it whilst reading but I wouldn’t feel a great pull to pick it back up. I really liked the main character Cathy, she came across as a very sweet, if maybe a little naïve at times. However, we did see changes and development to her character as the book went along. This book really felt like a story of Cathys self discovery rather than a romance. She gained friends, a boyfriend but more importantly confidence and belief in herself which was lovely to see. I also really liked the character of Fleur who Cathy worked for. She became a great friend to Cathy and was always there for her with some much needed advise and some straight talking.

As I said, I do think the main focus of this story was Cathys growth as a character but there was some definite romance within it too. I really loved the romance in this story. I think its one of my favourite romantic relationships I have read about because it was so straight forward. There was no angst and things constantly pulling them apart. They met and immediately hit it off, had a connection and made it clear they were attracted to each other. They were thrown a few curve ball curtesy of Tansy but they never let that get in their way. I also liked there wasn’t a great conflict at the end to pull them apart that they had to try and overcome. It was just a sweet love story and nice watching them fall for each other.

This was it a really fun and sweet story. It had a lovely main character who goes on a great journey of change and discovery. She grows in confidence, self belief and finds her place and new purpose in life a well a finding love. There ere also lots of tasty treats described too which is always good in my opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Bookouture for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

disappointed with this book very plain to read and not very christmassey not much more to say it was easy to read and to get into the story line but ended up going nowere it fell flat and not a lot of christmas spirit in it

Tilly Tennant is my favorite author and I always know in advance that I will enjoy her books and this one was no exception! I LOVED it!!!! My favorite read from this christmas season!!!! I really enjoyed every page from this book. It's christmassy, there is a lovely lovely (LOVELY) romance in this book that made my hearts fluttered, the characters are so lovable, Cathy's cooking class is full of events and friendships, there is also family dramas in this book that make it even more interesting! All in all this book is super good!!! Tilly Tennant is such a brilliant author! Can't wait to read her next book!!!!