The Christmas Menagerie by Minna Howard
Publication Date: November 5, 2020
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Description from NetGalley...
“Amelia usually loves Christmas, but this year is her first one alone since her husband passed away – though she's not quite by herself. Somehow, she's been lumbered with a menagerie of pets over the holidays, no thanks to the new village vet closing the local kennels.

Between a parrot, two tortoises and god-knows-how-many baby mice, Amelia ends up seeing a lot more of Jules the vet than she planned to. And despite her neighbours' fury for the man who shut down a local institution, she can't help enjoying every moment she spends with Jules.

She tells herself it doesn't really matter as surely Jules will be driven out of the village by this time next year. But as Amelia's about to discover...love isn't just for Christmas!”
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Thank you to @NetGalley @ariafiction for the digital ARC in return for my honest review.
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My thoughts....
If you’re looking for a quick and cozy Christmas read you might like this book. This was my first book from Minna Howard. Overall, the book was okay. I was expecting more. The storyline needed more, there were repetitive conversations and musings. And for a romcom, the romance fell short and felt rushed towards the end. I did enjoy the whole theme of the animals and rebuilding a public kennel.

I wanted to love this one. But I just don't. It was slow going, repetitive, and the characters just kept having the same conversations over and over again. Nothing even really happens until the last chapter or two. And even then, it didn't make me feel anything.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this title.

To be honest, this was not my favourite book by Minna Howard. Too much repetition of some aspects of the story and a rather thin storyline. On the plus side, the story did feature some sympathetic characters.

The Christmas Menagerie by Minna Howard is a very fun and cozy Christmas story. It’s set in a small town outside of London. The main characters are Amelia, who is a teacher and a widow and Jules, a widower and the town vet. They both have children. In addition to that, there are lots of animals and in addition to several relationships going on there is a side story about rebuilding a local kennel. The only negative is that there is a lot of repetitive conversations between characters and summarizing of the story events that got in the way a bit for me. Overall, I enjoyed this light read for the holidays.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my review.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.


A great idea, this book is just great for a holiday romance.

Alone for her first Christmas since her husband passed away, Amelia gets landed with all of the neighbors pets.

A holiday romance then follows wit the hot veterinarian.

But, it’s not plain sailing, there’s twists along the way.

There were funny parts from the animals and Christmas was funny and cozy.

It’s the perfect light, easy read with a holiday feel.

I loved reading this book! What could be better than a Christmas story with a lot of animals and full of Christmas spirit. Grab this book for a heartwarming story that will put the joy of Christmas in your heart. Thank you Aria & Aries via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

YES, this book!!! I absolutely loved this book and everything about it! This is a perfect book for the holiday season, packed with Christmas love and cheer. I truly enjoyed reading this book because it upped my mood and spirits and helped me remember the reason and magic of the holiday season. I would highly recommend adding this book to your holiday reading list; it is like reading a Hallmark movie!

I really enjoyed this book all the way through. It had a really good plot, great main characters and really keeps you hooked on the plot. I would highly recommend this book.

Amelia meets Jules the vet when she ends up pet sitting for a lot of the village over Christmas. Both are dealing with the loss of a partner, but could this be a second chance for both of them?

The concept of this book is just great for a holiday romance. Amelia is alone for her first Christmas since her husband died and she gets landed with all of the neighbors pets. Enter the new, hot veterinarian. Holiday romance ensues. However, there wasn't much meat in this book. It's quite repetitive. The animal and Christmas parts were funny and cozy. But Christmas is over and done with pretty early in the book. It's a light, easy read and has some holiday feels. The writing could be much tighter and the main conflict throughout was rather dull.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

I usually look for cute, lighthearted musings in a holiday story, and while this had possibilities, it fell flat for me. The idea of the story was cute, but it just didn’t work for me as a reader.

Although this book gave me the Christmas themed escapism I was hoping for, it didn’t live up to my expectations. The dilemma seemed to be constantly summarised throughout making it quite repetitive. There was also some quite damaging behaviour and responses around toxic relationships that were never addressed. Overall, I was excited about the idea of this book, but sadly the delivery just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.


I am giving this novel 2.5 stars, rounding up to 3 stars, but I really wanted to like it going in.
The concept was cute, the animals she took care of were adorable as well, but the writing and the plot, I found to be bland. Amelia was the main heroine of the novel, but after the first like 7 chapters, REALLY not much happens to her besides parties, her super pushy and annoying daughter Sophie and and incredibly agonizing slow burn that gets resolved in the last 2 chapters.
The kennel was pretty much the main focus of the whole novel and granted, without it, the book wouldn't be what it is, but then I would have loved Amelia to have a closer business with it than just be in the background like she was here.
I wish she got the dog that she mentioned so many times in the book, I wish we got to see the garden, or there be a bit more excitement between her and Jules. There were a few things missing from it, I felt and found this novel to not be it for me.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Amelia is spending her first Christmas alone after losing her husband. She was asked to watch several pets due to the local kennels being closed. This was a cute holiday story with great characters.

A relaxing and funny story. Alone at Christmas? No as a series of pets are dumped on our heroine due to the forced closure of the local boarding kennels. Along come the handsome local vet and his young son, together with assorted relatives: a prickly daughter, various friends and other characters and the result is an amusing and slow burning romance. Perfect for a cosy night’s reading in front of the fire.

A lovely lighthearted Christmas read!! Just perfect for getting into the spirit of the festive season. I’ve not read anything by this author before So I look forward to reading more by her

Amelia is spending her first Christmas alone since the death of her husband. To keep her company she decides to pet-sit a friends dog, however when word get out she ends up caring for more animals than she bargained for thanks to the village vet closing down the kennels. Now the Amelia will be seeing much more of the vet than she imagined, which is not a bad thing, is Amelia ready for a Christmas romance?

I loved this one!

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Normally too early for me to read Xmas books but saying that I loved this book and all the animals in it as well. A real feel good read (even in October)

I received an advance copy of, The Christmas Menagerie, by Minna Howard. Its Amelia's first Christmas alone, since her husband died, and her daughters went out on their own. Amelia decides to watch a friends dog while their away for the holidays. Everyone in town hears, and wants Amelia to watch their pets too. Will Amelia have a Christmas romance with the vet? Will this truly be a Christmas to remember? I really like this book, and its cast of characters.