LOVED this book. Loved the storyline. Loved the love interest. I wish we got to delve into Belle's relationship with her parents a tiny bit more to understand how Belle is the way she is. I wanted a bit more from the big gesture but I did have a great laugh when he did the dancing motion. Definitely!

I got about a third of the way through this book, and kept falling asleep. I just...couldn't get into this book. Belle doesn't really seem to have a purpose in life, besides her obsession with Shakespeare, which she has no motivation to turning into a real job. Rory...doesn't seem to have much to him, besides some old trauma that we haven't actually gotten any details on yet, a third of the way through. There just really wasn't anything to get me to care or keep going on this one.

This book warmed my soul - I had been crying out for a good Christmas read as we are in the middle of winter in NZ and I needed an escape to a wintery christmas wonderland. This book filled that void and ticked all my boxes - tragedy, family dynamics, christmas, love, things going constantly wrong until everything just makes sense and you finish the book with a happy heart, a best friend with a baby!

I felt like I personally knew every character and they were so loveable and realistic.

I was a very happy christmas pig reading this book and I can't wait to dig into more by Kitty.

This is very much a slow burn holiday romance. Each chapter is a day in December and told alternating between the two main characters. Belle has just been laid off from her job. Her father is a famous actor and her whole family are flamboyant and larger than life. She is quiet and has a passion is Shakespeare. She has spent years on a project she would like to be able to use to earn a living. Rory hates Christmas as his wife died in a car accident five years ago during the holiday season. Rory and Belle re-meet after knowing each other from college but not dating. She wants him to love Christmas again and he wants to get her Shakespeare project off the ground.

The characters are nice and the story is decent but I wasn't excited reading it. I didn't feel emotionally connected to either of the main characters. I did love the grand gesture but for a holiday romance it didn't give me the feels. I wish there was a prologue to see where things end up. The book is clean for intimacy with some language. Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review

A lovely story about the different kinds of grief people hold onto, what they can look like, and how they can impact our relationships.

Belle loves December and the holidays and everything that comes with it. Her life long love is Shakespeare, and she has spent most of her life poring over his works; translating them into language that people can understand, and researching every aspect of his plays and sonnets. Her dream is to get her vast collection of information into the school system, and to make Shakespeare more accesible to children of all ages.

Rory hates December and everything that reminds him of it. He lost someone important to him on a December evening, and has decided that love is too difficult to lose, and won't ever open himself up to it again.

Rory's job brings him back into Belle's life as he is trying to improve the reputation of her celebrity chef father. Belle decides to take on the task of getting Rory to enjoy December again, and they start growing closer. Rory is only in the country for the month of December, and both wonder if a relationship would work or even be worth pursuing.

Every day in December is recorded in the book, and told from either Rory or Belle's perspective, which I thought was a wonderful way to tell the story. The romance is very much a slow burn, and watching their friendship bloom was truly enjoyable.

I thorougly enjoyed this book. I loved watching each of them grow in various ways, and the interactions between the two of them were heartwarming.

Thank you so much to Kitty Wilson, Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and Netgalley for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Every day is a chapter told from either belle or Rory viewpoint.
Two old University friends meet up. Perceptions from those university days colour their first few meeting's until they start to unravel the past and see the true person who is in front of them now.
Immerse yourself in the story and the festive period.
I definitely enjoyed the book and will be looking out for more books by kitty Wilson

Christmas in July anybody? This was a very sweet little romcom. Our lead characters, Rory and Belle, had known one another in their college years, but had not seen one another since.

When we meet, then they've been introduced through friends again and are spending quite a bit of time together. This book follows the often played trope of 1 lead character hating Christmas and the other one needing to remind them of the Christmas spirit. We follow Rory and Belle throughout the month of December as they rekindle their friendship and discover the closeness they'd both been missing. This book is certainly a slow burn romance, and while I did find that there were pacing issues at times, I think they're largely able to be overcome and I very much enjoyed getting to know the characters and seeing their relationship develop at its own pace.

One thing I enjoyed was that the author didn't feel the need to force the characters together aggressively, rather let their feelings develop on their own in an authentic and organic way. It really made it more believable and made me root for them all the more.

The book also had levels to it and didn't stay in just a happy place the entire time. Instead focusing on themes of grief and loss as well. This felt very gracefully handled and certainly made me more attached to the characters.

Thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins UK, and one more chapter for this ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. This book took me completely by surprise with the amount of love I now have for it. This is one giant, cozy, wrap me up in a blanket with a big cup of hot chocolate next to a fireplace with Christmas lights everywhere type of book. Yes that was a long sentence, but that’s seriously what I felt like the entire time.

This book is so insanely wholesome and sweet and is absolutely a new favorite and one I’ll be reaching for every Christmas time. This book is just so wonderful and comforting and beautiful and perfect!

These characters were real, raw, and so authentic and watching them grow throughout the book was so amazing. I adored them each on their own as much as them together. It was beautiful witnessing how they brought out the best in each other and gradually started letting each other in through all the walls they’ve build.

This story was so beautiful and I will highly recommend this to be an addition to everyone’s Christmas reading tbr and be ready to be blown away by the sweetness and pure joy that this book will bring you!

*Thank you Netgalley for giving me an arc in exchange for an honest review.*

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

This book was like wrapping yourself in a warm blanket.. If I could give more than 5⭐️ I would.

Back in college, Rory and Belle, were friends, but not close friends. They’ve not seen each other since, that was 5 years ago. Something happened and Rory left as he thought that’d help him deal with his feelings. Now, he’s come back to be with his mother, whose also dealing with a health matter.
At the beginning of December they meet through friends, begin spending quite a lot of time together. But they are totally different from each other, as Belle is a bit wild, happy-go-lucky and Rory is wary.
Another thing that is different is that Rory hates Christmas, Belle loves it. But still, they start learning to love how they are themselves and also begin to heal from the past.

I loved these two as well as the other characters who were funny, especially Marsha. Belle’s love of Christmas and books was addictive, which matched her personality.
Rory is still trying to deal with his feelings for what happened years ago.
His way of telling Belle how he feels at the end was sweet and I loved it.
The book, is perfect for those who love a warm, sweet Christmassy read, enough to get you into the Christmas spirit.

Highly Recommend It.

A very sweet love story about two cuties that have until Dec 31st to find love.
Maybe I’m just a bit cynical, but there was a bit too much cheese in this one…

Oh my gosh! I really just adored this book!

I hate most things Christmas but for whatever reason I am a sucker for Christmas books. This book may be tops of the Christmas themed books for me.

This book follows Belle and Rory through the month of December as they reignite a friendship from college. Belle is determined to remind Rory of the magic of Christmas and he is a begrudging participant.

This is just so charming, fun, sweet but not too much. It's the perfect balance of good and a wee bit of dark. I loved every moment of it.

I highly recommend this book to those wanting a bit of magic in their holiday!

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Every Day in December started off a little slow. Belle seemed like a bit of a disaster at the beginning. Just fired from a dead end job with no real marketable skills, Belle runs into someone she recognizes from her college days at a disastrous family lunch. Rory is back in the UK after his mother is diagnosed with cancer and he accepts Belle’s father as a client in his social media reputation firm.

Once Belle and Rory start to become friends, the story picks up. Belle loves Christmas and Rory is a scrooge, so she is dedicated to showing him some real Christmas spirit. From there Every Day in December was mostly light hearted, sweet, and fun, until Rory deals with a large bit of guilt and pulls away from Belle.

I definitely didn’t expect such deep topics like grief, cancer, and loss, and it almost felt like it didn’t fit with the rest of the story. Also a Christmas story published in the summer made it hard to get into the spirit of the story. Regardless, Every Day in December was an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy.

Wow, I loved this one so, so much! First time reading this author and what a pleasant surprise.

The story is presented in a day by day format in December, when Belle and Rory meet again. They already knew each other from uni, but were not close friends. Rory is visiting his mother who's been diagnosed with breast cancer, and Belle has just been let go from her job and is trying to survive the holiday season.

I really liked to read the progression of the friendship between Belle and Rory, as she helped him learn to like Christmas and as he helped her with the Shakespeare project. She has a family who doesn't appreciate her and he's not over losing his long-time partner five years ago.
The secondary characters were well-rounded and pivotal to the story as well, but the way Belle and Rory become better friends each day, falling in love with each other, really made it for me.

To make it even better, it should have an epilogue, even a brief one, like a year later at Christmas, so the ending is not so rushed.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Every Day in December is a slow burn romance set around (you guessed it!) the Christmas holiday. Belle is struggling to find a job that can incorporate her love for Shakespeare and dealing with the fallout from her well known father’s personal mishap. Rory is struggling with guilt from the past and an unexpected illness in his family.
Belle pushes Rory outside of his comfort zone. Rory makes Belle feel appreciated and cared for.
What could go wrong?

Every Day in December was a delightful Christmas story. I personally loved reading this for a Christmas in July give-me-cooler-weather read.
I really, really enjoyed Belle as a character. I felt her insecurities as though she were real. I loved her relationship with her best friend and especially the relationship with her goddaughter.
I also really liked Rory and the storyline with his grief. But that his grief didn’t make him one dimensional.
There were a few things at the end that I felt like were glossed over or didn’t end in a way that I felt was enough for the characters - but nothing too terrible.

Thank you so much, Netgalley, for this ARC!
4/5

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins, and One More Chapter for the gifted copy.

Every Day in December is such a sweet little romance! Belle and Rory knew each other in college, but come in contact again five years after the death of Rory’s partner. They forge a friendship where they help each other realize the best in themselves.

I loved how Kitty Wilson allows these characters to have feelings for each other but let’s them honor and respect their need to push each other to be their best selves. Add in a fabulous best friend, precocious god-daughter, and hilarious mother, this book had me smiling ear-to-ear, even when the book tackled more difficult issues.

In the acknowledgment, Kitty tells us that she researched Christmastime in Bristol and Bath, experiencing some of the same things Belle and Rory do in the book, which breathes authenticity in her book.

This is Kitty’s first standalone outside of her Cornish Village School series, and was a pure delight to read!

4.5⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley, One More Chapter, and Kitty Wilson for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this story! It was sweet, full of heart, genuine, and gave me all the Christmas feels! Belle and Rory have such great chemistry and the Christmas fun they take part in is my very own Christmas dream! When I read the Abbey scene, I could picture myself in the future, bundled up against the cold, walking into an Abbey somewhere in England to join in the Christmas carols. It made my heart so happy and full.

If I wasn’t already in a Christmas in July frame of mind, this certainly would have brought me there! While Belle’s family is not desirable in any way, I love her character because while she represents someone who has been privileged, she also struggles with her confidence, belief in herself, and tends to find partners who are less than ideal or desirable. She by no means had the perfect family life and that has helped shape who she has become. In spite of that, though, she has become stronger than she even knows and is quite independent, wanting to make a name for herself without using her father’s name as a way to make her dreams come true.

This story also contains a lot of loss, in many different forms, and how to work on healing and living. The grief of affected characters is handled with such grace and respect. It is impossible not to feel along with these characters.

Dive into this world of Christmas, and you will feel like you are wrapped in marshmallows and gingerbread, and maybe learn a thing or two about yourself in the process ❤️

Really enjoyed this one! Such a great read and just what I needed! The plot was different to any romance I’ve read before and it was really enjoyable and created such a quick read.

A great read. I loved Belle and Rory's story it was beautiful and very well written. Belle first notices Rory one new years eve at the hospital where her best friend is giving birth to her daughter, and Five years later when their paths cross again they spend most of December together as Belle tries to make him love Christmas as much as she does ,They share a special friendship but as Rory is still grieving from a terrible loss can they become more than just friends as they enjoy some magical Christmas magic. A 5⭐read

Not really sure where to start with this review. I don't have very many thoughts on this. I enjoyed reading this and I liked both Belle and Rory and particularly their relationship. I think this could have easily been four stars if I'd enjoyed the second half more but unfortunately, I found it a little boring. I do think that some of the side characters could also have been fleshed out a little more just because there was so much potential. But I did still really enjoy reading this for the most part and it was a fun, quick read.

I really wish I enjoyed this more - the blurb drew me in and I’m a sucker for a Christmas romance book, especially when it’s the grump/sunshine trope and slow burn; my two favourite things ever.

Something was missing for me, whether it was a lack of chemistry or a dragging plot line or immature characters, I can’t quite pinpoint it. From the beginning, I wasn’t particularly grabbed by the writing which meant I slowly lost interest quite soon.

Overall, this book is very sweet. It mixes a love for Shakespeare and a quirky Christmas-obsessed woman with a slightly grumpy, very awkward and fairly troubled man; following their journey from old-friends-to-lovers. Sounds like everything i’ve ever wanted to read but unfortunately, it wasn’t for me. (2.5 stars)