Member Reviews

Much Ado…
The end of year at Hope Hall comes with a flurry of activity and, of course, drama. These is much ado as Christmas approaches and much community spirit but overall a feeling of hope. The final book in this trilogy centred around a Victorian Church hall and a fitting finale to the series. Delightful.

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Christmas at Hope Hall is a sweet story following the lives of several people in a small British town during the holiday season. I'll start with why this wasn't 5 stars for me, then end with what I liked.
While it was a relaxing, cute story, there was nothing that really drew me in and made me care about any of the characters. There were so many, and it changed from one to another so often and rather abruptly, that I had a hard time remembering who it was talking about at times. It was also hard to get to know any of the characters on a deeper level to form an emotional connection. I also felt as though several of the stories were not tied up by the end. The last criticism I have is that it was not a very festive holiday book. There weren't many mentions of the holiday, and there weren't any festivities or traditional Christmas goings-on besides the panto. It seemed as if it could have taken place any time of the year.
However, I did enjoy most of the different stories that were happening, and found myself rooting for some of the characters. The panto at the end seemed hilarious and is something I would have liked to have seen in real life! I loved how Hope Hall played a part in everyone's story and how it had such a central role in the lives of the townspeople and community, and so often brought people together. I also really enjoyed the fact that the story is British. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a cozy, relaxing read they can lose themselves in, as long as they can keep several storylines straight and aren't looking for an overtly festive holiday read.

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A weak storyline and poorly developed characters made this incredibly difficult to finish. There has to be more to a Christmas novel than the usual tropes to make it enjoyable and sadly the usual tropes is all this book has to offer.

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Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. This book tells the story of villagers who live in a small town in England. I like getting to know the people who lived in the.town and how they interacted with one another. I could not put this book down.

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I wasn’t aware Pam Rhodes of Songs of Praise fame wrote books, which pleasantly surprised me when I opened this one.

I’ve read a number of Christmas books recently, and whilst they generally all follow the same pattern, I never get sick of them. They’re a sure fire way of warming me up and enveloping me in a big snowy cuddle. This is very well written and enjoyable, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it an out and out Christmas book, regardless of the title. The first mention of anything remotely linked to Christmas doesn’t come until nearly 40% of the way through. This doesn’t necessarily negatively impact the book or its reading - I still thoroughly enjoyed it - but I personally like my festive books to be all jingle bells and mistletoe and snowy hills right from the get go.

I didn’t like the main character of Ray initially as he wasn’t nice to a dog, and I don’t trust people who aren’t nice to dogs, but he soon won me round. There’s quite a number of characters to keep on top of, but they all have their own individual characteristics and personalities, and none are just put there simply to make up the numbers.

The advanced electronic copy I received did have some formatting issues which meant scenes merged into the next, with nothing to tell you the time, location or characters had changed, which was a bit off putting, but this hopefully has been amended in the final project.

Overall I thought it was well written, very enjoyable and easy to read, but I wouldn’t personally call it a Christmas book. To me, it is more a book with some Christmas elements, than a full on festive extravaganza.

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I loved this book.
Hope there's another one as I want to know what happens to everyone.
If Maggie does leave and marry Phil and open a teashop.
If celia makes the mill brilliant and what happens to uncle Jo.
Love the fact it follows on so seamlessly from the other books. Please let there be another one.

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This is such a great book and definitely got my excited for the upcoming festive season. I haven’t read any of the other books in the series but it didn’t lessen my enjoyment of this book. Although I will be reading the others very soon because I’m so invested.


Not only was there drama in this story there was also a real feeling of community and coming together to help one another and to me this is what made it the perfect festive read.
Some great characters and a great story that left me wanting more from Hope Hall!

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Not sure what it is about this series but I just love it. Characters are engaging and I love the community aspect. Add in a Christmas theme and it's exactly what I'm looking for in a book!

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A light hearted read following the people involved in Hope Hall. A close knit community that helps and supports each other, culminating in a panto and a marriage An enjoyable book that I’m sure lots of readers will enjoy

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I finished this one so quickly! I wanted a feel-good cozy read and that's what I got. It wasn't the most amazing book I've ever read, but it made me feel happy and that's what is most important!!

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This was my first book by this author and I was drawn to the title and the description and the cover I know the saying is that you should never judge a book by its cover but in this case it turned out that was a good decision. This is the third book in a series but can also be read as a stand alone. It was such a beautiful book of love friendship and how a wonderful community all pull together to make sure that hope hall and its inhabitants are all looked after and pull together to make the world a better place. I laughed and cried while reading this heartwarming and inspiring read with its array of individual and quirky characters who all have a story to tell and who all care so much about each other and hope hall. This was so much more than just a Christmas book and perfect escapism once I had started reading it I couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait to read more by this author now.

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I received an advance copy of, Christmas at Hope Hall, by Pam Rhodes. This is the final book in the Hope Hall series. I really liked this village and its inhabitants. Christmas is a special time of the year, pantos/plays are great to see during this time.

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I really enjoyed this book! Will be recommending this book to everyone. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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Wow what a finale to the series fantastic. Read this in one sitting! All the characters and how their individual beings came about it was a brilliant read with a hint of sadness that is the end. Looking forward to Pam writing another great saga

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With grateful thanks for an arc in return for an honest opinion.
A book full of love and hope for new beginnings for trust and broken hearts, a tale set in a gorgeous village this is the 3rd in the series highly recommend and a very enjoyable read..

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