I thought this was a cute and festive book, but maybe not as good as her other books. I loved the setting of Lapland and thought it sounded like such a magical place to spend a Christmas. I thought the main character was quirky and fun. I wish there had been a few more obstacles to her van life though, just to make things a little interesting. It seemed like everything happened so quickly. It also seemed as though the entire book was Flora trying to change Connor and yet he liked her just the way she was. That just rubbed me the wrong way. I didn't sense any chemistry between them and didn't think there was any relationship development. It was just an okay story.

Such a fun, read not the normal Christmas snutty book, this had me giggling and smiling throughout, enjoy and easy to read, loved how the story played out and did grip me from the start which I love, definitely a must read

3.5*

Flora's Travelling Christmas Shop by Rebecca Raisin is sure to put anyone into Christmas spirit! Loved that it took place mostly in Finland. The romance starts pretty late in the book (around 30%) but I really enjoyed it. Reason for lower rating is because it was a rather long book but the ending was very cut short in my opinion.

Thank you NetGalley for the free ebook copy.

The Van Lifers series continues with Flora and her lovely Christmas van! This is my favorite so far- I do hope there are more to come.
Flora, full of Christmas spirit meets Connor who doesn’t believe in Christmas at all. Flora decides it is her duty to make Connor see what Christmas is really all about.
This story is laugh out loud funny, features strong female friendships, and is just so sweet. If you have never read any of this series what are you even doing!
Thank you publisher and Netgalley for the copy to review.

Flora’s Travelling Christmas Shop, by Rebecca Raisin, is a holiday delight. Flora has yet to find something she was thrilled about except for Christmas! You would think working at Deck the Halls Christmas shop would be her dream job but her boss is an absolute Grinch and Flora is fired for being too kind.

At the same time her roommate/host Livvy has been given a work visa to work with a US cosmetic company to perfect her new line which will take over a year. Not only has Flora lost her job but now she is also losing her shelter and must get a plan together.

In the next few days Flora and Livvy put together a plan for Flora to become part of the campervan lifestyle while setting up a Christmas market store from her van. Her destination is Lapland, a place she has always wanted to visit. With research and recon, Flora sells off many of her holiday collections to fund the venture and flies off to the far north.

On her route to the Lapland where she has been accepted in a market she has a radiator hose issue on the sparsely traveled road. When what appears to be a Norse god with an Irish accent stops to help they don’t really hit it off. Later that evening when she arrives at the market Flora has a run in with the market mean girl, but quickly makes friends with others there. When Flora learns that the Norse god is actually the market manager she also learns he is not a fan of Christmas, setting her on a path to help him open up to the beauty of the season.

This becomes the main plot of the story with many subplots intertwined. Told with great humor and heart, this delightful story is a perfect holiday offering. I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!

Really enjoyed this. I’ve read all 3 of Rebecca’s books about Van Lifers and I hope they continue because they’re fab reads. I loved Flora; how honest and straight talking she is - great character. My only downside was that I ended very quickly. I was starting to get concerned when I got to chapter 28 and nothing was getting tied up and then it was just over in the last chapter. I do think it could have benefitted from a couple of extra chapters, or at least and Epilogue, but it didn’t ruin it for me. Fingers crossed there’s another one in this series of stories.

I adored Flora and all of her quirky ways. I loved how her brain would run off at a tangent and come up with all these crazy scenarios and possibilities and actually really connected to her since my brain often does this too.

Although I’ve read quite a lot of Christmas books already this year with most of them being set in Lapland I feel that this book had a unique quality to it as I hadn’t read any books about Van Lifers before.

I love the idea of living and working in a van while travelling all over although I’m not sure I’m brave enough to actually do it! So I was happy to live vicariously thorough Flora as she drastically changes her life to pursue her dream of owning her own Christmas shop.

Flora adores everything about Christmas and running a Christmas shop in Lapland is even more magical; I could feel her joy radiating from the pages, even when there’s a bit of Van Lifer drama trying to bring her down!

As well as Flora I adored Raakel who proves to be an invaluable friend in a environment where Flora may have felt alone and out of her depth.

Connor is the romantic interest in this book and he hates Christmas. Of course Flora can’t accept this and goes out of her way to show him that Christmas is about more than consumerism and waste, which provides some hilarious situations.

This was my first Rebecca Raisin book and it certainly won’t be my last as I’m keen to meet the other Van Lifers in the series.

This book was a light Christmas read. I loved that the story takes places in dreamy Finland and by the end of the book wanted to visit there myself.

The story focuses on a woman named Flora, quickly approaching thirty and worried about not having her life together, Flora does something out of character and buys a van to sell some of her most prized collection, her Christmas decorations. Her first stop is a Christmas market in Finland, on the way there the van breaks down for a bit and she meets the moody but helpful Connor who, surprise, also works at the market! While Connor loves the environment he has no passion for Christmas. Flora, saddened by the idea that anyone exists without feeling the true magic of Christmas, challenges herself to get Connor to fall in love with Christmas before the market ends. Flora tricks Connor into doing lots of Christmas activities in hopes he’ll realize Christmas is about spending time with the ones you love and much more than just the greedy consumerism he believes to define the holiday. Will Flora be able to show him Christmas is more than just getting gifts?

While I always enjoy reading about Christmas and the setting of Finland I did think this book seemed a bit rushed. One example is, one second Flora couldn’t stand Connor, the next she was in love with him. I’m all for an enemies to lovers trope but there wasn’t much of a build up. It was cute, but far from my favorite holiday read.

This heartwarming story is a fresh mix of romance, friendship, love, and family. I really enjoyed this book—it is a light and fun read for the holiday season. The characters are interesting and relatable.

Thank you to Rebecca Raisin, NetGalley and HQ for the ARC of this book.

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC.

I liked this book but didn't like the obsession with finding a man. Flora is disheartened that she is almost 30 and not yet married. That just sets such a tired example for women and that theme is just in your face throughout the book, like that's the worst possible thing in the world, moreso than being jobless or homeless.

I really enjoyed that the setting of this book was in Finland. The author really makes you feel like you're there with all the magical snow days, northern lights, and reindeer. It was fun reading about Van Life. The character reminded me of Becky from Confessions of a Shopaholic.

An enjoyable festive read. Full of everything you can want from a festive book, romance, badies, snow, reindeer and the Northern lights.

Let me just start with stating that I've read Rosie's Travelling Tea Shop and my main problem (among many more) with this book was the fact that Rosie opened a tea Shop in her van and just randomly parked at Glastonbury Festival, with like zero preparations, without reserving a spot 3746 years before the event, without any health and safety permissions etc.
This has changes in this book - there were some preparations (sort of), reserving a spot at a Christmas Market in advance, etc. So yay, that's a plus.

Overall I liked this book more than Rosie, but I don't think it deserves more that three stars. Unfortunately, yet again, the romance is lukewarm at best. Things that Flora's doing that are supposed to be charming were just cringe.
Also don't get me started about main antagonist being a bad bitch just because she was jealous of a man's affection. It's 2021 and authors are still using "I'm a mean girl bc I claimed that boy mentally first" trope. Like, come on. There are hundreds of ways to put an antagonist in this story - she could have been selling similar merchandise, or idk, she could have bees Star Seller 10 years in a row now jealous of someone new stealing the crown and glory. But noooo, why make an effort when it's easier to just write a jealous airhead that will make anything to get a man.

Ok, I was about to give this book 3 stars, but while I was writing this review I've decided to give it two, just because the thing mentioned above just made me so angry.

Anyways it's not the worst Christmas book out there, but it's also not great.

Better than some books but Flora is too much. Just didn't click with her and the rest of the book was a struggle. Supposed to be thirty she was more like thirteen.. OK but not great

This book was so much fun and a great kickoff to the holiday season. Flora was such a quirky silly main character that I couldn't help rooting her on. After her life seems to be falling apart at the seams, Flora decides to buy a pop-up Christmas van and travel to a Christmas market in Lapland. Along the way, she runs into Connor who is a strong-willed anti-Christmas manager of the market. Will Flora have her happily every after Hallmark Christmas special? Only the holiday season will tell. 4 stars. Thank you, NetGalley for the eARC.

I loved this Christmas book so much! It was cozy and so cute. I hope that everyone reads it! It felt like a warm hug. I love Hallmark Christmas movies, and this book felt like a Hallmark Christmas movie!

This is wonderful laugh out loud Christmas story.

The characters bring a smile to your face and you are just left with a wonderful warm glow at the end of the story.

Makes you realise what Christmas is all about.

Great.

I love Rebecca's books and this festive offering didn't disappoint. I loved Flora - Christmas obsessed - slightly dippy but her heart was in the right place - but her life seemed to be at a standstill. Encouraged by her best friend Livvie she decides on a brand new start and decides to turn her passion into a new life. She buys a van and heads to a Christmas market in Finland - to live and work. Of course there is a love interest but nothing is ever plain sailing for Flora.
If you want a feel good festive story then this one is for you. Rebecca writes great characters and this book will make you smile - and want to see the Northern Lights.

This is a lovely Christmas read that follows Flora in the aftermath of losing her job and deciding to buy a van and start a travelling Christmas shop. She loves Christmas and is determined to surround herself with the joys of the season. I loved Flora and really enjoyed seeing her move to Lapland and how she got on at her first Christmas market. The way she meets Connor, who runs the site, was amusing and I loved seeing how they got to know each other better. Flora meets some great characters throughout the novel and I felt like I was right there along with her. This is such a sweet Christmas novel and I recommend it.

Sweet and Christmas-y little romance. I wasn't familiar with Rebecca Raisin prior to 2021 (even though she has written nearly 2 dozen books now); since stumbling across Rebecca Raisin, Flora's Travelling Christmas Shop is my 3rd Rebecca Raisin book this year. Sometimes you need a break from everything else and just turn the rest of the world off and relax into a little romance. This fits that perfectly.

How do you get someone who doesn't believe in Christmas to believe, let Flora show you how!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Rebecca Raisin the author and HQ Digital for the opportunity to review the advance read copy of Flora's Travelling Christmas Shop in exchange for an honest review.

As an RV'er, I do believe that we are missing some of the finer points regarding surviving Lapland in an RV without water lines freezing.

I’m not really a cold weather person, but have just finished reading Flora’s Travelling Christmas Shop and am looking at flights to Finland. It sounds magical. I enjoyed this book with its theme of “Hallmark” romance. Flora is a character that can put anyone in the mood for Christmas. I received a review copy and am voluntarily reviewing. If you need a little Christmas cheer pick this one up.