An enjoyable easy read with likeable characters and great location. The story is told both from Fin and Sara’s thoughts with mixed messages and misunderstandings preventing them from moving forward. The descriptive scenery and adrenaline filled adventures make interesting reading and as the story unfolds we see Sara start to relax and enjoy a different kind of Christmas. This book is well worth a read

Thanks to Orion Dash and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed the advanced reader copy and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Sara is a portrait photographer who is stuck in a creative funk. However, when her ex-husband Fin calls to invite her on a trip to New Zealand she decides this might just be so out of character for her it may get her back to the top of her game. Fin is a travel blogger and knows Sara’s photos will help push both of their careers in a good direction. He also hopes to win Sara back. Sara wants a family life and stability. Fin plans on showing Sara his lifestyle and the perks that go along with it.
This was a fun and cute read. I loved the descriptions of New Zealand. I loved how Sara discovered herself by stepping out of her comfort zone and trying something new. Their adventures were interesting and sometimes funny. Overall a fun read!

Every once in a while, you need a Christmas book that is just that little bit different from what you would usually read. With The Great Christmas Escape, you get exactly that - with a good amount of added fluff. Luckily, it's the good kind of fluff: the type that fills your heart - and kind of makes you want to immediately pack your bags and hop on the first plane to New Zealand. You know - the usual stuff :)

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an adorable Christmas romance. It was cozy and heartwarming and I really enjoyed it!

This book was cute. Though a bit predictable, it was an enjoyable Christmas rom com read. Sara spends the novel branching out from her mundane existence and portrait photography career. She takes on adventures and new scenery while exploring a future in travel photography with her estranged husband Fin. It was a fun, quick read that would be perfect for any Hallmark movie lover.

This certainly felt like a Christmas escape as you got to travel across the world to New Zealand, for Christmas. It was full of interesting sights and felt like a breath of fresh air amongst the snowy festive reads elsewhere. The two central characters are both likeable and as you got to hear both their thoughts, you could see that what they presented on the outside was not the whole truth. People can change as they get older. The relationship between Sara and Fin was believable so you were rooting for them from fairly early on.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the book

A cute Christmas, second chance romance escape. Perfect easy reading over Christmas. Many thanks to the publisher for this ebook

After being surround my cold snowy weather and many witness reads, The GreatChristmas Escape is just that, an escape.
This was a cute, quick read that gave you some of the holiday feels without diving into those hallmark Christmas cliches. Since this is a couple that still loves each other’s but split due to being set in their separate lives, homebody vs adventure taker, Meticulous planner vs on a whim decision maker, etc there is a lot of unresolved feelings that are explored. Hailes does a great job showing a realistic side of marriage and how individual the growth can either benefit our hinder a relationship and the work needed to make relationships last
My only critique is that since it is a shorter read there were moments where their feelings towards each other flip flopped a little too quickly, I would’ve liked a few more pages so explore these emotions.
Definitely now adding New Zealand to my bucket list of trips!

Thank you Orion Dash for the copy for an honest review!!

Enjoyed the dynamic between the characters. The miss was that it was a christmas read that really did not do that till the very last of third of the book. I guess escape should have been a clue.

Lovely change to have a Christmas story set in a hot country and it was great to feel that you were having a tour round the country after current restrictions,.. and definitely made me feel that I would like to go back there. Good storyline and characters with plenty of action to keep your interest so would recommend for anyone wanting an alternative Christmas

Sara is a photographer and Fin is a travel blogger, they were married but Fin left when he wanted to travel more but Sara didn't but they never got divorced
Sara is starting to feel that her life isn't working out the way she thought it would when she gets a call from Fin asking if she will be the photographer for his blog to win a competition in New Zealand at Christmas. Sara agrees but doesn't tell her family who she is going with as she doesn't want to have to explain why she is going.
As the journey begins Sara starts to discover a whole different side of herself and does things she never thought she would
Just as things are starting to go well and they re connect a misunderstanding threatens to ruin it all

I am not really sure what I think about this book. I love photography and I love travel so I assumed I would devour this book. But it just didn’t do it for me.

Fin was married to Sara, but he leaves her in the middle of the night with just a note and a text. He can’t handle the quiet, safe life Sara lives- he wants to travel from one location to the next not worrying about anything else. 18 months later he contacts Sara stating he needs her to travel with him for one month taking photos for his blog as he tries to become the travel blogger of the year. She agrees to it mainly because she is so unhappy at home - her parents are about to move and her twin brother is happily engaged with a baby on the way. She feels so alone.

Sara goes and they have a grand time going around New Zealand - but I just felt like she forgave him too fast for leaving her 18 months earlier with no follow up communication. And I really never liked Fin - what kind of person behaves that way (and then tries desperately to get her back)?

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions stated above are mine without biases.

Photographer Sara has gotten into a rut in her life. So when her ex-husband Fin calls her and asks for her help to win a travel blogging competition, Sara agrees and packs her bags to spend the Christmas holidays on a New Zealand adventure!

I was looking for a slightly different Christmas romance this year, and this book definitely delivered that. Set in New Zealand, we didn’t get skiing and mulled wine, but trips to the beach and waterfalls.

I also LOVE certain romance tropes and the book had them all - forced proximity, one bed etc!

Unfortunately, I couldn’t fully connect with the characters and definitely felt like they were too different to make their romance believable. I found it particularly difficult to root for Fin, who had left Sara cause he did not want to change and then invites her on a trip to convince HER to change everything for him.

However,I do think that is often the problem I have with second chance romance … I feel like they might not be for me? But if you are fan of second chance romances, I think you would really enjoy this book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Orion Dash for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

Want to spend Christmas in New Zealand? Well you can with this book. Sara, an absolute homebody, does something completely out of character after contact from her estranged husband. He is an adventurous travel blogger and she is a wedding photographer, so what could he possibly want to contact her about? Will Sara get her mojo for photography back? Will she be able to understand why Fin has the travel bug? Read it to find all the answers.

‘Her family had no idea she was travelling with him. That her great Christmas escape, as her father had laughingly called it, was being undertaken with the husband who’d left her high and dry.’

If you are on the lookout for something different, how about a Christmas book set in New Zealand! No white Christmas here but plenty of other aspects to enjoy and entertain.

The positives of this book are of course the location. New Zealand features (not as strongly as I would have liked) but still enough to highlight the many enticing things this great country has to offer. I also enjoyed how the main characters were a photographer and travel blogger - another excellent way to shine the spotlight on a country’s features. It is of course a Christmas tale and this brings smiles for those that love this time of year with an added summery festive vibe.

‘New Zealand. Sara shook her head, unable to comprehend how she found herself so far away from her family, from her home, at Christmas, in a country where there would be no scarves, no woolly hats, no thick, cheesy Christmas jumpers.’

The main focus of this book, however, are the two characters, previously married and now coming back together to give it another go. Therefore this book is all about miscommunications which can be frustrating at times. I was not completely empathetic to either Sara or Fin for the confusing messages they sent out. This particular trope is not one I gravitate to, however, it most certainly dominated this story which readers need to be aware of.

‘Her great escape was feeling like a great mistake.’

If you wish to escape this Christmas try a trip to New Zealand and if you are a fan of second chance romances then what’s not to love when a picturesque locale and festive cheer are weaved into the mix.

‘I’ve realised that facing my fears is better than fighting them. That sharing my problems is better than hiding them. That running from my issues only leads to more running, and that just leads you in circles.’



This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

This was a very different Christmas book, but I really enjoyed it.

Sara takes a huge risk to travel to New Zealand to travel with her ex-husband on a trip of lifetime, working together to win a competition. Should she or shouldn't she stay?

It is a big risk to go so far away from her family and not know what is going to happen next, with her relationship and the trip itself.

This is a big challenge to step up, take risks and see what happens. Especially when it is Christmas far away from anything she knows.

Definitely a book to adventure with from your sofa.

Christmas, travel, sun and a sprinkling of snow - what more could this girl want from a book, I completely adored this.

I absolutely loved being able to travel around New Zealand with Sara and Fin, as they hope to make Fin win an awesome travel blogging competition. It's just that Sara is his estranged wife, but is in such a need to escape her life that she has agreed to travel and take the photos on this trip, despite not really wanting anything to do with Fin.

I loved seeing how Sara changed over the course of their time in New Zealand, I was never completely sure how things would end up, but I think the last couple of chapters were perfection.

And getting to see parts of New Zealand that are most likely off the beaten track was wonderful, it's not a country I've ever really had on my radar for a trip, but I definitely would love to experience some of what they did myself. And unlike Sara I'm very happy to have a warm Christmas!

It is so rare to read a Christmassy romcom which isn't set somewhere freezing cold, and when I do find books such as this one I tend to treasure them as they do show what at least half the world must experience at Christmas time, significantly warmer than sub zero temps! And it still felt festive in parts, just with different traditions.

This is another incredibly enjoyable and entertaining book from Kellie Hailes and I couldn't get enough of it.

Thank you to Orion Dash and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC.

Very cute Christmas romance story. I like that it took place in New Zealand since that's not really a common setting I've seen in most books, especially Christmas books so that was unique. I liked reading about Fin and Sarah's adventures together and the nice season touches being added which was a bit challenging since they are having Christmas in a warm climate.

When a tale of exes who commit to team up with each other on a tourist project in New Zealand at Christmas came across my computer screen, I thought - "Well, this could be interesting!" And with the lead character's name being Sara, you know it became a no-brainer {as discussed earlier in this post!}. I am sad to say this book was not my favorite read this go around. I found myself skimming over large chunks of repetitive inner dialogues from the characters to get their banter. The lack of communication between the two leads made me want to shake the book to shock them into talking about their feelings! I enjoyed reading about New Zealand and the adventures they took.

🌟B O O K R E V I E W🌟

The Great Christmas Escape - Kellie Hailes

Sara is escaping for Christmas away from happy couples and family and all that goes with it all the way to New Zealand. But, she’s said yes to travelling with her globe trotting, travel blogging ex- husband Fin for a month, taking photographs for him for his blog. Is this a good idea?….

‘𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲….𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐲.’

I felt like I got into this so quickly, Sara is sweet and I connected with her. Fin on the other hand is a bit selfish, wholly centred on himself, not thinking about Sara’s needs.
The chapters flip between the two of them and their thoughts so you can see their insecurities and worries about themselves and each other and the thought of them getting back together. They both seem to have hopes of this and at the start I just wanted to bash their heads together and just shout ‘ you love each other - sort it out!’

‘𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝, 𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠.’

There’s quite a bit of flirting going on between these two; And also quite a bit of navel gazing and overanalysing! There is a fair bit of too-ing and fro-ing and again I wanted to knock their heads together!

But - Aw this is just so cute! There is snow, there is schmaltz, there is love. I wasn’t sure I would like this book but I actually loved it! I am such a sucker for romance. I didn’t think it would feel Christmassy but it actually does!
Hitch yourself to the love train and read this one!

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