This was a quick holiday romance read. It's light hearted and fun, but also covers a serious topic. (CW: child abuse and toxic relationships). The banter and chemistry between the Verity and Nikau was fun, but I found it a bit over the top at times. All in all, this is a great Christmas book, and I will definitely be checking out oSophie Penhaligon's other novels. I'd recommend Christmas with Hamish for anyone who likes Hallmark Christmas movies, but skip it if you're uncomfortable with reading the steamy scenes. Thank you NetGalley and Sophie Penhaligon for a copy of this ebook in exchange for a review.

Christmas with Hamish by Sophie Penhaligon. Fun, light and enjoyable holiday romance. A couple perfect for each, two adorable dogs and Christmas.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksgoSocial for the ARC of this charming holiday story. I am sharing my honest review voluntarily. I enjoyed the past pace of this story, the main characters met right away and there was honesty about their attraction and what was holding Verity back from pursuing Nikau. The characters were multi faceted and the conflict was well mapped out. I really enjoyed the resolution and the love story.

This book was amazing and I was hooked from the very start.  It is such a brilliant but equally shocking Christmas novel.  The depth of the characters was brilliant which increased the enjoyment of the story.  It covers the shocking fact that some parents favour one child over another.  The dogs in this book were such characters and made me laugh quite frequently. The love story although predictable was fantastic so heartwarming and perfect for the season.  I loved the humour in this book it was so lighthearted and brought a smile to my face and distracted me from lifes troubles. It a brilliant escapism book. It was just the lift I needed.  Its great sense of atmosphere was perfect to get us all in the mood for Christmas. This book was a real page turner and it flowed so well its very easy to read. I adored the cover it really stands out and is just perfect. The ending was brilliant and made me feel very content and I felt a great connection with the main character really hoping for a good outcome. But I won't be telling you how it ends you need to read it for yourself you won't be disappointed it a fantastic complete novel.
So much praise goes out to the author and publishing team for creating this stunning page turning story to get that Christmas spirit.  I look forward to reading more from this fantastic author. The above review has been added to goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo and amazon UK 26/11/21 and my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/christmas-with-hamish-booksgosocial-5-stars

a sweet romantic Christmas read. This was a short and easy read, done in one sitting. Loved the main characters and the dogs. Would definitely recommend.

This story is heartwarming and feels like it came straight off the Hallmark Christmas Channel. Verity is a likeable character that you can’t help but feel empathy for and Nikau, verity’s sister’s dreamy neighbour, is exceptionally charming. The romance between the two of them flows nicely, however, I would have liked to spend more time with these characters as the whole book felt very rushed and the sharing of Verity’s very tragic past is shared rather quickly with Nikau which seemed a little jarring based on the severity of its nature and the lack of time they’ve known each other.

This was my first time reading one of Sophie Penhaligon’s works and it truly was a delight, she is exceptionally skillful and has created characters you can fall in love with. Overall this was an enjoyable, quick Christmas read that gave me the heartwarming feeling I love about this holiday. I would recommend this book to someone looking for a fast paced Christmas romance, however, this story does mention physical and psychological abuse so if that is a trigger for you I’d recommend you skip this one.

Christmas with Hamish is a roller coaster of emotion I didn't expect.
It was funny, sweet and emotional in the span of few pages but really really enjoyable.

Verity goes back to Vancouver to attend her sister's wedding and she is forced to take care to her dog, Hamish, while she enjoys her honeymoon cruise. She is not happy at all because her sister and mother never treated her well, fortunately Nikau and his dog Chunk live next door and they will help Verity during her stay.

I loved to follow Verity and Nikau journey. Their relationship is really special, it was such a pleasure to see them start as acquaintances and possible one night lovers to end as good friends and something more.
I have to say that Verity and her story broke my heart, but watching her slowly overcome his past gave me a lot of joy. I was there supporting her and cheering her chapter after chapter, I really wanted to hug her because nobody deserve to feel like that.

First time for me reading Sophie Penhaligon work and I appreciated her writing, she skilfully introduced the charaters' lives and experiences little by little and at the right time for the story development. I want to read more of her books as soon as possible.

I would recommend this book, but if psycholigical violence is one of your triggers please consider to skip it.

This book was a good read. I instantly fell in love with Verity and related to her in many ways. I also fell for Nikau right away and the way he stands up for Verity from the get go. I will say there was a point at which I wasn't sure I was going to be able to finish the story. I prefer my books very clean, and at the beginning of this book the language was as bit much for me. Thankfully the language did mellow out. There were a few open door scenes but I skimmed right over them. I do not think they were incredibly detailed but I wasn't paying a lot of attention.

Since I loved the characters, I would have liked to spend a little more time with them. As I was reading I felt rushed. I know we only get to spend a week with them and this could have played into the quick pace, but I would have preferred a little bit slower pacing. There were a few moments where we lingered for a bit, but I wanted more of those moments. Despite the fast pace I did enjoy the journey with Verity and Nikau. I think I'm definitely ready for all the holiday books.

Overall I enjoyed this book! The characters drew me in and the plot was relatable. Good start to my holiday reading.

I found this to be an enjoyable, quick (only a few hours at most) Christmas read which really got me into the festive spirit. As an animal lover, I liked the inclusion of Hamish. If you're looking for a light-hearted, easy read this is the perfect book to curl up with on a cold winters day, however there was nothing that lingered with me after I had put it down and a few of the characters came across as overly cliché/stereotyped.

I finished this book in a few hours - An easy, quick Christmas read with romance at it's heart. It was slightly flat for me.

I enjoyed this books much that I read it in one day. It has all the ingredients for a fantastic seasonal cosy read: a heroine we empathise with, an intelligent, good looking, wealthy hero, an enviable setting, and it starts with a wedding. And it has 2 cute dogs!

This was a good Christmas romance book! This also has family drama and made me sad a little bit! Two dog buddies and two people that definitely belong together! There are two points of view in this book, so you get 2 sides of the story!

I just reviewed Christmas with Hamish by Sophie Penhaligon. #ChristmaswithHamish #NetGalley
https://www.netgalley.com/book/240076/review/700137

I am trying to read lots of Christmas books this holiday season, and of course assume a bit of corniness or cheesiness with the genre. Unfortunately this was a bit much for me in particular as I am not a huge romance reader.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an e-arc of this book!

LOVED this book. I felt ALL the emotions reading it. First, Christmas is my favorite. What a better time of the year to read this.
Secondly, this is my first rom com in a REALLY long time- I’m talkin’ years.
Fell in LOVE with the characters & their stories. Fell in love with their dogs. 😍 so many emotions while reading this book & I didn’t want to put it down!!!

Verity seems to always get the short end of the stick when it comes to her family. Christmas isn’t any different, she feels nothing special around this time of the year until verity flies to her sisters wedding and is forced to watch Hamish, her sisters dog, while the newlyweds go on their honeymoon.

Verity ends up learning a lot about herself and facing those demons in the time her sister and brother in law are gone, with the help of someone very special- the neighbor, Nikau.

When the trip is over, what will she do? Go back to her normal day to day? Or does she end up changing her entire life and staying where she’s at?

I love Christmas reads - I want a bit of a life lesson, sweetness, some romance, happiness, and definitely a HEA... and this one fits the bill! It's a sweet book, and if you want to enjoy Christmas, or simply enjoy romance, give this one a go! Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was exactly what I was looking for when I wanted to read a cute holiday romance. I’ve just recently gotten into reading romance and so I’m still trying to find what I like in a romance novel. I think holiday romances are definitely my thing! By far my favorite parts of this book involved Hamish and Chunk, they were just adorable and added such a fun element do this book. At first it did bother me how Verity allowed her family to affect her so much after so many years but it made me happy to see how she finally confronted them in the end. The overall romance was adorable and enjoyable to read, I thought their relationship seemed genuine and it made me happy to see things fall into place. Overall an excellent read and I can’t wait to read more by this author!

This was a little different to what I actually expected. Yes, it is a romance and yes, there is a dog involved. This was a nice christmas romance. But what I didn't like was the way Verity was stone walled by her family to look after her sisters dog while she was going on her honeymoon. The dog sitter cancelled.
She was meant to be going away with her friends skiing.

At the wedding she meets Nikau. Who turns out to be her new neighbour while she's at her sisters dog sitting. There's an instant attraction. Romance blooms in a whirlwind. Hamish by the way is the dog.

I'm routing for Verity to stand up to her family. This book isn't very heavy although it sounds that there is. This is the perfect cold weather book. Curl up in front of the fire and be cheered by the read.

Enjoy!

I throughly enjoyed this book and will probably be rereading it closer to Christmas time. The cover is also so beautiful and fitting of the story (as any good cover should be). I highly recommend for anyone that wants to be in a bit more of a Christmas mood already.

I found this book the perfect read for the festive season! I read it in one sitting wrapped up with fairy lights and candles and it was exactly what I wanted!
We follow Verity who ends up getting stuck in Vancouver for Christmas instead of being on a girls skiing trip as planned. She meets the neighbour and things obviously escalate.
I found it was a really good mix of festive cheer with a little bit of smut which has subtle enough that this felt like a cosy romance, but spicy enough that it felt realistic for the characters. I felt verity's voice could really be heard throughout the book and the introduction of Nikau's POV was a really lovely touch now and then to add more depth. I honestly think this is a great festive read to get you in the holiday spirit and I definitely will be interested to read more from Sophie Penhaligon!

I did not like this book at all, I wanted to love it so badly, It had everything Christmas, dogs, and a cute romance but unfortunately, it fell so flat.
At first, I thought Verity was going to be a character that didn't take anyone's shit but secretly underneath was a lot of depth and I think the author was trying to do something like this but it ended up with a character that let everyone walk all over her.
The romance was very insta lovey and I didn't enjoy it at all, Nikau was calling Verity his girlfriend after only two days and they never even had the conversation.
Maybe it's just me but I found the sex rather boring, The first sex scene was literally just in and out and over in about two pages which I found to be kind of a letdown after the flirting previously, also for some reason, I've always found sex as a gift kind of stupid.
Also, I know I was supposed to hate Millie but I couldn't help but agree with her at the end when she said that it was too soon for them to be moving in together. It's been a week maybe slow down a little.