This was a cute easy festive read. At times I felt the pacing and dialogue could have been improved, it didn't stop me from reading to the end. I'd recommend this to anyone wanting an easy read this Christmas.

#SnowfalloverHalesmereHouse #NetGalley

DNF - this has more to do with me than the actual book. The premise sounded so lovely but, I just don't think I'm the right reader for this style of book - ever so much as I wish I was. I know other people who would love this so will definitely be keeping this in mind for Christmas gift giving.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
Ella has reached an opportune moment to change the direction of her career and is able to start a temporary job close to Christmas in a beautiful setting - all elements for a good story. It goes a little awry when she meets Max and Noelle (who appointed her) does little to support her as Max makes her feel she should leave, and has not even arranged clean or safe accommodation for her! Later in the story Noelle, the doting grandmother, has sent her 2 very young grandchildren away to play unsupervised, this lacked credibility for me. Other than that the setting is described beautifully, the plans for the business are good, supporting a good plot, and the festive feeling runs through the story with events and food / drinks. I thought the author has done a good job of creating a pleasant Christmas romantic story which I enjoyed, it just wasn't remarkable or outstanding for me, so I've given it 3 stars.

Suzanne Snow’s Snowfall Over Halesmere House is a heart-melting contemporary romance perfect for cosying up with this winter.

Successful chef Ella is desperate for a change of pace in order to figure out the next step in her career. Having always put everyone else first and herself last, the time has come to prioritise her own needs for a change, so when the opportunity to become a manager at Halesmere House comes along, Ella jumps at the opportunity. She cannot wait to begin this unexpected chapter in her career and even though she knows there will be plenty of challenges ahead she is anxious to start. However, the ink is not even dry on her contract and she already finds herself crossing swords with her eccentric boss’s son, Max.

Max cannot help but feel unsettled by Ella. He is rattled by her arrival and knowing that she’s only going to be at Halesmere House for a short time only serves to intensify his discomfiture. With his children growing increasingly fond of Ella and Halesmere House improving with each passing day, Max cannot deny that Ella has worked magic, however, getting attached will only lead to heartbreak and disappointment and he’s not about to let his business, his family – or himself – go through that ordeal. Until he realises that he might not have any choice in the matter…

Her career has always been Ella’s number one priority, but she has fallen head over heels for Halesmere House, the community and somebody who begins to mean the world to her. But will sticking around mean putting the career she has worked so hard for on the back burner? Or will Halesmere House end up giving her everything she has always dreamed of?

Suzanne Snow is at her most charming and enchanting with her delightful new novel, Snowfall Over Halesmere House. A wonderfully addictive, highly emotional and immensely romantic read that tugs at the heartstrings, Snowfall Over Halesmere House is a story about new beginnings, second chances and healing from the past perfect for losing oneself in on a cold winter afternoon.

With characters readers will root for, intense emotional drama and touching romance, Snowfall Over Halesmere House by Suzanne Snow delivers everything readers could possibly want from a festive page-turner.

A brilliant read and one I really enjoyed. The characters are loveable and varied, the plot is one that is engaging and medium paced. I found myself completely drawn into the story and enjoyed the writing style.

This is the first book in the Love in the Lakes series.
Halesmere sounds like such a beautiful place to visit, with its scenic gardens, lovely walking trails and the best climbing areas.
I know I'd love to walk there and relax in its floral gardens.
The author's books are so heartwarming, they really draw you in.
Main character Ella Grant arrives to Halesmere House in Cumbria to take charge of re-opening the house.
Ella and Max are both suffering from losses which adds some emotional parts to the story.
Max's children fall hard and fast for Ella. The children are both very young and impressionable and the author gets it right in her portrayal of the children. They are fun to be around and really enjoy their time with Ella; I think they miss a mother figure.
Having lost his wife Max is hesitant to allow his children to get too attached to Ella as she's only going to be there for her job for a limited amount of time and then where would that leave the children after she leaves?
Max is borderline rude to Ella when we first meet them, but I think he's scared to let himself relax and love again. It's such a gradual change we see in Max's behavior its almost not even noticeable, slow and steady we see a warming. He trusts Ella with his children and Max and Ella's relationship takes a warming turn.
Warm welcoming story with the characters moving on from grief and once again finding happiness.

Pub Date: 18 Aug 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

A warm, beautiful story about moving on from grief and finding your own happiness.
An enjoyable cosy comforting read

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC

Ella is struggling after her sister's death. She is looking for her own happiness but is unable to find it. When she's offered a job fixing up a house in the country, she takes it. However, things get messy when she clashes with single dad Max. Sometimes to get over the past you need to get through today and Ella does not give up! Along with some locals, the house is fixed up and made a beautiful place. A heartwarming story of searching for your HEA despite tragedy. Cute cover too!

What a glorious slow burn romance!

The gorgeous house and grounds was a wonderful backdrop to two broken-hearted people learning to love again. The pace is gentle, and the build up is slow and steady, allowing the reader to become fully immersed in the characters and their growing feelings for one another.

I also loved the sense of family and community in this book, and the children were especially adorable!

A lovely wintery read!

3.5 stars. I liked that the main character fell in love with the children and the community in addition to the guy in this sweet Christmas romance. I received an ARC from NetGalley.

Suzanne Snow is one of the friendliest authors I know online and her Facebook group – Snowed In – is one of my favourite groups. I especially enjoy the Facebook Live interviews she does with fellow authors. I own three of her books, but hadn’t got round to reading them – then I got Snowfall Over Halesmere House and read it in a couple of days!
For starters, the book looks amazing! The cover is beautiful - a house, Christmas trees, a cute dog and lots of glitter! Yes, I know!!! Stunning! But what’s the story like? Well, they say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but you can with this one because the story is also beautiful, festive, glittery, based in a big house – and with a dog called Primrose in it!
The star of the novel is Ella Grant and we meet her in November, when she has just arrived at the impressive Halesmere House in Cumbria to begin her new job there. Her task is to relaunch the house as a holiday home from January. Straight away, she meets Noelle Bourdon (the French owner of the house) and her grandchildren Lily (6) and Arlo (4), who Ella will be helping look after. She then meets Max Bentley, Noelle’s son, who seems rather obnoxious. After that meeting, Ella isn’t even sure there’s a job for her anymore!
I was interested in the story straight away. Ella is a character I wanted to get to know and I was looking forward to finding out more about her throughout the book. All the characters just jump out of the page, they’re so authentic. Lily and Arlo are adorable, it’s often hard to get kids right in fiction, but these are perfectly done. Lily is often hilarious, with the things she says! I also loved Primrose the naughty, but adorable, dog! The relationships between Max and his mother, and Max and his children, are also interesting and he is trying so hard at being a single dad and juggling his work with his family commitments.
As with all good romance books, there are plenty of other topics covered. Both Ella and Max are dealing with grief and trying to move on with their lives following a tragedy. There are some brilliantly funny moments (especially with the children) and many serious moments too. Suzanne Snow has a great writing style that immediately draws you into the story and wanting to keep reading, to find out what the pages have in store for the cast of characters within them. Odd job man Stan was another of my favourites.
I liked the community setting of the book. Although a lot of the story is based at Halesmere House itself, we find out about the village, its community shop, pub, pretty cottages and those that live and work there. It’s a really idyllic setting and the Lake District is a beautiful part of the country. I loved getting to know the other characters there including Rowan and Marta. I do enjoy these kinds of books where the reader feels they are living there too and making friends with all the characters.
I enjoy a good Christmas book and reading this novel in November was great, as it really got me excited about the approaching festive season. I loved the way that Halesmere House was decorated for Christmas and all the events going on, like the Artisan Christmas Open Day.
I find in some romance novels that the developing relationship can seem slightly formulaic, as if the author thinks “Ooh this is going too well, I need to put in an obstacle here” and I understand why this is done, but I occasionally find it annoying. Suzanne Snow, however, lets the romance develop in a way that feels very natural. We know the obstacles are there, but they’re present from the start, not thrown in partway through. I loved how the characters form a friendship which develops slowly, as they realise how much they have in common. This is very believable and beautifully done.
As you can probably tell from my review, I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it.

Snowfall Over Halesmere House was extremely heartwarming. It took me some time to get into the story, but once I did I couldn’t put it down.

If you’ve been keeping up with my festive reviews then you will know I love a book with a small village and Snowfall Over Halesmere House has just that. I love how everyone in the village got involved with the re-opening of the house and it was interesting to hear about the products they made. It really made me want to live in a small village with a tiny shop that sells local produce.

At the beginning, Max asks Ella for a DBS certificate as she will be looking after his kids and she replies with ‘I sent off for one a week ago’. Oh, my sweet summer child that is not how it works, trust me I know I waited two months for mine. Not a bad point of the book, I just thought it was funny and worth a mention.

Parts of this story were a lot darker and sadder than I thought they would be. It’s good to have some proper depth and background for characters though. Hearing about Ella’s twin really fleshed out her character and after she showed she’s more than the happy front she puts on, I liked her more.

At first, I really wasn’t feeling the chemistry between Max and Ella and I couldn’t see how it would develop. He was quite rude to most of the people in his life and I didn’t like him much. However, as time went by their relationship begins to develop and it’s done so naturally that you don’t even realise it’s happening. Honestly, I was actually very impressed with the subtle changes in their characters and the way they interacted with each other.

If I had to choose a favourite character it would 100% be Lily, what a charming little girl. Often children in books are written to sound much older than they are, and although Lily did sound mature for her six years, she did act like a child. She was funny, charismatic and very loving. Both kids were cute but I feel like she kept the story going, especially when it came to keeping Ella around.

Snowfall Over Halesmere House was extremely festive and it really put me in the Christmas mood even though I read it in October. I really got the festive feeling once Halesmere House had been decorated for Christmas and when Lily had her winter wonderland birthday party. Beautiful descriptions leave you feeling warm and cosy and the heartfelt story of finding happiness is perfect to read during cold winter nights.

Since the death of her sister, Ella has been living for two. Now she needs to figure out her own path. When she is offered a shot term job at Halesmere House she can't wait to discover her own path.

However, upon her arrival she clashes with Max, the owner of the home who had no idea she was being employed. Especially as she seems to have enchanted both his children.

As time goes on Ella realises it's not just the community she is falling for.

A warm, beautiful story about moving on from grief and finding your own happiness.

A sparkling Christmas read. Cosy, comforting and liberally sprinkled with magic, it’s absolutely delicious!

Good read. Great characters, enjoyed the setting, lots of side stories weaved into it and it flowed really well. A good read for a rubbish day. Will make you feel better!

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

This was a warm, cozy Christmas novel and I really enjoyed it.

This book put me right into the Christmas mood, even though it was still August when I read it and about 30°C outside. And yet I was convinced I was right there with Ella and Max, in some tiny village hidden away in Cumbria, counting down the days to Christmas.

Ella is in need of a change, so she decides to quit her career as a chef and apply for a job at Halesmere House, working to make the slightly shabby estate the place to be and occasionally looking after two adorable children. What she wasn't counting on was Max, the owner and father of said children, not even knowing she had been given the job. Eventually, after a lot of begging from pretty much everyone in his life, he decides to give Ella a chance to prove herself. But as Ella and Max get to know each other better, they find themselves growing closer. But will they risk losing themselves to another heartbreak?

I adored pretty much everyone in and everything about this story. Kids in books can be hit or miss, but Lily and Arlo were pretty much perfect and I loved the relationship they built with Ella, independent of whatever was going on between her and Max. I also very much appreciated that Max didn't spend too long being a grumpy ogre trying to scare off Ella.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Fabulous festive read set in Cumbria. Ella is trying to find her own way in life and ends up in a job at Halesmere House which may or may not exist given that Max's mother seems to have employed her without any reference to him!

Really enjoyed it.

This is such a fabulous festive story. Great characters and a great immersive story highly recommend.

An absolute joy to read!

A great read for a jump start into the holiday spirit. An uplifting tale of friendship, family, love, and finding oneself where Ella must believe in herself to start to live again. Step into the Halesmere House and you may ne Dr want to leave.