A British woman gets a second chance at life and love in this holiday story that sees Zoey being hit by a bus on Christmas Eve and being tasked with matching six couples in order to get her life back. This story gave me lots of Drop Dead Diva vibes and I enjoyed it for the most part but I did really wish Zoey had figured out sooner that she deserved more than the toxic relationship she had with her boyfriend. Good on audio, this was a light-hearted holiday rom com with some fun moments (ie the escape room scenes). Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

This pains me to write this but this book was nothing that I expected. The main character drove me nuts. Between her "perfect boyfriend" and the focus on winning him back, I wanted to reach out, hug her and say, girl, move on. It was super frustrating.

the plot however was unique and I liked it. Zoey is hit by a bus but is given an opportunity to live again if she pairs up 6 couples. These parts of the novel were where the author succeeds the most. I just wanted to have less of Zoey's groveling and "perfect for Scott". I also have 0 interest in Scott who was obnoxiously deeming to Zooey incl. fat shaming and making her feel like she had to change who she was in order to BE the onefor him.

I like the growth by the end but it took awhile to get there for me :( again, this might just be a me thing. Perhaps wrong timing for me to read the novel but it just needed a little more then what I got.

3 stars for the clever plot line and writing. Thank you to the publisher for the arc in return for an honest review. i so appreciate the opportunity

I had difficulty getting into this story. I found the premise of the story to be appealing, however I struggled with the main character and the rhythm Of the story.
It just wasn’t for me.

I love a good Christmas book - and this one fits the bill!

Zoey has a fabulous job - she works in a toy shop! At Christmas time, she dresses up each day as an elf and keeps the queue for Santa's grotto happy and moving. However, on a personal note, December has been a disaster - dumped by her boyfriend, sporting a wonky and far too short fringe and handed the job of walking on stilts in the shop's parade, she comes a cropper. All is not lost though, when she is given the chance to re-live the month over again - surely this time round she can at least save her relationship? All she has to do is true-love match six couples - how hard can it be?

I've read Jennifer Joyce's books for several years and I know from social media just how much she loves Christmas; her little elf's antics have entertained me each December so she is the perfect author to read for the festive season. This is a tale packed with a fine cast of well-crafted characters and all the little extra details which make the reader smile - Zoey's outfits provided many a giggle and there is so much more. Delightfully funny and very enjoyable, this is a novel I'm very happy to recommend and give all five sparkly stars!

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

Zoe Beake thinks she has a good life, even if she is dressed as an elf, she’s having fun. She’s got Scott, her handsome boyfriend, loves her job and it’s nearly Christmas. But then after she’s badly hurt in an accident, she has the chance of a do-over - live through the whole month again, but to pull through she has to match 6 true love couples before Christmas Eve.

This was such a good idea, but for me it didn’t quite live up to the hype. I found Zoe too naive, and the outcome of her relationships very predictable. It was well written, there were some really good supporting characters but I didn’t actually care what happened to her. Not the book for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I enjoyed this Christmas book from Joyce but was frustrated by the protagonist. There are so many obvious signs in this plot but she remains completely oblivious and blind-sighted by what she thinks she really wants.

I liked the fantastical element that the writer introduces in this plot, with the idea of Zoey reliving the whole of December after a freak accident kills her. However, this opportunity to live again come at the cost of match-making six new couples, creating festive happy every afters for would-be singletons. Easy, right? Not when you have a protagonist who cannot see what is right in front of her.

Before Zoey’s accident, she had recently split up with her boyfriend. Remembering how upset she was, Zoey uses this second chance as a way of being the Perfect Girlfriend. Except, it’s hard to be the Perfect Girlfriend when the boyfriend is completely useless. Sean is like a giant kid and I found myself growling at the pages when Zoey remains desperate to please him. Missing obvious clues that they aren’t suited together, Zoey instead wastes her energy (and precious calendar days) trying to keep the relationship going. It was so disappointing.

On the other hand, I was curious to see who Zoey would be able to match-make. She goes to great lengths to make dates and I liked the variety of couples that are created. It was quite entertaining to see how some of her match-making attempts were completely thwarted and I thought the way that Zoey was alerted of a new couple was a unique idea from Joyce.

There are plenty of Christmas feelings in this book – as you would expect! From Santa’s grotto to Christmas markets, Joyce has tipped everything festive into the pages of the story. I love it! It made me yearn for December and I enjoyed sharing the excitement and anticipation with Zoey, even if the looming Christmas day meant something different with her couple-task to complete. Furthermore, the hot chocolates described sounded divine – totally what I would look for at a market. Even the baked goods sound yummy, although it often felt like all the characters did was eat and drink sugar. It felt a bit overwhelming at times, to be honest.

Biscuits, chocolate and all things sweet aside, this was a nice story to read, even if Zoey did frustrate me with her tunnel vision. I found her to be quite a dense character and really disliked how much time she invested in her “relationship” with Sean. She deserved so much better and I wished it didn’t take as long as it did for Zoey to reach this realisation.

If you are after a Christmas read, this has it all in the story. I enjoyed the escapism the book provided, particularly with the chance of doing something again and spreading a bit of Christmas happiness. It was a sweet ending and Joyce has created a story with enough festive cheer to last me for several weeks.

With thanks to HQ Digital and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a cute read! Definitely a little cheesy and reminded me of a Hallmark movie, but that’s the best kind of Christmas story in my opinion. I was a little frustrated by how long it took the main character to figure out that she wasn’t being treated the way she deserves, but I loved the ending of this book!

This was super sweet and I would LOVE to see the movie of this book. There's lots of action and even though the main character's development is charted through her inner monologue there's a lot of dialogue and colour and it would be great on the silver screen.

I loved the concept behind this story: Zoey gets into a horrible accident two-days post breakup and she dies. EXCEPT, she gets a second chance thanks to Gran and her fitbit turned match clocker.

This time around she wants to be a better girlfriend to live-in BF Scott (thus avoid the pre-Xmas breakup) in addition to matching six other couples as Gran tells her will keep her alive and prospering post-Christmas Eve.

Zoey is a pleaser, a fixer, and she looks only outward with this new lease on life. She sees opportunity where she maybe shouldn't, has some good wins but as the deadline approaches she worries that she might just not make it.

This book is chock full of Christmas cheer in the form of hot drinks, baked goods, music and movies!

Zoey is having a bad December until she gets a second chance with a whole month do-over. But she has to match 6 couples by Christmas Eve for it to stick.
This is a good Christmas romance, but I wanted to shake Zoey often so she could see the obvious. The side characters were good, and I loved their relation development with Zoey. It was funny, festive and quirky.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I love the idea of this book. The main character has an accident on Christmas eve and instead of dying gets the chance to start from 1st December but she has to couple up 6 pairs. It's a lighthearted romantic story from an author I hadn't read before but I will check out more of her work.

I'm sorry but I'm cancelling Halloween this year, because this read made me so excited for Christmas! 🎄

This was such a cute story. I loved reading about Zoey trying to help her friends, coworkers and even strangers to find true love, but the best part of this book was the setting! There's just something about England in December, and you can definitely feel the Christmas magic while reading this book 💫

Jennifer Joyce is an incredible author who manages to capture all the feelings associated with Christmas in this book; stress, excitement and love. The story is captivating and the characters are so well written that you can't help but love them! Well except Scott. Stupid Scott.

This is definitely a holiday themed read you should pick up this Christmas!

3.5* upped to 4
It's an enjoyable and entertaining mix of Christmas rom-com and paranormal and I had fun in reading it.
The rating could have been higher but Zoe, the FMC, is a bit too dense and grated on my nerve.
I't enjoyable and entertaining.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

If you are looking for a warm, funny, festive rom-com to read in the run-up to Christmas then look no further! The Christmas Cupid is absolutely ticking all the boxes for a lovely cosy holiday read.

It is a few days before Christmas and Zoey is not looking forward to the big day. She’s just been dumped by her boyfriend, Scott, following The Terrible Row, and now she’s stuck working in C&L’s Toy shop at the busiest time of year. When someone calls in sick and she finds herself stilt-walking her way through the Christmas Eve parade, tragedy strikes and Zoey finds herself at an unexpected crossroads – can she match six new couples by the time the Christmas Eve parade comes around again, or will she fail and end up dead?

This is where the story really starts – as Zoey gets to know her workmates and neighbours more, in order to try and matchmake them, she begins to learn more about her own relationship with Scott. Sent back to the beginning of December, she does things a bit differently and with more consideration, trying to avoid The Terrible Row. But, perhaps things weren’t so perfect with Scott after all?

This was such a gripping story, I just couldn’t help reading one more chapter.. and then one more.. Very funny and heart-warming – I would love to see it as a Christmas film!

Fairly decent Christmas themed romcom. Personally I could have done without all the outfit and “quirky” clothing descriptions. Zoey was pretty blind to her own horrible boyfriend, but I liked that she got some sense in the end. Overall a satisfying read.

Thank you netgalley and hqstories for the opportunity to review this ARC!



If you're looking for a super cute holiday book look no further!


The book felt like a mix of ground hogs day and the christmas carol.


One of my favorite aspects of the book was the characters.

Zoey, the main character was so well written and I was completely invested in her. She reminded me of Becky from the Christmas Shopaholic. On the other hand you're clearly not meant to like her boyfriend and you don't. I feel like characters that make you feel are a mark of good writing.


It was also one of those books where you wanted to yell at the main character and save them the trouble because you can see what they can't.


While it is light and cute for most of the book, it also gets emotional towards the end when Zoey sees someone very close to her for who he really is, but also learns just how strong she is!


This was another great and surprising part of the story line. While I was initially expecting a cute holiday romcom, it ended up also being a story about a woman realizing her strength.


I loved this book and devoured it in 2 Days!

I would highly recommend you add this to your holiday TBR!

Zoey is one of those quirky characters who sees the best in everyone, and ends up with others taking advantage of her. In the spirit of Christmas, she’s involved in an accident but given a second chance at life. The only proviso being that she must bring six new couples together.
We follow Zoey through her second-chance December as she does her best to set up these new relationships. From the outset it’s evident that the biggest leap will be her accepting the truth about her man-child boyfriend and taking a risk on the lovely Milo from work.
From start to finish, I wanted to shake her for being so dense. I was annoyed at her so-called friends who all seem to know what’s going on but say nothing. I was annoyed by her reluctance to see the reality of her relationship. I was annoyed by her stubbornness in not taking that leap earlier. To spend so much of a Christmas book annoyed is not a recipe for success.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this before publication, and now it’s time to get back to reading something a little less irritating.

The Christmas Cupid by Jennifer Joyce
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Start date: October 2, 2022
Finish date: October 8, 2022
Pub date: October 14, 2022

▫️Christmas treats 🧁
▫️Time travel do-over ⏰
▫️Matchmaking 💘

Thank you Netgalley and HQ Stories for a digital copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the premise of this one! On Christmas Eve, Zoey travels back in time for a chance to do-over the month of December, but this time, she has to match-make six couples. How. Cute.

This gets 3 stars from me just because it took too long for anything to happen, and for Zoey to figure out her own love life. Most of the plot line happens in the last 20%, which I adored, but I needed more to happen in the first 80%. If this had been a little faster-paced, it wouldn’t been a 5 star read for me!

That being said, I loved the character growth, supporting characters, and Christmas vibes!

Zoey Beake is having a bad December. She might be an elf in the local toy shop’s Christmas department, but it’s hard to stay festive when you’ve just been dumped, you’ve had an extremely unfortunate haircut, and your boss volunteers you to walk on stilts in the toy shop’s Christmas parade.

But then something incredible happens.

Zoey is sent back to the start of December, with the chance to live the whole month again. The catch? She has to match six true-love couples by Christmas Eve. Now it’s not just her own love life she needs to fix… Grab the mistletoe, the Christmas Cupid is ready to matchmake!

If you love cheesy Christmas love then this is the book for you! It leaves you with a warm glow 🎄

The Christmas Cupid by Jennifer Joyce is a delightful Christmas story with a dash of Christmas magic that is just perfect for the holidays.

Story Recap:
Zoey Beake is having a tough December, but the worst thing is her longtime boyfriend dumped her, and now she’s dressed as an elf on stilts at the Christmas Eve parade. But, her day gets worse when she is knocked off her stilts in front of a double-decker bus.

Instead of instantly dying, she sees her grandmother's spirit, who tells her that she has a second chance. She can start back living again on December 1st, but she must complete a task in order to stay alive after Christmas. She must make six love matches. Zoey believes this second chance will also give her another chance with her boyfriend.

My Thoughts:
The Christmas Cupid is such a cute book. I enjoyed the little touch of magic, that gives this book that magical Christmas touch. The characters were believable and realistic, especially Zoey. I also liked that she has a job in retail and just loves working in a toy store, and a toy store at Christmastime is a perfect background to this story.

I thought the book was a bit chaotic at times, but that also felt realistic as Zoey leads a bit of a chaotic life. I enjoyed the side characters very much too. Zoey has a good support group around her, and I loved the way they all supported her.

The Christmas Cupid is a light-hearted, and magical Christmas book that brings Christmas joy to the reader.

Recommendation:

I recommend The Christmas Cupid to anyone who enjoys Christmas romance. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I spent most of the book being frustrated by the main character and her lack of awareness to every single person she interacted with.
She says Eloise is her best friend but Eloise was barely in the story more than any other characters there was really nothing that said "this is zoey's best friend". No one had a personality and I can't believe it took an entire book for her to finally lose it at Scott.

The formatting on this didn't help the reading and enjoying experience either. Everything just ran together with in a giant paragraph, which made it even more confusing to tell characters apart.