Santa Please Bring Me a Boyfriend
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

My honest review of Santa Please Bring Me a Boyfriend by Sophie Ranald will be published on my Instagram @chronicledbycait on Monday, October 10th!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Rowan is a single mom struggling to find ways to please her teenage daughter, Clara, and make enough money to keep the roof over their heads.

Don’t even get her started on how she’s struggling in the *ahem* boyfriend department.

It probably doesn’t help that she has a tendency to fall back into bed with Clara’s dad (her ex) Paul 🫣

But when her friends hatch a plan to send her a gift every day until Christmas Rowan starts to develop a relationship with the delivery man who hands her each package.

Full of Christmas magic, mulled wine, and happily ever afters, Santa Please Bring Me a Boyfriend is an adorable rom-com that will definitely put you in the Christmas mood!

I wanted to give this book four stars, but I hate to say it fell a little flat for me. The story was an easy read but the plot itself felt slow and I struggled to fall in love with Alex and Rowan. I did love the relationship between Rowan and her friends though and loved how the author incorporated the challenges of coparenting a teenage daughter!

This book is perfect if you like slowwwwww burn romances, the holidays, and a most closed door approach to romance ❤️

Loved it, loved it, loved it! From start to finish, I was eager to find out whether Rowan would get her man. Rowan is miserable, she has a job with potential but currently isn’t enjoying, a stroppy teenage daughter, an ex who sometimes doesn’t want to be an ex and she has absolutely no money. However, she does have an amazing bunch of friends who think she’s special and they set about devising a way to cheer her up.

I googled how much it is to buy a Liberty advent calendar…£245 with products worth £1000!!! Me? I’d prefer a gin one! This idea from Rowan’s group of girlfriends was something special though and I would love for someone to do something like this for me. Read the book for more details, I don’t want to spoil the surprises.

If you love Christmas and romance, mulled wine and chocolates, check out Santa, Please Bring me a Boyfriend or put it on your Christmas list.

I am lucky enough to be a part of Books on Tour for this book, so thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Santa, Please Bring me a Boyfriend by Sophie Ranald.

I picked this up shortly before bedtime and it turned into a VERY late night as I was powerless to resist racing through the pages and devouring the story. This was brilliantly written, pacy and funny

This Christmas, Rowan is losing faith in real love. But her friends are determined to prove her wrong. So they send her an Advent Calendar in daily installments the cheer her up. She is very appreciative of the gift, and even more so for Alex, he man delivering them...
A charming Holiday romance told in dual POV, Rowan's (first person) and Alex's (third person). I could've done without Alex's POV, I felt it superfluous, it didn't bring much to the story, which took a while to take off. I would've liked if it focused more on the Rowan/Alex relationship rather than Rowan's hardships. The burn was very slow and needed fine tuning, as the author tried to create a mystery around the gifts and all, but it fell flat, I would've preferred to see more romance. There was not enough characters' depth, and I didn't really care for them. Although it did draw a few smiles from me, it was OK, not great.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

“When you like a woman and she’s got a whole massive surprise-advent-calendar thing going down, complete with fortune tellers and being whisked off for nights out like bloody Cinderella, “Fancy a pint?” isn’t going to cut it. You’d think I wasn’t putting the effort in.”
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trope: slow burn, christmas romance
pov: 1st person and 3rd person pov
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rating: 4,5/5
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Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really loved this book, it was so cute and Rowan and Alex’s relationship was adorable. This book is way more about Rowan's evolution as a woman than it is about Rowan and Alex's relationship. I really loved the plot of Rowan's friends cheering her up by doing an advent calendar with little stuff for her. I also really loved her interactions with Alex, as the delivery man, and how slowly he starts to be more and more interested in her advent calendar with her. At first I thought that the whole plot with Rowan's ex husbands was just drama but now that I thought more of it, it was necessary for her to finally realize that she'd moved on. I also really love Clara.
This book is perfect for people who love to read christmas romances and it was sooo cute, i recommend it a lot.
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genre: Adult Romance

I really enjoyed this book. It is a heartfelt, feel good, put you in the Christmas spirit book. While this is a romance book, I really enjoyed that the things between Rowan and Alex didn’t feel rushed. Everything felt very natural, nothing was forced, and any obstacle also felt very nature. The heart of the book for me was the friendship between Rowan and her friends. They are the ones that made me smile. They made me want to be in their friendship circle. My favorite scene with them was the bathtub scene. It was so nice to read a book where the girlfriends are really friends that lift each other up, and genuinely care about the others. There were not hints of jealousy, even though Rowan had things a bit harder than the others. There was nothing but pure love between these friends, and it made the whole book.

You know that feeling when you open the Christmas chocolates for the first time? This read is more joyful than that moment.

Fun, thoughtful, adorable.

This would be the star on the top of the tree. Sparkles, dazzles, and is Christmas romance at the very top of its game.

As far as Christmas romances, Santa, Please Bring Me. A Boyfriend is okay. It’s well plotted and very readable. It’s very Christmassy and will definitely get anyone in the holiday spirit. I had to keep reminding myself that it was only September.
It’s very predictable and formulaic though and there wasn’t much conflict. The main character was a bit too optimistic and perfect. Any problem she faced she just kind of shrugged off as “it’ll all be ok.” And she didn’t seem to really have any major conflicts or setbacks. All the conflicts she had were either very shallow or not fully developed. She just didn’t seem very real or well developed.
It was a bit steamy towards the end but it kind of felt like it was uncomfortable for the author to write sex scenes so it didn’t read very natural. I think it’s definitely possible to have a romance book without any graphic scenes so maybe leave them out.
All in all I think there are better choices for Christmas romances but for an easy read that will definitely get you in a Christmas mood it does the job.

This book was FUNNY! I ate it up! I enjoyed the writing and the dynamics. And it definitely delivered on the Christmas vibes! Some parts dragged a little but over all a pretty enjoyable read.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was incredibly witty, funny and joyful.
The chemistry between Rowan and Alex was super igniting and fun.
Definitely a cozy read for the holidays.

This was honestly so much fun to read! It's got all the feels of a hallmark movie. I loved how was a fun, lighthearted book!

Blending the seasonal familiarity of Twelve Days of Christmas with the holiday fun of an advent calendar, Sophie Ranald takes us on a delightful journey of daring risks, ceasing the moment, and truly feeling the magic and wonder that is Christmas.

What I liked about the book: I enjoyed how Sophie created a story incorporating the items of the advent calendar with Rowan’s growth. As each day passed, her friends directly (and indirectly) helped her come to terms with her past and find the courage to face her future. Instead of being the individual that "life just happened to", she slowly began to take charge, moving out of the victim role and into being the strong independent woman that she saw reflected in her daughter. I loved the friendship between the women and how much they were willing to do for her (showing how they valued her and what she was to them). I also enjoyed the full circle ending and the “comeuppance” of the individuals in her office. Even though that additional storyline was unexpected, it was a welcome B-story that reminded the reader "what goes around, comes around".

What I didn’t like about the book: While the book didn’t have the feel of a novice writer, it did lack the finesse of a seasoned one. I was surprised when I looked at Sophie’s bibliography and saw that she had several books under her belt. If I had not taken a peek, I would have assumed the author had gotten her feet wet with a few books (2 or 3) but was still fine-tuning her craft.

Although some of the discord was due to editing oversight, (Alex’s name being mentioned by Rowan in Chapter 10 but Chapter 11 she “finally” knows his name when he leaves a note for her), the discombobulated story is what contributed to the difficulty of enjoying the book. Simply put, the author’s attempt at mystery and suspense-like build up only created confusion and plot holes. In addition to that, I felt as if I was a third wheel/outsider to the individuals in the story, despite having first person POV with Rowan and third person POV with Alex. This was, in part, due to the author's tendency of introducing new characters that had no relevance to the story (or if they did, it wasn’t completely clear what the relevance was and the reader had to assume). For example, Alex is at a pub with a bunch of individuals we do not know and have no idea how they are relevant, even as the author takes the time to tell us a little about their backgrounds. How do they know Alex? Do they work together? Are they intricate to the plot? Do they come up again? Do they play a part in getting Rowan and Alex together? I had to assume towards the end that they were the freelance developers but I am still not 100% sure. Same with Daniel and Alan. I felt as if the introduction of Alan was forced to create potential friction/awkwardness between Alex and Rowan, instead of having him naturally introduced into the story and allowing that subplot to unfold. I also have no idea who Daniel is (I am assuming he played Rugby with Alan and Paul which is why he was also at Paul’s wedding) and why he was even mentioned or present. I am hoping she introduced the animosity between Kate and Daniel with the intention of writing an additional story or all of that could have just been skipped.

I am also assuming with the author's intention of creating intrigue and bating the reader, some of the very important details about the characters where saved until the end; however, doing this took away from the story or created suspense where it wasn’t necessary. I knew within the first quarter of the book that Alex had a cat or dog (honestly I assumed dog), that his sister (Ailsa) was pregnant, that Ailsa was who Rowan was helping.

The book itself was hard to follow and as mentioned above, the strong ending made it seem as if the author knew how she wanted to end the book but getting there was the struggle. I felt like the book didn’t need to be 354 pages and that length hurt it more than helped it.

In the end, this story as a whole (once complete and all is revealed) is quite charming. For those looking for a holiday romance that will bring a smile to your face, give you a few chuckles, and remind you that anything is possible if you are willing to believe, this book is for you.

DNF at 55%.

Rowan is feeling a bit down. She and the father of her daughter spit up a long time ago, but they've secretly been getting it on for several years, so when she finds out that he is getting married to his new girlfriend she feels a little bereft, especially since her daughter will be a bridesmaid.

Rowan's best friends decide to cheer her up by sending her a Liberty's advent calendar (Liberty being an upmarket department store in London). But because they know Rowan would cheat and open all the doors on the first day they decide to courier the gifts to her on a daily basis. Some of them are beauty products but others are aimed at boosting her self-esteem (eg vouchers for a swanky lingerie shop). But what boosts Rowan's esteem more is the kind, and good-looking courier Alex, as he delivers her presents everyday he stays to see what she has received. There is a secret about Alex (frankly it might have been revealed early on but if it was I've forgotten), and literally that is it, I'm over half way through the book and that is all I have.

I have read and enjoyed several books by Sophie Ranald in the past but unfortunately this was not one of them. I stopped and started the book several times and promised myself I would get at least halfway before making any rash decisions, but here I am, 55% through and still waiting for something to happen. So this is where I bail out. Maybe I've just got a bit of the Christmas Grinch.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This is a good Christmas romance that doesn't have that cheesy Christmas feeling of some Christmas romances. have.

Rowan is going through a hard time - her daughter is a teenager, her daughter's father is getting married and she is at a new job that isn't as great as she thought it would be. She is one of the last single friends in her group and Christmas is all around.

Her awesome friends decided to do an advent calendar of cheer to bring her spirits up and it's what I live for. I love this idea and the awesome friend group in this book

she now sees Alex her delivery man every day. The sparks fly immediately. I loved that both Alex and Rowen seem like real people with real-life problems

I would recommend this to someone who doesn't read Christmas romance. It has the perfect amount of natural cheese.
I adored all the characters and hated those we were supposed to dislike. Just a good read all in all

Santa, Please Bring Me A Boyfriend has the cutest holiday romance book cover which drew me in. However the book was a little different than what I expected. The writing style was lighthearted but the alternate points of view changed from first person for the heroine to third person for the hero, which I personally found jarring. Also, the hero and heroine have a very limited amount of time on the page together due to the nature of the setup: she's a single parent who has a group of friends sending her a daily Advent calendar if gifts in the lead up to Christmas, and he's the delivery guy. As such, he only sees her for a couple of minutes each day. While there is flirting, I didn't really get a strong romance connection between the characters. The book blurb doesn't mention the single parent aspect of the story or the teen daughter that actually is an important part of the heroine's lack of love life. Overall I enjoyed the read, but it had more of a women's fiction feel than a romance. The holiday elements were fun though. I would rate it 3.5 stars.

Thanks netgalley for letting me read I live a good Christmas story and this one didn't disappoint enjoyed it so much would definitely read again

Now that's an advent calendar! A light (although not always) story about Rowan, single mother to Clara whose friends organize what they think will be one thing and turns out to be something else when Rowan falls for Alex the delivery man. No real surprises but it's a fast entertaining read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you Sophie Roland, Bookouture, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Santa, Please Bring Me a Boyfriend comes out October 7, 2022.

Santa, Please Bring Me a Boyfriend is a cute Christmas romcom with beautiful themes of friendship and family. During this holiday season Rowan isn't feeling even a little bit of the Christmas spirit due in large part to being unsatisfied at work, a strained relationship with her daughter, and the fact that her ex (who she occasionally still hooked up with) is getting married. To try and cheer her up her friends buy her a high end advent calendar, but knowing she would open it all on the first day they arrange for the items to be delivered day by day. Over the month she starts to really look forward to her encounters with the delivery man, Alex.

I thought this was a cute read that I think focused more on her amazing friendships and a healing relationship with her daughter. Just due to the fact that most of the story is told in her point of view I wasn't as connected with Alex but still thought he was a sweet MMC. I also really loved that Rowan started to come into her own with her job as a realtor If you are looking for a really cute Christmas story to get into the holiday spirt I recommend reading Santa, Please Bring Me a Boyfriend!

A feel good story not just about a fledgling relationship but strong supportive female friends.
Feeling sorry for herself Rowan has a whinge to her girlfriends as her ex is getting married. They hatch a plan to cheer her up and bring Alex in to her life as the delivery driver.
The book will make you smile and you will recognise situations and reactions along the way.

Rowan has been having a hard time lately-- work is rough, her daughter's been distant lately, and she's just found out that her ex, who she's had on-and-off hookups with ever since they broke up a decade ago, is getting married. So when her friends send her a fancy advent calendar, it's the one bright spot to her day. Except that there's nothing in it beyond the first day. Turns out, her friends have arranged for a package to be delivered every day until Christmas-- and the man who delivers them is gorgeous, and sweet, and she gets as excited about seeing him as she does about the packages.
Over the course of the month, Rowan finds herself getting closer to Alex, and finding the confidence in herself that she's only now realizing she'd lost along the years.

This book, while heavily focused on Rowan's side of the story, is dual POV, with her chapters being in the first person and his in the third, which I absolutely loved.
Santa, Please Bring Me a Boyfriend is a beautiful story of friendship, the importance of community, and how powerful it is to rediscover who you are.