Loved this festive easy read.

Ed and Kate hae known each other for years living together in London, Their parents live in Derbyshire and each Christmas they go to their respective parents. This year things dont go to plan for their journey - Kate a lawyer leaves work late, Ed who is a teacher is waiting in the cold, have an big argument when Kate arrives and agree to splitting up - un beknown to their parents and they still proceed to their parents- not a great start. Neither wants to tell their parents.

This is really funny and festive at the same time. Will they get back together this Christmas - I would recommend you read this for Christmas 2023.

Thankyou to Netgalley for sending me a copy of this festive novel.

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.
The story is credible, an argument at Christmas - time with all the obligatory festive celebrations with family to be got through making the stress of not being able to talk things through even worse. The couple, Ed and Kate, then progress along the path of questioning themselves and their interactions within the relationship with the odd curveball thrown in (an old flame, friends and a family illness). However there were aspects of this which I didn't like - it is not acceptable to hurl food from a moving vehicle on a motorway (littering, and wasting food) and the way Ed and Kate jumped straight in to separating to take time out. The overwhelming amount of bad language used throughout the book and the separation rather than discussion about their relationship makes me think that this will appeal to the younger reader whilst I view the behaviours as typical of the millennial age group (less willing to believe that partnerships are for life and be adaptable), and not fitting my own beliefs and attitudes.

Loved the fact that it wasn't one big problem but little ones that overtime became bigger which is true to life.
This was a fun read and I picked it up easily.

When I saw the title I just knew I had to give this one a go.

Initially I wasn't too sure about this story, it all seemed a little juvenile and I found myself growing frustrated with Kate and Ed. The arguments and bickering was a little heavy for me. I am pleased that I persevered though as the alternating chapters and flashbacks definitely kept me intrigued. I loved getting to know Kate and Ed in their early relationship.

Overall a good story with all the cosiness you'd expect of a romance read.

Three Christmases will really put the festive cheer into you. You can feel the lights sparkling and the snow falling. So grab a warm drink and settle into this fun and festive book.

Driving Home For Christmas by Joanna Bolouri

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

Three Christmases.
Two broken hearts.
One hell of a journey.

Driving home marks the start of the holidays for Kate and Ed, who have made this journey every Christmas of their ten-year long relationship. Normally the seasonal hits blare from the car stereo, and they are guaranteed to be wearing ridiculous jumpers in anticipation, but this year a frosty silence fills the car...

A massive argument leads to the immediate collapse of their relationship. But the show must go on, so they decide to brave their families together one last time.

With three Christmases to celebrate, an old flame waiting under the mistletoe and a shed load of expectation around their future together, this most wonderful time of year is anything but. There will be turkey, tiffs and tantrums galore, but it's sure to be a Christmas they'll never forget.

My Opinion

I enjoyed Kate and Ed's story and how Joanna Bolouri told it through alternative timelines and viewpoints. Ed and Kate have plans to visit family over Christmas and when they break up on the journey cannot bring themselves to ruin Christmas for everyone. An engaging read with a lot of family drama - just what is needed at Christmas.

Rating 4/5

The storyline was very interesting, it sucked me in and had me glued to my Kindle! Definitely don't miss out on this one! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

This book made me cry at times and laugh at others and makes you realise how much communication is important between friends and family.. I really enjoyed getting to know Kate and Ed and it wasn’t what I thought would happen when they started to drive home!

I really enjoyed this sweet Christmas romantic story and it was told in a way that felt realistic rather than too sugary sweet like some Christmas love stories.

What happens when break up with your long term parter while driving home to your families for Christmas?

Thats the dilemma Kate and Ed face in Joanna Bolouri's Driving Home for Christmas.

Lawyer Kate and teacher Ed have been together for fifteen years. Despite wanting to be a human rights lawyer, Kate is overworked and stuck handling divorces, while Ed has long put aside his dreams of pursuing music to become a music teacher. En route to Yorkshire from London, simmering resentments burn and they break up, but they decide to pretend to play happy families over the break.

This book has been gently written, examining how Kate and Ed view each other, their relationship, and their lives as indidvduals. No one is the bad guy here, but you can see that while there is still a lot of love for each other, they need to get to tackle the root of their problems.

For Kate, she feels stuck working long hours for a demanding boss. At the same time she has been constantly pressured to marry and have children, something she still is unsure she wants, but everyone from Ed's mother to her best friend expect her to do so. She's also frustrated by Ed remaining stuck as a teacher, instead of pursuing his dreams of music. [Sidenote: I really loved Kate's blow up about the kids expectation, though I wish the author did push back further on all the other characters who applied that pressure (why do people always caution that ultimately motherhood is what they should do? Yeah kids aren't the end of having a career, etc but not everyone is cut out for it and women do bear the burden of parenthood/career breaks etc)].

Meanwhile Ed is frustrated by Kate remaining in a job that makes her unhappy. However he too is unhappy with himself and can't recognise how he's stuck in his own rut.

I really enjoyed this book, especially since the action takes place over a few months - with both Kate and Ed working on how they can remain together, and work through their issues. It's an emotional, but heartfelt book where you find yourself rooting for Kate and Ed to work it out. I especially loved the unconventional epilogue which was a huge change from the standard marriage and babies epilogues which I hate.

A cosy, cute, Christmas read. An easy read and I loved reading it tucked up by the fire over the Christmas holidays. I am a huge fan of Grandma 🥹

This was an enjoyable Christmas romantic comedy. I found it easy to read, with nice characters, although I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I felt overly invested in them.
I thought that the storyline was good and the writing flowed well, which also added to how easy it was to read.
My thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review.

This was a cute festive read perfect to read in the winter, the characters were very well written and easy to identify with

I really enjoyed this book. It was a cosy, comforting, Christmas read that set the perfect atmosphere.

This book was what I would call 'a grown up' love story. Its about a couple who are in love but after time they drift apart. However, they are still there for each other when it really matters.
It was a very enjoyable read, a story of friendship, families, loyalty and love; and one I would recommend.

This was an easy to read but not particularly memorable Christmas romance. Yes it was enjoyable and can be read quickly. Fine for the genre.

I simply love Christmas and therefore also love reading Christmas books, no matter what the time of year, but reading them at Christmas time is of course even more special and I decided the best time to read this one was while driving home for Christmas. Needless to say, I was not the one driving!

I had collected a few of Joanna's books already and had heard that they were LOL funny, but I think this one was somewhat more serious. There was humor in the story, especially when Gubba, Kate's grandma was around. I adored her! Gubba stole the show for me. I ended up telling my family about her rather than about the story.

The story is written in dual POV and the writing is good, but I didn't really love either of the main characters. The story starts when they are about to drive home for Christmas and then moves both forward and back in time so we get to understand how Ed and Kate's relationship started and how they got to where they are now with all that drama in the car when driving home for Christmas.

While driving from London back home to Yorkshire for Christmas, Kate and Ed's 10 year relationship comes to an end. However they decide to pretend everything is normal and visit their families. Can they keep smiling through the pain and move on or will spending time together remind them of why they fell in love in the first place?

There's a dual POV (it seems a lot of the Christmas books I read this year are!) and the chapters are all interspersed with flashbacks over the years of their relationships, cute moments and times they had to adapt and change. These chapters are short, so they don't stop the flow of the current timeline, which I liked.

Character wise, I didn't feel much love or hate for the main characters, though there is some growth which was nice to see. The character I liked the most was Kate's grandmother Gubba, she's outspoken & entertaining.

While this book does start in Christmas, it extends out a few months after and with the main trope of the book being end of a relationship and second chances, the book doesn't have all the usual festive cosy vibes found in other books set this time of the year. That said, it is refreshing to have a book that is a bit different and would suit people who don't want things too cookie cutter or sugary sweet

A nice Christmas read all about Kate & Ed. They’re on their way home to their parents for Christmas and have a massive argument and decide to have a break but they agree not to tell anyone until after the festivities.

They realise how much they miss each other and Kate realises how much she has taken each Ed for granted but is it now too late…..

Liked the story overall but the book really strung it out - could have been about ⅓ less than it actually was.