3.5 stars rounded up! I’m not much of a romance reader and while predictability in other books bothers me, it was just what I needed in this book. Where the mechanics of the writing or even the plot were weaker, the atmosphere came through. It’s a perfect Christmastime, Hallmark kind of read.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harlequin Trade / Canary Street Press for the advance e-copy.

I love the cover of this book. It feels so cozy. This was my first book from this author and it was delightful. Great characters. I’ll be reading from her.

I love books involving “found” family, especially when the book is set in an interesting location. “The Hotel Book Club” is one of those books. The hotel is the Maple Sugar Inn, located in a remote village in Vermont. It is run by a 28 year old widow, Hattie, who lives there with her 5 year old daughter, Delphi. She is having a hard time coping with running the inn alone while suffering grief over the loss of her husband.

Erica, Anna, and Claudia, former college roommates now in their 40’s, reunite at a different hotel once a year to discuss a book and unwind from the stress of daily life. This year, Erica, a high powered corporate executive crisis manager, chooses the Maple Sugar Inn, an unusual selection for her, since she usually favors sleek, modern hotels in big cities. Her friends will soon discover that Erica had a specific secret reason for choosing the hotel.

The three friends are each going through unique challenges at this time in their lives: Claudia, who moved from the east coast to California to live with her boyfriend of the last 10 years, was recently dumped by him and then shortly afterwards she lost her job as a chef in a local restaurant. Anna’s twins are getting ready to go away to college and she is feeling anxious about missing them and finding a new purpose in life besides being a mother. Erica, who avoids long term relationships with men since her father left her and her mother when she was as an infant, is starting to have feelings for a man she has been casually dating for several years. She is also dealing with the secret which drew her to the inn.

When they reach the charming inn, the three friends along with Hattie grapple with their individual crises. With help from each other, the women soon find solutions to their problems, and discover strengths about themselves that they never knew they had.

This was a heartwarming book with fully realized characters whom the readers will come to love. It was one of those books where the characters are so endearing that you hate for the book to end because you will miss them. The Hotel Book Club was the first novel by Sarah Morgan that I have read but it definitely won’t be my last.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have enjoyed many a festive tale about women and Christmas authored by Sarah Morgan, and The Book Club Hotel was no exception. The best part of this particular book was the inn in which the protagonists were staying. I’d love to move into such a place! That said, while the setting was purportedly Vermont, there were insufficient details to persuade me that Ms. Morgan has herself visited there. Also, the book should have been edited for the American audience. Little details such as referring to “cookery books” instead of “cookbooks” caused some of the character descriptions to ring a bit false and detracted from the story. That said, this was a merry, light read akin to watching a Hallmark Christmas flick.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for a complimentary ARC. I read a physical copy of the book I had already purchased. Opinions are my own.

I received a free e-arc through Netgalley. This is about a lot of things: relationships (platonic and otherwise), growing older, and books. I enjoyed it quite a bit and thought it was well-written, showcasing a variety of problems and supportive friends.

The Book Club Hotel is a wonderful read with a big surprise. The hotel’s owner is trying to keep her late husband’s dream alive by smothering her own vision. The three members of the book club have their own private issues which suddenly become their strengths when these four ladies are put to the test. Sarah Morgan’s books never disappoint. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. Most highly recommend.

I absolutely loved this book. All the characters are struggling with change. Together, they each confront their own changes. It’s a beautifully written. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.

I was given an advanced reader copy of this book to read. I loved it. It was a great book to read as it gets close to Christmas as all problems in the book get resolved at that time. I received it yesterday and finished it this morning so it is not a hard read.

I love Morgan’s books and her newest title was a great read.
I could read her writing every single day and never get bored.
I was anxiously waiting for this approval and I’m beyond thankful for the opportunity.

The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan is a well crafted, engaging and well-paced story.
I absolutely loved being at the Maple Sugar Inn in Vermont with these four characters who are all interesting and unique and I had a wonderful time with them on their journey. These engaging, well developed characters in this storyline warmed my heart. The characterization is spot on with a whole slew of characters that are genuine, multi-layered, unique, and intriguing.
Sarah Morgan always writes the most heartwarming, compelling, mesmerizing and amazing stories.
The perfect holiday read of friendship and romance.
A fantastic women’s fiction holiday read just in time for the cheery holiday season.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Canary Street Press for the opportunity to read this ahead of its publication date in return for my honest review.

This book was the perfect feel good story with some great girl power, romance & love. Reading this book got me in the Christmas spirit!!

Def need to read this with a side of your fav holiday drink and a cozy blanket!

The Book Club Hotel is my favorite Sarah Morgan book so far. She has a way of always creating a magical story.
Three lifetime friends always get together once a year and read a book and spend time catching up for a week in a hotel . They have always helped each other with whatever good and bad came up in their lives. This year is different though as the inn they stay at is run by Erica’s sister whom she has never met.
This story is full of heartache, love, and new beginnings . The holiday setting makes it a delightful read.

Way too Hallmark for my taste. It was overly predictable and cringe at times, so I couldn’t really get into it.

Thank you for approving my request to read this book. While I was waiting for the approval, which I didn’t think I was going to get, I read it from a different source and finished it. This was my review:

A perfect cozy read for this time of the year. It’s a story about the idyllic Maple Sugar Inn (who wouldn’t want to stay at a place like this!), book clubs and four women who work together to find the best parts of their lives. I was hoping for a bit more “book club” but this was a great book.
I believe this is my first Sarah Morgan book but I’m going to definitely look for more!

Each year as Christmas approaches, I look forward to Sarah Morgan's Christmas/Winter book. This year's The Book Club Hotel didn't disappoint. Three lifelong friends, Erica, Claudia and Anna, get together every year for a girlfriends' book club holiday. They weren't able to do it in the summer, so it will be in December this year, just before Christmas. They usually head to a high class hotel or resort, but Erica has chosen an Inn in Vermont, The Maple Sugar Inn operated by single mom, Hattie. Her husband died a couple of years earlier and she has tried to keep their dream alive as well as take care of their five year old daughter, Delphi. All four women are dealing with something: Hattie keeping the Inn running and dealing with grief, Claudia was dumped by her fiancé and lost her job in California, Anna is worried about her twins heading off to College and if her relationship with her husband is in trouble and Anna's issue is dealing with family, but you have to read the book to find out what it is about.

I loved the setting of the Maple Sugar Inn. I have never been to Vermont, but it is on my bucket list. All of the women are relatable and I liked them all, even if I didn't like what they did. Anna is amazing with kids and I loved seeing how she interacted with Delphi. Claudia is at a crossroads in her life and doesn't know what she wants to do. She steps in to help Hattie with the cooking and loved it. Anna was the one that was the hardest to connect to. She was uber-successful, but unhappy. She had a mystery to solve and that added some mystery to the story. Hattie was the one I empathized with the most. She was widowed so young and was trying to honor her husband's dreams, but it seemed that she kept running into issues. She was a great mom and had done a wonderful job with Delphi, but seemed to have blinders on when it came to recognizing her own talents and achievements. As each of the women opens up and shares their issues, this group rallies around and supports each other. I really enjoy stories of women supporting one another and growing in their strength and self-concept. This is a story of family, friendship, finding your place, realizing what you want out of length, finding your strength and following your dreams on your own terms. The story takes place at Christmas, so there are lots of festive times as well making this a wonderful holiday story.

Erica, Anna and Claudia are friends and each year take a trip together to discuss a book. This year, instead of their usual summer trip, they plan a Christmastime trip to a rural inn, complete with snow and hot chocolate and all of the decorations that anyone could want to have. The town near the inn is picture perfect and is a magnificent backdrop to the inn itself and the drama that unfolds in the lives of these young women.

The Christmas Book Club is a story about 3 friends, each very different to the others in personality, attitude and how they live their lives. Brought together by a love of books, their friendship remains strong even though they aren’t in close proximity except for when they meet up once a year for Book Club week.

It’s easy to recognise something of myself in bits of each of the 3 characters and it became very personal. I loved the stories of each of them and the additional woman who enters their lives and how the characters develop through struggle, pain, loss, love and hope. Its safe to say that this will be my favorite holiday book this year. A story of women helping women will always resignate with me.

The Book Club Hotel was about a lot more than a book club. It centered around a group of three friends that now live apart, but still make it back together once a year for a book club meeting which they typically do in the summer. Life stuff happened as it does so they decide to postpone until Christmas time and one of their friends finds the perfect little hotel tucked away in Vermont called the Maple Sugar Inn.

The Maple Sugar Inn is run by Hattie who is a widow with a young daughter trying to keep it all together and the hotel afloat when the 3 friends arrive. She wants it to be nice and cozy for them as she loves the concept so she purposely reserves the library of the hotel for them and plans to have a fire going, etc.

Unbeknownst to her, one of the 3 friends has a family connection to her that she has come to figure out for herself. Things unravel fairly quickly and Erica, Claudia and Anna decide they should check out after all the next day. Of course, there is a lot more plus a little romance and I really enjoyed all of the side stories that intertwined through out the book.

The Book Club Hotel is a charming story of friendship, love, and books. The book gave me lots of holiday warmth and love, while remaining honest about relationships. Morgan's characters are always realistic and fresh. Would love to see this developed as a series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for the advanced copy.

The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan is the perfect holiday book. Grab your hot drink of choice, the coziest blanket, and settle in for a warm embrace of a book. Morgan has provided everything needed for that ‘hallmark Christmas movie’ vibe. Hattie Coleman, widowed young, is struggling to make a go of the Maple Sugar Inn, her deceased husband’s dream. Trying to juggle the demands of her rude and insufferable head of house and head chef, Hattie is also trying to provide some stability for her young daughter while figuring out her own dreams. Is running the Inn really something she wants for herself? What about her own ideas about the Inn? Is she being unfaithful to her husband’s dream if she deviates from his plans?

Enter Erica, Claudia, and Anna, three lifetime friends who have arrived for a girls’ weekend; all with their own secret struggles and questions about the future. The women meet up for an annual book club weekend and time away from their own busy lives, but this year is a bit different- they are meeting up at Christmas time instead of their usual summer weekend. The arrival of the women, and a fateful picture, throws Hattie’s life into an emotional whirlwind. Will the women be there for each other or will their own emotional hiccups come in the way of this life altering weekend?

Morgan sets up such a lovely, homey vibe at the Maple Inn and includes everything a bookish reader wants- roaring fires, cozy reading nooks, icy snow, sassy characters, not-too-scandalous secrets, an incorrigible child, and the requisite hot neighbor/farmer. Is this a groundbreaking novel? No, of course not. It is a fun, warm, bright, and joyful story that is just perfect for a soul nourishing read. Perfect for the autumn/ winter time. Random rating- 4/5. Thanks to @NetGalley and Edelweiss for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Loved this book!!!
definitely will be re-reading it during the holidays as it quickly became a cozy holiday comfort read.

I wish i could live in the story.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this ARC copy

I've enjoyed every book by Sarah Morgan that I've read. I especially loved The Book Club Hotel because sometimes I don't want to read a romance between 18 year olds and it's refreshing to read about 40 year olds finding love again. I loved the relationship between friends Erica, Claudia and Anna and how they all helped Hattie when they saw she was in need. I mostly related to Anna who was dreading the empty nest and I found myself nodding in agreement at the things she was feeling.

The setting was just perfect for a cozy-Christmas read. I wish Maple Sugar Inn was real because I'd love to go there for a week!

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 19 September 2023