Four Weddings and a Christmas
Philippa Ashley
Avon Books
Release date: 9th November 23

Cottage Angels owner, Freya Bolton is busy preparing the Lake District’s holiday homes for her Christmas visitors.
And she’s damn good at it! At making everything seasonal, perfect and cinnamon-scented. Even dealing with poo-mageddon and other disasters.
Her partner in crimes against cleanliness is Mimi and the two – along with their team – are a property management force to be reckoned with.
In Dec she also uses freelancer Krystle, to decorate the properties with a tree to complete the festive look.
Though she’s known primarily for her business, she’s still referred to as ‘Bolton the Bolter’, after running away from her fake groom Travis at eight years old during the school ‘wedding’.
Then running again from a real engagement at age eighteen. And then there’s a third wedding that doesn’t quite happen.
Speaking of weddings, Freya’s due to be her best friend’s – Roxanne’s - bridesmaid at a winter wedding soon. Busy doesn’t even cover it.
It’s a nightmare for her then, when she’s cleaning Squirrel Cabin during a staff shortage and the sexy, artistic adult Travis – her ex - turns up as the long-term renter.
Now a successful photographer, Travis had left behind his difficult upbringing until recently when his sister Bree begs him to come back and sort out younger brother Seb.
At least in their village Travis can start up his business in the local gallery and catch up with bestie Hamza, a wildlife filmmaker.
Freya’s mom Sandra is an Instagram influencer and gets loads of free stuff she wears or shows online. She’s a great part of the humour in the book, as well as being an older woman who has built her own life after her partner left her. This Christmas, she’s off on a cruise with her male friend/boyfriend Neil. And as Freya notes, Neil is in the “budgie smugglers”. British readers will get the reference straight away and I admit I laughed my proverbial off.
Though the funniest part is Roxy and Ravi’s wedding. Right in the middle of the novel, breaking the emotional parts with a hilarious scene, is one of the weddings. I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard in ages.
There’s so much warmth and humour in this book, from nephew Dylan calling Travis ‘Unca Tardis’, to Brian the perfectionist, the punky vicar and lots more.
This is interspersed with the more sentimental and impassioned parts of the book, where our main and supporting characters deal with past psychological trauma, difficult memories and issues around abandonment, family and particularly for Freya, commitment.
This is a beautiful, funny, heart-warming and thoroughly relatable book that had me sighing, needing a fan and laughing out loud in equal measure.
A delightful HEA.

Another perfectly heartwarming read from Phillipa Ashley. Freya and Travis have a history together, going back to a mock wedding in primary school, and an almost wedding when they were very young. Freya ran away both times. When Travis returns to their home village, they soon find there is still a mutual attraction and have to decide if this time they are both ready to commit to a long term relationship.

Absolutely loved this story, following Freya and Travis with their pasts, family dramas and second chance romances.
Throw in the close community that was all around them and the fact it was set at Christmas and it was the perfect read.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. This was an enjoyable read, although I struggled to connect to the characters. However, I enjoyed the festive country setting.

Another pleasant read from Phillips Ashley. Set in a little village called Bannerdale in the Lake Distinct in December. Freya runs a cleaning company with her friend, servicing and cleaning rental cottages for clients. Between them they have built up a viable company called Cleaning Angels. We learn of Freya’s back story. Bought up single handedly by her mother following the death of her father at a young age. The story starts with a flash back to a childhood embarrassment at the age of eight that she has never managed to live down..

Travis Marshall is a well known photographer and is back in the place of his birth after leaving at the age of 18. He is opening a gallery of his photographs and a space to enable him to teach his craft. And perhaps there is some unfinished business with a certain owner of a cleaning company. The story follows the twists and turns of their lives in the run up to Christmas. Can they get over the events that occurred when they were eighteen? A nice supporting cast of friends and family. A good story and a very pleasant read.

Perfect festive read from Phillips Ashley. Lovely setting, great characters what's not to love. Thank you netgalley for the advanced copy

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for gifting me a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Four stars!

This story follows Freya and Travis. Freya frequently remembers running away during the school play in grade school when she was supposed to be marrying Travis. How could she forget when she was made fun of it for years. Now that she's grown up, she owns her own business. She helps clean and manage properties. While she is cleaning a cabin, the guest shows up early for check-in. That particular guest just happens to be Travis, and even though she hasn't seen him in years, she can't deny how handsome he is. Both of them are reluctant to be around each other due to the bad memories. However, with being in the small town they decide that they can be friends. However, will they be able to remain only friends when they both feel the chemistry between each other?

I really enjoyed this story. I loved getting to know Freya and Travis. The side characters added so much charm to the story as well. The town was the perfect setting for a Christmas story. I would highly recommend reading this book!

Bannerdale in the beautiful English Lake District is the setting for this book.
It starts by going back in time to a school event in which a young eight year old Freya Bolton is a lead player in a staged wedding with Travis.
Moving forward in present times the story is woven amid winter and Christmas time.
A relaxing book with some lovely descriptions of the area and local wildlife.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions about the book are entirely my own.

I thought this book was absolutely brilliant & it's almost impossible to pick out a favourite part as the whole story is so well written. As a Christmas book of course we get a little snow and a little Christmas magic, but this book has so much more to offer than that.There are some emotional journeys that we go on with the characters and you can really feel the joy & sometimes the pain that they are experiencing. An absolute must read in my opinion.

An enjoyable read with a few characters I'd like to read more about. Perfect for the festive season.

Another wonderful story from Phillipa Ashley. I always look forward to her books and in particular the Christmas books.
Once again Travis and Freya are well developed and likable characters that you enjoy reading about. This is their second chance after Freya broke off their engagement when they were very young. Travis, a photographer, has returned home to start up his art gallery after being gone for years. Of course I was rooting for them! The Lake District and small town were the perfect setting for this Christmas romance. Another winner! Thank you for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

My second Christmas themed book of 2023 and an author I haven’t read in a while now, Four Weddings and A Christmas by Phillipa Ashley.

Freya has a successful business preparing holiday rentals but when she is preparing one of the properties, she gets an unexpected surprise when her ex Travis walks in. Travis has come back to his home town and is making the leap to launch his own business but could his return home stir up old feelings?

This is a storyline that had a lot to offer me because I love business start-ups, rekindled romances and community spirit flowing through the pages and that is what this book gave me and more with its sprinkling festivity. Both Freya and Travis were great characters who had their flaws which only made them more engaging characters and although the ending was a little predictable the constant obstacles along the way held my interest and made this a book that I sped through enjoying each and every moment.

For me a strong part of this storyline was the characters backgrounds and how their childhood has shaped them both as adults and had an effect on them throughout their lives.

I won’t be leaving so long to read another Phillipa Ashley book again because this really was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

A wonderful story of first love and second chances set during Christmas time in the beautiful Lake District. Freya seems to have a fear of commitment, maybe it started at the mocked wedding when she was eight years old. Or maybe it was the lost of her father when she was two and now she has a fear that no one will stick around. She has already two broken engagements, well technically ran away from three. And now her first love has returned and she is mixed up with her feelings for Travis. Can they just be friends with benefits?
Travis has always been the kid the small village pointed their fingers at. Having a dad in jail and a mom who was struggling to support three kids had the village looking down their noses at them. When his first love broke off their 24hour engagement at the age of 18, he ran. Ran away from it all and took years to made a name for himself as a nature photographer. Now years later and at the request of his sister Bree he has returned home and setting down roots by opening his own photo gallery. Reconnecting with his family and seeing Freya again has brought back many memories, some good and some bad. Freya was definitely good, but can they be more this time?
The character development was great, nice pacing of the story till they found their HEA. Thank you NetGalley for this eARC. I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an Advance Reader Copy of this story. #NetGalley #FourWeddingsandaChristmas

This story begins at the Bannerdale Church in the Lake District, when Freya is waiting in the vestry with her mother, her two bridesmaids standing outside, and everyone else had taken their seats. As soon as everyone is seated, and everything is ready, but Freya is nervous as she begins to walk down the aisle with her mother. With so many people smiling at her, everyone except Travis who was facing away from her as the organ began to play, she headed toward the altar, and it begins.

’Dearly beloved… we are gathered here today…to celebrate the marriage…of Travis and Freya…

With that, Freya takes back her hand from Travis, and runs down the aisle, out of the church, and down the path with echoes of her mother screaming.

This episode occurred when she was a child, although it remains how the whole town seems to remember her, and never lets her forget, even though she is now an adult. It doesn’t help that she has had other heartbreaks since, or left someone at the altar in the eyes of others.

When Travis, now a photographer with a notable degree of fame, decides to return to this town to set up a shop for his photography, Freya has decided that she doesn’t need love, at least the romantic kind. She is happy with her life, and her business. What more could she ask for?

This is a will-they/won’t-they story, that slowly evolves into a friendship, maybe more, but time will tell.



Pub Date: 09 Nov 2023

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Avon Books UK / Avon

I really enjoyed reading this book, the setting in the Lake District was a perfect festive setting.
I liked the characters and it was interesting reading about their past and their previous relationship.
This is an enjoyable festive read, very heartwarming and cosy.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC.

It was the blurb of this book that initially pulled me in and i am so very happy that it did because i thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful, festive story.

Four Weddings And A Christmas was such an easy book to read and was also written really well. Right from the very beginning i was addicted and had to keep turning the pages faster and faster until i had finished it!

Freya and Travis were two wonderful characters and i really loved becoming immersed in their lovely story.

It was a heartwarming, feel-good festive romance and i absolutely loved it…….

I really enjoyed this story. Freya and Travis’s past relationship plays a big part in how they interact as their future selves!. Travis returns home to help with family and just happens to be renting a holiday home that Freya has on the books of her management company. To make matters worse, she just happens to be covering for a cleaner when Travis turns up at the remote rental!!. Unfortunately for Freya, she will always have memories of Travis and their first ever attempted wedding as pupils in a school celebration ceremony. Freya ran for the hills!!!!. Hopefully as they spend more time together, she won’t do that again. The building tension between them just won’t go away, so what do they do?.
As always Phillipa tells a fab tale about old love and the mistakes made. Will we get a happy ending?. Oh I hope so!!!
Many thanks to Avon Books for the chance to read this arc copy via Netgalley.
#Netgalley,#avonbooksuk,#phillipaashleyauthor.

A very pleasant story, fairly predictable but then it is a Christmas book! There are a few twists and turns along the way to keep it interesting and it is set in a wonderful part of the country. Nice characters though and sounds like a village you would love to live in and be part of that community.

I would just say I found a lot of inconsistencies and missing words, grammar errors etc but as I had an advance copy, I would assume these have been ironed out before publication.

Many thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review, which is what I have given.

Long lost first loves are classic romance novel territory, and Four Weddings and a Christmas ticks all the boxes. From a school age mock wedding, with a runaway bride, to an unrequited teenage proposal, Freya and Travis have history.

Travis is a now a successful nature photographer and moves back to his childhood home to open a gallery. There he meets Freya, his childhood sweetheart, who claims she has moved on from the past - but has she?

Four Weddings and a Christmas is a wonderful festive read, with plenty of heart and its fair share of ups and downs

I always have the same problem when I read a book by Phillipa Ashley, they are so well written and engaging that I have trouble putting them down and the book is finished in no time, this one was certainly no different!
The characters of Freya and Travis were so likeable even with their quirks and failings, seeing them trying to live with their feelings and each other was a delight especially knowing their history. The minor characters around them were mostly likeable and at least were understandable when we got to know them a bit more but they added so much to the story making the journey from start to end one full of moments which brought real delight or sadness as the scene demanded of the reader.
I thoroughly enjoyed this very festive read, one day I'm going to have to go up to the Lake District and see if I can find all the places that are described in Phillipa's books!