Couldn't put it down! Between hospital visits and work this story got me through.

Want to sell up and move to Holly Cross with all its wonderful characters. Hope Bella writes a follow up to find out what happens to their lives and loves.

First thought: A charming Christmas story that drops you right into the middle of Holly Cross festivities. You will fall in love with this community and want to instantly ship these two couples(Blythe/Sam & Owen/Vicky) Grab some hot coco and snuggle in with this sweet closed door holiday romance.

Blythe is a real estate agent and competing for the top spot and she needs one more sale to grab the title. So she kind of sells Sam a house in her neighborhood under false pretenses. Sam hates everything Christmas and he just bought a house across the street from the epicenter of the most Christina’s village in England. Now Blythe has to work hard to make things right with Sam, while trying to persuade him not to be the Grinch.

Vicky is a single mom she is struggling to make ends meet and will do anything for her daughter to have a normal Christmas. She is also best friends with Blythe and she is constantly roping her in to support her schemes to make money. Owen is Vicky’s old flame and he’s back in town and trying to win her heart but things are complicated this time as she has to think about her daughter.

Holly Cross is full of an array of quirky characters that make you feel the spirit of Christmas and understand it’s more about the people this time of year vs the present.

Tropes you’ll find:

* Client to Lover
* Scrooge to Santa
* Tight Knit Community
* Holiday Romance
* Small Town
* Closed Door

3⭐
Genre ~ Holiday fiction
Setting ~ Holly Cross (fictional) inspired by Eathorpe, Warwickshire
Publication date ~ October 20, 2023
Page Count ~ 344 (40 chapters p+e)
POV ~ dual 3rd
Featuring ~ dated chapters, small town, slow burn, no steamage

Blythe is a real estate agent in competition with a coworker to make the most sales for the month of May. She has only 2 days to win and she'll do anything she can to make the sale, even if it means lying through her teeth. In steps Sam, who is anti-Christmas, but gets bamboozled into buying a house in the most popular Christmas village in the country.

First of all ~ the cover is cute and I liked the small town community vibe. It is in full force with year round events the residents are expected to participate in. They all seem to get along and have great rapport for the most part, even if they're Christmas crazy. Norman is the local baker and his treats sounded quite delightful, especially a passion fruit curd eclair and I wish I could try one. Phyllis was a hoot and seemed like she'd be fun to be around. 5 year old Eden seemed very mature and well behaved for her age, which I liked. Blythe's mother and step father were pretty great too.

Second of all ~ there is a lot of disrespect in this book.
Blythe, quite frankly, is a lying judgey mcjudgerpants who jumps to conclusions. Sam was pretty much disrespected from the get go by everyone. I felt like he was being bullied and I didn't like it. Someone should not be forced to do something they don't want to do. And even to go so far as to say he has a Christmas phobia and call him a Grinch when they have no clue of his reasoning (which was sad) is rude. He doesn't want to participate, plain and simple. I was really hoping he would put that house on the market and high tail it outta there back to London.

Our second POV comes from Blythe's bff, Vicky, who is a single parent to Eden. I can't say I was a big fan of hers. While I did appreciate her tenacity in providing for her daughter I, also, felt she was somewhat rude. From one business venture to the next, she expects, and doesn't really even ask nicely, her friends to help her, which left a bad taste in my mouth. And why did we get her POV when this is a holiday romance, shouldn't it be from Sam?

Speaking of holiday romance ~ it's very slow burn and I was not feeling their chemistry at all. They're frustrated with each other from May to December, but then all of the sudden they like each other. I wasn't buying it.

We have a side little mystery about the former owner of Sam's cottage, Murray, who passed away. That was an interesting and surprising turn of events, which I didn't hate, but I wish we could have gotten to know him a little more.

Overall, this was a mixed read for me and I don't feel this should be in the romance category, more like holiday fiction. It's perfectly titled too because they did indeed need everything perfect.

I would firstly just like to say a big thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources who very kindly forwarded me an arc copy of this book, for my kindle, in return for my honest review.

Having already read a few of this author’s books - and absolutely loving them - it was an absolute no brainier to read this book and i am so glad that i did, it was wonderful and cosy and oh, so Christmassy too!!

I had a wonderful time reading this book and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough as i just had to find out what was going to happen next!

I absolutely loved the village where the story was set and through Bella’s wonderful writing style, i honestly felt as though i was there too.

This was such a wonderful, heartwarming rom com that had me laughing out loud one minute and shedding a tear the next…….

I love Bella's writing and have read a lot of her books. This story was a lovely, festive, easy read that eases you into Christmas.

Blythe is a warm Christmas loving character who is at her happiest helping others so when she meets Christmas loathing Sam, sparks inevitably fly.

I love small village books that involve community spirit and this book was just that. I'm excited to read more of Bella's books.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I absolutely loved this book from the very beginning! Blythe is so likeable and easy to gel with as a character, it really makes the book! It has been quite a longtime since have been so fond of a character, but her eager to please, yet slightly unfortunate luck, means you are both cringing yet laughing from the off, and it really set the tone for the book. The Christmas village community was Excellent too! The aim to create such a special place with such a humorous mix of characters was great. This is a really feel good read to snuggle up with! I absolutely adored it!

Determined to win at work and prove herself to her father, Blythe is determined to sell a house to Sam, even hiding the truth about the village he is moving too. Will she be able to win him over and help him find his Christmas spirit? A fun festive read.

Holly Cross would be a perfect place for me to live. Course I love all holidays, but especially Christmas. I can see how it could be a nightmare if you weren’t into the holidays. I love the story of Blythe and Sam and let’s not forget Turpin. The characters are wonderful and truly care for each other. I enjoyed the story line and had a few giggles along the way. I would love a trip back sometime to see what the good folks of Holly Cross are doing. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.

I do enjoy a Bella Osbourne book & this did not disappoint!

Blythe is an estate agent & trying to win sales Person of the Month with one more sale! She 'sells' a house to Sam who has been looking for the right property for a long time. The only problem is she doesn't have permission to sell this house.

Sam moves into the house but is horrified when he finds out that the village is Lit up & every home decorated for Christmas. As a Christmas hater, he finds this so difficult. Follow the story of the community, friends & the budding romance between Sam & Blythe.

A lovely feel good Christmas story.

I have reviewed The Perfect Christmas Village by Bella Osborne for book recommendation and selling site LoveReading.co.uk. The novel as been chosen as an ebook of the month. Please see the link to the full review.

Such a cute story! I have to say I absolutely adored the whole book and all the characters.

Sam is new to the village and is not a very big fan of Christmas, So choosing to move to Holly Cross is probably not his best idea ever because every year around Christmas Holly Cross turns into the most Christmassy Village in the whole country!

Sam puts the villages chance of winning the title of Britain's Most Perfect Christmas Village in jeopardy so it's Blythes job to make things right, especially since she did bend the truth a little to sell Sam the house in the first place!

Absolutely loved this story and it really hit all the marks for me in a Festive story!

Blythe is an estate agent who lives in Holly Cross, a small little village that wants to be known as the most amazing Christmas village ever. When Blythe sells Sam, who unbeknownst to everyone, is kind of a Grinch, the house at the center of the village’s display, Blythe takes it upon herself to befriend Sam and turn him into a Christmas loving villager filled with holiday spirit like the rest of them. How the village and Sam learn to understand each other as they go through the course of the year and the holidays approach was really heartwarming.
There’s also a side story which contains a bit of a mystery that turns out quite well but my favorite part was the semi feral cat, Turpin, who quickly makes himself at home in Sam’s house. And as Blythe comes to help Sam deal with Turpin as well as get him to take part in various events in the village and they spend more time together, they start to develop feelings beyond friendship. Some fun support characters and lots of holiday vibes make this a fun little escape for a few hours and I could totally see it being made into a Hallmark movie.
Thanks to Aria Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

3.5 stars rounded up.

this book reminds me so much of gilmore girls and stars hollow…but if it was in England.

Blythe sells a house not on the market in the most christmas-y town in the UK. The town is competing for the title of the most perfect christmas village and have a new grinch to deal with.

small town vibes. very good read.

In a Nutshell: An imperfect Christmas story. Could have been really good had the characters behaved better. Not my favourite Bella Osborne work by far.

Story Synopsis:
Blythe is desperate to sell just one more house this month so that she can set a new record at the real estate firm she works with. So she bends the truth just a teensy bit when she sells a home in the picturesque little town of Holly Cross to city dweller Sam. Sam hates Christmas, so he is unaware that he has purchased a residence in the centre of the most Christmassy village of the country. Needless to say, as Christmas draws near, Sam is the Grinch who might jeopardise Holly Cross’s chances of winning a Christmas village competition. Now Blythe has to do some quick reparations as she is the one to blame.
The story comes to us in the third person perspective of Blythe and Vicky – Blythe’s best friend.

I admit, I was looking for light fluff when I picked this up. But one really bad habit I have is that even when I read fluff, I can’t let go of my logical side. As such, this book, that seemed intent on punishing the honest guy and supporting the lying girl, wouldn’t win any fairness awards from me.

Sam was clear that he detested Christmas. He was the one Blythe hid the truth from. And yet, he was made out to be the villain (rather, the Grinch) of the story. Why? Not everyone likes (or needs to like) Christmas, and it was totally unfair of them to compel Sam to get involved. If I were in Sam’s position, I would have had a mental breakdown at the annoying intimidation of the villagers. It was strangely ironic to read a Christmas story with no sign of the Christmas spirit.

Moreover, as a small-town holiday story, I expected to find some genuine Christmassy moments in the plot as well. But there’s no sign of carolling or anyone going to church, or doing anything else that’s truly connected to Christmas, except for one scene about a Christmas day family lunch. Instead, the whole story focusses only on those elements of Christmas that even I detest – the over-the-top decorations, the needless competitions to have the best decorated house/village, the frivolous expenses for purchasing huge quantities of non-recyclable décor, the cutting off of live trees, the larger-than-life gifts,… All nothing but crass commercialisation with no connection to the solemnity of the occasion.

Of course, this is only a romcom, so I can’t really expect much on character development and festive accuracy. So let me gauge it as a romcom.

The rom is almost invisible. Sam and Blythe are at loggerheads with each other, until they suddenly aren’t. There’s no mention of attraction, there’s no friendship that slowly warms up to something deeper, there’s no “sparks flew” meet-up. No build-up at all! Basically, it is like a Sophie Kinsella novel, where the idiotic self-centred heroine can do what she wants without any concern for others, and the good guy still falls in love with her. So unfair and unrealistic!

The com is more varied in comparison. There’s situational comedy, double entendre, slapstick, repartee,... I like clever humour so the puns and the dirty jokes were quite funny to me. But the slapstick humour, I could have happily kicked out.

There is a minor mystery in the story, connected to the owner of the house that Sam purchased. This is decently satisfying, though it wasn’t convincing.

The blurb makes this sound like the story of Sam and Blythe’s relationship. But about a fourth of the book is written from the point of view of Blythe’s best friend Vicky, who is a single mom and has her own second-chance romance. I didn’t like this track either, as once again, there was no build-up, and once again, the past involved lies.

What I did like about the story were some of the secondary characters such as Blythe’s mother and stepfather, Vicky’s daughter, and most of all, Tarpin the feral cat.

Basically, there are a few good holiday moments herein, but on the whole, it was a meh experience for me. I’d rather read Jaimie Admans, who does a much better job at handling holiday romances in vivid settings. Holly Cross felt very pale in comparison to the stunning locations Admans envisages in her novels.

All in all, this did most of what it set out to do. If you don’t use your brains too much and are a Sophie Kinsella fan, you might enjoy this as an entertaining light read.

Unfortunately for me, I was looking to replicate the great characterisations I saw in this author’s ‘The Promise of Summer’ and ‘The Library’, but that wasn’t to happen. As it was also over-dramatic for my tastes, this might just be a case of right book, wrong reader. Do read the other reviews and get a more balanced opinion before you take a call.

2.5 stars.

My thanks to Aria & Aries and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Perfect Christmas Village”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Blythe has sold Sam a house in the most Christmassy village but omitted to tell Sam this and he absolutely loathes Christmas.

There was a lovely array of characters in the book from the unstoppable force that is Leonora to a kindly gent like Arthur and everything in between. Unfortunately, the behaviours of some of the characters annoyed me at times.

Although the synopsis is mainly about Blythe and Sam, there are a couple of other storylines running through involving Vicky and Murray and I enjoyed them unfolding.

A fun and emotional read that I would recommend.

Thank you Rachels Random Resources, Aria and Netgalley for my copy which I read and give my honest review voluntarily.

A quick read but not great. Blythe was rude and did lie to Sam quite a bit just to win a contest. I didn’t blame him at all for wanting nothing to do with her or the crazed villagers. Including Vicky who thinks everyone should do her part time jobs for her so she can collect the money, what? I understand helping out in an emergency but not all the time. She really was just on the lookout for a sugar daddy type I guess. Very uncomfortable.

All the nosy and not charming villagers didn’t help either. If I was Sam I would have run screaming and demanding a refund.

Another warm and uplifting read from Bella Osborne who is without a doubt one of my favourite authors and a go-to author when I need a cosy fix. The Perfect Christmas Village has all the ingredients you need in a heartwarming and beautiful festive story. 5 sparkling stars on top of the Christmas tree from me!

I always enjoy a Bella Osborne story, they are some of my favourite reads. As I’m a big fan of Christmas as well as Bella’s books this is the best pre-Christmas present I could get and I can you you that when I opened my present there was nothing disappointing inside at all. It was a magical festive read, with some grumpy/sunshine energy and someone who dislikes Christmas (how ?!) being won over by the most Christmassy village and a bit of romance, yeah he was never going to stay a non-fan!

I love Holly Cross, it’s residents, I love how infectious their enjoyment of the Christmas period is, their passion for all things seasonal is so cute I want to go join them. Sam and Blythe’s story is just so lovely, it’s lighthearted abd full of great humour, the witty banter was fabulous. The supporting cast of characters, the community play just as important a part in this story and I love that so much, because who doesn’t love reading about feisty friends and neighbours, wondering and hoping if your favourite supporting character might get their own story one day.

If you’re looking for a book that will entertain you, bring warmth to your heart and very toes, that will bring Christmas alive, then this book is it and you will want to fall into it’s pages and come out ready to decorate your street.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

4 stars / This review will be posted on goodreads.com today.

The perfect Christmas village is also the perfect Christmas novel. Combines a little bit of mystery, a lot of homey warm villagers, romance, and of course the perfect winter holiday. Another Hallmark movie to be!

Blythe and Vicki have been friends since childhood, growing up in Holly Cross. When Blythe has a life setback, she moves back home with her mom and stepdad. She loves living in Holly Cross again, but she yearns for her father’s approval. In her quest to be the best estate agent in Holly Cross, she stumbles into a home sale. For a home that’s not for sale.

Sam, the potential buyer, is one good looking man. Blythe notices this, but his attitude toward Christmas is less than appealing. What Sam doesn’t know is that the house he wishes to purchase is simply the center of the Holly Cross annual Christmas festivities. Can Blythe turn his grinch-ness into community spirit?

Adorable book that I enjoyed immensely. Sappy, sweet, all the things you look for in a Christmas novel.

A heart-warming and cosy seasonal read. Very engrossing and was hard to put down. There is something magical about festive books and this one is no exception.