3.5 stars rounded up….A cute and festive read for the holiday season! It has all the expected festive parts like roasting marshmallows and Christmas fairs but there is more to the story as well. Gus, a widowed single father of two precocious four year olds, has his hands quite full with running two businesses and almost every Christmas event in twin as well in honour of his late wife’s memory but he quickly falls for Sutton who quite literally falls into his life one night in a drunken stupor. He quickly figures out she’s in need of help and figures out a way to do that without it feeling like a hand out and from there their chemistry builds. Poor Sutton has been through some tough stuff in life and for sure has reason to be guarded but finds herself falling for this sometimes gruff but always caring man and his world in the small village she stumbled into.

I enjoyed the quaint village setting and the supporting characters in Gus’s life especially his mother-in-law, Moira. She was hilarious and refreshing. I especially loved how she pranked Gus with that Christmas sweater! The kids were also funny and cute and brought such comedic relief at times. Little Rosie would definitely be a force to reckon with!

The storyline about Sutton and her friend Layla hit (too) close to home and I found myself in tears at parts. I don’t think I’ve read a book before that really spoke to the hurt or feelings surrounding platonic relationships like that but found that helpful.

The relationship between Gus and Sutton was interesting, especially how it stood at the end. I appreciated that the most I think without giving it away. They definitely had physical chemistry but it was more than that and I was happy she found a safe place to land.

My only real complaint is that at times the story felt a bit repetitive as both Gus and Sutton, through mental conversations to themselves, rehashed the same things over and over. I wished it had been a bit more subtle.

Overall, it was a good read especially for the holiday season. I hope someday to revisit the small world of Gus and Sutton and find out what was next for them.

I received an advanced reader copy of the ebook through Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Confessions of a Christmasholic
Love at frost sight
Joss Woo
This is a cute, humorous romance tale. Perfect for getting you in the mood for Christmas. The setting is a small town. Our main characters are Gus and Sutton, both are recovering from failed relationships. Sutton attempts to drown her problems and falls on Gus’ yard. She accidentally destroys the fairy lights, plastic reindeer, and candy canes. There are sparks from the moment they meet. He takes her into his home and allows her to crash on his sofa. Sutton hates Christmas and Gus is a Christmasholic. Gus loves Christmas; he owns the town’s Christmas ship (open all year long.) Gus is Mr. Christmas. Gus is a widow that needs help with his twin four-year-olds. Sutton agrees to help him out for the Christmas season.
What’s not to love in this tale? You have all the Christmas trimmings, lights, candy, wassail, a tree, decorations and Santa. This story sizzles! Ring in the season with Confessions of a Christmasholic. I would love to see this book made into a movie!

An easy, spicy read with all of the Christmas vibes.

Confessions of a Christmasholic follows Sutton and Gus and their journey to supporting each other with their friends and family. It feels like a right person, right place, right time kind of story and I loved every second of it.

The story has great pacing, sympathetic and likable characters - plus cute kids that are actually cute! The book didn't feel too long and had great banter between the leads and extended cast of characters.

A perfect grumpy, sunshine book just in time for Christmas.

Thank you for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh why did it have to end. I need so much more this is my first Christmas book of the season and I couldn’t be more in love. I adored it Sutton actually reminds me so much of me we lived the same childhood and teenage years. Gus was the sweetest kindest man ever. And the twins oh my heart. I loved everything about this book. The characters were brilliant so real. So well written I would call them all main characters. It’s such a sweet easy happy Christmas story full of love and growth. Definitely a Christmas 2023 read.

A hallmark Christmas movie with some spice added in. This story was was and I liked Gus and Suttons characters and their banter. If you like that insta love trope and a grumpy- sunshine, then you’ll like this one!
Overall, I liked it but didn’t love it. I felt the ending needed more and would have like the epilogue to be the ending and more following that. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my arc copy. This is my voluntary and honest opinion.

A lovely, heartwarming christmas tale with a good sprinkling of spice. Explores the theme that women don’t have to give up their dreams when they fall in love, and that they don’t have to be a ready made mum, which many books lack. An absolute must read for the winter months, best enjoyed with a candle lit, a hot chocolate in hand and plenty of blankets to snuggle up in.

🎄🎅🏻𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝙷𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝙲𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚖𝚊𝚜 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚎 𝙱𝚄𝚃 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝕊ℙ𝕀ℂ𝔼 🌶️!! 𝙷𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚕𝚞𝚓𝚊𝚑𝚑𝚑𝚑𝚑𝚑🎅🏻🎄

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3/5

𝕋ℝ𝕆ℙ𝔼𝕊:
🎄Single Dad/Nanny
🎅🏻Second Chance
🎄Damsel in Distress
🎅🏻Emotional Healing
🎄Fall Fast

After drowning her sorrow in alcohol, Sutton lands face first in sexy Mr Christmas’ life! With no where to go and no options left, Sutton stays with Gus (aka Mr Christmas) and helps watch his kids while he’s busy with the holiday festivities. Ya’ll know how a single dad/nanny trope works 😉😉🥵🌶️❤️

The author tells the story from a third person perspective, so you’re getting everything! I love how the supporting characters keep the humor even in the serious situations. I found myself laughing out loud, then tearing up in other parts. My husband kept eyeballing me like, do I want to ask? 👀😳🤣

⭐️ I definitely recommend this book! It’s a fast paced, short read, perfect for the upcoming holiday season 🎅🏻🎄.

🌶️ You get some juicy, all the way scenes, but left hanging on some others. It was there to heighten the story, not over take it!

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

Many thanks to @NetGalley, @onemorechapterhc a division of @harpercollinsuk and @josswoodbooks for the #giftedarc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I wanted to read this because I am a christmasholic myself so I knew it was for me. I absolutely loved it. Christmas is a lot to deal with even for the people that love it and this book is a great reminder of that. I loved Gus and Sutton. Gus's story absolutely broke my heart. I'd definitely recommend this to others to read

Confessions of a Christmasholic is a sweet and spicy romance about 2 people who seem to have lost their way in life without realizing it. When fate makes Sutton stumble onto Gus’s lawn one winter night, they are thrown together as a seemingly unlikely pair at first but quickly become the stability that the other needs. This book hooked me from the very beginning, from the honest emotions, the real characters that you truly want to know and the comedic situations, this is a book you won’t want to put down.

Thank you, NetGalley HarperCollins UK and Joss Wood, for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed getting to know Gus and Sutton. I adored the relationship between them.
I love Christmas and small town romances, and this story was a perfect combination of them. I loved the character development in the book.
It was a really funny, little spicy holiday read!

Tropes:
Christmas romance
Instalove
Small town romance
Single dad

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜 was a really cute holiday romance. A wonderfully cozy Christmas book about love, loss, and choosing yourself. Both Gus and Sutton are healing from broken past relationships. Throughout the book we get to see them heal from past and present traumas and find love along the way. It is beautifully done and very relatable.

“𝙸'𝚖 𝚜𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚋𝚢𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚎, 𝚜𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚋𝚢𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚊 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙 𝙸 𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚗𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚖𝚎. 𝙸'𝚖 𝚜𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚋𝚢𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚢 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚝”

“𝚆𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚜𝚘, 𝚂𝚞𝚝𝚝. 𝙿𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚊𝚛𝚎. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛.”

My only complaint would be the ending seemed to happen rather quickly. I felt like an epilogue set in the future would’ve really added to wrapping up the story nicely. Overall, I did enjoy this book. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. ♥️🎄

Confessions of a Christmasholic is a cosy festive romance novel Joss Wood.
This is the first book that I have read by the author and it definitely won't be the last. It is a cute and cosy small town romance novel that I lost myself in and read in 24 hours. The story line was easy to follow and the cast of characters were likeable. A very enjoyable read that I highly recommend.
💖 Thank you to netgalley, the publisher and author for my arc ebook copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Classic Hallmark style story. Didn’t have anything I haven’t read before but gave me all the cozy feels one looks for in a book like this. Makes my Bahumbug heart want Christmas!

A cute little Christmas read, I was expecting a true grumpy/sunshine story, but felt that Confessions of a Christmasholic sort of missed that mark by just a bit while still being a delightful story.

Neither character were a true grump--Gus simply wanting to do right by his ADORABLE twins while Sutton was just trying to get back on her feet, were not feeling the holiday spirit. I did adore the first meeting between the twins and Sutton and the meet cute between Gus and Sutton also had me laughing.

This is a story of getting over loss--both the loss of a loved one and the loss of a friendship

I had not heard of this author before, but decided to take a chance.

This book uses the instant attraction, grumpy sunshine, the family you choose, and forced proximity tropes.

The plot is a common one used many times before, the characters are likeable enough to keep the reader’s attention, and the pacing is good.

A cute, lightweight, Christmas read that can easily be read in under an hour.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for my honest opinions.

To start, thank you Joss for sending me an advance copy! I really enjoyed getting to know Sutton and Gus. I am a Christmas lover and found myself hopeful they would find joy in Christmas. You get to find out just who Mr. Christmas is and why he feels the way he does about Christmas. I truly felt for Sutton and Gus with all they have been through and go through in the book. I enjoyed the book but it was slow read for me. The only recommendation I have is to have a second go on proof reading. There were several errors. Otherwise, this is a cute book!

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book moves pretty quickly. It opens on Sutton, a woman from Cape Town, South Africa who is now drunk, walking up a massive hill in a tiny town in the UK. She's been betrayed by her best friend, and literally falls into Gus' arms (well, onto his lawn. Same difference.). Of course, we have instant attraction, a grumpy sunshine situation, the family you choose, and a tad bit of forced proximity for the rest of the book. It's a cute, Christmastime story, but I felt like it ended so abruptly, and I was left wondering what happened to Gus and Sutton after Christmas. I think the characters could have been a bit more fleshed out, and their attraction a bit more drawn out, but overall I enjoyed the read.

Confessions of a Christmasholic, by Joss Wood, is a British Christmas story set in a town where Christmas is very important. A widowed, hot, and somewhat overwhelmed dad rescues a drunken woman from a Christmas fiasco and the story proceeds from there. It's a short novel packed with heartache, joy, and some pretty steamy situations.
I want to express my appreciation to both NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this ARC ebook.

Thanks to One More Chapter and NetGalley I received an advanced electronic copy of the book to read and provide a review.

This was a quick and cute Christmas book. The story was predictable but entertaining enough to read in one sitting. The main characters were a bit one dimensional but had compelling backstories and heartbreak to overcome. The twins were a ton of fun adding a bit of comedy and the town was straight from Gilmore Girls.

If you’re looking for a comfy and easy Christmas read with a quick enemies-to-instalovers with a lot of small town Holiday spirit this book is for you.

Joss Wood is a new author for me but I really enjoyed this book. I instantly warmed to Sutton’s character and thought Moira was hilarious. It’s a warm hearted, festive read that will keep you entertained throughout. Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK One More Chapter and the author for the chance to review.