Three friends Shelly, Lena, and Pearl have had Christmas prep up to their eyeballs they are sick of it. When Pearl mentions a relative who owns a b&b in the wilds of the Scottish highlands they dreamily decide to go for a few days leading up to Christmas Eve. Time to charge their batteries before the onslaught of the big day what could go wrong?
A hilariously funny and heartwarming tale that will leave you with that Christmas feel good feeling. Just the book to be read tucked up with a cuppa readying yourself for Christmas.

Entertaining jaunt into the Highlands to take a breather: have they really left their cares behind?🌨🎄

What an entertaining take on worries and pitfalls of the hectic run-up to Christmas. Fiona Gibson really has a deft hand at relating realistic issues like difficult prospective in-laws, unappreciative teens and straying spouses. I felt as frustrated and let down by the folks at home as the three women, especially Shelley. Divorcee Lena, widow Pearl and married mother of two Shelley are dealing with some difficult issues at home in the weeks before Christmas. They escape together to a remote B&B in the Scottish Highlands run by Pearl's cousin Michael and end up with a whole new set of challenges with the other guests at the B&B (especially young Theo, the wannabe Christmas pudding!) and the Scottish weather. These three women are resourceful and turn adversity into an adventure. I liked their storyline but my enjoyment was doubled by the alternating glimpses into how the familes they left behind are handling things without them.

And I loved the way the story ends up for the three women and Michael once their Highland adventure draws to a close.

Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley, Boldwood Books, and Fiona Gibson for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Have you ever emotionally and physically just shut down before the holidays and said "get me the heck outta here?" Yeah, me too. Same for our three leading ladies, and guess what- they did it. They got the heck out. Good for them.

This book is not as lighthearted as the cover would make you believe. Each of our leading ladies deals with some heavy topics- cancer, grief, infertility, infidelity, classism, and more.

Being classified as a romance is technically true- but I'd lean more heavily on the women's fiction classification.

If you relate to these heavy topics and want to feel seen this holiday season, this book is for you.

Unfortunately I just could not get into the spirit of this book. I was thinking it would be light hearted, funny, entertaining but it was the opposite. Depressing so much so I could not finish it. It is labelled romance, it's not. I hate books with infedality so put it down at that point. So many POVs.

3 friends
Shelley, Pearl and Lena
All for various reasons want out this Christmas as it’s turning as always into more hassle than enjoyment
But there is no escape, nowhere for them to run to
Until there is

And once they are there their other halves and families have to get on and make do ( and make don’t )

Very funny, very Christmassy and a very good read, one of those you can read for 15 mins and come back to and immediately know where you are and are straight back into it

Loved all character’s good and not so, even Joel I couldn’t fully dislike at the end, toothpaste and all

A perfect read waiting to be had that will make every reader feel good, relaxed and happy to have chosen this book and all it brings 😊

The art cover for this book gave me the wrong impression that it was going to be light-hearted, but it was filled with messy families and too many POVs to keep up with too many dramatic events for a rom-com.


This felt more along the lines of the book Eat Pray Love, not Sophie Kinsella

This book is a perfect Christmas read, especially in the lead-up to the festive season. It follows three girlfriends who, in a spur-of-the-moment decision, escape the stress of holiday preparations by retreating to Scotland, only to find themselves snowed in. The story beautifully explores family dynamics, delivers heartwarming romance, and is filled with plenty of laughs. The only drawback is the rather brief ending, which leaves you wishing for a bit more closure. Despite that, it's an enjoyable and cosy holiday escape.

DNF. I’m not the target audience for this book—it’s too angsty for me. I was expecting something more lighthearted. I’m sure others will enjoy the book.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

What a good book! I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. This is a first by this author but will not be my last! I read this in one sitting because I just couldn’t put it down.

This is a new to me author but I immediately looked up her entire backlist and added it to my tbr when I was finished this book. I am a tough critic, anyone who knows me knows that, and this is one of the few books that actually cracked the code. It is funny, heartfelt, cozy, and just an overall perfect holiday read.
Three friends decide to escape to Scotland for a couple of days right before Chris after their respective families let them down and don’t appreciate all the hard work that they do for them all year, and especially in the time leading up to Christmas. They decide they need a break, so they escape to a friends inn and are having a lovely time until they get snowed in. On top of that, the inn’s owner, who happens to be their friend as well, has jetted off to meet his online love leaving them in charge of the inn when the storm hits. They are left to tackle managing the B&B and dealing with the prospect of not being with their loved ones for Christmas. What ensues is the women having time to bond, reflect on their lives care for each other and their friendships for a change.
If you’re looking for a chance to escape for a few hours don’t hesitate to pick this one up asap!
Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

A solid 3.75 stars for me! This festive read follows 3 long-time friends who need to get away. There comes a time where a woman deserves to dig her feet down and say, “I’m a woman and a person before I’m a wife or a mom.” And then deserves to make her own happiness.

Their trip to the cottage B&B was perfect, even though they ended up taking over temporarily instead of relaxing, but in the end you could tell they loved it. They were doing this together with the people that ‘see’ them.

Joel and Theo took their special little places on my special, fictional naughty list but Joel actually took the cake. Poor Shelley, married to the narcissistic troll that was Joel, happily ended up in a better place in life thanks to Joel’s indiscretions. I’m just glad Joel received his karma. A fun read about messy lives. Life is messy.

Highly recommend. A good, clean cozy read that I loved snuggling under the covers with.

Thank you, NetGalley! This is my honest opinion! Grab it when it comes out

Such a great twist on the usual festive read. My goodness what would I give to be able to run away in the build up to Christmas, and there are only two of us!! There are so many amazing moments with this story, all three of the main characters have great stories to tell, and some of the others also have great stories as well, you just get pulled into each story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for providing this book, with my honest review below.

‘Tis the Damn Season exceeded my expectations that I would read a cozy novel about women sick of being holiday doormats who then find some independence when escaping just before Christmas. Yes, this absolutely is about that, but the details of what exactly happens to them in their journey- and the consequences, were not cozy but supremely engaging and really tied to the user to the conflict and discoveries in the book.

Three women who formed a friendship while working at a magazine years ago, Shelley (a mother who is 100% being under appreciated by her husband and kids), Lena (engaged to a lovely man who can’t seem to say no to his terrible family and bleh daughter), and Pearl (a widow whose grown son and his slobby girlfriend are living at Pearl’s and nowhere near good guests) get together every year just before Christmas. This year is trying for all of them with their families and situations getting to be extra stressful so they decide to escape to Scotland for a Highlands pre-Holiday. There are little unexpected adventures that crop up during their trip and the women ultimately get snowed in over Christmas - while at home all hell breaks loose.

Each women’s story is different but all found their way to a good place. Shelley was the best explored main character and perhaps that’s why I loved her plot line most and felt the most hopeful for her at the end. I don’t want to reveal too much, but suffice to say this is a little harder hitting than I expected but that just made the book all the more satisfying. I would categorize this as true women’s fiction and focusing on the hard (and real stuff) with generous doses of humor and friendship that help balance things out.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and won’t be the last. This was such a great holiday read and some parts were super relatable! Thanks for the opportunity to read this one. Loved it!

QUEEN OF EASY READ ROM COM 🩵

3 best friends take a trip to the Highlands & end up snowed in over Christmas… But how will their families cope without them!? Because a lot can happen over Christmas!!

My first Christmas read of 2024 and I really enjoyed it!

Perfect for those who enjoy:
- Laugh out loud fiction
- Festive and fun books
- Love and friendship stories
- Drama storylines

Thanks to Boldwood books and NetGalley for my ARC

Such a lovely book. I love this author’s writing style and I feel almost part of the story with her descriptions of people and places. I was willing Shelley and Michael together at the end, and fingers crossed that happens somewhere in the future!
Definitely a perfect festive read to cosy up with on a cold winter’s evening

An enjoyable book about love and friendship. Shelley, Lena and Pearl have been friends for a long time and are all struggling with different aspects of their lives in the run up to Christmas. Pearl suggests a pre-Christmas visit to an old friend who owns a b and b in Scotland.
Whilst away, they realize things about their lives, as fo those they left behind.
A fun, festive read.

A fabulous cheery, heartwarming novel that had me laughing out loud. Loved the characters and the banter. A festive read with a difference.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, written with great humour and a lovely style. Three female friends decide that they need a break and that a trip to a b&b in Scotland would be the very thing. Once there things take a different turn and they friends find themselves running the b&b and finding out more about themselves and their lives back home than they bargained for.

Plenty of laughs and a great book with some good romance and witty comments on life in general, which readers will be able to identify with. Not that I’m sure most of us would offer to run a b&b that close to Christmas miles away from home!

Highly recommended as a festive fun read. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

'Tis the Damn Season by Fiona Gibson is a look at family stresses during the holiday season and the support to be found in friends, old and new.
I have to admit, given the title and the cover, I expected this book to be more entertaining and less like a soap opera. There are plenty of tense instances, some absolutely unlikeable characters, and others that are difficult to find much sympathy for. The switching back and forth between not only the three main characters, but to their significant others as well. It makes for a somewhat confusing read. There are a few amusing moments, but not as many as I'd hoped.
Of course, the book is technically well-written, but for me it just missed the mark. I have enjoyed other books by Gibson, and hopefully will again.
Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC of #TistheDamnSeason.