This book didn't start well, infact I very almost DNF'd it. So glad I didn't. It was really good. A lot of characters and story threads to keep track of but it worked. Would love for it to be a series and know how life pans out.

Thank you NetGalley & Bloodhound Books for allowing me access to this e-book!
The Christmas Dog Sitters is a delightful holiday read that put a smile on my face! It deals with heartwarming moments balanced with the bittersweet realities of love and loss. The story follows Rachel, who is grappling with the loss of her best friend, a painful breakup, and a sudden job redundancy—all just as the holiday season looms. When her sister persuades her to dog-sit in a quaint Surrey village, Rachel finds herself not only looking after an energetic spaniel, Humphrey, but also her rebellious Grandpa Eric.
The story takes a romantic turn when Rachel meets Ben, a charming builder with a young daughter, who is also dealing with his own past losses. Their budding relationship, set against the backdrop of the festive season, is both tender and realistic, as they navigate their way through grief and healing.
I recommend it to anyone who wants to read a holiday romance with some really heartwarming moments!

Since I was a little girl, I’ve always loved the idea of a small town where everybody knew each other’s business for better or for worse. Though this story is filled with meddling family, a dog who always runs off (as a pet-sitter myself, this is my nightmare), and an awful brother-in-law, this story is also filled with the loveliest grandfather who yearns for adventure, the same dog mentioned before who actually is an angel-in-disguise, and learning boundaries and investing in community. This was a wonderful story about understanding your grief and trusting your true instincts within a small British town that definitely gives me reminiscence of Star Hollow.

A story about a woman trying to move past the grief of the sudden loss of her best friend. She finds herself dog sitting for her sister and her famous husband with her grandfather and chaos ensues. I enjoyed the story. No big shocks, but a sweet story for the most part.

I am a animal lover so give me a book with dogs in it and I am sold. The Christmas Dog Sitters did not disappoint!

There’s a lot going on in this festive pick-yourself-up- after- a-disaster romance. There’s a big cast of characters but if you can keep trap of them this is the perfect Christmas read. And Humphrey the dog is just perfect !

What a highly entertaining read! The entire cast of characters were fun and I loved the festive atmosphere. I definitely connected with Rachel big time plus - can't go wrong with dogs!

I raced through this delightful Christmas story with a cast of great characters. I loved it all, It left me feeling all warm and fuzzy with the romance and I loved the way all the threads tied up nicely for a satisfying ending. Fantastic.

I do not give 5 stars lightly. I really enjoyed this book! The characters were fun and there was just a bit of “ mystery” to keep you turning the pages. I am not generally one who likes a diary read in a book but this one was not elaborate and drove the main character’s path towards finding herself. Great book! Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC in return for my honest opinion.

A different story. Family trying to help not !!! I loved the what’s app group and Aunt Karen and her looking after of her father - that hit a note . The grandfather was a character and Humphrey the dog was fantastic. I am struggling to review but a great Saturday afternoon read. A neat ending. Read it .

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloodhound Books for this ARC.

Rachel is having a bad year. Her boyfriend cheated on her, her best friend Olivia has died in a car accident and she still grieves heavily for her, she has lost her job and her flat ceiling is leaking. To say she isn't looking forward to a lonely Christmas is an understatement.

Then her sister Maddie, newlywed to rich and rude ex-actor Frank, asks her to dogsit her boisterous chocolate-coloured spaniel Humphrey at her palatial mansion in Surrey over Christmas, and somehow her feisty Grandpa Eric is thrown in for free in a dodgy 2 for 1 deal. Rachel loves her Grandpa but with both Humphrey and Eric a flight risk, Rachel dreads the daily WhatsApp check-up calls from her opinionated and overbearing mother in Spain where she is holidaying with part of the big family.

There is such a huge cast that a glossary would have been helpful. We have muscular Ben the Builder and his cute daughter Rosie, firecracker Aunty Bev, shy cleaner Layla and her baby son, Rachel's friends back in London plus various community members from the village. The house fills with more and more people, Grandpa Eric falls in love and cute Humphrey escapes all the time, but only because he's helping people. Who's a good boy? Yes, you are! Yes, you ARE.

Rachel, when she's not kissing Ben or running after Humphrey, tries to solve the mystery of the locked-up west wing of the house and why Frank is so hated in the village, gets involved with a Nativity play, and offers to cook Christmas dinner for the whole village after a power cut.

And breathe.

Despite tackling grief and how to overcome loss, this is a fun, festive and uplifting read about second chances and starting over, with great characters and a cosy setting. The cover and title are just lovely. Highly recommended.

4.5 stars

4.5 stars
This is an entertaining, fun, good read. Rachel and Ben are interesting, relatable, intriguing, complex, wounded, strong, entertaining characters. I enjoyed their romance and the path it took to get to their HEA. These two are fun to spend time with. The secondary characters – from Eric to Humphries – added to the fabric of the story and my enjoyment. The story is easy to read and get into.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Christmas, dogs, romance...what more do you want in a book on these dark and rainy summer nights we've been having (at time of reading - for all I know, when this review goes live we might be sitting in 30 degree heat or 30" snow).

There's something quite naughty about reading a festive book in August, but I am a self-confessed Mrs Claus all year round, and was actually listening to Christmas music whilst writing up this review.

I think this is the first of Lucy's books for me, which is exciting as I'm always interested in finding new authors, and it's definitely whetted my appetite for more.

Yes it's got all that cosy, romantic, happy, beautiful christmassyness I was expecting, but it doesn't hide away from difficult topics such as death, grief, illness, ageing, secrets, affairs, breakups, secrets etc. and it is this balance that makes it relatable, and makes all the positive things shine just that bit more.

It is so easy to read, I read it in a matter of hours. It just flows off the page and I had a smile on my face from start to finish. I really liked it, it is warm and cosy and funny and just a really uplifting and enjoyable red.

I loved Rachel as a main character, she was so human and relatable and seemed so lovely. She's gone through some difficult times and she's grieving, but she still wants to help others, even if they don't always reciprocate it. And her Granddad was an absolute joy and made me really nostalgic for Christmases with my own Grandparents. And Humphrey the dog was gorgeous. He reminds me of my dog, even though mine isn't a spaniel like Humphrey is, but given a chance I could imagine he'd be happy to run down the street and go exploring. Although some of the secondary characters are nasty pieces of work and I was getting so worked up about them, almost as if their grudge was with me.

Whilst I enjoyed it immensely as it is, I didn't even need the family tensions or romance subplots. I would have quite happily read pages and pages and pages just documenting Rachel and her Granddad and Humphrey's Christmas, they were so compelling and really felt like family.

People often ask why I liked reading these types of happily-ever-after books, because they're all the same. And I do agree to a point, but that's what I want, especially at this time of year. My most read genres are probably thriller and fantasy, which I love, obviously, but sometimes I just want a book that's easy to read, happy, joyful, and one which I know will all end up happy, but it's the journey to get to that end which I enjoy the most.

Sinopsis en español:

Rachel está pasando por un momento difícil. Está lidiando con la pérdida de su mejor amiga, su exnovio la dejó desconsolada y su empleador la despidió recientemente. Por eso, la inminente temporada navideña es lo último en lo que quiere pensar.

Luego, su rica hermana le sugiere a Rachel que cuide a su perro, Humphrey, en su lujosa casa de campo en un pintoresco pueblo de Surrey. Sin embargo, pronto Rachel se deja manipular para que cuide también a su anciano abuelo Eric. Entre el riesgo de fuga de Humphrey y el rebelde abuelo Eric, Rachel descubre verdades familiares, descubre un ala oeste secreta... y debe cocinar la cena de Navidad para todo un pueblo.

En medio del caos, Rachel conoce al apuesto constructor Ben. Él trabaja en la casa y no es ajeno a las pérdidas, pero está dispuesto a volver a salir con alguien, aunque con una hija de seis años a cuestas. ¿Podrán Rachel y Ben encontrar la manera de superar el dolor en esta época complicada del año? Y cuando una tormenta de nieve amenaza con arruinar la Navidad para todos, ¿podrán Rachel y Humphrey unir a la comunidad?

The Christmas Dog Sitters es más que una comedia festiva y conmovedora: es una historia de amor, pérdida y búsqueda de su propio camino, del autor superventas de The Car Share.



Fue una historia linda, hay poco romance ya que en general el libro se centra en el luto de Rachel por su mejor amiga, como está inundada de dolor y su hermana está muy preocupada porque no sale de su casa, entonces, le pide un favor en el cual pueda salir de su casa y tener otras aires.

Durante la estadía de Rachel hará amigos, enemigos y posiblemente se enamore.


Gracias Netgalley y al autor por proporcionarme el ARC.

I absolutely loved this book! I could relate so much to Rachel and all she was going through. I love dogs so it was the perfect read that she was going to become a dog sitter. I loved Ben as her love interest. I thought they had great chemistry. It was such a cute fun relatable and festive read

El tema central del libro es la superación y no el romance. Hay pequeños toques de romance mas no hay desarrollo de este porque al final no es tan importante, ayuda a la historia, pero nada más.

Rachel pensaba que lo peor que le podía pasar era que su novio le fuera infiel, lamentablemente se dió cuenta que al final ese dolor no era nada en comparación a lo que tendría que soportar. Un día está llorando como terminó su relación en compañía de sus amigos y al otro está enterrando a su mejor amiga.

La pobre está tan mal que no sale de su casa, no se baña, no come, no hace nada y cuando su hermana ve el estado en el que se encuentra le pide que cuide su casa, la cual está en un pueblito y espera que esto le pueda ayudar aunque sea un poco.


En el pueblo hará muchos descubrimientos y como si fuera sacado de una novela, conocera a Ben, el hombre con el que su amiga quería organizarle una cita.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was absolutely darling!! The love story between the two characters was just darling and the setting was beyond perfect. Highly recommend