This is a great debut cheery novel from an author that normally writes gritty crime novels (and now I want to read those.) This book starts off with an out of left field proposal that goes horribly wrong and Kate immediately having to travel out of the country for work. The first part of this book is hysterical. There's also some drama thrown in. This book is about Kate finding herself after spending her life pleasing everyone else and going for her happily ever after. I loved the parts where the diary readings were included. I love the enemies to lovers trope and this one does not disappoint!

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Well completely different from what I’m used to reading from Emma Tallon but it was a breathe of fresh air, a real good feel factor to get me into the mood for an Wesley Christmas, fantastic I loved every minute of it AAA

I found this book to be very charming. When Kate accidentally accepts a marriage proposal she is bulldozed into planning a wedding sooner than later. Having second thoughts , she gladly accepts a request to fly to Boston on business for her law firm. She spends her time reading the diaries of Cora who had passed away and has left a will that was from long ago. Reading these passages Kate sees parallels of her own life and Cora’s. Sparring with Sam, Cora’s nephew makes her realize that there needs to be more to a relationship than complacency. Realizing she needs to live her life for herself, not her family, she makes some changes. “ Somewhere along the way , I started living for everyone else, fitting into their idea of who I should be, putting their own needs before my own.” Sometimes it takes someone from the outside looking in to open your eyes to what would and could be. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this free advanced copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily

Everyone is heading home for the holidays. Everyone except Kate. Having just run away from her boyfriend Lance's proposal, Kate was the only person in her office happy to take an unexpected last minute work trip to Boston. Arriving in the snow-covered, fairy-light-filled city, Kate feels immediately at home. That is until she meets Sam, a cross between a lumberjack and an Abercrombie model, standing in her kitchen of her new place.

I had been looking forward to reading this book since the day it landed on my NetGalley shelf. But to be completely honest, I struggled to get into the book. By the end of the first half, I was fed up with the childish games between Kate and Sam, The second half got slightly better.

Published 24th October 2024

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Bookouture and the author #EmmaTallon for my ARC of #SnowGoingBack in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Negalley and Bookoutour for my #gifted ARC.

This story took me by surprise and I enjoyed it more than I initially thought I would!

Kate ends up getting blindsided by her boyfriend's wedding proposal, and he takes her response as a yes. In shock and not knowing what to do, her family kind of steamrollers her into going with the wedding plans. "You're just nervous", "you've never liked surprises", etc... When a work obligation requires Kate to spend a few weeks in Vermont she jumps all over it, leaving the wedding planning to her fiance and her mother.

The story kicked up a notch when she arrived in Vermont and discovered she's sharing her living space with the most difficult man she's ever encountered, her client's nephew Sam. Their pranks and bantering were written well and felt like true enemies-to-lovers trope for me. I wondered at one point how they would ever bridge the enemies part because they despised each other so much. It was done creatively.

Kate was required to determine who the estate and business should be left to as stated in the contract from her client. It required her to interview everyone involved with the business and family and go through old diary entries. The diary entries became an additional POV in the story and were one of my favorite parts. As Kate read Cora's diary entries about found love and making hard decisions, she found was able to unpack her own feelings and determine her course.

I really liked Sam's character. Their bantering was fun and I loved seeing all he had to offer under his shell!

Romance Content: Closed-door - just kissing

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

Kate Hunter, 35, is a British corporate lawyer who also sometimes works for the US arm of her law firm. One day she is called to Boston urgently to deal with a complex inheritance matter and due to a very strange old will has to live in the Vermont house of the late client, Cora Moreaux, for at least six weeks to detail the assets and decide who of her family will inherit the house and the business.

It is here she meets Sam Langston, 38, who lives in the house because he was brought up by Cora and husband William. At first they can't stand each other and play really childish pranks on each other but after an attack on her by one of the psycho relatives they start over.

All this is complicated by the fact that Kate has a fiancée at home who she accidentally agreed to marry in eight weeks' time so her overbearing mother is on the phone every five minutes with wedding stuff.

This is where the book fell flat for me. Kate doesn't even tell Lance that she is living in the same house as Sam, she doesn't tell anyone that she doesn't really want to marry Lance and have children, and just strings everyone along, even as she develops feelings for Sam. She tells herself that she has morals, but this is emotional cheating. Lance has to come over unexpectedly for her to finally take her head out of the sand. I think that's a serious character flaw.

I only like about half of the characters, and while Cora's diary is interesting, I absolutely don't understand the research that Kate does into the prospective heirs if she makes such a monumental mistake when it comes to one of them.

The setting is beautiful and the scenery is snowy and Christmassy but the romance didn't convince me.

Read this if you like the enemies go lovers, forced proximity tropes and unusual meet-cute plots.

I enjoyed this way more than I expected to! I wanted to read something different to my usual chosen genres of crime/thriller or historical fiction, and I fancied something to put me in the mood for Christmas - yes, it's nearly that time! - but I'm not a massive fan of mushy romance so I was sceptical... This book was SO GOOD! Yes there is. romance, but there is also SO MUCH MORE!

When Lance proposed to Kate, she said yes, but she was answering a different question, not "that" one! With her family and friends all present, Kate feels stuck and so when she receives a call from her boss to fly out to the USA urgently, she is hugely relieved at the chance for some breathing space.

As a Lawyer, Kate is tasked with moving into her deceased client's home and researching the people and community around her, in order to decide who should inherit Cora's estate. Unfortunately, Kate doesn't have the whole place to herself and has to share with the devastatingly gorgeous but highly irritating Sam. Kate has to immerse herself in her late client's world for six weeks, Christmas is looming and Lance wants to get married on New Years Eve! There is some great dark humour, some dark and devious characters, some legal drama and let's not forget a clingy fiancé and a pushy mother!

As she gets to know Cora and William's story, Kate also gets to know herself better and realises that she needs to live her life for herself, not for her mother, for Lance and definitely not for Sam!

A heartwarming and engaging read.

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Emma Tallon and Bookouture, for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Snow Going Back by Emma Tallon was the perfect Christmas novel to escape into over the weekend. It was like the sophisticated cousin of a Hallmark movie, offering a cozy and heartwarming story. The story unfolds with a unique meet-cute between Kate and Sam, a charming and handsome character. Their relationship evolves from enemies to lovers, filled with chemistry and entertaining shenanigans. The romance at the core of the book is beautifully written, with side characters adding depth to the plot. If you're looking for a delightful read that will make you feel like you're sipping mulled wine by a cozy fire, whether it's Christmas or not, Snow Going Back is the perfect choice.

Did not like this book. I was extremely upset with the FMC and her in a committed relationship (not being honest) and emotionally cheating and falling in love with another man. I eventually DNFd this book at the 90% mark.

I will be honest, if I had not been gifted an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review, I would not have finished this book.

There's nothing I enjoy reading more than a good enemies-to-lovers book. When the tension between two people suddenly transforms into romance, it gets me in my feels every single time. Snow Going Back is advertised as an enemies to lovers romance, which is a big reason why I requested to read and review this book. But the "enemies" portion of the book fell flat for me. It involved pranks that honestly were childish and made me think of the summer camp montage in the movie The Parent Trap. If this were a YA romance, then I could get behind their antics, but this was an adult romance. I am looking for tension fueled by genuine conflict between the characters.

I also had a major problem with one of the storylines throughout the book. Our female main character, Kate, is in the States merely 24 hours after her boyfriend, Lance, proposed. She accidentally said yes to his question and the thought of marrying him and starting a family fills her with dread. So when her work asks her to come to Boston immediately, she says yes. Despite her feelings of dread and being so far from home, she moves forward with planning the wedding, which will take place in mere months. She does not voice her anxieties to anyone, letting everyone think she is happy to take this next step.While I don't want to ruin the book, I really struggled with this aspect of the story because I cannot fathom being in a relationship with someone for that long and not being able to voice my truth. It was heartbreaking to think about her fiancee, family and friends planning this wedding and getting excited for her while she slowly fell in love with another man.

I opened this book hoping for a fun enemies-to-lovers romance and ended up disappointed by the emotional infidelity and the lackluster romance. Many folks have enjoyed this book, but it just was not for me.

I enjoyed this book. I love Christmas/winter themed books so it was right up my alley. I liked Kate, as she was a likeable FMC who 'accidentally' gets engaged to her boyfriend. Not sure how that happens but she escapes to the US on a job. It was a fun and easy read. I liked Sam and the enemies to lovers trope and close proximity trope. I did lol quite a lot as the writer used her quirky humour which added to the book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I highly recommend this book Well where do I begin? I have been so excited about this one and it has delivered on every level. I have been so caught up in this one – I devoured the whole thing in just one sitting.

This was okay??? It wasn't the best book, but it also wasn't the worst. I wasn't a fan of how slow it felt and I found a lot of things to be a bit cringey, but I really enjoyed the concept and holiday vibes.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the arc!!

While I liked the premise, unfortunately the sense of humor and writing were not for me. It was too quirky for my taste.

I enjoyed this one. It made me really laugh out loud and there were some mystery elements to it which I found really enjoyable too . All in all a nice little romantic read !!

Thank you Netgalley and Bookoture for my ARC copy.

I really enjoyed reading this, the fact it took place over the festive period but wasn't full on, in your face, christmas vibes. I really liked seeing Kates Growth throughout the book and the change in all the relationships. This was really well written.

First of all thank you for approving my request!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The authors writing style had me hooked throughout this book.

I didn't want it to end, a book I really couldn't put down.

So, one of my fav Gangland/Family Drama authors ( loved every one of her 14 books ) suddenly brings out a ‘enemies to lovers romantic comedies’ read….to say was intrigued would be to down play it 😎

The book revolves around Kate who says Yes to a proposal from Lance ( but doesn’t realise she has ) and is then steamrolled into a near date wedding…..she is then, re her job, called without delay to America to sort out a legal/will conundrum with a firm she is representing and well, the story takes on a whole new side

Now, for me it was a slowish start and didn’t warm to Kate but I felt the book came strong in America when we met some baddies, notably Aubrey and her Gran Janice and the gangland/family drama tones reared its head, it balanced the story well and had me invested in these characters and what they would do and how Kate would try to stop them, the enemies to lovers bit played second fiddle then tbh although did play out well

A mention for Kate’s Mum, Eleanor, a fantastic character, good cringey to read as you never knew what she would say

I did enjoy it, I wasn’t laughing out loud as the blurb suggests although there was good comic moments ( especially via Eleanor as mentioned above ) but also some good family/character led twists and turns that the author does so well and a satisfying ending

A good book for Crimbo and for me an interesting genre swop read

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

Snow Going Back was the cozy Christmas novel that I needed during the (hot) weekend! This was the grown up cousin that Hallmark wishes could be.

Kate is a lawyer who also happens to be independent despite her overbearing mother. When her boyfriend Lance proposes - and she accidentally accepts - she is desperate for a quick escape which promptly comes in the form of an urgent missive to her firm’s Boston office. From there Kate is dispatched to Vermont to stay for at least 6 weeks during the run up to her blink and you’ll miss it NYE wedding to sort out a will that requires the lawyer on the account to dole out the assets and company to be inherited based on their research of the people impacted and while living in the owner’s house. We get an unusual meet cute (depending on how you see it) and sparkling enemies to lovers story. I absolutely adored Sam, our hunky MMC, and loved the chemistry and shenanigans between him and Kate. This book had such a great romance at its heart but its (often) pesky side characters also added some dimension to the plot.

If you’re in the mood for pretending mulled wine is delicious by association - be it Christmas or not- pick this up!

I absolutely was delighted by Snow Going Back by Emma Tallon. Kate was such a relatable character and after an embarrassing proposal left her running she heads out on a last minute trip to Boston to escape the drama.
Enter Sam a handsome outdoorsy love interest who just so happen to be staying exactly where Kate is due to a mixup.
so happens to be his home thanks to a work mix-up. Given that it’s Christmas and there is nowhere else to stay, they agree to make it work. Sounds like a dream right? Wrong the two are chalk and cheese! But when an unexpected rescue by Sam comes Kate’s way she realizes he may not be so bad after all! I really enjoyed the chemistry between the characters and also seeing if she would go back with her fiance or begin a new relationship with Sam! It’s the perfect opposite attract close proximity troupe and full of fun and unexpected surprises. Highly enjoyed! I definitely recommend this to a reader looking for a light fun read to escape with! I definitely look forward to reading more from this author in the future! Thank you Bookouture. An absolute pleasure as always.