I went in to this one expected more of a festive holiday read, and unfortunately, that’s not what I got.

"The Christmas Cottage" is well worth a read, if you enjoy stories of second chances and small town life.

The two main characters, Olivia Greer and Dillon Farrow, were just teenagers when they left their hometown of Miramar. As high school sweethearts, they'd expected to leave together, but their on-again, off-again relationship led one to leave without the other. So they went their separate ways.

Years later and they've each gone through a life crisis that sends them back home, looking for a place to recover and regroup. What they didn't expect was to find out that their town was reeling from a natural disaster and struggling to recover.

As they pull together to use their unique gifts and talents to give back to the community that shaped who they are, wounds of the past are healed and new purpose and faith are revealed.

While they each expected to be haunted by the past when they returned home, they learned instead that home is truly where the heart it.

Thank you to Davis Bunn, RBMedia, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

I really struggled to get into this book. I made it through half of the audiobook, but ultimately decided not to finish it. I had trouble following the plot and just couldn't connect with it. I hate to be critical, but it wasn't the right fit for me.

I liked the narrator but was expecting a more festive story. This is a good romance but not a lot of Christmas
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Not really a Christmas story. Dillon and Olivia were high school sweethearts and now years later find themselves back in their hometowns after a storm.

I was very disappointed in The Christmas Cottage. I went in thinking it would be a book about Christmas(which its really not) and about a cottage(which its not). Now lets talk about the actual book. It was crazy boring. The only reason I was able to finish was because I actually liked the narrator. If it wasn't for the narrator, I would not have finished.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for an advance copy in exchange for a honest review.

Rejoice, despite the circumstances, could be a theme of this book. It brings a warm feeling of community rebuilding and coming together amidst a storm that devastated a town.

This is number nine in the Miramar Bay series and the first I've read so far. I was able to read this as a stand-alone.

Olivia returns to Miramar to regroup after her circumstances see a dismal end. Her old love from her past, Dillon, returns at the same time after he, too, had some failures in his life.
Both immediately fell back into their friendships and relationships with a twist.

New beginnings, resilience, and resolution find their way to them and their community members. Of course, Christmas is the time of year that this town receives many gifts. It's a heartwarming read.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#NetGalley #WomensFiction #TheChristmasCottage #Christmas #Love
#DavisBunn #GrahamWinton

This is a good book about a town coming together to rebuild after a bad storm. Miramar is a close-knit community helping each other with storm damage and the paperwork that follows. I didn't feel Christmas vibes until the end of this book. I wish there were more Christmas elements throughout the book. I was left wondering about the cottage. The audiobook was narrated perfectly.
Thank you RBmedia and NetGalley for the audiobook version for this book.

Nice story of small town recovery, coming home again, and second chances. Well developed characters. While this is titled The Christmas Cottage, there really isn't much Christmas. The timing just so happens to be Christmas. I was a little disappointed in that.

Overall good story, short read/listen.

I enjoyed this cute little Christmas story about a small town after disaster. It was enjoyable to read the second chance story and see the town come together. It was short and sweet. Not something I’ll remember much about later. But definitely worth a nice Christmas read. Thanks to NetGalley the author and the publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

The Christmas Cottage is a story by Davis Bunn. In Miramar Bay the town is trying to dig out and recover from the flooding and mudslides caused by torrential rains. With washed out roads and devastating damage, the townspeople bond together for each other as well as those stranded in town. In the aftermath two former residents return after their lives came crashing down only to be welcomed back to town.

In this story of destruction and redemption some interesting characters are introduced as well as some unusual happenings. In my opinion this was more novella than novel. It is a good story that will please followers of this genre.

Although I’m not usually an audiobook listener, my love for Christmas led me to give The Christmas Cottage by Davis Bunn a try as an audio preread/early release through NetGalley. While I was hoping for a bit more holiday magic, the story still delivers a touching tale of healing, hope, and second chances.

The story explores whether we can truly go home again—and if love from the past can be rekindled. Dillon Farrow left Miramar at seventeen, determined to rise above a difficult childhood. Now a successful investment counselor, he’s been forced to return, financially ruined and disillusioned after a deep betrayal by a trusted friend. As if fate had a hand in his arrival, a winter flood traps Dillon and his fellow travelers in town, with the only available shelter being the local jail. There, he encounters his first love: Olivia, the girl he left behind.

Olivia Greer, recently divorced and facing her own heartache, has returned to Miramar after years away. With her mother—the woman she always turned to—gone, and her family’s hillside cottage empty and neglected, Olivia feels adrift. The flood adds one more test to her resilience, but it also brings an unexpected reunion with Dillon. Together, they try to rekindle a spark not just for themselves, but for the town that has suffered so much.

Cute little story nonetheless!

I didn't really enjoy the audio version and never connected with the characters. Not really a true Christmas story either. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ahh so super cute. I’m still kind of into the spooky Halloween reading but this was a quick and light Christmasy tale that will be sure to get you excited for the holiday season ahead!

The audiobook is narrated very well and really pulls you into the story. I feel like most audiobooks are narrated by women and this one is narrated by Graham Winton so it’s a nice change, especially for a holiday read.

Thank you to Netgalley, RB Media, Kensington Publishing, and the author for the ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!!

What a good book! I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I loved the main characters! They had great chemistry and worked so well together. I loved how the book just flowed. My first by this author but will not be my last!! I love a good Christmas book!!

This charming holiday novel takes place in Miramar, CA. Dillion and Olivia were high school sweethearts who left Miramar as soon as they could and are returning after losing everything. Will they reunite and find love?

This novel was beautiful and such a cute holiday read. I enjoyed the growth of the town and it's characters. This story was interesting as the town and it's struggles are just a much of a character as the people. I thoroughly enjoyed this and loved this wholesome, Christmas, found family, romance story of growth and renewal. Beautiful.

Thank you RB audio for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

A Christmas story....of two lost souls, down on their luck, and returning home to try and put their lives back together. When Dillon, the male protagonist, sees Olivia, the female protagonist and his first love, it is the first time they have encountered each other since he left her behind. Reuniting is a blessing for them both, but not the ending the reader will expect. Read to find out the twist in the story.

Can you go home again? Can you rekindle that first love? These are the questions we ask in The Christmas Cottage. Dillion returns home after leaving as a teenager. It's not the best of circumstances that he returns home. His hometown has been devastated by a winter storm that does lots of damage to the town and right at Christmas. Olivia has also returned back home. Her circumstances not much better. The join forces to try and bring a little Christmas cheer to the town and maybe even save their town.

3.5 Stars: Dillon Farrow left Miramar when he was seventeen. He built up a successful investment business, until a betrayal by a friend brought it all crashing down. His only choice is to move back to Miramar and live in the family cottage while trying to rebuild his life. Olivia Greer, Dillon's high school sweetheart is recovering from a divorce and heads back to Miramar. She hasn't been home since her mother died and the family cottage has sat empty ever since. She plans to move in and figure out what is next in her life. As they are both returning, a winter flood sweeps away all the roads in town, and they are forced to take refuge in the local jail. This reunion brings back sweet memories, and will change lives for more than one person in Miramar.

This was a sweet story set at Christmas. I have only read one other book in this series and enjoyed it. This was fine to read as a standalone, although it is book #9). The mayor of Miramar is an old friend, and the ex-wife of Dillon's best buddy growing up. They all work together to rebuild Miramar, as well as their lives. This is a slow moving story, and besides being set at Christmas, there isn't a lot of festive activities. This is a story of forgiveness, new beginnings, working together, rebuilding, friendship and some romance. I enjoyed this one, but would have liked more Christmas. As the book is basically told from Dillon's POV, Graham Winton was a perfect choice for the narrator. He does a great job with the voices and story. I enjoyed his performance and know that he added enjoyment to this story.

The Christmas Cottage (audiobook) by Davis Bunn
I must admit that I was expecting more “Christmas “ in this story, but in the actions of a town rebuilding, the spirit of Christmas certainly set the tone. The part of rebuilding a town after a storm destroys it and the roads leading to it, was so relevant and on point with where I live right now, it just happened.

Set in Miramar Bay, California, this is a story about redemption, rebuilding, and re-enforcing the human spirit. Dillon and Olivia both arrive back in town from different directions and circumstances. With a lot of history and brokenness they are looking for a reboot and a safe landing space. In their retreat from their former life, they reconnect as friends and build a new relationship with respect and trust as a they work together to help a town they hold close to their hearts. They land in jail, as there is no where else to stay, they both find new direction and purpose.
This is a story of rekindling hope.
I found the story well written, and I was not hindered with it being in a series that I had not previously read. It was fine as a stand alone.

The narrator had a soothing, storytelling voice with full command of his audience. Well done!
I would like to thank NetGalley for the ARC of the audiobook for review.
4/5⭐️