I've had this book sitting on my NetGalley shelf for years now, a symptom of falling out of love with reading and reviewing I'm afraid. Having got back into the swing of things, I decided to tackle my NetGalley shelf starting with the Christmas books and I'm so glad I did because this book turned out to be exactly what I needed right now.

I loved the beautiful setting in the heart of rural France with just a few neighbours nearby. I'd absolutely love to spend Christmas in rural France surrounded by beautiful scenery, and although it seemed cut off from the world, with the right people nearby you'd never feel lonely. I adored the Neighbours themselves, especially Eliane. She has an amazing outlook on life despite having lived through tough times and turns out to be just the tonic that Evie needs having had a recent tragedy herself.

Seeing Evie's love of cooking come back to her was a joy to see as I became invested in her, hoping for some light to shine through and help to chase away some of the darkness within her. After what she'd been through I was really hoping that she could find some way to live again and although she could never forget what had happened I wanted her to find some way to bring happiness into her life again.

This was a lovely short Christmas story, emotionally charged but also fulfilling and showing what Christmas time is really about, and it's not about what we have, but who we have around us.

This is the first book I have read by Fiona valpy and I will be on the look out for more books by Fiona valpy.

This book keeps you reading I loved the descriptions in this book it made me want to visit France in the near future.

The storyline tugged on my heartstring made me laugh and smile i loved all the characters.

I would like to thank netgalley for letting me review this book

the french and christmas - nothing is better than that