Review of Eliza J Scott’s A Christmas Kiss

With the start of my Christmas Countdown underway, I am delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for Eliza J Scott’s festive, feel good read, A Christmas Kiss.

The blurb:

A sparkling festive romance that will warm your heart this Christmas.

The week before Christmas, GP Zander Gillespie finds his festive plans in tatters. He’s supposed to be flying out to his parents’ chateau in Carcassonne with his high-maintenance girlfriend, Melissa. But she has other ideas. She wants to spend Christmas in London with her party friends – and he’s not invited. The prospect of facing his family, with their questions and their sympathy – not to mention the ‘I told you so-s’ – just isn’t an option. Instead, Zander decides to head to his holiday cottage in the quaint moorland village of Lytell Stangdale, where he intends to hide away with his faithful rescue Labrador Alf.

Eighty miles away, Livvie’s world has come crashing down. With plans to cook a romantic meal for her boyfriend, she heads home early and walks in on him in a compromising position with their neighbour. Fed-up of his lies and philandering ways, this is the final straw. With her Christmas plans up in smoke, the thought of spending it with her parents and her smug, married sister with her pompous husband in tow, is enough to bring Livvie out in hives. So, when she fires up her laptop and finds the perfect little holiday cottage in Lytell Stangdale available to rent over the festive period, it seems the perfect solution. Or is it…?

Zander didn’t believe in love at first sight until he set eyes on Livvie. Livvie had sworn off men until she met Zander. The pair may be reluctant to give in to temptation, but fate seems to have other ideas…

Join Livvie and Zander – and all the usual characters – for a magical Christmas in Lytell Stangdale.

Genre: Romance

My review:

A Christmas Kiss is Eliza J Scott’s fourth book in the Life on the Moors Series – but the first I have read. While I could tell there was some referencing to previous novels and characters, this book read perfectly well as a standalone novel.

I liked the characters of Zander, Livvie and, of course, Alf – the Labrador who had a big heart and lots of love to give despite his earlier misfortunes. The village of Lytell Stangdale provided an ideal setting. The scenes in the pub and other village gatherings gave it a wonderful community feel; it’s a place where everybody looks out for each other, and family and friends are paramount.

A Christmas Kiss is sure to get you in the festive mood, with snow, love and friendship aplenty, carol singing, and a whole Christmas pud sized helping of community spirit.

Overall it was a fabulously festive read, where I found myself willing Xander and Livvie to find their happy ending (even if Zander’s choices didn’t always make that easy).

Buy the book Amazon.UK | Amazon.com
Check out the Life on the Moors series here: Amazon UK | Amazon.com

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About the author:

Eliza J Scott is proud to be a member of the RNA. She lives in a 17th-century cottage in a village in the North Yorkshire Moors with her husband, their two daughters and two mischievous black Labradors. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found with her nose in a book/glued to her Kindle or working in her garden, fighting a losing battle against the weeds.

When she’s not reading or gardening, Eliza also enjoys bracing walks in the countryside, rounded off by a visit to a teashop where she can indulge in another two of her favourite things: tea and cake.

Her biggest weakness is ginger biscuits dunked in tea.

Eliza is inspired by her beautiful surroundings and loves to write heartwarming romance stories with relatable female characters. She enjoys exploring the dynamics of female friendship, with a key feature of her books being how women pull together and support one another when things get tough.

Thank you, Eliza, for a great read! Thank you, also to Rachel of Rachel’s Random Resources for the advance copy of A Christmas Kiss, and for having me along as part of the blog tour.

My reviews are posted on Amazon UK and Goodreads. xx