Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Jessica Redlands fabulousl Christmas book "Christmas wishes at the Chocolate shop" I would like to firstly say a big thank you to Rachels Random Resources and Jessica Redland for gifting me a copy of this book in return for an honest review. I have wanted to read work by Jessica Redland for some time and actually have a few of her books on my kindle waiting to be read! I will most certainly be reading 'Starry skies over the Chocolate pot cafe' and 'Christmas at Carlys cupcakes' next as they are part of this Castle street series and I can't wait to read about more of the retailers lives in details!! 💚
Blurb
Sometimes you just need a little Christmas magic to make your wishes come true...
When master chocolatier, Charlee, takes the leap to move to the picturesque seaside town of
Whitsborough Bay, she is determined to follow in her grandfather's footsteps and set up a chocolate
shop.
Luckily, she finds the perfect location for Charlee's Chocolates on beautiful Castle Street... Now she
just has to refurbish it in time for Christmas!
With a useless boyfriend and countless DIY disasters, Charlee doesn't know if she'll make it in time.
With no 'traditional' family to support her, she feels lost in her new surroundings and the secrets of
the past are weighing her down.
But the warmth and festive spirit of the Whitsborough Bay community will surprise her, and when
plumber, Matt, comes to the rescue, it might be that all of Charlee's dreams could come true this
Christmas, and she could learn what family really means...
Escape to Castle Street for the perfect uplifting, festive read from top 10 bestseller Jessica Redland.
Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop was originally released as Charlee and the Chocolate Shop.
Now re-released with a new title and new cover, this version has been freshly edited and features
several new chapters.
My thoughts
Oh what a delicious, festive, heart warming book this was. It felt like a warm snugly blanket and a cup of hot chocolate on a snowy frosty evening in front of the fire!! It just cheered me so much and gave me a really festive feeling. I have read a few Christmas stories over the last few months, I love Christmas books - they are always so heart warming and joyful even when the characters have to work through a challenge or time of despair, we know that the outcome will be a joyous affair and they will leave us feel misty eyed and surrounded by a warm glow. Well they certainly do that to me anyway! I'm a sucker for a kiss under the mistletoe!! 🤣. This one did not disappoint and I would even dare to go as far as to say it has been my favourite of the Christmas themed books I have read recently, which is very good going as I thoroughly enjoyed all the others too (you can find my reviews for them on my main blog page)
The reason I am choosing this to be my favourite so far is that as well as the lovely romantic setting and the will they won't they storyline, that actually came as a side note to the main protagonist Carlees overall journey. She grew and developed throughout the story and became her own woman, the romance was not the main event. There were other storylines throughout which actually ended up being more important and I loved that!
The side characters in this story were fantastic, Ricky was a despicable boyfriend as you can imagine from the blurb, useless being the operative word and Charlees journey of discovery with him and their relationship was very satisfying in its conclusion. Her best friend Jodie was a great character, proving that you can make your own family and that friends can be the biggest support network sometimes. Charlees relationship with her grandparents was touching and tugged at my heart strings - having recently lost my grandparents it brought back lots of lovely memories for me. Obviously the role of Matt was a key one, their friendship throughout was written so well - I loved that actually they both had their own issues but they resolved them independently and the will they won't they wasn't the main focus throughout.
I also loved the Chocolatier storyline, it was fascinating to see a bit behind the scenes of how this job is carried out. I love chocolate and reading all the descriptions of the time, hardwork and skill it takes to create these beautiful chocolate masterpieces gave me a new found respect for independent chocolatiers! The placement of the store on Castle street, surrounding by other independent stores was a lovely touch and showed the community and bond these traders all had together. I can't wait to read some of the other characters storylines!
The story had a brilliant twist that I absolutely didn't see coming but was so fitting. It gave me all the feels and just added another element of joy and happiness to an already beautiful story! I won't say any more about that or give any hints, you will just have to read it yourself to find out what the twist was!!
If you want to read this book you can purchase using this link.... https://amzn.to/3j0FZrF
About the Author
Jessica Redland writes uplifting stories of love, friendship, family and community set in Yorkshire where she lives. Her Whitsborough Bay books transport readers to the stunning North Yorkshire Coast and her Hedgehog Hollow series takes them into beautiful countryside of the Yorkshire Wolds.
Social Media Links –
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Bookbub profile https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jessica-redland