*I was given a copy of The Gingerbread Christmas Village in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Hera Books and Kiley Dunbar*

Synopsis:

Everyone deserves a Christmas treat…

The annual Wheaton gingerbread exhibit (a model village made of gingerbread) and grotto has been an important part of the sleepy Cotswold hamlet’s Christmas celebrations for decades.

For years the gingerbread exhibition drew visitors from across the region and each year the model town grew more elaborate and ambitious but recently, interest has been dwindling. The gingerbread grotto needs to be rehomed or close forever.

Sixty-four-year-old Margi, the event’s founder, has had enough of village life (and its total lack of eligible men) and is planning to sell up and head to Birmingham to live closer to her niece.

She has lost her spark and her Christmas spirit and decides this will be her last gingerbread village, but despairs when she finds her only support is her old friend, Izzy, her niece Lucy from Birmingham, and Fern, the shy young farmer’s daughter. Oh, and Patrick, the gorgeous, reliable school caretaker.

As if this wasn’t enough, Lucy is determined to get her out dating again and persuades her to try some online dating apps but Margi’s had her heart broken too many times and wonders if she has just missed her chance.

Can they save the Gingerbread Grotto and can Margi get her old spark and her Christmas spirit back?

Review:

I’ve read so many festive romances now, and I can’t begin to tell you how refreshing it is to read one from an older woman’s perspective. These types of books are always about young or middle-aged characters, but The Gingerbread Christmas Village is about Margi, who is 65. Love and happiness aren’t just for younger people, and this book proves it.

I adore books set in small towns, especially festive ones, and what could possibly be more small town than the Cotswolds? The village sounded stunning, and the fact that Margi’s family has been creating a gingerbread version of the town for over 60 years is just too cute.

The concept of this book was wonderful. I really enjoyed all of the gingerbread talk, and the different types of relationships displayed were very interesting. It was quite a slow-moving story, and I did find myself checking how much time was left a few times, but once the ball got rolling, it was moving at a decent pace.

This isn’t really part of the review, but I loved how much Birmingham was mentioned. I haven’t lived there for quite some time now, but it’s still home in a way.

I liked that the stereotype of an age-gap relationship being between a younger woman and an older man was flipped. To be honest, Margi didn’t even come across as over 60; her narrative sounded quite young (don’t ask me to explain this; I’m not sure I could). Even though she went through quite a few hardships during the story, she stayed spirited and passionate. Well, mostly. I’m not going into detail here, though, as it’s a huge spoiler.

The cast of characters in The Gingerbread Christmas Village were an absolute delight. It was very funny to me that teenager Fern dressed and acted more like an old woman than Margi did; she was definitely my favourite. I also liked that certain pairings really brought some characters out of their shells. The characters were definitely the best part.

Overall, I enjoyed The Gingerbread Christmas Village. The story was a little all over the place, but the endearing characters more than made up for it. If you are looking for a festive romance with older main characters, I’d definitely recommend it.

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