*I was given a copy of The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Boldwood Books and Jaimie Admans for my copy of the book*
Synopsis:
In Mistletoe Gardens a legend anyone who kisses underneath the mistletoe will be guaranteed another year of love…
When local baker Essie Browne discovers that Mistletoe Gardens is to be demolished in January, she’s determined to save the place she loves so much. So Essie proposes building a life size gingerbread house to bring in the crowds…just how hard can it be? Well, quite hard actually. Essie can bake gingerbread blindfolded, but she hasn’t got a clue how to build an actual house with it! She needs help – and fast!
Enter local builder, Joss Hallissey. Essie is convinced that with Joss’s help, they can pull this off. There’s just one tiny problem, Joss hates Christmas, gingerbread, and… well, just about everything else too. Joss the Grinch makes it clear that her idea is ludicrous and pointless, but he reluctantly agrees to help with her plan. Will the gingerbread house be enough to save Mistletoe Gardens? Or will Essie’s chance for a magical kiss under the mistletoe be lost forever?
Review:
Once again Jaimie Admans has delivered a very good festive romance. I read The Little Christmas Shop in Nutcracker Lane a few years ago and it made me feel so festive. The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens didn’t have quite the same effect, but I did really enjoy it.
Essie was such an interesting protagonist. She was fun but had a lot of self-doubt, this got a little annoying after her failed Paris bakery was mentioned a few times, but I really liked her. Especially because she dyed her hair bright red just for Christmas, that’s something I would do.
I’m such a sucker for a book about baking or bakeries. They are one of the best settings for a Christmas novel if you ask me. Although, this one didn’t actually spend too much time in the bakery, more in the garden, but baking-related activities were taking place.
I absolutely love the idea of an actual house made out of gingerbread, how festive. Do these exists? If yes, where can I see one?
This is also a little strange but The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens is the second gingerbread house-related book I’ve read recently. It must be a trendy topic or something, I’ve never read two festive romances with a similar theme before. This one is definitely my favourite of the two.
The entire cast of characters was so fun and I especially loved Mr. Arkins. At first, you think he’s a bit weird, but his story is quite heartbreaking. There was quite a lot of depth to every single character and I really applaud Jaimie Admans for that – it is no easy feat.
This was a pretty quick read for me and at no point did I find myself bored. I’ve been struggling to get through books recently, but this perked me up quite a bit.
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Like this post? Why not read this one too: The 12 Books of Christmas: The Perfect Christmas Village by Bella Osborne
[…] Like this post? Why not read this one too: The 12 Books of Christmas: The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens by Jaimie Admans […]