Book Review: Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop by Jessica Redland

New beginnings for the festive cheer!

4.5

My dear bookish friends!

In only two short months it’s Christmas! Can you believe it?! If you want to get into the festive spirit now, I have just the right book for you! Keep on reading to find out what Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop by Jessica Redland is all about!

The 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…

My Review

If you are looking for your next cosy Christmas read, Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop is the book for you! I love small town settings for this kind of genre and the close-knit community feeling just goes so well with it, it makes me wish I’d live in such a place too!

Charlie moves to Whitsborough Bay and decides to take the plunge and open her very own chocolate store – one just like her grandfather had! Unfortunately, Charlee’s boyfriend is not very supportive of her in her new challenge, and so, she gets the help of a kind stranger… As Christmas draws closer, will they manage to open Charlee’s Chocolate shop in time for the holidays? And, what are Charlee and her knight in shining armour really feeling for each other..?

I love stories of new beginnings. The hope for a different, better future, for a new path, is so refreshing and I loved joining Charlee on her way. The friends she makes along the way, the challenges she faces, the hurdles she overcomes – all these elements added to the depth of the story.

For about the first half of the book, Charlee didn’t show that much of a backbone, which annoyed me a bit at times – and made me worried for her. She was devastated when she lost her nana – and I with her – and while she was still very attached to her old life and didn’t really feel ready to let go at first, it was lovely to see her developing hopes and dreams for her own future. I just couldn’t help but root for her all the way through the story, but especially as it got closer to Christmas.

Very often, these kinds of books can easily be shallow and not offer the depth I’m still expecting – even when I want to read a book purely for escapist reasons. Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop is different. It offers a great sense of community, shows the true meaning of friendship (which I LOVE), it is about family history and secrets, as well as love. The plot is complex but nicely thought through, and I loved that all the different threads came together in the end.