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Blog Tour Stop with Review- The Christmas Calendar Girls by Samantha Tonge

Welcome to my Stop on the Blog Tour for The Christmas Calendar Girls by Samantha Tonge! This is my first festive read of the Year!

What They Say:




This Christmas fall in love with the town of Chesterwood...

Christmas is meant to be a time of giving, so with Chesterwood food bank under risk of closure Fern knows just what to do to save it. She's going to get the town to create a living advent calendar.
Fern, and her best friends, call for help from the local community to bring this calendar to life. When Kit, the new man in town, offers his assistance Fern's heart can't help but skip a beat (or two).
As they grow ever closer, Fern must admit that Kit's breaking down the barriers she built after the death of her husband. But his past is holding him back and Fern doesn't know how to reach him. No matter how hard she tries.
In this town, Kit's not the only one with secrets. Domestic goddess Cara is behaving oddly, burning meals in the oven and clothes whilst ironing, and Davina's perfect children are causing trouble at school leaving her son, Jasper, desperately unhappy.
Can the Christmas Calendar Girls find a way to bring the community together in time to save the food bank, while still supporting their families and each other? Can Fern find love again with Kit?
This is a story about kindness and letting go of the past. It's about looking out for your neighbours and about making every day feel like Christmas.

What I Say:
A new book from Sam is alwaya cause for excitement in my eyes, so finding out there was a new festive treat in store really made me do a happy dance!

The setting of Chesterwood is gorgeous! I wish I lived somewhere like that! It has a great community feeling and their festive spirit was infectious. I had a clear picture of the whole town in my head and it was dreamy!

As well as an idyllic setting, this book featurea an amazing cast of characters. Fern, Cara, Davina, Audrey, Mia, Kitt and all of the children made for adorable and hilarious reading! I loved every second of my time with them all. Their joy, heartache, friendship, fears and love made them feel like a group I'd like to be part of in real life. 

There were several important topics dealt with in the story, and as I've seen with all of Sam's writing, it is dealt with sensitively and accurately. The root of this story is helping those less fortunate than ourselves, but there are also messages of second chances, forgiveness, family and kindness.

If you only read one Christmas book this year, make it this one. And let it inspire you to make a difference. 10/10

Thanks to Victoria Joss at Aria for allowing me to read an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.



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