Title: Finding Love at the Christmas Market
Author: Jo Thomas
Published by Corgi on September 24, 2020
Pages: 352
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction
Source: Pigeonhole Book Club
Format: arc, ebook
Purchase: Amazon|Audible
Rating:
A Zoella Book Club selection for December: 'One read of the blurb and you'll feel an uncontrollable urge to curl up under a blanket with a mince pie in tow'
'It's Christmas in a book!' Katie Fforde
Cosy up with the new Christmas book from bestselling author Jo Thomas
Residential-home caterer Connie has had one online-dating disaster too many. Hurt in the past and with her son to consider, now she's feeling hesitant. Then one of Connie's residents sets her up on a date at a beautiful German Christmas market - with the promise she'll take a mini-bus full of pensioners with her...
Amongst the twinkling lights and smell of warm gingerbread in the old market square, Connie heads off on her date with a check-list of potential partner must-haves. Baker Henrich ticks all the boxes, but when Connie meets Henrich's rival William, she starts to wonder if ticking boxes is the answer.
Will Connie's wish for love this Christmas come true, and if so - with who?'Sprinkled with Christmas magic!' Milly Johnson
'With a wonderful cast of characters and an evocative setting, it just wouldn't be Christmas without Jo's book in your stocking!' Jill Mansell
'A scrumptious seasonal treat!' Heidi Swain
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you purchase the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.
This was my first experience with the author, and it was a good one. I would definitely read more of her work. Finding Love at the Christmas Market delivered a feel good and humorous Christmas story. It reminded so much of Hallmark Christmas movies.
In this warm-hearted story we meet Connie, who has been unsuccessful in finding love. She had given upon the whole idea after her last attempt left her penniless. However, when one of her senior citizen customers set up an online dating profile for her, she believes she may have found the one. So, to ensure Heinrich checks all her boxes, she sets out on a trip, along with her friends from the retirement home, to Germany. Then she meets Heinrich’s rival, William, who has her reconsidering her need for a list.
Connie displayed all the anxieties that came with meeting someone whom you have been corresponding with online for the first time. I found her annoying as her actions reeked of desperation and she behaved like a teenager. She didn’t behave like a forty something divorcee with a son was in college.
I instantly disliked Heinrich upon meeting him. Stuffy, boring, selfish and passionless. Everything aspect of his life had to be planned, even the intimate moments.
William is the polar opposite. However, he is facing financial and family issues and was not looking for a relationship, but fate had other plans.
I loved how the senior citizens brought humour to the story with their antics and witty remarks. I loved the relationship which existed between them and Connie. They were like one big family.
I enjoyed the setting and the vivid descriptions of the market and the variety of baked goods. I now have a desire to experience Christmas in Germany. The author made it all sounds so delightful.
Unfortunately, the romance did not live up to my expectations. It was ok, but I hoped for more development, which would have made it believable.
Conclusion/Recommendation
Overall, Finding Love at the Christmas Market delivered a heart-warming Christmas story. Fans of festive reads would enjoy this delightful story.
| Story Evaluation | |
|---|---|
| Plot | |
| Characters | |
| World Building | |
| Writing Style | |
| Pacing | |
| Cover | |
| Enjoyment | |
| Ending | |
| Overall: | 3.8 |
Finding Love at Christmas by Jo Thomas, a heartwarming Christmas story, which fans of festive reads will enjoy. #holiday #christmasingermany #romance #cheery Click To Tweet
About Jo Thomas
Hi,
I’m Jo Thomas and I write romantic fiction about food and love. I’m not a chef, a farmer or even an enthusiastic amateur foodie with fancy knives, whizzy kitchen equipment and complicated recipes. I just love plain, simple, good quality food, made with love. I love the way food connects us and brings us all around the same table. When I visit somewhere new, I’m fascinated how the food of an area can take me by the hand and lead me into the place’s history, its culture and introduce me to its people and customs. When I first visited Galway and sat in a small restaurant at the end terrace of a row of fisherman’s cottages, looking out of a small window, light by candlelight, the moon came out and shone silver streak across Galway bay. That night I sat there and ate a plate of oysters with shallot and red wine dressing and discovered more about the oyster beds and the oyster festivals of the area and realised I had discovered the life blood of the place, its DNA and that I had to write about it in The Oyster Catcher. Writing my second book The Olive Branch I visited one of my favourite restaurants. It’s set in the middle of a family-owned olive grove in Puglia in southern Italy, where everything is grown on the land and cooked on a big open fire: the forno. At the end of our meal the owner, Giuseppe, brought over a bottle of homemade limoncello and sat with us. He put down the bottle and poured us drinks. He asked me what kind of books I wrote. He didn’t speak English and I didn’t speak Italian. I told him I wrote about food and love. He told me life for him was all about the food that he grew on the land, to cook in the kitchen, to put on the table, and he slapped his hand on the scrubbed wooden worn table, for the people we love and he held his hand over his heart in the middle of his chest. And that, I agreed, is what I write about, the stories I tell, from the land, to the table for the ones we love. I hope you enjoy looking around my scrapbook here and the photographs from my research trips. Then once you step into one of my books you’ll feel like you’ve joined me at the table: enjoy being well fed, some laughs and tears along the way and, when you finish, like you’ve had a great big hug at the end of a fabulous family feast.
- 📚Review: Her Perfect Bones by Ellery Kane - July 22, 2021
- 📚 Review: Serves Me Wright by K. A Linde - July 20, 2021
- 🎧Review: Darkness Rises by Dianne Duvall - July 19, 2021
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- New Release
I love the vibes of this book, especially the market and the variety of baked goods!! It sounds so tasty 😛 Really glad you enjoyed the read this much, I’ll probably end up dreaming of a Christmas in Germany tonight, hehe!
Same here it was a lovely setting and I must admit it had me craving for treats I should not be eating. 🙂
I love the Christmassy feeling of this book 🙂
I loved it too.
I like the sound of the seniors and the Christmas Market in Germany. Her juvenile antics would annoy me, too.
The seniors were a riot as for the Christmas Market I wish I could experience it.
Oh, I am adding this to my HoHoHoRAT list, I love the setting even if the heroine doesn’t act her age.
The setting was delightful.
The setting was delightful.
I figured you would Kim. The rest of the story made up for her immaturity.
I loved visiting Germany and Christmas there sounds delightful. I love German-style Christmas villages in the US.
Cool. I hope I will be able to visit one these villages someday.
I don’t read a lot of books like this but it does sound like a good read. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks Mary. I had a great time with it.
Oh I’m so ready for a Christmas read thanks Nadene
I do believe you will enjoy this one, Debbie
I do believe you will enjoy this one, Debbie
I loved visiting Germany and Christmas there sounds delightful. I love German-style Christmas villages in the US.
Oh, the Christmas markets in Europe are so beautiful! Sounds like you had some negatives, but enough positives to overlook them. Fab review, Nadene! 🙂
Thanks Rachel. My biggest issue was the heroine, but she did redeem herself in the end.
This looks like a pleasant read
It is.
I’ve not heard of this book but it sounds fab. I love a good festive story and I love the Christmas markets. Great review.
Thanks. It was new for me too.
This book sounds delightful.
It is,
I have never heard of this author.
It was my first reading her work. I discovered her through Pigeon Hole Book Club.
awe I’m so ready for some Christmas reads thank Nadene
awe I’m so ready for some Christmas reads thank Nadene
Great review I am glad that you overall enjoyed reading this book it does looks and sounds like really fun book. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome post and for putting this book on my radar.