3.5 stars

Literally comfort reading at its best, cosy cute story that I wish I read at Christmas. Loved the relationships and how the story was writers from different POV.

Heartwarming, filled with family, love, loss and a romance. A quick read perfect for the holiday season.

The Christmas Escape was essentially just a romance with a snowy setting. It didn’t really embody as much of the Christmas spirit as I was hoping and expecting. This follows two different main characters, Christy and Alix, two best friends who seem to be drifting a little. We also see the relationship between Christy and her husband and Alix and Zac, a man she seemingly hates. I think maybe I’d have enjoyed this more if the relationships didn’t all seem so toxic and the tension all so pointless. On one hand we have a ‘troubled’ marriage in which the couple can’t seem to actually just talk openly to each other. On the other two people, one of whom hates they other because they actually fancy them and couldn’t admit it for five years for fear of getting hurt… why? It just seems petty and stupid to me. Also one of the main characters is a strong independent woman who is initially introduced as happy on her own and leading that life. And I was like ah this is nice, I like this, she’ll be repping it being okay to be single. But no. As soon as she’s thrown together with said love interest she turns into an idiot, messes up any simple task and can’t seem to function as a human. Because obviously us women turn to flakes around all men. I should add to the end of this, I’m not a big romance reader, but I like a festive contemporary sometimes. But I don’t think this one was the one for me. The issues all felt so jovial and silly and they were all as bad as each other for being rubbish friends with toxicity all around them.

4 Stars This was a solid Christmasy book. I don't always love character driven books and I felt like the plot and the pacing was a little off for me, but I did overall enjoy the book. The characters were my favorite part. I liked that they were all different in their own ways and how each other them were able to help the others overcome their issues. It was an interesting little introspection on how the traumas from our childhood can affect us for a long time. One of my favorite little lessons from this book was one of the girls saying that we all parent differently but that doesn't mean we're all doing it wrong. Even as someone without kids, I see so much parent shaming in our society and I think a lot of it comes from people having that sense of "I'm the only one who's right and if you're not doing it my way you're a bad parent." so... yeah, that was a tangent I never expected to go on. Overall, really enjoyed it and would recommend if you're looking for a heartwarming family Christmas read. Cover 5; Characters 5; Plot 3; Pace 3; Writing 4; Enjoyment 4.