Blog Tour for Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop by Jessica Redland @rararesources @JessicaRedland

Ooooh…. more Jessica today! And we’re talking more Christmas joy!!! This gem is no stranger to The Cozy Pages but we might have known it by a different name…

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…

Escape to Castle Street for the perfect uplifting, festive read from top 10 bestseller Jessica Redland. Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop was originally released as Charlee and the Chocolate Shop.

Now re-released with a new title and new cover, this version has been freshly edited and features several new chapters.

Purchase Link

https://amzn.to/3j0FZrF

Put this book on your Christmas Reading List. If you haven’t already read it, or even if you have… read it (again)! So, maybe I kinda liked Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop!

Regular visitors to The Cozy Pages will already know about my cover love for this book; and I’ll share more about that later in this post. You’ll also know I pretty much adore anything Jessica writes, especially her Christmas stories!

We can call this story a tale of two Christmases as we see Charlee’s complete transformation over the course of a year from one winter to the next. Charlee changes and matures into a self-confident and open lady who bravely embraces opportunities life might bring her way. She leaves her first, sad and lonely Christmas season in Whitsborough Bay only to start the next season in a much stronger place, and completely ready to let love in.

Charlee and Matt are so delightful together. I love how their friendship is developed over the course of the story. There’s always the hint of something more to come, a taste of the romantic chemistry that is brewing between them… but they’re too thoughtful and upright to act on it until the coast is clear to do so. It’s no surprise though that all their friends and colleagues (the charming Bay Street Traders) can see what they are scared to admit!

The Bay Street Traders feature some favourite characters from Jessica’s other books. It’s so cute to catch these little peeks of them in this story, and I loved how Jessica hid key details to save the surprises for readers still to explore the joys of those books!

The Christmas factor is decked up to the highest halls in this tale. Any Christmas book set on Castle Street entails gorgeous descriptions of the storefronts, the decor and the glorious Castle Street lighting up ceremony. It’s also a challenge to get through this book without ending up with a craving for a decadent hot chocolate drink. Even more than the tangible elements, this story reminds us about the true meaning of Christmas and family (given or made). This really is a seasonal delight.

Speaking of family…I love the tweaks made to the storyline with Charlee’s family and including more of Matt’s. Readers have the opportunity to see Charlee really confront her past, as it concerns her mother, and figure out what is the best way forward for her and the new life she is trying to build. The backstory here is so wonderfully rich and moving. Scenes with Matt and his family, especially his nieces, are the smile bringers!

There’s a really sweet and wonderful twist at the end that puts a neat bow on this Christmas story. But it’s fitting and utterly understandable when more of the backstory is revealed.

I love this story so much I might just have to revisit it in December. Seriously, Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop is THE perfect seasonal read. I give it 5/5 merry espresso shots.

The Cover Discussion

Okay, even if you hadn’t read any of my praise for the original iteration of this book, you might have seen me spreading the cover love. Charlee and the Chocolate Shop was the first Jessica Redland book I ever read and was also one of the first blog tours I did with Rachel. I instantly fell in love when I saw the cover and only loved it more when Jessica revealed her hubby had designed it… love that teamwork! She even teased me that she was a bit anxious about my take on the new cover given how much I loved the first. Lol. My favourite things about the original cover were actually the lampposts and the storefronts. I think both elements were fantastically recreated and I love the new one almost as much as the first. Hahaha. I’m a sentimental soul and that’s probably the only reason the original still wins by half a hair’s breadth. Anyway, the cover, the story and the author are all well-worth your Christmas reading time, so please do add this one to your list!

---

Author Bio

Jessica Redland writes uplifting stories of love, friendship, family and community set in Yorkshire where she lives. Her Whitsborough Bay books transport readers to the stunning North Yorkshire Coast and her Hedgehog Hollow series takes them into beautiful countryside of the Yorkshire Wolds. 

Social Media Links  

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JessicaRedlandAuthor

Twitter https://twitter.com/JessicaRedland

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jessicaredlandauthor/

Newsletter Sign Up Link http://bit.ly/JessicaRedlandNewsletter

Bookbub profile https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jessica-redland

---

If you’d like to find out more about Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop and read more reviews, follow the blog tour:

Blog Tour organised by Rachel’s Random Resources.

https://www.rachelsrandomresources.com