Book Review: A Special Cornish Christmas by Phillipa Ashley

A Special Cornish Christmas by Phillipa Ashley was published in 2021.

I really enjoy a good cosy Christmas book that really gets me in the festive spirit so I was keen to read this. I love watching Hallmark Christmas movies this time of year and I’m always hoping to find romance books that are the literary equivalent.

To my knowledge, it’s the first Phillipa Ashley book I’ve read but as her books always seem to receive greats reviews, I was excited to get stuck in.

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Genre: Romance

Author: Phillipa Ashley

Buy: Amazon | Waterstones

Published: 2021

Plot

Bo Grayson has always loved Christmas until she had her heart broken in December.

The summer after her heartbreak Bo and her friends meet a fortune teller – the mysterious Madame Odette. All three of them are given the same prediction: “You will meet the love of your life by Christmas day”. They dismiss these predictions and take it all as a bit of fun.

As the festive season approaches Bo is busy getting her cafe ready and preparing for her dance group’s Christmas show. Romance is the last thing on her mind, especially after last year, but fate might just have other ideas.

A Special Cornish Christmas Book Review

I found A Special Cornish Christmas to be an enjoyable cosy, festive read. I enjoyed the friendships throughout the book, especially between Bo and Angel.

After I finished the book, I realised there have been previous books by Phillipa Ashley set in Falford, presumably with some of the same characters. I do like revisiting fictional places so perhaps I should have read the previous books first.

It was a gentle romantic story which is great for a festive novel. However, I did feel it lacked some of the charm of the other festive books I’ve read this year. It was enjoyable and the characters were well developed but I just didn’t find myself as invested in the relationships as I would have liked.

The book moves at quite a leisurely pace and I found it a little slow and predictable in places. Perhaps I’ve just read too many Christmas romances recently!

Overall A Special Cornish Christmas is an enjoyable, festive read, just not one of my favourites.