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His Last Christmas Gift by Debra Borchert #Review

    His Last Christmas Gift by Debra Borchert will take you to a different country and season. It was published by Le Vin Press on 1st November 2025. Widowed, fired, and 50, Claire is one hot mess. This later in life romance hits like a snowball packed with grief and hope and mystery and the kind of second-chance that says, “I didn’t think I’d ever feel this again, and now I’m terrified, but… Hi.” Romance that’s frost melting off a windowpane. It’s “I forgot my heart could do this.” It’s love doesn’t have an expiration date. Twinkly lights, mulled wine and flaming crêpes so immerse you in Christmas markets—you’ll book a flight to France before the fares go up. A book club fiction favourite, Claire’s journey of self-discovery is perfect for fans of women’s fiction and stories about strong women over 50 navigating reinvention with inspiration, humour, with a delicious frosting of romance. “Give yourself the gift of a lush, romantic, French adventure and be swept away ...

Love Heart Lane by Christie Barlow #Review


I am so happy to be on the tour to launch Christie Barlow's latest novel, Love Heart Lane. I thoroughly enjoyed A Home at Honeysuckle Farm, so I leapt at the chance to read this one. This is the first in a possible series based around Love Heart Lane but it can be read as a standalone.

Welcome to Love Heart Lane…

When Flick Simons returns to the small village of Heartcross she only expected to stay for a few days. The white-washed cottages of Love Heart Lane might be her home, but the place holds too many painful memories, and of one man in particular – Fergus Campbell.

When a winter storm sweeps in, the only bridge connecting the village to the main land is swept away! As the villagers pull together, Flick finds herself welcomed back by the friends she once left behind. And as the snow begins to melt, maybe there is a chance that Fergus’s heart will thaw too…


My Thoughts

This has all the  ingredients for a great series. I loved the range of characters and the setting is superb. It all hangs together so easily, you really get a sense of what living in a remote village like Heartcross would be like. I took to Felicity from the start. There are some sombre issues in the background, especially around Felicity and Fergus' past but nevertheless, it is a heart-warming and hopeful read.

    Felicity is so proactive, without being overly pushy. Not afraid to step forward in an emergency, she certainly proves her mettle to the village. In addition, there are some great supporting characters in the village and I am hoping that we will find out more about them in future books. In Love Heart Lane, we get to see how friendships and family ties have formed strong, unbreakable bonds. There is a touch of humour in the story and some romance of course but ultimately I loved it because of the great, fluent writing style and the beautifully observed characters.

In short: Bring on the next one!
 
About the Author



Christie Barlow is the author of A Year in the Life of a Playground Mother, The Misadventures of a Playground Mother, Kitty's Countryside Dream, Lizzie's Christmas Escape, Evie's Year of Taking Chances, The Cosy Canal Boat Dream, A Home at Honeysuckle Farm and Love Heart Lane. Her writing career came as somewhat a surprise when she decided to write a book to teach her children a valuable life lesson and show them that they are capable of achieving their dreams. The book she wrote to prove a point is now a #1 bestseller in the UK, USA & Australia.

Christie is an ambassador for @ZuriProject raising money/awareness and engaging with impoverished people in Uganda through organisations to improve their well-being as well as Literary Editor for www.mamalifemagazine.co.uk bringing you all the latest news and reviews from the book world.

You can follow Christie here: Website   |  Twitter   |   Facebook

Book links: Amazon UK   |  Amazon US  

Thanks to Christe Barlow, Harper Impulse and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.

                                                         Check out the rest of the tour!


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