Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Will this Christmas finally bring comfort and joy?”

🥰🥰🥰 Sarah Morgan, you wonderful, wonderful human! I’d been looking forward to this book ever since it was announced months ago, so to finally read it has made me so incredibly happy. What an amazing, heartwrenching, beautiful, Christmassy read, with the Sarah Morgan touch you can’t get in other books! I’m so thrilled to be sharing my review of The Christmas Cottage 🎄

About the book

Imogen is a busy professional, her job is everything to her, and her colleagues are in awe of her. But Imogen isn’t the person she pretends to be, and she’s hiding painful truths about her past. But as long as she can keep on top of her work, Imogen can put everything else to one side.

And then Imogen makes a catastrophic mistake at work, and she finally realises it’s time to reset. When her favourite client, Dorothy, invites her to come and spend Christmas with her and her family, in her cottage in the Cotswolds, it sounds like the perfect way for Imogen to take stock.

Imogen settles into idyllic cottage life very quickly, especially with the prospect of a new romance on the horizon . . . but when long-buried secrets and unwanted faces from the past resurface, Imogen’s new peace is threatened. Will Imogen end up alone this Christmas, or can she find it in her heart to forgive those who have hurt her?

The beginning

Starting this book was the beginning of Christmas for me. Sarah Morgan can do no wrong! As soon as I was introduced to Imogen, I loved her so much. But then again, Sarah’s characters really do come to life as soon as you meet them! I really sympathised with Imogen; she’s leading a fake life, pretending she has it all together for the sake of fitting in with her colleagues and healing from her past. Because work is her life. It’s her everything. And she’s pretty damn good at her job. But underneath it all, she’s hiding things, painful things. And work helps her to push all that out of her mind. I was so sucked into Imogen’s fast-paced world and was fascinated by the life she was leading; her pretend Christmas traditions, her pretend Golden Retriever, Midas, who I’d already grown to love, even though he wasn’t even real! The author beautifully builds up Imogen’s life block by block and makes us curious about who Imogen was before. What she’s experienced in her life, and why she feels she can’t let anyone in.

“The roads were glassy in the pale winter sunlight, the hedges and fields white with snow. She drove through picturesque villages with rows of pretty cottages and shops with windows illuminated and decorated for Christmas.”

The book is split into multiple POVs – aside from Imogen, we also read chapters from one of her beloved clients, Dorothy (who was just LOVELY) and Sara, Dorothy’s daughter. Each of these characters were so colourful and wonderfully developed. Sara is worried about her mother. Worried she’s taking on too much with work and their family business. Their backstory was so rich and wonderfully told, and of course, it really does tug at your heart. We also meet Miles, a vet who is close with Dorothy and her family, looking after the countless animals at her residence. And how wonderful is Miles?! Such a kind, funny and generous soul. He was the son of Dorothy’s wonderful friend who sadly passed away five years prior. Having Miles around felt like having a piece of her friend there with her. Just so beautiful! And now I’m tearing up! We soon lean further into Imogen’s past, and what we learn was surprisingly dark. Sarah’s powerful writing has you hanging onto every word, and I was desperate to give Imogen a hug.

The middle

Imogen’s made up life gets so out of hand, to the point where it even made me stressed! After such a tense chapter with Imogen’s mother, work takes a rare back seat. She knows she messed up and she expects to be fired. What she didn’t expect was being given a month off from her boss to ‘recharge’ over Christmas. Knowing how important work was to Imogen made me feel so uneasy about her boss’s decision. How on earth would she cope not working for the entirety of Christmas?! But here’s where my favourite part of the book began. After telling her client, Dorothy, about her month off work, Dorothy offers her cottage to her for the festive season. Imagine, a cosy Christmas in the Cotswolds?! Pure bliss. As Imogen walked through that cottage for the very first time, it felt as though I did too. Absolutely stunning descriptions. The snow, the cosy decor, the views. Holly Cottage well and truly had my heart. I was so excited to read about Imogen’s experience there, and hoped this break would allow her to reset, to rethink her life and to be true to herself…

“It was funny how life turned out. Sometimes it was the people closest to you who disappointed you the most.”

… but life doesn’t always work out the way you expect, does it? Imogen finds out something unexpected, so utterly shocking that I had to pause, to really think about the impact of this news for poor Imogen. It made me think about everything differently. And surprisingly, it’s Dorothy who drops the bombshell. How on earth would they get past this? It all happened so suddenly and was so far from where I expected the plot to go. I was completely gobsmacked. But Sarah writes with such heart and passion, and I knew she’d tackle all the sensitive topics with care and attention. But on a lighter note, Imogen also has her first meeting with the wonderful Miles, and of course he is a gentleman, of course he looks after her when he finds her cold and soaking from the snow. And he loves dogs. What more could a girl want?! The attraction was there instantly, that connection so beautifully written, the words had me smiling so much, even after Imogen’s unsettling news. When she learns the truth about who she is, about her mother, she realises a few things. And maybe Christmas at Holly Cottage would be exactly what she needed after all.

The end

My emotions were suddenly everywhere. From the beauty of Imogen getting to know Dorothy, Sara and Miles properly, to her finding so much comfort in Ralph, a gorgeous Golden Retriever who came into her life exactly when she needed it (maybe Midas could be real after all!), my heart felt like it was being tugged from one direction to the next. There were so many deep, meaningful conversations between characters, and Dorothy and Sara taking Imogen under their wing, showing her what a real family Christmas is all about and sharing their traditions just had me smiling and smiling and smiling. The tough conversations gave me food for thought and putting myself in Imogen’s shoes, imagining her childhood and upbringing made me want to jump inside the pages and give her a cuddle. Sarah’s writing is consistently powerful and so moving. And it seemed as though there may be some romance in the air… to be honest, Imogen and Miles getting closer was just the icing on the cake. I just wanted Imogen to be happy with all the right people around her.

“She imagined herself drinking her morning coffee outside in the spring, with daffodils and tulips all around her and lambs in the field beyond. She imagined taking summer walks across the field to the village. Spending time in the bookshop, meeting Miles for lunch in the pub.”

I found the progression of Imogen and Miles’s relationship to be super speedy, but it didn’t really bother me. I was just so glad about all the good things that were coming Imogen’s way after she’d never had any of it before. The final chapter had me so teary and was the perfect chapter to end things. Sarah describes such a perfect Christmas day, the chaos, the love, the gifting, the happiness under one roof. It was something really special. I loved how everything wasn’t answered, how we can think about Imogen’s future and what could be. It was completely and utterly perfect. I think I’ll always want a sequel to Sarah’s books because I become so ridiculously attached to her characters, her worlds, her Christmassy environments. And I think this Christmas Day, I’ll give a thought to Imogen and think about how different her Christmases will be from now on 🥰 A perfect book – I’m not sure how Sarah will top this one, but I’m excited to see what’s next from her!

Overall thoughts

The Christmas Cottage is such an uplifting, cosy, wonderful read with the perfect Christmassy vibes. I just know I’ll end a Sarah Morgan book with a refreshed feeling of gratitude for everything I have, feeling so energised and happy for the journey I’ve experienced, and this book was no exception. There’s family drama, beautiful friendships, blossoming romance, new beginnings, a snowy cottage, a small town, characters you’d love to call your own friends – this book genuinely has every ingredient for the perfect festive read. I loved every character we meet and I love how wonderfully developed they all are. Plus, a massive twist?! I did not expect that! I hugely recommend this one for your festive read. I guarantee you will adore it!

Huge thanks to the author, Sarah Morgan, and the fabulous team at HQ Stories for my copy! You can grab your own copy of The Christmas Cottage right now on Amazon or wherever you buy your books. Make sure you’re following Sarah on X/Twitter and Instagram for more updates!

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