Review: Christmas at the Dancing Duck by Daisy James

Christmas is my absolutely favourite time of year, I mean who doesn’t love garish tinsel, bunches of tangled fairy-lights, hot chocolates overflowing with marshmallows and the cheesiest (but best) songs? So, when I got the chance to participate in the blog tour for this festive read with HQ Digital I couldn’t say no!

I was so excited to get sit down, get cosy and dive into this book and it definitely didn’t disappoint. Keep reading for my spoiler free review of Christmas at the Dancing Duck by Daisy James.

From the cover:

The most wonderful time of the year!

Kirstie Harrison is finally coming home for the holidays. Ever since tragedy struck a few years ago, Christmas hasn’t felt the same – but she’s determined that this year will be different…

And staying at the family pub, The Dancing Duck, means it’s impossible not to get caught up in the little village of Cranbury’s festive traditions. And it’s equally impossible to avoid her ex, Josh Turner!

Kirstie is torn between making this the best Christmas yet and knowing that she can’t stay forever. Maybe it’s time to make a holiday wish of her own…?

Thoughts:

The thing that I loved most about this book is that it felt as though Christmas was pouring off each page, especially with the plentiful festivities throughout the book such as the Christmas craft fair and cooking competitions which made me feel all warm and happy inside and more than ready for the season ahead.

James’ descriptive writing and world building painted a vivid picture in my mind which really added another dimension to the story. The village sounds absolutely dreamy and totally stunning and has the kind of community that I would really love to be a part of – full of supportive friends and family and the cutest little bakeries!

Our main character Kirstie was super relatable (apart from the flashy job in London) and felt like somebody you would be friends with in real life. In fact, the friendships between each of the characters were so lovely and comforting, and even tangible to an extent, as if you were reading about old friends.

However, my only complaint on the character side of things is that I wish I’d  felt more of a relationship between Josh and Kirstie. Throughout the bookI didn’t really “get to know him” and think he could have been fleshed out a little more so that I could root for them as hard as I wanted to!

The story went a little deeper than I expected, with the death of Kirstie’s parents, but I think this was handled with a great amount of sensitivity. Whilst the plot was predictable to an extent, I still enjoyed seeing the journey and was pleasantly surprised at several points throughout (and I definitely got the ending that I wanted)!

Christmas at the Dancing Duck is an even paced, quick and easy read that is sure to fill you with festive joy. A lighthearted read and the perfect piece of escapism, this book was an easy 3/5 stars for me. Make sure to check out the rest of the blog tour posts below!