Review:The Great Christmas knit Off by Alexandra Brown The perfect seasonal tale of how laughter, friends and wacky Christmas jumpers can mend a broken heart. For fans of Trisha Ashley and Jenny Colgan. Heartbroken after being jilted at the altar, Sybil has been saved from despair by her knitting obsession and now her home is filled to bursting with tea cosies, bobble hats, and jumpers. But, after discovering that she may have perpetrated the cock-up of the century at work, Sybil decides to make a hasty exit and, just weeks before Christmas, runs away to the picturesque village of Tindledale. There, Sybil discovers Hettie’s House of Haberdashery, an emporium dedicated to the world of knitting and needle craft. But Hettie, the outspoken octogenarian owner, is struggling and now the shop is due for closure. And when Hettie decides that Sybil’s wonderfully wacky Christmas jumpers are just the thing to add a bit of excitement to her window display, something miraculous starts to happen…                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         This book was sort of a cross between a Sophie Kinsella novel and Friendship bread by Darien Gee. It has quirky characters, heartwarming moments and the whole town comes together in time of need. It follows a young woman trying to heal and find a new direction for her life. The reader is taking an adventure with her . It is wonderful that two problems are solved at once both for the main protagonist and one of the villages elderlybresidents. It is also neat that there is a new and better man to consider. Very satisfying ending. I believe that this  is meant  to be the start of a series. It should be interesting  to see how the author carries on from here.

Falling Like Snowflakes by Denise Hunter.                        

Eden Martelli is too busy fleeing the clutches of danger to realize she’s running straight into the arms of a new love. Speeding north through rural Maine, Eden Martelli wonders how her life came to this—on the run with her mute five-year-old son dozing fitfully in the passenger seat. When a breakdown leaves them stranded in Summer Harbor, Eden has no choice but to stay put through Christmas . . . even though they have no place to lay their heads. Beau Callahan is a habitual problem solver—for other people anyway. He left the sheriff’s department to take over his family’s Christmas tree farm, but he’s still haunted by the loss of his parents and struggling to handle his first Christmas alone. When Eden shows up looking for work just as Beau’s feisty aunt gets out of the hospital, Beau thinks he’s finally caught a break. Eden is competent and dedicated—if a little guarded—and a knockout to boot. But, as he soon finds out, she also comes with a boatload of secrets. Eden has been through too much to trust her heart to another man, but Beau is impossible to resist, and the feeling seems to be mutual. As Christmas Eve approaches, Eden’s past catches up to her. Beau will go to the ends of the earth to keep her safe. But who’s going to protect his heart from a woman who can’t seem to trust again?                                                                                                                                            This book had very engaging characters and drew me in right away. First there was the situation that the main characters were in, then the intersection between them and the Callahans and finally the wonderful plot development delivered without breaking your heart in the end. The novel deals well with the feelings  of the traumatized. It ultimately explored the issues of fear that they were struggling with. Fear limits your life and holds you prisoner. You have to decided to surmount it. It also explored people's reactions to loss. I loved the way that Eden/Kate' s dad pops up towArd the end. It was a nice tie in. If you are not a fan of insta love the rapid development of the relationship may be a sore point but It was done well all things considered.