Blog Tour Review: The Cranberry Inn

Posted 17th November 2021 by Emma in Reviews / 2 Comments

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Cranberry Inn by Barbara Josselsohn
Published by Bookouture on 15th November 2021
Genres: Chicklit, Christmas, Contemporary, Love & Romance
Pages: 257
Format: eARC
Source: from Netgalley
Goodreads
Amazon Kindle

An unputdownable, feel-good Christmas romance about fresh starts, the importance of family and learning how to follow your heart. Perfect for fans of Mary Alice Monroe, Rachel Hanna and Carolyn Brown.
As twinkling lights go up and snowflakes begin to fall, Laurel Hanover and her eight-year-old son are going home to the Cranberry Inn in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains. Laurel can’t wait to leave New York behind to help her father run the family business, and make snow angels with her son, even if it’s just for Christmas. But when she walks through the door, she’s shocked to find the inn in disrepair, and a letter saying her father will be gone until Christmas Eve…
No one in town knows where Laurel’s father is, and she doesn’t know whether to be worried or angry – but she won’t let the inn go under, and nothing will get in the way of the perfect Christmas for her son. Seeing the worn-out wooden bannisters, bare of festive lights, she immediately recruits her childhood friend, brooding local carpenter Joel Hutcherson. They might disagree on whether any walls actually need to come down, but each rip in the carpet makes Laurel more concerned for her father, and Joel is a welcome distraction. And when he admits that Laurel was his first crush, she realises she’s falling for him.
But then Laurel uncovers a card with beautiful, ornate writing amongst her father’s things and learns the real reason he disappeared. And it changes everything. Worse still, she thinks Joel knew the truth all along.
Laurel thought this was going to be the perfect Christmas – that maybe she had found her happy. But now there’s nothing to stop her from running back to New York the moment the baubles come down… is there?

Thank you to Bookouture for letting me take part in this tour and for my copy of this book via Netgalley. This is the first book I have read by Barbara. I’m not sure how I missed the other books set in Lake Summers to be honest. I was drawn to this one because it’s set at Christmas time.

Cranberry Inn plays such a big part in this book it’s almost like it’s a character in its own right. While it needs a bit of TLC the bones of the Inn are still there and I could easily see what it could be like with some little fixes.

I love the cover because it gives the Inn such an inviting feel to it. I look at it and immediately think of wintertime, hot chocolates, fires, cosy blankets and all that good stuff. I love nothing more than snuggling up by the fire with a hot chocolate and a book. I could easily see myself doing just that at the Cranberry Inn.

This book is set about a month before Christmas and I really enjoyed seeing the characters get ready for the festive season. I am a terrible ice skater but I would have loved to have watched everyone on the ice while sipping my hot chocolate. This book has a real community spirit feel.

I really enjoyed Barbara’s writing style. As soon as you begin reading this book you feel like you’re in a big hug. The whole book felt warm and cosy. It’s perfect for this time of year.

About Barbara Josselsohn

Barbara Josselsohn is an award-winning journalist and novelist who loves crafting stories about strong protagonists facing a fork in the road. Her novels center around second chances, family relationships and, of course, romance. She is the author of the Lake Summers series set in the fictional town of Lake Summers, nestled in the Adirondacks Mountains, which includes the books The Lilac House and The Bluebell Girls. Before joining with Bookouture, she published The Last Dreamer, a women’s-fiction novel from Lake Union Publishing, along with hundreds of articles and essays in major and regional publications about family, home and relationships. She lives just north of New York City and enjoys escaping to the beach or the mountains whenever she can. Other than writing, her biggest passion is her family: husband, her three kids, and her indefatigable shih-poo!