The Holiday Cottage

By: Sarah Morgan

Narrated by: Henrietta Meire

From USA TODAY bestselling author of The Book Club Hotel, Sarah Morgan returns with a heartfelt story of friendship, finding yourself, and the surprising ties that bring us together. Perfect for fans of Rebecca Serle and Jennifer Weiner.

To the outside world, Imogen is a marketing dynamo. Her colleagues don’t know that while her high-achieving professional image is real, the happy childhood stories she spins are as fake as her pretend enthusiasm for Christmas. Working 24/7 has always been her solution to surviving the festive season—until burnout leads to a catastrophic blunder.

Suddenly, Imogen is handed a holiday gift she definitely doesn’t want: enforced time off work to recuperate. Then an invitation arrives from her favorite client, Dorothy, to stay at her guest cottage in the Cotswolds. From the thatched roof to the cozy open fireplace, Holly Cottage is a picture-perfect haven… Can it provide the fresh start Imogen so desperately needs?

For Dorothy, helping Imogen offers a longed-for chance to make reparations for her own past. But as her daughter Sara keeps reminding her, it brings risks, too. Yet Dorothy knows that only a leap of courage will allow her family to grow and heal. And perhaps this Christmas, with Dorothy’s help, the new life that Imogen is slowly piecing together could be better than anything either of them could imagine…

Don't miss the latest Christmas book from Sarah Morgan where the Balfour family will have more secrets to unwrap than presents, A Merry Little Lie!

More captivating stories by Sarah Morgan:

• ⁠Other People's Summers
• The Summer Swap
• The Island Villa
• The Book Club Hotel

Great story

Loved it all very much - great characters and wonderful story- I highly recommend and enjoyed this book

Wonderful Christmas Story

Loved every moment of this book! I couldn’t stop listening! Adding this to the list of my favorite Christmas books!

A Perfect Read

I loved the characters and story line. It was beautifully written and very enjoyable to read.

A beautiful story!!

I loved the realistic approach to this story and the complications of mental illness in families, the trauma and the healing that is possible.

Sarah Morgan never disappoints!

Another great book! Love the development of the family dynamics, the strength of the main character!

Sweet holiday tale

Unusual story for a holiday book. Tried to make too many events go together even when they didn’t!

Kind of a downer

I purchased this title based on it having high reviews overall compared to other titles that interested me. The first half of this book is really sad and honestly it’s pretty obvious what is going to happen. It’s a holiday novel, there has to be a happy ending of course, but the trauma of a loveless childhood and an emotionally abusive parent can’t be undone that quickly. What an odd choice by the author for the premise of this book. Didn’t do much to put me in the holiday spirit.

Lacking Holiday Spark

I was excited to dive into The Holiday Cottage, especially after reading the glowing reviews that promised a perfect holiday read. Unfortunately, this book didn’t quite live up to my expectations, despite being well-written. While the prose itself was smooth and engaging, the overall experience felt lackluster, leaving me with little more than a sense of disappointment.

The characters were one of the biggest letdowns for me. None of them felt particularly compelling or relatable, and I struggled to connect with their motivations. It’s hard to enjoy a story when the characters don’t evoke any real emotion, whether it's empathy, excitement, or even frustration. This lack of connection made it difficult for me to care about the events unfolding in the book.

As for the plot, it never really stood out. While I had hoped for an engaging, heartwarming story that would be the perfect companion for a cozy holiday break, the narrative lacked any real spark. The story didn’t offer anything particularly memorable or exciting, and by the end, I was left with a feeling of indifference.

That said, I do recognize that the author has a knack for writing, and I’m open to giving some of their other works a try. There was nothing in The Holiday Cottage that would deter me from exploring future books by this author, but for now, this one simply wasn’t the charming holiday escape I had hoped for.