The Country Village Winter Wedding by Cathy Lake Blog Tour

 I've recently become a huge fan of Cathy Lake.

Having been given the chance to join the blog tour for her most recent release The Country Village Winter Wedding, I went ahead and purchased the previous two books in the series and read them at speed before delving into the newest addition.

These are feel-good books at their best.

Clare Greene and Sam Wilson are getting married and everyone in Little Bramble is excited for the event of the year. But Clare and Sam are busy people and have left organising their wedding to the last minute.

Luckily, wedding planner Hazel Campbell has recently moved to the village. She had what she thought was a wonderful life in Edinburgh with a successful business, a loving fiance and her own wedding coming up. But when she caught her groom-to-be in bed with her best friend she fled, leaving everyone and everything behind.

Little Bramble seems like the ideal place for Hazel to start over. As she throws herself into planning the perfect country village winter wedding, she starts to find herself again. And soon she realises that a second chance at happiness might just be on the cards . . .

It's time once again to escape to the village of Little Bramble.

Following on from the last novel, this one is festive from the start. And although it can be read as a standalone, I'd encourage you to read the other two books first.

This is the story of Hazel and Jack (alongside a multitude of villagers) who are both looking to finally heal broken hearts.

Clare and Sam so want to plan their wedding but both being busy people is making it hard to get it all organised. Hazel is a wedding planner and as luck would have it, the newest resident of Little Bramble. Fate perhaps?

Ironically Hazel has arrived to escape her own problems with love but could this wedding be just what she needs to find herself - and love- again?

I just adore Cathy's writing style and the subject matter.

Second chance romance, people finding love when they aren't even looking for it. It just ticks all of the boxes for me. I found myself smiling often as I turned the pages as I awaited a happy ending. Ideal escapism.

Just like in her previous books, the secondary characters play important roles and of course bring the village itself to life. Past cast members offer continuity and as with the previous books in this set, I felt as though I was meeting up with old friends as I read.

Now as well as all the warm and fuzzy feels, the author does a good job of adding in some more emotional scenes shall we say but it's done in a way that doesn't necessarily make me feel sad, I guess more melancholy, hopeful. Yes there is grief but it's not overwhelming.

It's great to see the everything evolve, the back stories giving important details. I especially like that both new and old characters lives manage to entwine over time. Creating what is essentially one big, happy family. Just how I imagine village life to be.

A true community.

For me, Christmas has always been my favourite time of year and this novel certainly offers plenty of festive vibes.

The Country Village Winter Wedding is a pure joy to read from start to finish. I was left feeling utterly uplifted and I cannot wait for the next book in the series which will be coming out next year.

For more thoughts on this book make sure to follow the rest of the tour which is outlined below: