Christmas under a Cranberry Sky: Large Print edition (Juniper Island, #1)

by Holly Martin

Curl up with this gorgeously romantic tale and let the glistening snow and the roaring fires of Stardust Lake Hotel get you in the festive spirit this Christmas.

Piper Chesterfield lives a glamorous life travelling the world and reviewing the finest hotels. She calls nowhere home, she works alone and that's how she likes it. For long ago Piper decided that to protect her heart she should lock it away.

So when Piper's next assignment brings her to the newly opened Stardust Lake Hotel for the festive season, the last person she expects to face is Gabe Whitaker, the man who broke her heart so completely she could never love again.

But Piper isn't the only one who has been frozen in time by heartbreak. Gabe hasn't forgotten the golden-eyed girl who disappeared from his world without a trace.

Now fate has reunited them on Juniper Island, can the magic of Christmas heal old wounds? And can this enchanting town be the one place Piper can finally call home?

Read what everyone is saying about Christmas Under a Cranberry Sky:

'I couldn't get enough . . . This story is MAGICAL . . . I wish I could spend my next Christmas on Juniper Island . . . It's the perfect story to get into the festive mood and it's one you cannot put down.' Simona's Corner of Dreams

'I absolutely LOVED this book. Holly Martin just completely wows you with her beautiful writing, wonderful characters and great story.' Renita D'Silva

'This story is absolutely beautiful.' Me, Cupcakes and Tea

'Having just finished and been astounded by Christmas Under A Cranberry Sky, I think I am fairly safe in declaring Holly Martin a queen of the Christmas book.' Rachel's Random Reads

'Christmas romance at its absolute best . . .' Lozza's Book Corner

'I have yet to read a book by Holly Martin that I haven't loved, and this one is no different.' Clara's Books and Lit

'I cherished every single page of this book . . . Holly whisks you away to this magical place that had me craving all things Christmas.' Star Crossed Reviews

• ISBN10: 1913616134
• ISBN13: 9781913616137
• Publish Date: 10 July 2020 (first published 22 September 2016)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Sunshine, Seaside & Sparkles
• Edition: Large type / large print edition
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 512
• Language: English

Reviews

[limabean74]

Christmas books and pretty covers, how can I say NO! I loved the synopsis of this book and regardless of how slow I felt it might have been, overall I really enjoyed this book.

The beginning took me a little bit to really start liking the characters. I enjoyed Pip and Gabe they had some very good chemistry. Wren, Gabe’s daughter was super cute. The overall story was sweet and intense, I found myself tearing up a little at the end and the book does end with a bit of a cliffhanger but nothing extreme. I will definitely be grabbing the next book. I loved Gabe’s family and the misfit gang of ponies. The Hotel that this book is set in sounds amazing and I want to visit it. The world build was fantastic and I can picture the entire place in my head. The character build was pretty involved and I loved the backstories it really let you feel what the characters we're going through.

The slowness that I felt in the book was a little of the build up to the end. I enjoyed the world build and development of each character but a little of the process was rather slow. I get they are trying to finish fixing up the hotel/resort but I almost at some points felt like we were going step by step. Not that, that is a bad thing, it just slowed down the book a little and I sort of wanted more of the secondary characters. Especially the people in the town, I would love to visit a town like that.

Overall, I really liked this book, gorgeous setting and likable characters that might take a little getting used to. The end melted my heart and just made me fall in love with the idea of it all. I can’t wait to read the next book! Highly recommend for a sweet christmas story that will make you want to visit this amazing fictional place.

Thanks for stopping by to check out my review.

Have a great day and Happy Reading!

This review was originally posted on Because reading is better than real life

[Leah]

It’s official: Holly Martin is the queen of romance. I don’t know who the previous queen of romance was (oops) but Holly has taken the crown, she is officially the best romance writer, ever. Her books just make me so damn happy, and she seems to get better with every book she writes. Christmas Under A Cranberry Sky is the third novel of hers I’ve read and by far her best. It just gave me all the happy feels. And it also made me curse her, because I actually want to go a live in the Stardust Lake Hotel, visit all the boutique shops, see the reindeer and the ponies, meet all of the characters.

Christmas Under A Cranberry Sky is just achingly, gorgeously romantic. What I liked was that the relationship between Pip and Gabe isn’t complicated, there’s no nonsense between them when they meet again for the first time in twelve years. Yes, it’s a bit awkward, but they get all their old resentments out in the open immediately. It was his fault, it was her fault, etc, and then they wipe the slate clean and it’s fantastic, because they’re not encumbered by all the bad, negative feelings of that fateful day twelve years ago that tore them apart. So it’s like they can just be, and it’s beautiful!

I loved the relationship between Pip and Gabe’s daughter Wren. It never seemed forced, and because she was so young, there was no resentment, in fact Wren was probably the most on board out of everyone and she was adorable! I wanted to keep her for myself. And I loved that Neve and Luke, Gabe’s siblings, were around, too. Neve’s book is next actually, and I am gagging for a Luke book, because he was very much the strong, silent type, without the silent, since he was actually very vocal about things. And kind of a jerk, but a good jerk, in the end.

I just loved everything about Christmas Under A Cranberry Sky. The setting, which was pitch-perfect, like jump-on-a-plane I-have-to-visit-this-place perfect. Like I want to move there perfect. JUST PERFECT, OKAY? And the characters were amazing, and the plot was amazing and it was all just amazing and sweet and romantic, and everything I was looking for. Holly Martin is so, so talented as a writer and she’s the kind of writer whose books I can just fall into and never find my way out (not that I would want to). I can’t wait to get stuck into Christmas Under A Starlit Sky and read more about Neve, because she’s such a fascinating character, and I’m already rooting for her and Oakley AND the opportunity to get more Pip and Gabe and Wren in my life (and Juniper Island, obviously).

[Emma (SCR)]

This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews Thank you to Holly for letting me take part in her tour.

I love Christmas and I love Holly's books so it was a no-brainer when Holly asked if I would take part.

Christmas under a Cranberry Sky offers you everything you could want in a christmas romance book.

Let's start by talking about the main characters.

First off we have Piper or Pip as she is sometimes known. Pip has spent the last 12 years reviewing hotels all over the world. From the good to the bad she's seen it all. Pip however is tired of always moving around and wants to try standing still for a little while. She has one more review in her and then she's taking a break.

Gabe Whitaker has spent the last 12 years only picking the fun girls. 12 years ago his heart was broken and since then he's subconsciously picked girls that just want some fun. He's not picked anyone serious for fear of being hurt all over again.

There were a whole host of sub characters that were the perfect support to these two but my favourite has to be Wren, Gabe's daughter. There is something about that childlike innocence. The simplicity of being a child that you lose when you grow up and it was lovely to see how she views the world.

I cherished every single page of this book. Jupiter Island sounds amazing and I feel I have to go visit the Shetland Islands now with the hope of finding something even remotely similar.  I adored the Christmas market. I loved how every shop was unique. I would have been like Pip and wanted to buy something from everyone.

Holly whisked me away to this magical place that had me craving all things Christmas. I'm so totally over summer and all I can think about is doing some Christmas baking and getting a nice frothy hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows. I can't wait to start Christmas under a Starlit Sky.

[Eve1972]

Piper Chesterfield is a Professional Mystery Guest (I SO want a job like that). She's been writing reviews for TREE OF LIFE magazine going on 10 years now. One more Hotel stay and she is ready to take a much needed break. STARDUST LAKE HOTEL on Juniper Island looks to be the perfect way to spend the Christmas holidays. That is until Piper learns that the man behind the Hotel is none other than Gabe Whitaker. Her best friend and the man who broke her heart twelve years ago.





Gabe isn't all that happy to see Piper again. After all she left without a word twelve years earlier, taking his heart with her. Gabe has moved on though and now has a 4 year old daughter Wren. He'll demand some answers so he can have closure, but getting involved with Piper again is out of the question.

Will the magic of Christmas and Juniper Island help these two find forgiveness and the strength to let go of the past and start again??


"He pulled back to stare into those beautiful golden, vulnerable eyes and knew he was falling in love with her all over again"


Where to begin? There were things I LOVED about this one, and things that unfortunately brought my rating down....

I LOVED the setting and the festive atmosphere. The island and the cabins. The evil little shetland ponies. Everything was just so beautifully described. I had no problem picturing it in my head. I was transported right into the holiday spirit. The writing flowed nicely and I wasn't bored. That said, the middle did drag a little for me, but not enough for me to contemplate skimming.

I ADORED Piper. She had a crappy upbringing and had a lot of baggage because of that. I felt really bad for her and even though the misunderstanding that caused the rift between Gabe and Piper was one of those "miscommunication" deals that drive me crazy, the circumstances were such that I completely understood her actions. Despite that I felt she was a strong and very sweet heroine and I HATED the way everyone treated her through two thirds of this book.


"So you’re not seeing anyone at the moment?’ ‘No.’ For a brief moment he thought he saw hope flare in her eyes and that annoyed him a bit. After what had happened, after what she had done, she couldn’t possibly think they could just pick up where they left off."


Unfortunately the same can't be said about Gabe (or his sister or his brother) I LOATHED Gabe through two thirds of this book. This hero was a whiny, self centered douche. His whiplash back and forth with Piper was SO annoying. One minute he is telling his sister Piper shouldn't be held responsible for a mistake she made 12 years ago, then in the next breath he is acting like this OTT injured party. Being rude, and acting like he can't trust Piper. Back and forth and back again. I wanted to throw my tablet at something. Even after finding out what happened, he acts like Piper is this awful untrustworthy person. Almost the whole book he acts like an injured party. HE could have went to London to confront Piper and find out why she left without a word. Instead he just acted like a whiny bitch about it, and went on to manwhore around and have a kid (of course Piper never has sex again after Gabe *rolleyes*). EVERYONE kept taking potshots at Piper about how she had "broke Gabe" I seriously wanted her to give them all the finger and get the hell out of there.



That said, the last one third of the book everyone seemed to be letting the past go and the romance between Piper and Gabe was sweet, with some mild heat. Of course we have the inevitable "misunderstanding" that I knew was coming from the beginning of the book, and of course Gabe acts like a whiny douche again. Thankfully we have the awesome Piper who doesn't let him get away with it, and all's well that ends well.


"Then lighten up and stop staring at me like I’m breaking your heart all over again. This is difficult for me too."


Overall the good outweighed the bad. We get a quick peek at the next book in the series which will be Gabe's sister. I'm intrigued, but it is an older woman/younger man book. Plus he is an actor, so I'm on the fence about wanting to read it. Luke's book is the one I am REALLY waiting for...