Book Review: One Family Christmas by Bella Osborne

A lovely hello to Bella Osborne. Her new book, One Family Christmas has just been released by Avon. 

A big family. A whole lot of secrets. A Christmas to remember…

This year, Lottie is hosting one last big family Christmas at the home she grew up in – just like her Nana would have wanted.

But when her relatives descend on the old manor house, Lottie gets more than she bargained for. Every family has its secrets, but in this family, everybody has one!

So, between cooking a Christmas dinner, keeping tensions at bay and a stray dog out of mischief, she has plenty on her plate and not just misshapen sausage rolls and a frozen turkey. And then her first love shows up – nine years after he walked out of her life.

Can Lottie make their last family Christmas one to remember… for the right reasons?

Lottie’s mission is to have one last family Christmas in the house she grew up in, just like her Nana would have wanted.

When her family descends, drama isn’t too far behind. Lottie quickly finds herself trying to juggle rising tensions, the appearance of a stray dog and meeting new people. On top of that, her first love reappears. She has not seen him since he walked out on her nine years ago.

I am such a huge fan of Bella’s novels and was so excited that she was releasing a book set at Christmas, especially one with such a beautiful cover. One Family Christmas did not disappoint and it’s not just about Christmas. It has so much more to it than that.

Immediately, I loved Lottie and I really felt for her. She is a person with the weight of the world on her shoulders and I wanted to jump in and help her, especially as she has just lost her Nana.

Despite the fact that she gets many things thrown at her (believe me, what can go wrong, does,) she shows resilience and strength.

Joe is a mystery and the layers to him are gradually revealed through the course of the book.

The other supporting characters are a brilliant mix of personalities. There were some I related to more than others but by the end, I wanted everyone to be OK.

The setting for this book has such a christmassy feel. Henbourne Manor is somewhere I would love to be at Christmas. I could picture myself in this house, with these characters.

There were so many twists and turns that had me laughing one minute and almost crying the next. I couldn’t put this novel down and read it in pretty much one sitting.

There is a massive feel good element to this book but it also deals with family, relationships, conflict, grief, loss and the disruptive power of secrets.

Overall, One Family Christmas is a warm, witty, bittersweet novel that had me hooked from start to finish.

It’s a perfect escape from the horrible things going on at the moment. I was so sad that it finished and I really hope that this is not the last we see of Lottie, Joe and the Collins family.

About Bella Osborne…

Bella has been jotting down stories as far back as she can remember but decided that 2013 would be the year that she finished a full length novel. Since then she’s written six best selling romantic comedies and she’s been shortlisted three times for the RNA Contemporary Romantic Novel of the Year Award.

Bella’s stories are about friendship, love and coping with what life throws at you. She lives in The Midlands, UK with her husband, daughter and a cat who thinks she’s a dog. When not writing Bella is usually eating custard creams and planning holidays.

For more about Bella, visit her at or follow her on social media.

Say hello via her website, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

One Family Christmas was released by Avon on 15th October 2020. Click to view on Amazon UK and Kobo. 

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.