Claude's Christmas Adventure by Sophie Pembroke.

Okay, hands up, I was drawn to this book by it’s cover depicting Claude, a French Bulldog. At home we have a little dog called Charlie and he is a Pug X Shih Tzu, so this book would be very easy for me to relate to.

Claude is left behind when his family go away for Christmas which makes for a good starting point for this novel. It is told from 4 points of view, Charlie the French Bulldog, Daisy a busy mother and Charlie’s owner, Jack the local postman and Holly a neighbour.

I enjoyed reading this novel which is centered around the theme of belonging. It explores the needs of both dogs and people to belong to homes, families and communities. It is a very soft and warm book that is full of love and has a strong whiff of romance too! I found it to be a light, fluffy and bright read. It is well written with no bad language or steamy sex and is suitable for readers of all ages.

I liked how Sophie used the 4 character points of view to tell her story. This structure gave her tale a lovely perspective and promoted great empathy for each character. I found the romance gentle and wished the story would work out well for everyone. Sophie described the behaviour and character of Claude very well indeed. Having owned a similar dog for 4 years, Sophie has got the doggy bits of her story spot on!

I found Claude’s Christmas Adventure to be a very pleasant read. It gave me good happy feelings and I felt warm and cosy throughout. It is a feel good book, perfect for holiday reading or times when you do not want a challenging or gritty read but a novel to wash over you gently with ripples of love. So it gets 4 stars from me for being a GOOD read and a packet of Gingerbread for my dog please!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher HarperCollins UK for giving me a copy of this book on the understanding that I provide an honest review.

So to finish off this review on my blog is NOT a picture of the book but of Charlie, our pet who is a 4 year old Pug X Shih Tzu.