Unfortunately, this was not my favourite Shari Lapena book, but the mystery was still good. I just had a hard time connecting to any of the characters and could not get invested in the story. I did not have any problem continuing to read the book until it was finished.

Thanks to NetGalley and Pamela Dorman Books for the opportunity to read this book!

I started out reading the ARC of this book and was drawn in right away. The idea of someone telling others of their death date and cause was enticing. I got to about 30% in and it seemed to be just not going anywhere so I decided to wait for the publishing date and listen to the audio. 
Audio was a bit better but it took until about halfway before predictions started coming true and the story picked up. It was still very interesting but I feel like there could have been a bit of editing down to downsize the number of pages and move the plot a bit faster. I enjoyed reading about those that received their predictions and less about the main character, Cherry. 
This character driven book did end well with everything being tied all up with no unbelievable info. 

Thanks to Netgalley and Crown Publishing for the opportunity to review this book. 

I enjoyed listening to this book and could relate to many parts of it. I practice many of the gardening examples and have experienced much of what the author shared. The author did a great job of narrating her own book (not many authors are) and was enjoyable to listen to. It was quite relaxing at times and I could reflect on my own backyard, gardening and how I create a wildlife sanctuary.

I would have given a full five stars but there was a bit too much preaching and religion included. Anyone that reads this book is already well on their way to being a better advocate for wildlife and the "climate change" topic is way over done in real life. I read books for enjoyment, not to be chastised. 
I also was slightly annoyed by the inconsistent use of the proper names for birds. The author used the correct names for many like the house wren or american crow but then would continually call a northern cardinal "red bird". 

This is a book I would definitely consider buying to keep to have a copy of my own that I can look at. Listening was great but I missed seeing the pictures that would be included in a hard copy. I also believe it would be a great book to gift to pretty much anyone! 

I was looking forward to reading this book to revisit the area and see how past characters are but there is only a little reference to this. The Christmas Inn was an enjoyable read over all and there were parts of the story that I loved. And then there were parts that were very repetitive and boring. I had many issues with timing not being realistic (there was not a realistic amount of time between activities multiple times through the story) and tedious references to driving back and forth being house and inn. There was also too much reference to clothing brand naming and food and wine names and tastes. It was like they were being used to fill pages instead of moving the story along. 
I also wish there had been more build up between Aiden and Riley. There relationship did not feel real in the end and I was not able to connect to them.
I did love that there was women characters over the age of 40. I would have loved if they were just a bit more of the main instead of the secondary characters.

Thanks to netgalley and St Martins Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.