My enormous thanks to the lovely team at Bookouture for sending me a copy of Snowed In by Catherine Walsh in return for an honest review. It’s my pleasure to share that review today.

Published by Bookouture on 1st November 2023, Snowed In is available for purchase here.

Snowed In

Megan is dreading going home for the holidays. She’s the village pariah, the she-devil who left local golden boy Isaac at the altar four years ago and ran away to the big city. She could really do without the drama. Particularly as he’s engaged again, and she’s just been dumped for the fourth time this year.

Christian’s fed up of being on his own every Christmas. He doesn’t mind being alone, but he hates his family’s sad eyes and soft tones as they sit around coupled up. Because he’s actually, totally, fine.

So when Megan literally bumps into Christian in a Dublin pub, they come up with a pact to see them through the holiday season. They’re going to be the very best fake dates for each other, ever.

Rules are drawn up, a contract is signed on a wine-stained napkin. They will sit through each other’s family gatherings and be outrageously in love until freed from their annual obligations. After all, it’s only for a few weeks.

But with everyone home for the holidays, two big families to deal with alongside old friends, old flames and old feelings, things are bound to get messy. And when a snowed-in cabin and a little Christmas magic are added to the mix, anything could happen…

My Review of Snowed In

Megan is on the run from her own wedding.

What a gorgeous, witty, romantic, Christmassy story. I absolutely loved Snowed In. Catherine Walsh writes with an effortless style that draws in her reader and keeps them spell bound by her storytelling. Her descriptions add the perfect amount of detail and her dialogue is natural and believable so that combined they enhance her setting, plot and characters. 

It’s a fabulous plot. Of course, much of Snowed In is as any reader of romantic fiction would hope, and it’s incredibly satisfying to read with just the right amount of sexiness and love woven in, but at the same time Catherine Walsh does not shy away from bigger themes too. Megan’s reasons for leaving Isaac at the altar, Christian’s relationship with his father and the ways in which society can make assumptions about, and judge, others are all serious enough to add depth without for one moment spoiling what is a smashing romance. 

I loved meeting Megan and Christian. What I enjoyed so much was the fact that Christian isn’t some conventionally hard boiled, grumpy hero who is miraculously ‘cured’ by Megan as the only heroine who can break through his tough veneer. Rather, this is the story of two warm, vivid individuals who have a past that affects them and who get to know one another in a natural, funny and engaging way. From the very beginning it is impossible not to care about them. The other characters feel equally real, as do the familial relationships so that there’s much to relate to in Snowed In as well as to enjoy. I thought this was such lovely writing. 

I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed Snowed In. It’s the kind of book that entertains beautifully and leaves the reader feeling uplifted, hopeful and happy. Snowed In deserves to be read by a crackling fire on a cold winter’s afternoon as it transports the reader from the cares of the world into a narrative that has every romantic fiction element blended into a beautiful, transporting story. It’s a total smasher! Don’t miss it.

About Catherine Walsh

Catherine Walsh was born and raised in Ireland.

She lived in London for a few years before returning to Dublin where she now lives between the mountains and the sea. When not writing she is trying and failing to not kill her houseplants.

For further information, Visit Catherine’s website, follow her on Twitter/X @CatWalshWriter or find Catherine on Instagram.