Book Extract & Giveaway: A Taste of Christmas Spirit by Susan Buchanan
I’m so happy to be welcoming Susan Buchanan back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest book, A Taste of Christmas Spirit.
AN ALL-NEW CHRISTMAS SPIRIT BOOK FOR 2025
CAN LARA ADD A DASH OF MAGIC THIS CHRISTMAS?
The Sugar and Spice bakery sparkles with holiday spirit as Jacob serves up more mouthwatering festive treats, and Christmas spirit Lara tries to sprinkle her magic over those finding the time of year difficult.
Ollie is at his wits’ end. A debt from years ago comes back to haunt him just as he and his girlfriend are buying their dream home.
Rose is dejected as her college sweetheart has dumped her now they’re in their final year. She’s not looking forward to Christmas alone, nor her twenty-first birthday on Christmas Eve.
Sacha has recently moved to Winstanton following the failure of his business. He’s too embarrassed to confide in his family, but can he find the friendship he so desperately needs and begin to trust again?
Diana tries to find her new normal after the unexpected death of her husband earlier this year. All her plans for retirement have been thrown out the window and she feels lost. She needs a renewed sense of purpose and to find her place in the world.
Can Lara provide the answer to a joy-filled Christmas?
A story of hope, love, friendship, community, and of course, Christmas spirit. For fans of Sarah Morgan, Philippa Ashley, Jenny Colgan and Cathy Bramley.
There’s a chance to win a signed and dedicated copy of A Taste of Christmas Spirit below but first, Susan has shared an extract below. We hope you enjoy it.
*****beginning of extract*****
Sixty-something Diana is sitting in Sugar and Spice, one of her main haunts, whiling away the day.
*****
Diana was on her second latte, reading the final three chapters of A Christmas Carol in preparation for the first Christmas book club event that evening. It had been so many years since she’d last read it that she’d quite forgotten how much she’d enjoyed it first time around. Of course, she’d also watched the various adaptations over the years on TV, but it wasn’t the same as reading the story, particularly from the special edition hardback she’d picked up at Tom and Jerry’s. How handy the bookshop was next door to the café. The only thing that could make it any better would be if they created a door between the two.
Once again, Diana tried to remind herself of all the things she should be grateful for. She had clubs and classes she attended. She had friends. She had wonderful children. A delightful grandson. She was educated. She had a little haven right here in Winstanton, in the form of Sugar and Spice. For a moment tears threatened. These affirmations were all very well, but telling herself of everything she had to be grateful for didn’t diminish the pain she felt at the absence of Martin from her life. Life could be very cruel.
As she reached the final page of A Christmas Carol, she noted a young, nattily dressed man approaching the counter. She hadn’t seen him around before. With his tousled salt and pepper hair and deep brown eyes, he was handsome, but a sadness around those eyes detracted slightly from that. She recognised another damaged soul when she saw one. Those who had suffered a loss, or had been subjected to an extreme shock or unhappiness, identified with each other. Yes, this handsome young man wasn’t happy, and it made her wonder what his story was.
She pulled out her French notebook and course book, ready to start swotting up, as she’d always think of it, in preparation for her class tomorrow. Taking a French class had been Christine’s idea. Christine was full of good ideas, even if she didn’t always participate in the activities she suggested. She was much too busy at the moment with all her committee meetings to take time out to go to French class.
Personally, Diana thought she’d tired of it, but didn’t like to say, especially as Diana was enjoying it so much. She recalled learning French first time around. It had always seemed pointless. When would she need to use the French for digger, or undertaker or chief financial officer? No, the class she was attending now was much more to her liking, much more grounded, useful, really. She was learning not just the basics, but vocabulary that could help were she to ever take that trip to Paris she and Martin had been promising themselves for years, although the idea of going alone was a sobering one. The only problem was she felt they didn’t cover much each class. She was champing at the bit to do more.
As she turned to the page featuring cultural norms, etiquette and French customs, she paused. The young man had begun speaking to Jacob. If she wasn’t mistaken his accent was French. She did her best to eavesdrop without being obvious. She tried not to grin; she felt very clandestine. Well, if you couldn’t be a little bit naughty when you were retired, when could you be? she told herself.
Yes, he was definitely French. What did he say his name was? Asher? Didn’t sound particularly French. Wasn’t Asher a Hebrew name? How on earth she’d come to that conclusion, she didn’t know. She must have picked it up from the many quiz shows she’d watched in the months following Martin’s death.
She returned her attention to her French homework. It would be unacceptable to come anything less than top of the class tomorrow. If something was worth doing, it was worth doing well, after all.
*****end of extract*****
About Susan Buchanan –
Susan Buchanan writes contemporary romance, women’s fiction and romantic comedies, usually featuring travel, food, family, friendship, community – also Christmas!
Her books are Sign of the Times, The Dating Game, The Christmas Spirit, Return of the Christmas Spirit, A Little Christmas Spirit and Just One Day – Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn, The Leap Year Proposal and You Can’t Hurry Love
As a freelance developmental editor, copyeditor and proofreader, if she’s not reading, editing or writing, she’s thinking about it.
She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, the Society of Authors and the Alliance of Independent Authors.
She lives near Glasgow with her husband, two children and a crazy Labrador.
When she’s not editing, writing, reading or caring for her two delightful cherubs, she likes going to the theatre, playing board games, watching quiz shows and eating out, and she has recently discovered a love of writing retreats.
Say hello to Susan via her website, Facebook, X, Instagram, Threads and BlueSky.
A Taste of Christmas Spirit is book four in The Christmas Spirit series and was released in September 2025. Click to buy on Amazon and Waterstones.
Praise for the Christmas Spirit series:
‘Christmas all wrapped up!’
‘Right from page one you are drawn into all the joys of Christmas!’
‘A lovely story about love, friendship and hope all wrapped up in a lovely Christmas jumper!’
‘You can taste the hot chocolate, see all the Christmas lights and feel the warmth of a Christmas hug.’
Win A Signed And Dedicated Paperback Of A Taste of Christmas Spirit.
Do you live in the UK and fancy winning your own signed and dedicated paperback copy of A Taste of Christmas Spirit?
All you have to do to enter is follow this link and follow the instructions.
UK Only.
*Terms and Conditions –
UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Gleam link above.
The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner.
Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.
Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.
I (Novel Kicks) am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
by 
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.
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.
Book Club
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