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‘Warm and uplifting storytelling: a delightful treat’
Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures

‘If you’re not in the Yuletide mood yet, you will be after this’
Telegraph

‘An ode to the strange and wonderful time that is Christmas’
Stylist

‘A novel that’s sure to warm the heart of any Scrooge’
Radio Times

‘Tender and moving, Gifts is infused with Christmas magic – that bittersweet mix of joy, yearning, sadness and hope that accompanies the festive season’
Daily Mirror

‘A gorgeous festive tale… Beautifully written and highly emotionally intelligent’
Daily Mail

‘I loved The Versions Of Us by Laura Barnett and her new novel is just as wonderful… The ideal warm, bittersweet read to get you in the festive spirit’
Good Housekeeping

‘Full of warmth, poignancy and a huge dose of Christmas spirit’
Red

Twelve people
Twelve gifts
One Christmas to remember


Maddy runs the bookshop on Market Square. She’s struggling to choose a gift (a watch? a wine subscription? a weekend bag? all too much?) for her old school friend Peter, who’s just moved back from London following a messy divorce.

Peter doesn’t have a clue what to get for his teenage daughter Chloe – furious with her mother, she’s decided to up sticks and move to Kent with him, but he worries that he really doesn’t know her at all.

Chloe wants to buy something special for her grandmother Irene, who lives alone on the other side of town.

Irene doesn’t get out much these days, but she’d really like to find the right gift for Alina, who’s so much more than a carer, really – always stops to chat for a bit, have a cup of tea, even if it makes her late.

And Alina, meanwhile, has her eye on something for…

From the no. 1 bestselling author of The Versions of Us comes a novel about how wonderful and sad and difficult and happy and strange Christmas can be. Stories to inspire, move and comfort.

‘He felt it: the lightness, the expansiveness, the anticipation, the sense that something good was coming. And it was, wasn’t it – though the world was still licking its collective wounds and there was still suffering everywhere, suffering and loneliness and sadness. Despite all this, it was good: it was kindness, it was giving without thought of recompense, it was light in the darkness’

What's Inside

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Reviews

Jo Finney, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
The ideal warm, bittersweet read to get you in the festive spirit.
Clare Chambers, author of SMALL PLEASURES
Warm and uplifting storytelling: a delightful treat.
Sara Lawrence, DAILY MAIL
I thoroughly enjoyed this gorgeous festive tale. Told in the form of interlinked short stories, it's beautifully written and highly emotionally intelligent.
Sarra Manning, RED
Full of warmth, poignancy and a huge dose of Christmas spirit.
Francesca Brown, STYLIST
The best gift of all is a book you can curl up under a blanket with over the Christmas and New Year holidays and happily transport yourself. Leading the way is Laura Barnett's Gifts which is an ode to the strange and wonderful time that is Christmas told through a series of moving stories about characters trying to find gifts for awkward-yet-loved people in their lives.
HOOD MAGAZINE
This book will inspire, comfort, and move anyone who reads it.
RADIO TIMES
Celebrating the power of community and exploring the emotional ups and downs the festive season can bring, it's a novel that's sure to warm the heart of any Scrooge.
Deirdre O'Brien, BEST
This gem of a book is well observed, poignant and hopeful.
Mernie Gilmore, DAILY MIRROR
Tender and moving, Gifts is infused with Christmas magic - that bittersweet mix of joy, yearning, sadness and hope that accompanies the festive season.
ZOELLA
They say don't judge a book by its cover but in this case, go right ahead. Like chocolate for the eyes, Gifts tells the bittersweet story of 12 interconnected characters on the hunt for the perfect gift for the people who matter most to them. An immensely readable book made for a cosy day at home, preferably with a snoozing dog on your lap.
MY WEEKLY
Heartwarming and comforting, this beautiful festive gift of a book allows you to connect with a vivid cast of characters and soak up the festive spirit of hope which is infused in every page... A wonderful piece of storytelling that is a must read for your festive fiction book selection.
TELEGRAPH
In her third novel, set in a fictional English village, Barnett weaves together 12 interlinking stories set at Christmastime. We meet a single dad, a grieving daughter, a guilt-ridden ex-convict and a sprightly pensioner, and what connects them is a desire to do right by the people they love and choose the perfect gift. If you're not in the Yuletide mood yet, you will be after this.