I loved the plot, I loved the story but I just couldn’t get past some of the writing. I did not like that the author used full real names of characters and their nicknames. It made it confusing at times because of the number of characters that were in the story/ their relationship with one another. I did love the different family dynamics throughout and the socioeconomic status of the different friends said. Some parts seemed a bit unrealistic to me (some of the characters were a bit too dramatic for me.) In general, good story.

This was such a lovely winter romance! I will say that this book was not too heavily revolved around Christmas — focused more on the wedding of the MC’s best friends’ wedding rather than the holiday.

I was instantly drawn to the descriptions of the castle, which is where the majority of the story took place. While this was a great setting for this romance novel, I couldn’t help but think that this would have also been the perfect setting for a mystery or thriller!

I enjoyed the story and the characters, but this book felt long to me. I could’ve gone without some of the scenes — there were a few that didn’t feel important to the story.

I recommend this book to anyone that wants to experience a countryside winter in London!

Although predictable, a very cute cold weather read with fun characters and a fantastic setting.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60219836

This is a cozy book but, missing some of what I usually want in a Christmas romance. This was centered more around friendship relationships than the actual romantic relationships.

Cute, cozy but, missing some of the actual Christmas romance that was promised.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing team for my free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I had high hopes for this book but finally gave up about 1/3 of the way through and DNF. I LOVED 12 dates of Christmas and really thought this would be similar but it was very dry and dull. I did not connect to the characters at all. Sad to DNF this one.

: 3.5 out of 5. the 12 dates of christmas was light and cute so this one had promise. As with 12 dates this is a predictable but nice in My hallmark movie scale. It is still the traditional Made for TV Christmas story, but there was a little bit of confusion as to what it wanted to be. It was a little too convoluted to be just a Cute Christmas Romance, because you had the friends group storyline, the social commentary storyline, the wedding etc. However, there was so much to pack in and discover from the friend group, that that would have been a great book by itself if they had given more backstory. As it stands, I never got into the why they were friends as much, because I didn't have the backstory, but it took a hell of a lot of story bandwidth. A cute and predictable Christmas story, it just could have been more.

How much Christmas: A sprinkling of holly and quite a bit of snow. It is not a Christmas story but it does happen in Christmas so its acceptable level of Christmas

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was excited to read this one but it just didn't hold my interest.

Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam's for the e-arc.
Adding Isaac and Dev to the book boyfriends list! A cute story, 3.5 stars rounding up to 4. Not so much a romance as the "romantic" parts between Elinor (Nory) and Isaac take place off page, which was a little disappointing, but more of a friends' reunion story. Excellent epilogue.

Without giving away spoilers, I'm not sure I would have forgiven so easily when one of the main characters betrays a trust. And why are any of them still friends with Guy? He's so toxic. I did love the friendship between Elinor and Ameerah - they are exactly what best friends should be to each other. Speaking of Elinor, it really annoyed me (to the point of distraction) that her character was alternately called both Elinor and Nory, sometimes within the same sentence, definitely within the same paragraph, throughout the entire book. Very off-putting, but that's probably just me.

I really enjoy Jenny Bayliss books, would recommend this, and look forward to her next one.

Another Christmas book I was THRILLED to receive as an ARC. This read very much like a Hallmark Christmas movie. It is a major mash up of a lot of Christmas tropes.

The vibes:
❄️ Christmas castle setting
❄️ Christmas wedding
❄️ Cozy little bookshop
❄️ Yuppie friend reunion
❄️ Childhood enemies to lovers
❄️ Quirky bookish girl
❄️ With a side of insta-love

So TBH, I’m torn about this one. There are a lot of characters and I couldn’t keep them all straight. I didn’t relate to the “framily” friend group dynamic. The conflict was very predictable. But in the same breath isn’t this the point of a Christmas rom com? You read it knowing it’s gonna be a Christmas wonderland overload with some over blown drama?
I think this is still worth the read to get you in the Christmas spirit. The setting alone gets you in the spirit. I missed listening to the accents (my fave part about British rom coms).
Add this one to your Christmas TBR. Mark your calendar for September 24 for this release. Thanks @netgalley for this ARC!

DNF at 53%. I started skimming around 30% hoping it would pick up but it didn't. If you're a millennial who likes winter vibes with mediocre dialogue and minimum plot, you will like this book. Unfortunately, I am not that so this book wasn't for me.

Nory is an average girl who owns a bookshop and has wealthy friends. They all go to a castle in the country for a wedding and there she reconnects with Isaac, a now gardener at the castle who she had a crush on as a teen. I got through half the book and never got excited about any of the characters or Nory and Isaac's relationship. All the characters are so violently millennial and one-dimensional. I couldn't relate to any of them, and that is fine, but I also did not care about any of them. Except for Camille, who at 50% just leaves the group? I did not see how Nory and Isaac were rivals, I only saw how he was the poor son of a gardener and she was with the fancy prep school kids--there just isn't any showing of their old relationship besides some dialogue telling you what it is, which sucks when the whole premise of the book is supposed to be Nory choosing between two lives. I never got excited about their relationship and I don't think the author did a good job of developing it at all. It was basically 0-100 of Nory got there, met Isaac, and the next day she is fawning over him at his house. At the halfway mark, there was no choosing and no conflict, and absolutely no character development. Actually, there was. There was a conflict between Camille and Guy, who are not even the main characters, and Ameera had some character development, who again is not the main character! And the dialogue... OMG, it was so boring and unremarkable that if you took out all the unnecessary mundane conversations the book would probably be at least two times shorter. I am serious, there was so much dialogue and so little plot/ action!

Because of all that, I just couldn't get into the book. I really wanted to and I was looking forward to good 'winter in the country rich kids aesthetic poor boy rich girl love story' vibes. But unfortunately other than the author directly telling you in the dialogue that the group is wealthy/ a love story was developing, nothing else showed for it. If by the halfway mark I don't care about the main characters and am not excited about what is going to happen, I can't justify reading any further.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an e-ARC of this book.

It’s never too early to start reading Christmas themed novels. It’s never too early to read another Jenny Baylis book. Although as I finished reading this book I realized I need another book by her soon. It’s becoming a tradition of mine to read her books during the holidays.

She did it again. The author captured my heart and made me fall in love with Robinhood Castle, Nory’s family, Isaac and Nory’s shits and giggles gang. This book is not only focused on love or friendship. It also tackled navigating adulthood, belongingness and mental health. The topics might sound heavy but the author has a way of talking about all this issue with feeling light and comfortable. As I read the book it made me think about my old gang back in high school and the fun memories we made. Some of us are still in touch and some of us are busy with adulting but all of them will hold a very special place in my heart.

This wasn’t my first Jenny Bayliss novel, so I know her writing style tends toward the verbose. But still I simply Could. Not. Get. Into. This.

It sounded like it would be a story of growth and discovery in love, but the main character, Elinor Noel (Nory for short), lacks personality and was a big part of the reason I couldn't get invested in the story. I love a cozy, holiday-adjacent romance, but unfortunately this was not the one for me.

Thank you to Putnam Books and NetGalley for sharing this advance reader copy!

𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀: Meet Me Under the Mistletoe
𝒜𝓊𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓇: Jenny Bayliss
𝒢𝑒𝓃𝓇𝑒: Holiday Romance
𝑅𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔: 5 stars⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝒫𝓊𝒷 𝒟𝒶𝓎: September 27, 2022
Penguin Group Putnam
 
 I bring you yet another BANGER of a book in my #ChristmasinJuly readathon. I present to you a book set in the Christmas season about a bibliophile who’s described as a “mouthy woman.” Sign me up! We meet Nory, who’s obsessed with flowers & plants and her life revolves around books. Top it off with a Christmas romance! What more could you possibly want?! This novel follows the relationships and their dynamics of a group of 8 adults that have been friends since childhood. The group’s banter and rapport are laugh out loud funny and heart-warming. This story is full of. . .
👯‍♀️👯Reunions
🔥Fireplaces
❄️ Snow
❤️Romance
📚Books
💕Heart to heart conversations
👊🏻Fist Fights
🎄Christmas
Again I ask, what more could you possibly want?
To date, I have read every novel Jenny Bayliss has written and I just absolutely love her. She writes charming characters that really engage you in her stories. She writes enchanting love stories, lovable friendships, angelic elderly people, and seductive romance scenes. Even when she writes in an unpleasant character whose attitude is bellicose and difficult, you still just love them as well because her backstories and contextual writing is just entirely captivating. I would absolutely love to see this turn in to a series following more closely each individual that made up this friend group. Personally, Pippa and Ameerah stole the show for me! I cannot wait to purchase this novel on pub day to add to my Bayliss collection!

Thank you Penguin Group Putnam for this #GiftedArc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Meet Me Under the Mistletoe! Christmas theme, likeable characters, fun story…check! Check! And check! You know you’ve enjoyed the world the author has built when you think about the characters again even after the story is over!

Sweet, light read! I love a holiday romance :) It could have been more spicy and more focus on the romance. I enjoyed it!

Thank you NetGalley and Jenny Bayliss!

A weeklong boarding school friend reunion, filled with fun activities in a local castle. Followed by the wedding of two of said friends in the same gorgeous setting. Sound like a dream vacation? Maybe not to Nory, a local girl who attended school on scholarship and wants to avoid one of the party goers. When Nory reconnects with her old arch nemesis who works on the castle grounds, vacation becomes a lot more interesting.

I enjoyed reading this story. I don’t think I would classify it as a holiday romance. The actual romance part seemed secondary to the relationships of the friend group. I wished for more between Isaac and Nory. The tension promised but didn’t really deliver. It was all very cozy, though. 3.5/5 Stars

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to review this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. #MeetMeUndertheMistletoe #NetGalley

This has all the fun, sweet elements I wanted in a book, so cute! I’d definitely recommend it to my family and friends.

I thought this was a cute story. It wasn't my all-time-fave or anything, but it was a good read. I think some of our patrons will really enjoy it so I'll definitely purchase for the collection.

Thank you Netgalley, Penguin Group and Putnam Publishing for the ARC of Meet Me Under the Mistletoe. All opinions are mine.

Meet Me Under the Mistletoe is a love story full of vibrant characters and lush settings.
Elinor Noel, Nory, is about to reunite with her very posh boarding school friends for weeklong wedding festivities at a castle in the village where she grew up. Nory was a scholarship student, and has always struggled to reconcile her modest upbringing with her boarding school education and "elite" friend group. Except, she doesn't think of them as elite.

Nory is the kind of no-BS person who treats everyone the same, no matter if they come from money or not. That's what I loved about her and related to the most.

While at the wedding party, Nory runs into an old nemesis/crush/brother's best friend, Issac, who is now the head gardener at the castle. Sparks fly and the tension between Nory and Issac is very sweet. And the love is instant, which I am a fan of instant love so... yay!

Overall, I thought this was a really well-done holiday romance. There were some issues with the pacing. The beginning was slow to start, and the end also lagged. Another issue I had was the fade to black romance. I'm not opposed to fade to black but it did feel that, with all the great tension, Bayliss could have given the reader a little more passion. I felt a little cheated on that score.

I enjoyed all of Nory's friends, except Guy, when I was able to wrap my head around all the players. I love the moonlight croquet, and all of the really beautiful elements of Nory's bookstore, the castle, and the gardens. It was really lovely. I recommend if you're looking for a sweet, Hallmark-esque, holiday read.

First off, Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really wanted to love this but it just wasn’t for me! The story was overall cute, but just left me kinda meh? I honestly could not connect with any of the characters.

The main issue I had was the book was mainly about Nory and her friends reuniting for a wedding. But the romance felt really just pushed aside. I just wanted more fluff and romance in this Christmas read! I did find it enjoyable at times. The book just didn’t meet my expectations. 3 stars out of 5.