Meet Me Under The Mistletoe ended up being a DNF for me. I had a hard time connecting with the story and characters. I was bummed because I have enjoyed her other books.

In Meet Me Under the Mistletoe, used bookstore owner Nory heads back to her old stomping grounds for the wedding of one of her boarding school friends. Nory was the quintessential scholarship student of their group, who is rounded out by an intriguing and often annoying or repugnant group of characters (but purposefully so). Staying in a castle for a mini-reunion the week before the wedding, Nory also runs into her bother's old mate and her childhood crush, Isaac, now the gardener on the estate. Their connection develops during Nory's stay, but classism (and reverse classism), secrets, and the ticking end date throw a wrench in their budding romance.

While full of holiday feels and British charm, this is not a light romance. The suicide of Nory and her friends' classmate and his death's impact on them is discussed throughout the book (i.e., not skippable). And the tension due to privilege between Nory, her family, her friends, and Isaac is at the forefront. The privilege that Nory's friends were born into and that Nory was granted through her scholarship cause a riff between the family that Isaac also feels--pretty much everyone is judging everyone for either having money or not without knowing anything else about them. And most of the judgments are unwarranted (except for Guy; he's trash). These features of the book certainly and depth and thought-provoking insights, but keep it from being light and fluffy. The Big HurdleTM (i.e., third act breakup) was also one of those Leave-It-To-Beaver moments you could see coming from a mile away but couldn't do anything to stop it. But ultimately, the whole story was wrapped up nicely in a bow and I enjoyed it as a romance that was a little bit different my normal fare.

Thanks to Putnam for my eARC and finished copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4 stars - 8/10

MEET ME UNDER THE MISTLETOE
by Jenny Bayliss

This is the third book I’ve read by Jenny Bayliss. I get swept up in her seasonal stories every time I pick up one of her books and they always feel like a nice escape, most of the time.

MEET ME UNDER THE MISTLETOE is about Nory. Nory owns a small bookshop in the countryside, which I thought was a charming detail. She’s off to celebrate a wedding with a few of her friends and hopes all things will go well, knowing it's not likely to go that way.

The holidays were featured but not as much as would’ve liked. I also would’ve liked a lot more of the bookshop details. Those that were given were nice but brief. I feel like there was more focus on the realistic details of everyday life and less focus on escapist details- which is what I’m here for.

Some of the subject matter from the material is heavy and I can see that being a turn-off for some readers. For me personally, it helped give the book something that I can hold onto as a reader. The complexities provided depth for the characters, although it was mostly still lacking the charm that I wanted in a holiday novel.

It wasn’t that the heavier subject matter was there it is more that the lighter subject matters were not.

Overall, I liked this book but not as an escapist read.

Thanks to Netgalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons, and Penguin Random House Audio for an advanced copy of this book!

MEET ME UNDER THE MISTLETOE…⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a cute rom-com, but I'd classify it more as contemporary fiction with a bit of romance. I wish this wasn't necessarily marketed as a Christmas read, it felt more like a story that took place in the wintertime, let alone Christmas. It's definitely a bit of a slow-burn compared to what I'm used to when it comes to romance - which is fine!

Initially, I really liked Nory! I mean, owning a secondhand bookstore is quite literally my dream job. However, as the story progressed, she really started to irritate me.

~450ish pages for a light Christmas romance is somewhat pushing the limits for me as well. There were a ton of side characters (most of whom I despised) and smaller storylines that didn't seem necessary, so I found myself bored at parts.

I will say that I LOVED Isaac! What a gem. He was definitely the best part of this book.

I'm beginning to think closed door romances may not be my cup of tea - and that's okay!

Overall, I enjoyed it and thought the story was cute. If you enjoy fade to black scenes, you'll definitely appreciate this one!

I’m not happy to make this review, but I unfortunately did not finish this book about 20% of the way in.

I did not want to pick up the book to read it and when I did read it, I found myself incredibly bored. I was really looking forward to a cute holiday book, but I could not connect with any of the (many, many) characters and I found the main character to be lacking in any personality with boring, mundane dialogue.

This isn’t it. WAY too long and I just wasn’t convinced of any of it. So much repetition of unimportant and boring bits. The friend group vibes were NOT it. The fade to black sexy times were a disappointment. There was minimal yearning. So many scenes were just so earnest and saccharine — it was too much for my cold, black heart to take. I would like to stay for a turn in that castle though!

I think this book was mismarketed. The title and the cover make you think it’s going to be a holiday romance, but it lacks the lighthearted, cozy, Hallmark feel that you expect in that genre. This is contemporary fiction with a side of romance, that really only involves the holidays in the last few pages. It reminds me of the movie St Elmo’s Fire, more about a group of friends dealing with the struggles of becoming adults. There’s suicide, racism, infidelity, and just heavy stuff. Takes a while to feel at all like a romance, because it’s really more about so many other things. Also, Closed Door, which is not my preference.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

I just reviewed Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Jenny Bayliss. #MeetMeUndertheMistletoe #NetGalley
I give this book 3.5 stars. There were a lot of characters with a multiple settings in the book that at times, became hard to keep up with. I was hoping for more of a Christmas theme throughout.

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 4/5⭐️⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝: The setting of this book was so dreamy. Meet Me Under the Mistletoe brings a group of friends together for a wedding at an old castle in the town where they went to school. As a secondary location, Nory (Elinor) also works at a charming little used book store in London and calls back there to check in frequently, giving readers flashes of our favorite type of space. The cozy English countryside setting and bookish elements made this one a really lovely winter read and doesn’t rely too heavily on Christmas.

I really loved the relationship between Nory and Isaac and wish that even more of the book had been focused on them because every scene with the two of them had me swooning. Isaac was such a sweet and caring love interest, and I loved the forbidden partnering of him and Nory together.

I always appreciate a MC’s complicated family relationships and the balance of their “found family”—this book delivered on that, not only with Nory’s eclectic group of childhood friends, but also with her bookstore colleagues and castle staff. Nory’s balance of all the different groups in her life felt very realistic, and that added element of tension made for a great subplot.
⁣⁣⁣
𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞: There are a lot of characters to keep track of in this book and most weren’t particularly likeable. The book spend a significant amount of time focused on the multiple sub-plots and it felt like we were often just skimming the surface of too many stories instead of getting a complete resolution of one. I would have preferred to spend more time with Nory and Isaac.

Did I read this back in August and hold the review to post with my tree? Yes.

I love Jenny Bayliss Christmas books, they’re Christmasy without being over the top and Under the Mistletoe (out now) is no exception.

Nory and a group of boarding school friends meet up for a week of parties before two friends marry. While at the manor house, Nory reconnects with childhood crush, Isaac.

What I liked: The friendships was really well-done and made me long for a meet-up with my college friends. The traditions were cute and I liked how they still loved each other despite differences and disagreements.

Bayliss does a great job of building a small town, manor house, or bookstore, so that you feel like you’re actually there.

Mistletoe is a Christmas book without being over the top holiday focused.

What didn’t work for me: it really bugged me that the main character, Elinor, says she goes by Nory and then the author flips between Elinor and Nory constantly, sometimes in the same paragraph.

The timeframe seemed short from the time Nory and Isaac reconnected to falling in love. In general, I wasn’t sure how much time had passed in the novel or how many days before the wedding.

Then the conflict… I don’t understand why Nory did what she did.

Who should read it: You loved Bayliss’ other books and want a fun friend centered romance.

Thank you @putnambooks and @netgalley for my arc.

This one was perfectly fine. The setting for the story was fun but there were entirely too many characters to keep track of. And many of the characters were just unlikeable and it was tough to imagine them ever being friends. It also tried to tackle too many big issues in one book I such a way that didn’t feel natural. I liked the small town setting, the castle, and the family nursery which lent itself well to the plot. I enjoyed the experience but I wouldn’t rush to recommend it to folks.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3/5 for this British holiday romance. I liked the setting especially the book shop! Oh how id love to visit. There are some tougher topics that were touched on but I didnt mind it. What I didnt like; Nory was a bit frustrating and hard to root for. There was one too many side characters and secondary stories going on that it was a bit tough to keep track of it all. This was marketed as a feel holiday romance and I'm not sure thats true. I didnt exactly get the warm Christmas vibes i wanted to. I enjoyed it for what it was but not sure id recommend it to others

I hate that this is my least favorite Jenny book yet because I was so looking forward to it. There were just SO many side plots and characters that I felt like it really detracted from the main story. It was more contemporary fiction than romance which is fine, but it is marketed as holiday romance and I felt it was lacking in that front so I was left disappointed and underwhelmed.

I can't possibly rate this well. The characters are unbelievably immature and childish. I wanted a lovely yet romantic Christmas novel. Horrible characters.

I wanted to love this one as I'm a sucker for a Christmas book involving books. However this one fell flat. While I did like the hero, the heroine was too much of a pushover and it kind of made her unlikeable. And I found myself caring more about secondary characters who were only in parts of the book more than the main female character.

The main character Nory (Elinor) Noel is a used book shop owner in London used- bookshop owner. Which already makes for a delightful setting for the Christmas season - old and special editions of the Christmas classics are discussed and Christmas display is set up and completed. But the main part of the story takes place in a castle in Nora’s hometown where she is staying for a wedding in her small group of friends from school.
She had a hard time growing up in a working class family while being the scholarship kid at a local posh boarding school. There was always a divide between her two lives and she felt a bit on the outside in both environments. But now years later and fully grown up she's back stuck between the two.
She‘s surprised to see Isaac the former gardener’s son now the head gardener at the castle himself. They were enemies during school time but now Nory is falling for Isaac- is the divide still too big all this time later?
Christmas time in a London book shop and and Christmas time wedding in a castle in one book. This book has all the best seasonal settings - and hellebores are discussed especially pink ones, I love hellebores and have them on my front steps, their sturdy winter blooms are just the best !

This one hurts because the premise sounded fantastic. My issue were the massive amounts of characters that were introduced very quickly into the book. I never felt connected to them, so I kept having to go back to figure out who they were. I've read The Twelve Dates of Christmas and didn't love it, but did enjoy the writing, so I had high hopes for this one. I'll def give her another shot though.

This was a festive Christmas read! Overall, I would definitely recommend it!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

This was quite depressing for a Christmas read and not at all what I expected. TW for suicide and infidelity.

This is a cute, very PG Christmas romance. I liked Nory and Isaac's relationship, and the side characters and plots were well developed (although there were a few too many of them). It's not going to be a new favorite, but it's a good choice if you're in the mood for something festive and light!