Every time I pick up a new Jenny Bayliss book, I hope that it will capture the holiday fun, magic, and charm that was so prevalent in her debut, The Twelve Dates of Christmas. Every year, I find myself sorely disappointed with this year's read, A December to Remember, being the most monumental let-down of all.

I could unfortunately tell from the very first page that A December to Remember was not going to be it for me. We are immediately thrown into the disorder and melee following a small-town's strange, and now dead, Lothario. He leaves three semi-estranged daughters in his wake, all birthed by different mothers, who grew up only spending their summers together. Thus, their relationship isn't the best, but in order to receive their inheritance, they must work together to follow a trail of clues that their father has left them to revive the town's Winter Solstice Festival.

While this novel did not work for me due to its detached writing style and superfluous amount of supporting characters, it will be right up the alley of those who enjoy quirky reads that feature eccentric people and places. Readers who love books with small town vibes and all manner of personalities among the townfolk will appreciate what Bayliss was going for in this holiday-lite read.

I loved this book!!! perfect for the holiday season and to make you understand the real meaning of the holiday season.

3 sisters that only used to see each other for a month during summer. 3 sisters that haven't seen each other in a while and get together after their dad died. 3 sisters that have to work together to fulfill their father's last wish and bring together the winter solstice festival for one last time. 3 sisters with different problems: scared of loosing people and about to be evicted from her home, infertility and not knowing her path and purpose in life. 3 sisters that learn from each other and become real sisters.

3 beautiful stories about 3 strong woman, different but linked by their love for their family, for each other and for their father.

I just couldn’t get through it. It had soo many characters, storylines, that I just couldn’t keep it straight. The dialogue was off for me as well. I will try something else from this author in the future maybe since so many love her, this just wasn’t for me.

Read for Winter Solstice, Small town, sisterly relationships, family dynamics, cozy vibes.

Jenny Bayliss is the queen of winter cozy British books. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her newest and then waited to read until December and I wish I read earlier. You could read this anytime during the winter, not just in December.

This story focuses on estranged ‘summer’ sisters – who all have the same dad but only saw each other growing up in the summer in the small town of Rowan Thorp.

There is some romance, but it takes a backseat to the storytelling of family dynamics between the sisters.

This was a sweet story from one of my favorite holiday story tellers. I loved that the story focused on the relationship between the three sisters and the Winter Solstice. As usual, Bayliss created a very cozy setting with the town of Rowan Thorp.

I would have loved to had more back story on the sisters. Their relationship with each other and with their father felt a bit thin at times.

A cute holiday book that isn’t solely a romance! The whole book felt like a warm hug and the characters very lovable. Having 3 sisters as the main characters did mean having a lot of storylines going at once, but they consistently came back to the main thread of the book, getting them to be better sisters than they were.

A December to Remember was a heartwarming story about estranged sisters reuniting with a little help from their deceased father. I enjoyed getting to jump into the lives of each sister and see how they are able to reconnect. I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a sweet holiday read that does not focus heavily on Christmas.

A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss is a holiday themed story. The wintertime setting will definitely put you in the holiday spirit. I loved the premise of this book, but I found that it started pretty slowly and was hard to get into. Overall, it was a good read. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

This one was so much fun! I think this one was my favorite holiday read of the season! The premise/plot was new and not tried and true nonsense. I loved the estranged half sister's having to work together after their father's death to get their inheritance and connect with one another again. The small town setting and winter solstice festival prep was absolutely everything I hoped it would be. LOVE all the side characters and their assistance. Would LOVE to read another book set in this town. I appreciate that each sister got their own HEA which wasn't always a traditional sort. Definitely would recommend this one to anyone who is looking to get into the spirit and doesn't need an overt Christmas sort of read. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review!

I have read other Jenny Bayliss stories and enjoyed them just as much as this one, not surprisingly. I felt a deep emotional connection to this story of three sisters as someone who has two sisters myself. This one had such a feel-good ending and made me want to call my sisters and/or give them a huge hug!

I absolutely adored this book! I was looking for a whimsical, small town Christmas book and this one checked all the boxes: A cozy, witty and heartwarming story about three estranged half sisters who come together after their recently deceased, eccentric father, who owned an antique shop, sends them on a series of quests in order to receive their inheritance. And, of course, as it always seems to happen when families come together, quite a bit of chaos ensues!

The relationships in this story are what make it truly special. I truly enjoyed the sisters’ relationship, each handling their grief and childhood wounds so very differently but all in such relatable ways. The banter, the quirky townspeople and the remnants of their eccentric father mixed with the small town Christmas vibes made this such a fun holiday read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for providing a copy of this arc in exchange for an honest review.

A DECEMBER TO REMEMBER review

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5

🎄Helllllo Christmas Break and tis the season to stay curled up on the couch with a good book. 😌 I binged this one in about 24 hours and enjoyed it! I’ve now read all 4 of this author’s books and this one is definitely my fave!

🎄Here’s a summary of the plot:👇
Maggie, Simone, and Star are half sisters who couldn’t be more different from each other. Even though they all have the same dad, they’ve never had a close sisterly relationship. When their father passed away, he leaves specific requests in his will that the 3 must complete in order to receive their inheritance. With the holiday season rapidly approaching, none of them have extra time to complete these requests. But can they work together despite their differences?!

🎄The sisterly relationship is definitely what made this my favorite of Bayliss’s books! Sometimes Christmas romances are a little too cheesy for me but I liked that the romance in this book was more of a subplot. While this book definitely talks about Christmas, the holiday it’s primarily focused on is the winter solstice (so I read it on the perfect day totally by accident). If you want a cozy winter read about reconnecting with family then I’d recommend this one!

🎄Thanks @penguinrandomhouse for my arc of this one!

Unfortunately, I just haven’t been loving the holiday reads this year like I normally do. Admittedly, much of this is due to a bit of a book slump on my part.

I thought this book was cute and sweet, but it is not something that will stick with me

Heartbroken after her almost wedding, Holly moved to Switzerland for a new beginning! While I did enjoy reading about Holly and her new adventure, I was not a fan of the love interest Luca. In my opinion I didn’t find him to be a great MMC. Although it was short, it was a slow read for me as I didn’t find it holding my attention very well. I would still recommend as I could definitely see others liking it due to her writing style!

DNF @14% - With how far I got into this book, I can’t particularly tell you anything wrong about it. The only problem I have with this so far is just the sheer amount of character’s in each of the three storylines. We are thrown in, without much explanation, and it was just difficult to keep track of who’s who. That’s not why I DNF’d though, as I’m sure that if I kept reading things would get more clear. It’s just that this book isn’t my thing. I liked the premise of it, but it’s WAY heavier than I anticipated, and I’m also not really vibing with either of our three protagonists. So, I decided to not put more of my energy into this book as I know it won’t turn out great for me.

I'm one who will pick up any Christmas-themed book, and since I really liked the 12 Dates of Xmas, I expected something similar here. I guess I didn't do enough research on this one because the story was about 3 estranged sisters being forced to work together to revive the town's traditional Winter Solstice celebration.

It was cute, but it didn't have enough of that Xmas romance I wanted - and that was my bad for going blindly into the book.

Scavenger hunts are fun, but with heavy premises… they aren’t so fun anymore! Also, I believe this book was misnamed in terms of its genre because it’s certainly not a romance! While it has romantic aspects, it’s more of a found family or rekindling your original family type of story with other things thrown in. A heavy story with not the best plot, vastly different than what I imagined! Not only that - I’ve read all of Bayliss’ books, and thought maybe this one would be it - but I guess she’s just not the author for me. If you’re looking for a found family read with some heavy doses of depressing moments, but a HEA, this is the one! Thanks for the opportunity to read!

Three estranged half sisters return to their father’s home after his death, where they have to learn to work together to ensure their inheritance…but can they? ❄️

Sadly, if not for the fact that I received this from NetGalley and was also reading it for book club, this would have been a DNF for me. I found the characters too unbelievable, going from annoyingly immature and self-centered to the most supportive of best friends in such a neat, clean, and quick fashion. 🙄 The writing and storytelling was overly sweet and simple to the point of saccharine and everyone learned their “lessons” and made all the perfect choices afterwards. I wasn’t pulled in by any of the sisters, who for me, felt like they were in situations of their own makings that didn’t need to be as dramatic as they were making them. The premise of the book sounded great and I liked the atmosphere surrounding the dad and his curiosity shop, but absolutely nothing else delivered for me. This is my second book by this author and I’ve rated both 1-2 stars…I’ll give her another shot, but I’m wondering if we’re just not a match.

My thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for a complimentary advance copy of this eBook, out now.

I love Jenny Bayliss' books - they have just the right kind of British coz(s)y romance vibes for me.
This one is no exception even if it was less (or more) of a romance than the others. There wasn't a single couple of main protagonists but three sisters who each have or find their significant other as well as the value of their sisterly relationships.
The three estranged half-sisters are brought together after the death of their father - more than that his will forces them together.
Each woman is a very different character from three different mothers, and after a relatively close childhood, spending idyllic summers together with their joint dad, they drifted apart.
But a few stipulations in their father's will leaves them with little choice but to spend time together to complete certain tasks and try and get on. They must re-establish the annual Winter Solstice celebration for the whole village; can they put their differences aside and get on task and maybe just maybe help each other a little along the way?
This is an absolutely lovely novel about sisterhood, community, love and loss, all done with a little bit of Christmas sparkle! I love stories where friendship or family takes center stage and romance comes second, and this was a great example of that done well - I was so invested in the sisters growing closer that their love stories were just an added bonus. This was lovely start to finish and now I want to travel to Rowan Thorp and experience a winter solstice celebration ... maybe our star would work in terms of decoration...the evening in the illuminated snowy yard sounded just perfect!

This one took a while for me to get into but had a satisfying conclusion. I really enjoyed Augustus' foresight to bring the sisters back together and force them to realize how special their bond could be. The townspeople were excellent and it was lovely to see them all step in to help the North family. The men in this one left a lot to be desired (talk about waiting to parent until your dead, Augustus!), and Patrick (Maggie’s son) needed a good dose of reality and made me so angry throughout but his little sister, Verity, was able to warm my heart back up.