This book was everything you would expect from a Christmas romcom. It was cute and cozy with all the Christmas vibes. There were moments that felt info-dumpy and I wish our main characters had more depth which would lead to being better connected to our characters. However overall this was an enjoyable and easy read perfect for the Christmas season.

This was a fun, sweet and heartwarming holiday story. I enjoyed it, but I did find the pace a bit slow at times.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

No one does Christmas novels like Jenny Bayliss, and Kiss Me At Christmas was no exception. The book starts with our main character Harriet having a one-night stand with a man she met in a bar. She runs into him again the next day while saving her truant students from trespassing charges--of course, James is the landowner's lawyer.

I loved the found family aspect of this book, and how the theater became a home for everyone in the community. Billy and his brother certainly tugged at my heartstrings!

I do wish there was a bit more romance beyond the initial one-night stand. Instead, the book focuses on the students and the fixing up of the theater.

The queen of Christmas novels has done it again. Jenny Bayliss remains an author I look forward to reading every holiday season!

This book was a slow burn, but I did end up enjoying it. Jenny Bayliss knows how to write a Christmas romance where you really feel connected to the characters. In this book there is a community performance of A Christmas Carol and the book is sort of a re-telling of the Scrooge story in itself. I loved it and I fell in love with Harriet's students, especially Billy and his younger brother, Sid.
This is a redemption story and a great tale for Christmas! Highly reccomend!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Putnam Books and PRH Audio for the early access to this digital and audio version of this absolutely lovely Christmas read!

This delightful story following our FMC Harriet filled my heart with Christmas joy. You don’t have to be an English or theatre buff to fall in love with this book, but it definitely helps! An old theatre undergoing renovations. A ragtag group of rough around the edges teens paired up with an older theatre group, plus dozens of other loveable side characters makes for a real adventure.

I also loved that Harriet is not some young 20 something. She was a mid 40s mom finding love for the second time. Reading older FMC has been really meaningful as I find myself relating and closer to that age range than the 20 somethings! James —the MMC—was also a joy to read. Watching their relationship bloom and grow felt real and authentic. Not only was this a love story between the two main characters, but also love discovered in an unlikely found family.

An absolutely heart warming holiday read that I highly recommend to all!

Jenny Bayliss is the Christmas romance queen and has not let me down yet, Kiss Me at Christmas included. Harriet is absolutely hilarious and angsty, and to be fair, rightfully in a bad mood. This story was so fun to follow, and I did love reading as Harriet let James (and the magic of Christmas, of course) defrost her heart. I will be recommending this one all season!

Not really a Christmas read as I had thought.
Single mother Harriet is having a hard time with empty nest. And, it happens at Christmas which makes it even harder on Harriet.
Overall, a uplifting and cozy read.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was such a beautiful story of found family and the truest meaning of Christmas. I so enjoyed this book and thought that Jenny did an amazing job with a unique storyline that not only challenges our thinking but also warms our heart. This is an easy ⭐⭐⭐⭐ for me!

Harriet Smith works as a pastoral care team for a private school in the UK. You find a pattern where she is always searching for the same five kids. They run off somewhere and Harriet has to look for them. They seem to always go to the winter theatre.

Things begin to unravel one day when the kids and Harriet get caught by the police for trespassing. Harriet then runs into her one night stand who happens to be the lawyer of the Winter theatre.

I really enjoyed this holiday read. It has so many good moments of found family that it makes you smile.

I totally pictured this book as a Hallmark movie on TV.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

There is nothing quite like a Jenni Bayliss book to make you feel cozy, comforted and ready for the holiday season. This book is no exception. For me, reading new Bayliss books and rereading all her others is now a seasonal tradition. I absolutely loved the cast of misfit characters in this one, coming together in the Christmas season to help one another. Plus there’s also such a good romance as always!!

I am someone who enjoys holiday Christmas books. however, I couldn't get very far in this book. I only got to chapter 8 and decided this book wasn't for me. This book didn't feel very Christmasy to me and thought the plot so far was boring. I was also a bit confused about what exactly was going on. The book I believe is written in 3rd person and I am not a fan of that in books. This could be another reason why I wasn't a fan of this book.

A testament to the holiday season: family, friendships, love, and miracles.
Harriet is committed to her work and students at the school. James is a stoic solicitor committed to his clients. When the two cross paths the first time, sparks turn into fireworks. When they meet the second time, the sparks have become smoldering distain.
Circumstances with the Winter Theater and it's owner, Evaline Winter, cause Harriet to soldier her "famous five" students, along with anyone else she can gather, to put on a production at the Winter Theater. The first in over 50 years, in which the theater has been left in disregard during that time. As other community groups are displaced from the closing community center, a rag-tag group is formed as various clubs come together to use the spaces at the theater.
Renovation is underway to entice the highest price for the theater, the production being the culminating selling point. Will Harriet, with the help of James and the hodge-podge of community groups warm the heart of Evaline Winter to continue community spaces once the theater sells? Will the "famous five" teen-delinquents be part of a success? Will Harriet put herself and her ambitions first in the eye of adversity?

This modern day Scrooge had me already getting into the Christmas spirit and I’m not one to rush to the next holiday!

This book isn’t a silly romance but revolves around helping others, whether they are just generally struggling, teens with a challenging upbringing, in foster care and others with disabilities. Also, Harriet’s journey of self-love in her next chapter as an empty-nester was so heartwarming as we watched her blossom.

Jenny Bayliss reminds us in her newest novel that our family doesn’t have to be blood relatives but can be those we find. 

This book is available now so be sure to grab a copy and a warm drink to get into the holiday spirit!

I have come to look forward to Jenny's new holiday rom-com every year, and this year was no exception. She writes great characters and has fun story lines, with a little bit of drama.

Her new one, however, wasn't as strong as some of her other books. For me, despite the fact it takes place around the holidays, it didn't give me the Christmas vibes. I think there was too much time leading up to Christmas and not enough time actually spent on Christmas.

I did love the fact that the characters in this book give me hope for humanity. The way all the characters rallied around one another and helped out without having to be asked warmed my heart.

There was some romance in this book, but it was a lot of flirting. I would have liked a little more romance, but I'm general, it was a heart-warming story.

I give this book a solid four stars. I wouldn't go into it thinking it's going to be an over the top Christmas book, but you can definitely add it to your holiday TBR.

This was a nice read, a bit different from my regular reads , but definitely a cozy read for winter or fall. I liked the FMC and her personality. I like how she protect her kids(students). The MMc was nice as well. I like how they meet up and how the relink . Definitely cute. Also the whole theater 🎭 community was such a amazing story to follow . Love it .

Enemies to lovers, just one night, found family, cozy small town vibes, A Christmas Carol, older MCs (in their 40's), divorce

Harriet is the Queen of Christmas, except this year her 17 year old daughter has extended her study abroad leaving her alone. Harriet drowns her sorrows in mulled wine and ends up going home with a man.

In her daily life, she's a pastoral worker at the town's boarding school. The next day, hungover, she has to track down some truant local students and finds them in the local (abandoned) theater.

They have to work together to fix up the theater and put on a Christmas play.

I did enjoy the parallels of the plot and A Christmas Carol, but I found Harriet to be a bit exhausting for my taste. As a teacher, I understand her feeling of being there for her students, but there is a point where we all realize we are one person, and we can’t do everything for everyone. I think the guilt and her constant “on-call” behavior were a bit overdone.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a fun book. I enjoyed it a lot!

Jenny Bayliss always delivers with her holiday romantic comedies! Funny, sweet, and always romantic; I enjoy them every time! Lovers of holiday romances will surely enjoy this new one!

The blurb of the book sounds so Scrooge-like. Harriet Smith is NOT looking forward to Christmas and she has to clean up a washed out theater just in time to host a Christmas play. However, the book itself was not Scrooge-like at all! I loved Harriet's "Famous Five" students who thrived at the community theater and all of the other underdogs who joined in to make A Christmas Carol a success.

This book was a bit long in the tooth at times and the romance wasn't quite a believable post-one night stand romance, but I still felt the Christmas cheer!