"Kiss Me at Christmas" by Jenny Bayliss is such a charming holiday story that beautifully combines romance, community, and self-discovery. The book follows Harriet Smith, a school counselor who, feeling lonely during the holidays after her kids have moved out, ends up directing a Christmas play. She gets some much-needed help from a group of quirky students and a charismatic lawyer, James Knight. The characters’ personalities really shine, adding so much warmth and depth to the story. It’s the perfect feel-good read for the holiday season.

What I loved most was how Bayliss created characters that feel so relatable and real. Harriet and James both go through personal growth, which adds a lot of meaning to their journey. Their relationship isn’t just your typical romance—it has depth and develops naturally. The story also highlights the importance of family, friends, and community, especially during the holidays, making it extra heartwarming. With its engaging storyline and loveable characters, "Kiss Me at Christmas" is the kind of book that leaves you feeling cozy and uplifted.

Thank you @putnambooks for the gifted copy of Kiss Me At Christmas, by Jenny Bayliss! This book is available now.

I look forward to a new holiday book by Jenny Bayliss every year, and I always save it for one of my first reads of December. This one was cute and tugged at my teacher heartstrings.

This wasn't my favorite by this author but it was still a cute read to start off my holiday reading. I think it took a little too long to get into the crux of the story, and specifically the romance. After their one night stand, they were thrown together again in an awkward situation, and then it took awhile to get the chemistry back. I think the author was trying to go for awkward, but it was just kind of boring.

I guess it was a sweet story but there was nothing that kept me itching to pick it up.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for my copy of Kiss Me at Christmas by Jenny Bayliss in exchange for an honest review. It published September 24, 2024.
This was my second book by Jenny Bayliss, and I have to say, I really appreciate the way things are different than most other Christmas time books. I find it refreshing, fun, and they stand out to me.
I loved that the main character wasn’t a young and perky 20-something, (absolutely nothing wrong with that), who was honestly a super dynamic character. I loved to read her deep thoughts, emotions, and getting to care about the famous five with her. She is an incredibly wonderful and brave character.
I loved the sense of community in this book, it was truly inspiring. I was definitely brought to tears at one big moment—no spoilers!
This is a sweet one, not to be missed.

Absolutely fantastic plot! Could not put the book down once I began reading it. I have recommended it to everyone I know!

Since one of Jenny Bayliss’ books is one of my holiday favorites, I had high expectations for Kiss Me at Christmas but it just didn’t ring any holiday bells for me. As a feel good kind of read, there were several appealing and genuine aspects to the story line - a strong “found family” trope accompanied by empty nest woes and a mid-life romance. The Winter Theatre made for an unusual and interesting setting and seasonal references gave it a bit of a holiday vibe.

The bottom line was I just didn’t care for most of the characters, including Harriet, with the exceptions being the students known as the “famous five.” Since Harriet was on staff at a private school in the UK, Bayliss could take liberties with the school aspects. I had mixed reactions – while I appreciated Harriet’s insights and relationship with the “famous five,” I also found the school references and staff somewhat confusing/distracting. Overall, the pace was so slow I kept putting the book down.

Although a pleasant and cozy kind of read, my favorite Bayliss story remains The Twelve Dates of Christmas !!

Kiss Me at Christmas is a story about Harriet who is a single mom empty nester and sad her daughter won't be home for Christmas this year. She is helping some teens with a Christmas play and ends up in a bit of a forced proximity with her one night stand. It was cute enough, but overall just 'ok' for me.

This holiday romance had a lot of charm and warmth, but it didn’t fully click for me. While the story had some sweet moments and a cozy, festive tone, it felt like too much was happening without enough focus. The characters and their relationships didn’t feel as developed as I would’ve liked, which made it harder to connect with them.

The third-act conflict also fell a little flat—it seemed like the stakes weren’t high enough to justify the emotional reaction. On the other hand, I really appreciated the themes of found family, which brought some heartfelt moments to the story.

Ultimately, this book had potential and a solid holiday vibe, but it didn’t leave a lasting impression for me. It’s a nice seasonal read, but not one I’ll be revisiting.

I got this book, but I don’t think it was for me. I wouldn’t really say It was much of a holiday or a Christmas Reed other than just taking place in December. The characters were hard to work with as they were more grumpy than happy. Sadly, this one just didn’t work for me

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy.

This was a cute, seasonal read, but it was just fine to me. Nothing special, and I thought the main characters were a little dull.

A great holiday read. A little unexpected romance and a Christmas Carol production by some unlikely players. This is a feel good holiday story. A quick read full of the reason for the season. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy.

This was a feel good Christmas read ❤️ While I found the story less of a romance and more about the saving of the theater and Harriet finding herself again, it was an all around good read. I do wish there was more of a focus on the story of Harriet and James because I loved the growth of their relationship, but I did find all the other plot lines and characters to be lovely.

Would definitely recommend if you’re looking for a feel good Christmas read with a bit more emotion than a traditional Christmas rom-com!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Single parent Harriet is facing her first Christmas without her daughter and not handling it well. She is overworked and under appreciated but it doesn’t stop her from giving her all to the students in her care. A one night stand blossoms into more than she bargained for ultimately changing her world in a multitude of ways. I really loved this story, so many wonderful characters.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this lovely book.

My review has been submitted to Amazon and posted on Instagram.

I’m a big fan of Jenny Bayliss’s holiday romances, they’re sweet without being silly and the characters are a delight. This rang true to that description. I really enjoyed the found family element of Kiss Me At Christmas, and that it was about so much more than romantic love—self-love, community, friendship, all kinds of care for one another. This was a really nice story for the holidays and an easy, cozy read. I enjoyed it!

I’m sorry: a FOUND FAMILY HOLIDAY STORY that takes place in the THEATRE and oh yes, there’s a midlife romance woven in there?! This was made for moi. I made the mistake of reading mixed reviews before I picked this one up, and had essentially gotten the vibe that this was a horny 40-something romance with some community subplot thrown in. Y’all. Did we not read the same book? I ADORED Harriet and James, and their midlife romance, Harriet’s empty-nest self-love reckoning, and the sweet redemption storyline for some of our more crotchety characters. But where this book sings is in the heartwarming, hard-won found family narrative centered around the community production of A Christmas Carol (and did I mention it’s to save a crumbling former-jewel theatre? The delicious tropes abound!). This one made my heart grow three sizes with its delightful plotline and reminded me of what I love most about the holiday season - when we can all come together for a sec and just remember our shared humanity. Jenny Bayliss is a jewel, and she has officially cemented her status as an auto-buy author for me with two knockout holiday stories the past few years. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read an early copy!

This book was a fun holiday edition. I liked the story and the characters fine, but there was still something missing I felt like. I just don't feel like Jenny Bayliss has ever captured the same magic as she did in her 12 Dates of Christmas book, so sometimes her newer books come up short in my opinion. This is a fine holiday book, and I definitely recommend the physical copy over the audiobook.

This was a miss for me. I was missing witty banter i come to expect from rom coms. I also didnt feel the christmas vibes i was expecting to when picking this up. I just didnt care about the students or anything pertaining to them. sorry!

I will start this review by saying that this book had a slow start for me, though I think the start was important for developing the story as a whole. What I really appreciate about Jenny Bayliss is the depth of her stories. Seeing this book's title and cover, I anticipated a sweet holiday romance but got so much more than that. A bit Dead Poets Society, a bit Sing, a bit A Christmas Carol, and a lot of delight in the end!

I’m just going to allow myself to be a bit critical here. I think with a few tweaks this book could have been a lot better. The story for the plot was very original and played out in a heartwarming way. And the love interest is incredibly likable.

Constructive criticism number 1:
Harriet is the weirdest curser I’ve ever heard. I say this as a full grown adult who very, very rarely curses myself. You’ll hear “shoot” and “darn it” out of me. So I have no problem with Harriet not cursing, I have a problem with how distracting her curse alternatives are.
Who says “bum swizzles”? Who says “holy shish kebabs”? “Sugar Honey Iced Tea”? “Mother Smucker”? Oh my god, it’s so bad.

Number two: Harriet’s fashion choices seem to be intentionally quirky but they are to an exaggerated degree. At one scene she was wearing three cardigans at one time.

Number three: this book is 400 pages. It’s too long

Ok, on to the cute plot.

Harriet is heartbroken because her daughter isn’t home for Christmas. She seeks company from a man named James at the bar. She leaves his house the next day and promptly runs into him again as a lawyer at the police station.

Harriet works at a school and her students are caught trespassing at an abandoned theatre. To save her troubled students from getting into even more trouble she takes the blame and responsibility.

Harriet’s punishment is to clean up the theatre and restoring it to working order and to put on a play before Christmas.

Harriet pulls in her students to help clean and to do the play. James gets pull in to work too and a small community begins to work together in the theatre.

There is a heartwarming story here but it’s buried under some distracting stuff.
I’m sorry I didn’t spend more time talking about the pros but this just wasn’t my favorite.

I got to read an early ebook edition from NetGalley, thanks!

A very cute Christmas read, would definitely recommend for anyone trying to enjoy the season! It’s also great if you love retelling in general, I’m a huge fan of them and this one is really well done.

This was a better-than-average Christmas book. It had a lot of the tropes that are common to holiday themes (a community coming together, grumpy/sunshine-ish, putting on a play, the town curmudgeon who has a change of heart) but also a few unique aspects. I liked the romance between the two main characters because they were both middle-aged and had lived some life. They both showed some character growth throughout the book. I also thought several of the supporting characters were well sketched-out with some depth. This was a fun but not too frivolous read.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.