jenny bayliss – GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★
Audience: Holiday Fiction
Length: 397 pages
Author: Jenny Bayliss
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s
Release Date: September 24th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

White Christmas meets Nora Ephron in Jenny Bayliss’ latest wholehearted, ensemble-cast holiday extravaganza.

Christmas can officially get stuffed because Harriet Smith is not feeling bright and merry this year. She hasn’t for a while. So when her college-aged daughter opts for Manhattan’s winter wonderland instead of Christmas at home, Harriet finds herself seeking solace in a wine-soaked one-night stand.

But how Harriet will spend the holidays is swiftly decided for her after she takes the fall for some students who break into the town’s old Winter Theater. To get the students off the hook, the theater’s elderly owner requests that Harriet direct the washed-out stage’s final Christmas performance. And Harriet will do anything to help the kids . . . even work with the owner’s lawyer who, as it turns out, is her less than impressed one-night stand.

Directing the play with him won’t exactly change her life. But it might just reignite the Christmas spirit and remind her what makes life merry and bright again.

WHERE?

For a book called Kiss Me at Christmas. I felt there a distinct lack of romance. My ruined expectations made this hard to read and I struggled through the audiobook. The audio narration was perfectly fine, the book itself was not.

I didn’t care much for the heroine either. Most of the book felt frustrating. I think there were some good growth moments by the end and some of the themes were enjoyable to be touched on because I don’t see them often.

Ultimately I needed and wanted more romance. And I didn’t like the casual nature of most of the relationship (started off with a one night stand). I was very much over hearing about the play.

Overall audience notes:

Holiday Fiction
Language: low – moderate
Romance: closed door

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Holiday Fiction
Length: 413 pages
Author: Jenny Bayliss
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Release Date: September 26th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Three bickering half sisters.

One unique antiques shop.

The coziest holiday season of their lives.

Wildly different half sisters Maggie, Simone, and Star have hardly seen one another since their sprightly summers at Rowan Thorp, their eccentric father Augustus’s home. Known for his bustling approach to the knick-knack shop he ran, Augustus was loved by all and known by none, not even his daughters.

Now, years later, the three estranged women are called upon for the reading of Augustus’s will and quickly realize he’s orchestrated a series of hoops through which they must jump to unlock their inheritance—the last thing any of them want to do. But Maggie and Star desperately need the money. And who would Simone be to resist?

Through hilarious goose chases, small-town mishaps, and one heart-warming winter solstice celebration, love is in the air, if only the three sisters can let themselves grasp it.

PLEASANTLY SURPRISED.

Y’all know I rarely read anything that doesn’t have some kind of heavier romantic plot, and I picked this up on a whim thinking it did. While it did NOT (there was still a little romance here and there) it was an absolutely charming holiday read and I would easily recommend it to those looking for something less romantic but full of siblings, holiday shenanigans and reconnection.

I loved how different each sister was and getting to see their changes throughout. There’s ups and downs and that messy middle where you know you love your sibling, but also, WHY ARE YOU ACTING THIS WAY. I loved that authentic nature and how real everything felt. I was emotionally invested in Maggie, Simone and Star working things out and finding that place where they could be the sisters they wanted to be again.

Each separate POV was easy to distinguish and I liked how seamlessly the larger plot wove into each sister’s dynamic. An enjoyable audiobook and a great heartfelt read.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Holiday Fiction
Language: light
Romance: closed door
Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a parent, loss of a spouse (recounted), discussions of infertility and miscarriages, abortion (recounted)