Kiss Me at Christmas by Jenny Bayliss Published by Penguin on September 24, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Holidays, Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / Holiday
Pages: 400
Format: ARC, eBook, Paperback
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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.
I found the whole story truly endearing and a special journey of what the holidays are all about. ~ Amanda – Simply Love Books
Kiss Me at Christmas is a delightful holiday story of community, self-discovery and love. Harriet Smith is feeling a little sad that her daughter is spending the holidays abroad and she’ll be home alone. She ends up meeting James Knight at a local pub and having a mulled wine induced one-night stand. To make matters worse, she meets him again at the police station after she takes the fall for trespassing in an abandoned property. The owner won’t press charges if she agrees to clean up the theater to prepare it for sale, and put on one last Christmas play production in 5 weeks! She enlists the ‘Famous Five’ truant students who got her into this mess, and so it begins a slow transformation of Harriet’s self-worth and her feelings about the holidays.
I found the whole story truly endearing and a special journey of what the holidays are all about. She had her reasons for wanting to not celebrate, and the cleanup of the theater gave her the excuse to not be so much in her own head and not miss her daughter so much. Taking on the production of the Christmas play encompasses the majority of the book, and enlists a whole slew of new characters, that really help Harriet see that she isn’t alone. James is there to help and he also has a change of heart about a number of things. Before you know it, the theatre becomes a central hub for other groups to hang out and help Harriet and James with their play production. I love when characters grow emotionally and get their worlds rocked a little. I also like that both main characters are in their 40’s and set in their ways and change is hard. Throw in a little romance brewing between James and Harriet and this was truly a wonderful holiday romance.
About Jenny Bayliss
A former professional cake baker, Jenny Bayliss lives in a small seaside town in the UK with her husband, their children having left home for big adventures. She is also the author of The Twelve Dates of Christmas, A Season for Second Chances, and Meet Me Under the Mistletoe.