I got this book from #Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.I really liked the love story of Nory and Issac in the book but felt it was too long.Read this book if you like :Read if you like reading about :romance,Christmas theme,childhood enemy to lovers and brothers best friend.

📚 BOOK REVIEW ✨

Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Jenny Bayliss

⭐️ rating: 4
📖 genre: Holiday romance
🖨 publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
📍setting: London & the English countryside

🔲 REVIEW:

I love any type of holiday book and this was a fun first read of the season!

This was a cute “enemies-to-lovers” story about Nory, who heads back to her hometown for childhood friends’ wedding. I enjoyed the main plot about Nory & Isaac, but equally enjoyable were the side stories about each of her friends (particularly Ameerah & Dev!) It was interesting to read about the dynamics of long-term friend group. (Doesn’t snowball cricket sound fun?!) Some of their inside jokes and traditions made me feel nostalgic for my own childhood friends. I will warn you that although the story takes place leading up to Christmas, there aren’t actually a ton of holiday references in the book. The main plot circles around the group’s activities during the wedding week in the English countryside. If you’re looking for a seriously Christmasy book, this may not be it.

I enjoyed:
-Serendipitous Seconds - what a great name for a bookstore!
-learning about Isaac’s past and his ties to a famous artist
-realistic complexity of family and friend relationships

If you liked this book, be sure to check out Jenny’s other two books: The Twelve Dates of Christmas and A Season for Second Chances.

The Twelve Dates of Christmas has a very holiday vibe!

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

🔎 SUMMARY:

“A city bookshop owner heads to the English countryside for a holiday reunion— only to face her childhood enemy.

Elinor Noel—Nory for short—is quite content running her secondhand bookshop in London. Forever torn between her working-class upbringing and her classmates’ extravagant lifestyles at the posh private school she attended on scholarship, Nory has finally figured out how to keep both at equal distance. So when two of her oldest friends invite their whole gang to spend the time leading up to their wedding together at the castle near their old school, Nory must prepare herself for an emotionally complicated few days.
 
The reunion brings back fond memories, but also requires Nory to dodge an ill-advised former fling. When she falls quite literally into the arms of Isaac, the castle’s head gardener, who has nothing but contempt for the “snobby prep school kids,” the attraction between them is undeniable. And as Nory spends more time with Isaac during the wedding festivities, she finds herself falling hard for the boy she used to consider an enemy. Nory and Isaac explore their common ground, but pressures mount on all sides, and Nory must decide what kind of life she wants to live and what sort of love is worth the risk . . .”

🔲 Have you read this book? What did you think?

Cheers to my first holiday read of the season!
This slow-burn British romance was more holiday-adjacent than all-out holiday, but the ramp-up to Christmas suited me just fine ) Meet Me Under The Mistletoe was set in the cozy, quaint, and charming village of Hartmead, yet also branched out onto a rustic London market street where Nory's second-hand bookshop was housed, and even inhabited an enchanting castle. These settings made me feel as though I was wrapped in a warm hug, drinking coffee and reading before an open fire. Jenny Bayliss's books are always comfort reads for me, and this one did not disappoint on that front!
Similarly, her rich characters warmed my heart. I instantly fell in love with main characters Nory and Isaac, but I also formed a strong bond with secondary characters Ameerah, Jenna, Pippa, Camille, Andrew, Seb, Charles, and Jeremy. The intricate web of their friendships was like chicken soup for my soul, and they reminded me of my own lifelong friends.
And aaah, the romance between Nory and Isaac was a slow-burn in a wonderful way. From swoony moments to passionate, laugh-out-loud to eyes welling, this closed-door romance moved slowly, but was absolutely worth it
While this is billed as a contemporary romance, it covers a host of heavier topics, including suicide, mental health awareness, alcoholism, infidelity, racism, classism, and misogyny. Though there was a lot going on, I felt these topics increased the characters' depth, and I appreciated how Bayliss handled them with sensitivity and grace.

I really enjoyed this!!

Jenny Bayliss has become one of my favorite holiday authors, with all of her books bringing the cozy feelings I want when looking for Christmas books. Meet Me Under the Mistletoe is the longest of her three books, and while there are certain parts that could have been shortened or left out completely, overall I didn't mind being able to have a little more time pretending I was a part of the long weekend at a castle. It was interesting to see Nory's childhood friend group dynamics and how relationships change over time, something I think is universal as we grow up and evolve as individuals. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an e-ARC.

I throughly enjoyed this novel. In fact, it’s one of the few lately that has held my attention throughout the entire story. While I could see a few things coming, I never felt like rushing though it. I would definitely recommend it to friends.

Meet Me Under the Mistletoe is the second book I've read by Jenny Bayliss. Like The Twelve Dates of Christmas, it was a delight to read.

MMUM brings a group of friends together for a wedding at an old castle in Nory's hometown. Nory, the proprietor of a book store in London is a woman who grew up in and around the old castle where her parents worked. Bridging the gap between her well-off friends she made at a high-end boarding school and her working class family, she teetered between the two worlds, though was welcomed by both.

The romance part of this romance novel was really slow to start, but in its place, we were treated to a wonderful group of friends seeing each other in person for the first time in several years. I didn't really feel the romantic chemistry between Nory and Isaac, but I loved them both. It's as if they rekindled an old friendship and turned it into something more, but the something more was often off-page.

All in all, a delightful listen.

Since I ended up listening to this book, I must say that Shakira Shute did a fantastic job and kept me in the story the whole time. I listened at 1.3x speed.

Side notes:
* I loved the banter and interaction between the friends and would have loved this book even without the romance. I could easily have read another 100 pages of just all the friends together and in small groups - especially more about their thoughts on their late friend, Tristan.
* Steam level was low. Any steamy scenes were glossed over in a sentence or two until the scene could be transported to a new locale.
* I was so happy for Guy's ending.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the opportunity to read and review this book!

I was super excited to read this because I loved Bayliss’ “Twelve Dates of Christmas” and “A Season for Second Chances” but this book really let me down. First, I wouldn’t call this a Christmas romance. It’s more contemporary fiction that just happens to during the festive season. Second, the book drags ON. About half way in I debated DNF-ing it because it seemed like nothing was happening. Third, Nory is just not a likable character and there was nothing redeeming about her so it was hard to continue to read her “woe is me” monologues.

2 stars and mainly because the setting seemed awesome; I mean who wouldn’t want to hang out in a castle at Christmas.

Another delightful Christmas book by Jenny Bayliss! Eleanor, or Nory as she is called by family and friends, leads a quiet life in London where she is the owner of a store dealing in vintage books. She is invited to the weeklong wedding celebration of a close friend and boarding school classmate. The wedding is to be held at the castle in Nory’s childhood village which she was in a hurry to leave. This story deals with friends, family, social class differences and, most importantly, love. Love of family, friends and new found romantic love is the central theme of this story. The writing is descriptive, the characters are all too real and, for the most part, very likable. There are quite a few characters, with their attendant back stories, to keep track of which was a bit cumbersome at times. I don’t know about other readers but the cover of a book is what first draws my attention and this book’s cover is charming. It is beautiful and filled with bright and colorful details. I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy holiday romances with substance.

Everything you want in a holiday romance! Grand British castle? Check. Second chances? Check. BOOKSTORE???? Check, check, check. Meet Me Under the Mistletoe is transportive, making you feel part of the action as a group of old friends gather together to move into the future (with a wedding) while they grapple with the past. There's sensitivity given to topics of class, race, loss, and suicide without losing its hopeful tone. It's cozy and sweet without losing heart. I loved being immersed in this world for Christmas!

Old school friends reunite in the days leading up to the wedding of two of them at a castle near their posh school. Nory is the scholarship kid in the group. She negotiates the gap between her privileged friends and the locals. Over the course of the pre-wedding period, issues arise, relationships form and problems are resolved. There is potential for book discussion here.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing a review copy of this title.

This was a lovely book that gives you all the holiday feels. There was just enough Christmas woven throughout the story that was to my liking as I’m not a fan of romance books marketed as a holiday read when only a small part actually takes place within the holiday season.

Nory was an endearing main character for me. Her uncertainty about life and unluckiness when it came to love was relatable as I’ve had those feelings before. She was the owner of a secondhand book store who was hesitant to let go of any books because she loved them too much. Also, I appreciated the rawness and honesty of Nory's complicated relationship with her brother.

The misunderstanding between Nory and her new beau, Isaac was a downfall for me as it was easily solvable but other than that, their growing love, her interesting friends and the precarious balance between the rich and not-so-rich social circles made up a wonderful character driven story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.💫 rounded up!

Cheers to my first holiday read of the season!

This slow-burn British romance was more holiday-adjacent than all-out holiday, but the ramp-up to Christmas suited me just fine 😍 Meet Me Under The Mistletoe was set in the cozy, quaint, and charming village of Hartmead, yet also branched out onto a rustic London market street where Nory’s second-hand bookshop was housed, and even inhabited an enchanting castle. These settings made me feel as though I was wrapped in a warm hug, drinking coffee and reading before an open fire. Jenny Bayliss’s books are always comfort reads for me, and this one did not disappoint on that front!

Similarly, her rich characters warmed my heart. I instantly fell in love with main characters Nory and Isaac, but I also formed a strong bond with secondary characters Ameerah, Jenna, Pippa, Camille, Andrew, Seb, Charles, and Jeremy. The intricate web of their friendships was like chicken soup for my soul, and they reminded me of my own lifelong friends.

And aaah, the romance between Nory and Isaac was a slow-burn in a wonderful way. From swoony moments to passionate, laugh-out-loud to eyes welling, this closed-door romance moved slowly, but was absolutely worth it 😍

While this is billed as a contemporary romance, it covers a host of heavier topics, including suicide, mental health awareness, alcoholism, infidelity, racism, classism, and misogyny. Though there was a lot going on, I felt these topics increased the characters’ depth, and I appreciated how Bayliss handled them with sensitivity and grace.

I thoroughly enjoyed this listen (@shakirashute_voiceover did an INCREDIBLE job!!), and I can’t wait to read more from one of my very favorite authors! Thank you to @netgalley @putnambooks @jennibayliss and @prhaudio for my gifted galley and audiobook!

Put this on your holiday TBR!!

Secondhand bookstore owner Elinor Noel (Nory) must navigate an upcoming party leading up to a friend's wedding. Gathered together with her long time friend group from her posh school days, she finds herself and love.

This was an okay read for me. The pacing is a bit slow but the story is pretty solid. The characters are well written and interesting. Bayliss does a wonderful job portraying the intricacies of the relationships. I really liked the expansive nature of Nory's friend group, the location of the castle, and even the love interest, Isaac. I went into this book looking for a feel good romance, but in reality, the romance kind of takes a back seat to the overall story. There is a lot of drama and hiccups among the friends. There is quite a bit of drama and dysfunction in their lives. Overall, I think I would have liked it more had I not going into the book thinking it was a holiday romance. My expectations were in that direction, but despite that I did like the story.

Christmas setting or no Christmas setting, this has all the makings of cute romance taking place in a quaint English village and I am here for it! I was a little worried in the beginning that guy would be the love interest. I love an enemies to more or a friends to one night stand to pining but let's be honest here. Guy is the absolute WORST. (Caveat, I picked up this book based on author and cover and didn't gully read the synopsis) so there was a Huge sigh of relief when Isaac came [back] into the picture. Childhood enemies to friends, with some mutual pining, overprotective brother and meddling mom who knew they were something to fight for. Love a good four legged sidekick, who wouldn't fall in love with a dog named lettuce!!

Let this be your reminder to plan something with mates from school or uni days, regardless of how long it's been. Quality time with the chosen family. Cheers to shits and giggles!


Thank you Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the ARC in exchange for my review!

Meet Me Under the Mistletoe is a sweet story of friendship and love at the holidays. Set in an atmospheric castle in a small UK town with a main character who owns a secondhand bookstore, the trappings of the story are perfect for bookworms looking to curl up with something cozy this winter. This is a closed-door romance with sprinkled in elements of mental health (tw suicide).

While the love was cute, the friendships were my favorite part of this story (and what I think made it so lovely).

Jenny Bayliss’ new holiday novel, Meet Me Under the Mistletoe, follows Elinor Novel, a bookshop owner, who heads to a castle in the English countryside for a wedding and a holiday reunion with her friends from boarding school. Elinor is reluctant to attend because there’s someone she doesn’t want to see – a certain someone she had a one-night stand with who turned out to be married. Elinor did not know he was married, and he of course didn’t offer up that bit of information. Her desire to see the rest of her friends wins out though and so she’s off to the country.

I really liked Elinor. Even though she went to boarding school and has a squad of rich friends that can afford to spend their holidays at fancy castles, Elinor feels that she has never really fit in with them because she only attended the school on scholarship. Her parents are working class and even with her boarding school education, Elinor doesn’t have a fancy flashy career like the rest of her schoolmates do. She has that underdog vibe that I always love so much. I found it very interesting to follow Elinor’s journey because reuniting with these friends takes her back to a place in her memory where she felt like she never quite fit in and was an imposter. Bayliss does a wonderful job of taking us through the full range of emotions Elinor experiences as she works out how she fits in with this group and what she wants out of life. I also adored the scenes where Elinor reconnects with Isaac, her childhood nemesis, who has grown up and is clearly no longer interested in being Elinor’s enemy. It was really sweet watching the two of them reconnect and reevaluate their relationship.

The story was sometimes hilarious, sometimes dramatic, but always entertaining. I particularly enjoyed the wedding preparation scenes, the random shenanigans surrounding the friends reuniting, as well as the more tension filled moments between Elinor and the married one-night stand. Most of my favorite scenes though actually took place between Elinor and Andrew, who she employs at her secondhand bookshop. He lovingly mocks Elinor because she loves books so much that she never actually wants to sell any of the books she acquires. They were just the most adorable book nerds!

The only downside to Meet Me Under the Mistletoe was that even though it’s meant to be a holiday read, there really isn’t that much holiday spirit in it. Nearly two-thirds of the book doesn’t mention Christmas at all, which surprised and disappointed me a bit. I honestly think I would have enjoyed the story so much more without the promise of a holiday element since that promise set up an expectation that wasn’t really met for me. It’s still a good solid read though.

Add this book to my list of "The Girl Does Not Deserve the Boy." Issac is EVERYTHING, but Nory, the female lead drove me crazy.

My overall issue with this book is there is WAYYYYY too much going on. So many subplots, it is like a soap opera. I understand that Bayliss was trying to discuss societal issues like class, but the execution didn't work for me.

I thought this would be a cute Christmas romance but there is so much drama and strife and not enough Christmas. If you are going to put the word Mistletoe on the cover, Christmas better be shoved down my throat.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons, and Netgalley for an opportunity to review this one. My opinions are my own.

Meet Me Under The Mistletoe by Jenny Bayliss is a cute Christmas British romance. Elinor and her group of privileged boarding school friends are reunited for a wedding at a castle. The group has changed since they were all together last. While I love a British Christmas romance I found myself a bit confused about all of the characters. The book deals with deeper issues than most romances so if you’re looking for a story about love and friendship at Christmastime, this book is for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a return to hometown holiday story that included a reunion with a childhood crush / brother's best friend / sort of former enemy, plenty of Christmas holiday spirit, some rightings of wrongs, and discussions of class/wealth. The holiday fun was engaging but the story and characters did not pull me in. I think others will love it though!

TW: Suicide
Although it is not explicitly described, there is mention of suicide in this book and it is central to the story.

Elinor Noel, better known as Nory, runs a secondhand bookshop in London. She was a scholarship student at a prestigious school in her hometown and as a result she is mostly surrounded by affluent, rich friends. Something she feels her brother has never let her live down as she was chosen for this opportunity over so many other people. When two of her friends decide to get married in the castle, which was on the grounds of their old school, she is convinced to join in on the festivities consisting of a week long reunion of the friend group followed by their friends big ceremony. Nory is reluctant to go as last time they were all together she slept with Guy, who she later found out was married with kids. Nory feels guilty though her friends insist it wasn't her fault since they were all grieving from their friend's suicide. They all felt some type of guilt for not realizing that things were as bad as they were. When Nory arrives on their first night at the castle, Guy gets drunk and tries to make a move on her so she escapes the castle and bumps into Issac, the gardener's son who is now head gardener. They always sustained a rivalry will she was at school while at the same time, he was her older brother's best friend. Through a series of mishaps, Issac and Nory end up falling for each other, argue because of Guy and end up getting back together. Issac and Nory get married and Nory's friends have a baby who they name in honor of their friends, Tristian. It was a very sentimental read.