2.5 stars (rounded up)..

By this point, it is becoming clear that Jenny Bayliss is not the writer for me. While I love it when romances include a heavy dose of melancholy and weighty topics, I did not find "A December to Remember" overly endearing because of its premise. I found myself mad at Maggie, Simone, and Star's father Augustus from the very first chapter. He was a philanderer and a cheat. He lived in the same town as one of his daughters and didn't give her the time of day because "it would be unfair to the other two sisters." WHAT?! And everyone in the quirky seaside town of Rowan Thrope simply LOVED this man? Gross. Why do we continue to let men get away with this kind of behavior, even in fiction!? Well, no matter, he's dead now. He left the half-sisters a series of tasks to accomplish before they get their inheritance which, fine, scavenger hunts are always fun to read about, but something about this book and this story rubbed me the wrong way from the get-go. The story *has* romance in it, sure, but it's more of a drama about maintaining/losing/rekindling relationships, having/not having children, learning tax and housing law, and discovering who your family is after they are no longer around. The crux of the story is about these three wildly different sisters reconnecting via these tasks and challenges, and finding their found family along the way. As they follow their late father's instructions, they become closer and closer as time goes on. I found it to be predictable and overly saccharine. There is a smattering of Christmas cheer and magic in this book, but I definitely would not suggest it as a holiday-time read due to the aforementioned heaviness (involving infertility, divorce, infidelity, substance abuse, death, etc). My mind wandered frequently while reading this book as I wished (several times) that I was reading anything else. I think it's because this book is far too long. A dragging pace on top of a too-long page count is a recipe for boredom. You could ostensibly skip several chapters in the middle and know exactly the same amount of information as if you'd read them. I don't recommend this one unless you want to fall asleep.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jenny Bayliss, and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam G.P. Putnam's Sons for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

✨🎄 A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss 🎄✨

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5/5

💭 Thoughts:
This was a cute little book, but it felt repetitive at times. I probably would have liked it better if it was edited down. I also wasn’t expecting infertility to be a main theme. On the bright side, I loved the story of the sisters reconciling with a small town backdrop, and I also loved hearing about the scavenger hunt that their late father sent them on. It was a nice, cozy, and heartwarming read.

Thank you to Putnam Books for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you the the publisher and to Netgalley! If there’s one thing Jenny Bayliss nails, it’s writing festive small towns filled with families, friends and neighbors. I loved the premise but often found my mind wandering and felt like I couldn’t get into the story 100%. However, it was a nice palette cleanser book and one that got me excited for the holidays!

I loved this. I loved the family togetherness angle. The three sisters were distinctly different, and I loved how the author connected them through a quirky father. Maggie, Star, and Simone were great characters to read about. The author wove their story together while also incorporating their backstories and personal qualities for each of them. I look forward to Jenny Bayliss's winter releases each year, and this did not disappoint!

I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

A sweet, cozy story that is sure to hit you with the Holiday feels. Check out this book if you enjoy slightly old MCs (30s/40s) and a small-town vibe! I did find my concentration drifting a bit while reading but overall I really enjoyed A December to Remember.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"A December to Remember" was not really a tale I'd like to remember for very long. Having just gone through a family death, I did not find this book very uplifting--especially at Christmas. While I do enjoy stories about finding love and hope in new ways, the overall theme of the father passing was simply too melancholy for me. I also found the storyline to drag. Unfortunately, this book wasn't a top on my Christmas list, and I would have liked to have a lot more depth and relatability within the characters. Even with the tragedy of the death, the book simply didn't seem very realistic. Felt like a story about a man who just wanted to go around dropping his seed without any sort of responsibility--I can't find any comfort or humor in that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for an ARC of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

I always enjoy Jenny Bayliss’ holiday books. This one is a little less Christmas and more winter-ish but it was still cute. It’s classified as romance and there is romance in it but it really centers around the North Sisters relationship so if you’re looking for something swoony you may not like this.

Overall, a good read for the winter months. Found it a bit long in certain spots but still recommend this one if you aren’t looking for something too sugary.

I am a big fan of Jenny Bayliss's holiday books every year. They usually have a touch of romance, but tend to trend more towards women's fiction and don't always center around Christmas.
4/5 
Half sisters Maggie, Simone, and Star are all estranged after being close as children. They used to spend every summer all together with their father in a little village. After their father passes he leaves them instructions on how to get their inheritance. To do so the sisters must come together to reinstate the town's Winter Solstice festival. 

This was so fun to see the sister's quirky personalities all come together. As someone who is very different than her sister it was so cool to see each woman grow as a person and grow back toward family. I loved each main character as well as the side ones! The main story was heartwarming and I also loved each sister's romance.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin for my copy of A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss in exchange for an honest review. It published September 26, 2023.
This book wasn't quite what I was expecting, however, I really did enjoy parts. I enjoyed the ups-and-downs and the character development. There were some parts that had content that was hard for me to read, but overall I enjoyed the book!
This isn't so much a Christmas book, but rather a December book, as the name implies.

Actually a 3.5. A cute and quirky holiday read. A great cozy read for the holidays.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/75670216

A heartfelt, feel-good holiday story from one of my fav authors who never fails to deliver all the feels! I really enjoyed this story that sees three estranged half-sisters reunited after their father dies leaving them with a chance to inherit his quirky antiques shop.

Forced to work together to fulfill a crazy scavenger hunt and revive a beloved town Winter Solstice festival, sisters, Star, Simone and Maggie need to learn to set aside past hurts and stop their bickering.

I loved each sister's journey, the way the townspeople were all too happy to help them out, the mysterious magical shop cat, their unique love stories and the way they ultimately came together and supported one another through some challenging things. Full of emotional depth and guaranteed to give you those warm and cozy feelings. This was also good on audio.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review. Highly recommended for fans of books like Sara Gibbs's Eight bright lights.

Even though <i>A December to Remember</i> isn’t actually a holiday story, it has many seasonal connections. In particular, the three main characters, half-sisters plan the revival of the community’s winter solistice celebration. The book has a very interesting premise and Bayliss in known for weaving a number of themes into her stories. The focus this time around is on the efforts to heal and rebuild a family in the form of three half-sisters. Upon the reading of his will, their somewhat eccentric father leaves them a challenge, along with his property and collections, in an effort to bring them back to the closeness of their days as “summer sisters.” Set in a lovely small village known as Rowan Thorp there are a number of interesting folks in the supporting cast.

Perhaps it was the number of characters and their quite detailed stories that made for a slow pace. In part, the pace suits the heart-warming aspects of the story but it also slowed my connection and interest so I found myself having to push to make it through. Like the North girls, I am one of three vastly different sisters. There were definitely issues I could relate to as well as ones that left me somewhat troubled and puzzled.

A pleasant book to begin my holiday reading, I think readers will each respond to this story based on their own tastes. For me, it didn’t replace my favorite Bayliss offering which was actually her first - <i>iThe Twelve Dates of Christmas.</i>



FYI - I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Three sisters that share a absentee father and a single month each summer face true loss, forced to work together to receive an unwelcome and unknown inheritance in the small village from their youths. Maggie, Simone & Star know each other only from brief weeks shared across the summers of their youth. Raised by categorically different mothers, they've drifted over the years until nearly strangers themselves. When their father Augustus passes away, they are brought back together by the unexpected grief of losing someone they thought already lost to them. When Augustus' will shows he's not quite done with his girls, they are forced to jump through hoops to meet his criteria for receiving information needed to wrap up his estate once and for all. Through the pitfalls of sisterhood, grief in its many forms, romance, village antics and dastardly landlords these three women find their way back to being family. This novel was warm, heartfelt and rough around all the right edges. The reader starts the story with three women that are going THROUGH it and for each woman, there are aspects of their personality and situation that make them hard to like and empathize with, Simone in particular. But as we continue through the story, self reflection and hard truths from siblings lost help each woman to realize they've been plodding along in silence and solitude for no reason and when they show their vulnerability, share their burdens, it can truly take a village. The story had both laugh out loud moments and those that brought tears to my eyes. If you like fiction with elements of complex family ties and feel good resolutions, then this is a book for you!

The queen of feel-good contemporary holiday lit is back at it again! Jenny Bayliss continues to enchant readers with realistic characters, enthralling settings, and holiday cheer year after year.

A December to Remember follows three estranged half-sisters – Maggie, Simone, and Star – on an adventure to fulfill their late father’s last request in his will. They’re tasked with putting together a Winter Solstice festival for the entire town to enjoy while also trying to find ways to connect with one another and mend their healing hearts.

If you like reading holiday themed romance novels, this one cannot be missed. Although this story isn’t simply a one-dimensional romance; there are several plot lines that add extra intrigue and warm fuzzies along the way. The wide range of characters fills out the story nicely, but not in a way that leads the reader to be overwhelmed or confused about who’s who.

I whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys winter holidays, feel good stories, and the notion of chosen family. This book really cultivates the idea of a tight-knit community and is something that I think many people long for. This book will make you laugh, smile, and blush at times, too. It shares the warmth of a nice cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter’s day.

The premise of thus book sounded really good and I'm sure plenty of people will love this book. I wasn't expecting an infertility storyline and I'm not in a place to be able to read about that right now so this wasn't the book for me at this time. I'm hoping in the future to be able to give it another chance.

There were so many things I was excited about for this book - the found family (or in this case estranged sisters), a magical English Christmas setting, and an absolutely heartwarming story. Unfortunately it wasn't for me. There were too many characters (and not in a quirky small town kind of way) to actually get into the story, and as much as I love an interconnected story (this has been mentioned as a love actually-esque kind of plot, which I LOVE) this wasn't done in a smooth transition kind of way.

I'm a year round holiday read kind of gal and think this just wasn't for me for right now but I definitely want to read again at a later time because I've loved this author's previous novels.😊

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

Three estranged half sisters with very diverse personalities gather for the memorial of their late father Augustus. They each carry the weight of a scattered relationship with their father who would only see them one month a year for their childhood, never having contact with them outside of that. Once they grew into adulthood, their time with him was nonexistent, but in his own way, he loved them. Each of them carries baggage from their own life to include financial and relationship issues . As they come together, they work through their difference. There is romance along the way, some humor, but in the end it is a feel good book. It's a wonderful winter read filled with the general cozy predictable nature that I personally adore this time of year.

A December to Remember, is Queen of Christmas, Jenny Bayliss’ latest book. This book explores three sisters (Star, Simone, and Maggie) journey as they deal with the untimely death of their estranged father. Growing up as half-siblings, the girls only quality time together was when they spent the summer at their father’s home. However, as they grew up they stopped attending summer visits and quickly grew apart. Reunited for the funeral and reading of the will, the sisters find themselves tasked with reviving the town’s Winter Solstice celebration. Will their father’s final wish be what they need to heal their relationships, or will it sever them once and for all?

When I entered into this book I did so blindly. As a result, I was unaware that the plot of the book is centered around the Winter Solstice (shortest day of sunlight all year). While this is not something I celebrate, I found the story to be compelling.

Sisterhood is complex. It has the ability to provide the highest of highs and lowest of lows. I loved watching Star, Simone, and Maggie grapple with how to rebuild their relationships. It took them redefining their roles with one another and seeing things from the other’s perspective in order to begin the healing process. It was a beautiful story that reminded me it is never too late to heal a broken relationship, if both parties are willing.

Special thanks to Netgalley, Jenny Bayliss, and GP Putnam’s Sons for gifting me this copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Love ever word, moment and character. The story line is amazing. I couldn't put it down. This was a sweet journey from the beginning to an end; making it one unputdownable read.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin group putnam for letting me read this book.

This book just wasn’t for me. I tried to get into but it was just a lot going on. It sounded interesting.