Empty nest for Christmas, has a one night stand with the guy she picks up at the bar, gets in trouble with the law/theatre owner and ends up working alongside with the one night stand. Enjoyed reading this book, the characters were older and complemented each other. Had great chemistry and was funny at times.

Educator Harriet Smith fills the daughter-sized hole in her heart with found family in Jenny Bayliss’ latest holiday-adjacent novel, Kiss Me at Christmas.

With Harriet’s daughter off at college and experiencing life on her own, Harriet has had to find a way to fill her time and rebuke her sadness. While a one night stand wasn’t exactly in the cards, it happens, and Harriet dashes off in the morning in a private walk of shame, expecting to never see her temporary lover again. But see him she does when the group of misfits she counsels at school find themselves in trouble by way of breaking into a local abandoned theatre to skip school. It just so happens that Harriet’s lover is the theatre owner’s lawyer, and Harriet, who took the fall for her students, is in a mess of trouble legally. That is, unless she agrees to give the theatre one last hurrah by way of a Christmas production.

As Harriet throws herself into her newfound Christmas project alongside her adopted theatre family, she reignites her Christmas spirit, and discovers that standing on her own two feet isn’t only do-able, but also empowering. This will definitely be a December to remember, and Harriet hopes that she can pull off this Christmas play without a hitch. With the help of her one-night-stand-turned-something-more, it seems all things are possible at Christmastide.

One of the great joys of the holiday season is enjoying the festive entertainment put on by community groups and organizations. Seeing a Christmas production is just one of the many ways to get into the spirit of the season, which is what makes Bayliss’s Kiss Me at Christmas a palatable and appealing concept. While I frankly found this novel to be too long and drawn out, this book has little nuggets of holiday goodness sprinkled here and there if you stick with it. If you don’t really care for romance in your Christmas reads, this book is generally love story lite, with the Christmas play and Harriet’s relationship with her students taking the forefront. Part hit, part miss, Kiss Me at Christmas is worth a read if you have enjoyed Bayliss’ other holiday novels.

This is a typical feel-good Jenny Bayliss novel, and, of course, I loved it. There is a bit of romance, of course. But above all, it's about found-family and holiday spirit. Her books always make me feel good.

This book can easily be a holiday hit movie! The characters would be a lot of fun to see on screen. I will definitely read more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an eARC of Kiss Me At Christmas in exchange for an honest review!!

sadly decided to DNF this one around 30%, may come back to it later but right now it’s not for me.

This book missed the mark for me in many ways and I think if it was advertised differently and I had different expectations, I wouldn’t be as disappointed as I am. While it gives the suggestion that it’s a Christmas romance read, the only holiday elements were that it takes place in December and the students are performing a Christmas play. It also lacked the romance elements, other than a one night stand to kick off the book and some lack luster flirting. I love a cheesy, witty romance novel for the holidays, but this one didn’t have any of that.

I didn’t care for the FMC and felt like she wasn’t very likable. Despite making it a third of the way through the book, I couldn’t have told you one thing about the MMC.

I was not familiar with Jenny Bayliss' previous works so I was not sure what to expect.

Kiss Me at Christmas starts out a bit spicy with a one night stand. It is Closed Door so there are not a bunch of graphic details which I appreciate.

Harriett is alone for the Christmas season when her daughter is overseas as a foreign exchange student. Harriett is struggling to get in to the holiday mood when she gets in over her head with a group of students at her school who are misfits and tend to get in trouble.

While the book has plenty of heartwarming moments and humor, the pacing drags in places, and some plot points feel predictable. Harriett is a likable character, but her indecision and repetitive inner monologues can be frustrating at times. The romance, while sweet, lacks the depth and emotional tension needed to make it truly compelling.

I did like the quirky cast of characters.

I appreciate that this was a Closed Door Romance. There was plenty of sparks without the door being flung wide open.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Nobody does the holidays like Jenny Bayliss! Reading her new book at the start of the Holiday Season has become an annual tradition for me, and I absolutely LOVED Kiss Me at Christmas! This wonderful story captured all of the goodness of the holiday season: kindness, inclusion, coming together and helping one another, delicious treats, and mulled wine induced romance! I loved how the main focus of the story was on the community coming together and Harriet falling in love with who she was alone again. I also adored her romance with James and how they communicated so well with each other. If you’re looking for a beautiful, heartwarming holiday story, this is it!!!

This was a cute book but I didn’t love it. I found the main character fun but the story wasn’t very exciting to me.

“Kiss Me at Christmas” is about Harriett, a single mom who is all alone during the holidays while her daughter is spending Christmas on a study abroad trip. While Harriett is on her own she decides to take on the challenge of updating a dilapidated old theatre in town and putting on a community production of A Christmas Carol. While doing this she has to work with James, a straitlaced lawyer she previously had a one night stand with.

I’ll say what I always say when I review a Jenny Bayliss book – she writes exactly what I feel like reading around the holidays. Her books are cozy and charming not too treacly, not too Hallmark-y, and are inclusive and feature great representation. The characters always feel like people you might know in real life and they are always likable and mostly relatable (I realllly related to Harriett).

I liked the way that Evaline, the theatre owner and town matriarch of sorts, was full of surprises and grew on me as the book went on while also teaching Harriett some important lessons. Another favorite aspect was the introduction of the refugee women’s group. And the Billy and Grace storyline made me almost tear up a few times.

My one complaint with this book is that I feel like it is about 50 pages too long. I often feel that way with Bayliss’s books.

Anyway, Jenny Bayliss is still my go to holiday author and fans of Katherine Center or Amy Poeppel who are looking for a holiday read are sure to love “Kiss Me at Christmas” as well as the rest of her books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an ARC of Kiss Me at Christmas in exchange for my honest review.

This cutesy romcom tells the story of single mom Harriet who is spending her first Christmas without her daughter (she's gone out of country). Naturally, she's a bit sad, but a handsome man and new project at the local theater seem to help her keep her mind busy.

I've read Jenny Bayliss in the past (absolutely LOVED The Twelve Dates of Christmas) and was hoping for a bit of the same with this one. However, this one just didn't resonate with me. Not only did I not relate to Harriet at all (which isn't a huge deal), I just found I didn't really like her. Especially, around 80% when she completely flipped character on James. (Seriously, he has the patience of a saint to deal with her at times.) Overall, she was just a bit too whiny for me. HOWEVER, I absolutely loved all of the A Christmas Carol tie-ins.

This one wasn't for me (and that's ok!), but I'll definitely give Bayliss another try in the future. Hopefully, those will be more like her other works that I've enjoyed so much in the past.

2 1.2 ⭐️

Well, this was adorable! Harriet was such a caring MC who always saw the best in people. I loved watching the town’s groups coming together. Was this super Christmasy? Not really but I did like seeing the production of A Christmas Carol come together. If you added more Christmas vibes this would be a perfect Netflix movie.

Cute Christmas story! I would recommend this to those that love holiday stories.

I really loved James and Harriet. They worked through some real life issues and at the same time, the book kept it links. Perfect for this season!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Jenny Bayliss for the advanced copy of Kiss Me at Christmas.

This book was so, so sweet and heartwarming. Definitely gives off cozy Christmas vibes. I love that Harriet would do anything for her students, especially the ones who need a bit more support. Harriet & James' relationship was also very cute despite its ups and downs. Loved it overall.

A heartwarming Christmas romance with plenty of drama and familiar troupes. Great read for the holiday season and one that will give you that warm and cozy feeling.

I enjoyed this holiday read from Jenny Bayliss! A cozy cup of comfort with her usual cast of charming characters.

I will continue to read Jenny Bayliss holiday/christmas books until she stops writing them which is hopefully never. This is a grumpy fmc Harriet who is upset that her daughter decides to spend the holiday away from her. Harriet decides to help out with the Christmas play. As a fellow teacher, Harriet's character was relatable and although this is a christmas story at the heart is love. It has the christmas magic that helps bring unlikely people together and shows everyone is worthy of love. Very uplifting!!

Each year, I look forward to the latest holiday related novel by Jenny Bayliss, and this one didn't disappoint. This book features a middle age main character who is facing an empty nest during the holidays, but gets pulled into the building of a community center and producing a holiday theater program filled with many interesting characters and a sweet love story. I am a Bayliss completist and look forward to the next book!

✨Book Review: Kiss Me at Christmas✨

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This started off as an arc book for me, but my reading time has been interrupted a lot more recently by my beautiful 6 month old. I don’t know about you, but the Christmas season for me starts November 1st. My tree comes out, the carols start playing, and I dive into Christmas books!

Kiss Me at Christmas is adorable! Harriet is missing her daughter who won’t be home for the holidays, stressed in her teaching/pastoral career, and unlucky in love. After meeting James in a local pub, their paths cross again unexpectedly at the old, rundown theater where her students have been hiding while ditching class. Now the entire gang is responsible for cleaning up the theater in time for a final Christmas production of A Christmas Carol before the theater will be sold.

This story really exemplifies the spirit of the holiday season as the entire community comes together to save the theater, and Harriet and James’ relationship has a few setbacks before becoming one of the loveliest couples I’ve read about. Their dialogue was so well-written!

Don’t let this season go by without giving this book a chance!

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Finally, a holiday romance with a couple around my age! I loved the extended family of Harriet and the revelation you find out about James. This novel gave me all the feels, especially since she is dealing with her daughter not coming home for Christmas for the first time, making her usually holiday cheer dim considerable. Plus, this has the most original meet cute, after the first steamy chapter, I have read in a long time. The Famous Five are just like the kids that I used to teach so this brought back memories of my teaching days. If you love an older couple romance for the holidays, this is the book for you.

Kiss Me At Christmas is a cute Christmas story, but it didn't capture and hold my attention like I wanted it to. Harriett drove me insane for most of the book, and I struggled to finish it.