This book has been on my tbr for rather a long time now so I’m glad that a friend suggested buddy reading it, I really enjoyed it and I’m now looking forward to reading some more by Jenny that I’ve also got sat on my kindle!

I wouldn’t particularly call this a Christmas book, but it is a wintery, warming and slightly festive feeling book. This is more focused around the North sisters themselves, their dynamic and the Winter Solstice event that they are organising.

We have a few romantic nudges in this and I really like that the three sisters were so different, they each bring their own quirks and characteristics to the story. I think Star was my favourite, her waiflike, open mindness and ‘wanderer’ type personality made her unique and I so wanted her and Duncan to develop something. Maggie and Joe 100% felt like a sure fire thing from the very start!

There are also some quite emotional scenes with Simone and Evette’s pregnancy struggles - it was great to see the sisters opening up and then helping each other through their troubles.

This was such a lovely book and has left me eager to read another by Jenny as I felt like it had so much to it and different layers to unravel. An all round gorgeous story really!

I fell in love with this story! An easy andy heartwarming winter read! Would definitely read more from this author!

As usual in my reviews I will not rehash the plot - there are reviews like that out there already if that's what you're looking for...

This is the first novel I've read by this author. I found it a little hard to decide what period it was set in to begin with, as it had a kind of "mystical" vibe about it

The characters are interesting - some very likeable, and others definitely not so! I didn't actually warm to the character of Augustus Balthazar North - he sounded like a bounder to say the least!

The plot deals with some heavy topics (including abortion, childlessness, abandonment). The book also felt rather long - I think it could have been condensed as some bits didn't seem quite relevant.

Overall an enjoyable - if quirky - read.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

This story revolves around three half sisters and a hippy dad. They are brought together on the death of their father and he gives them a challenge to overcome to inherit . Each of the sisters has different issues to overcome . A great read which I really enjoyed, thoroughly recommended
Thank you to Netgalley, Pan MacMillan and Jenny Bayliss for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

An amazingly uplifthing story that revlolvesaeound the North sisters. Each sister has their own joys, own problems, and own mother, However, a clause in the will of their shared fatherleads them to meet again and talk a series of challenges togther. Not without conflict or reluctantance to they embark on this. A great curl up and read book.

I’m sorry, but this book really isn’t for me. I didn’t like any of the characters and actually just found them to be really irritating. I couldn’t take it anymore and didn’t finish reading the book.

I enjoyed this one. It took me awhile to get into it but once I did I really liked it. I liked reading about each sister and finding out their backstory. A really good warm feeling read that also touches on some serious topics and I think overall it was really well done and the story was so interesting and lovely.

Lovely family story of 3 estranged half sisters coming together following the death of their father to follow the instructions in his will. Maggie, Simone and Star have different characters and they work through everything they need to do including a Winter Solstice celebration. There are funny moments as well as sad and well worth a read.
I received an early copy via Net Galley in return for an unbiased review.

For the last few Christmases, I’ve loved picking up a Jenny Bayliss book and this one was brilliant! I love family / sisterhood stories and this one was so well written and explored the familial relationships and challenges well. Each sister was unique but I loved all their characters so much.
Although set in the lead up to Christmas, the focus on the winter solstice makes this more of a wintery read so I think it could be read other times of year too! I loved this plot and loved the community coming together to support each other. Such a great read and definitely recommend!

Thanks to Netgalley and PanMacmillan for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I'm always a big fan of Jenny Bayliss' festive reads and this was no different.
After reading quite a few of her books now, I really like the way in which she writes.
I enjoyed all of the storylines equally, which actually surprised me as I normally favour one over the others but this had my attention the whole way through.
It was also an interesting concept, overall, too.
It's an ideal read to pick up in December, as the name would suggest and a lovely festive book.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

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, hope, and reconcilation is in the air, if only the three sisters can let themselves grasp it.

My Opinion

A festive book always appeals, no matter what time of year it is. I needed bit of cheering up, so a festive book was the way to go. Each one of the sisters is relatable for a different reason. A nice cosy read with some great characters make for an uplifting, heart-warming read.

Rating 4/5

what a story to read so much thought and detail in this story mystery and magical and three different sisters with stories of there own to tell you with there father having an intriging life in a village owing a curiousity shop once you start to read its hard to put the book down

Reading a book about December in January; what a rebel I am.

Although this cover screams Christmas, it's not a huge theme in the book so I didn't feel like too much of a fraud reading it in January. This was a story about family, community and love and I enjoyed it a lot.

The North sisters were all very different and I could see how they had slowly become estranged as they moved from childhood into adulthood. The one thing I thought they had in common was their ability to forgive their father for his absence in their lives. All three of them were much more understanding than I think I would have been. However it was their father who brought them back together in the end and I really enjoyed going through the reunion and rebuilding of relationships throughout this book.

This was a heart warming story with some lovely characters and an even lovelier village community. I would very much like to become a resident of Rowan Thorp!

I found this to be an OK easy read.

Three sisters who are estranged, meet in order to complete a task issued by their father who has died. In order to inherit his estate they must work together to reinstate a festival.

The book takes us on each of the sisters journey and I’m afraid I found it quite tedious at times and the second half of the book, repetitive. However, it’s an easy Christmassy read.

I’m grateful to NetGalley and Pan MacMillan publishers for the opportunity to preview.

I always know Christmas is on the way when a new Jenny Bayliss novel is released. She is fast becoming one of my favourite authors.

I wasn’t sure I would like this story as much as previous ones as it took me a little to get into the story and warm to the characters but once I was a few chapters in I settled in and I’m glad I carried on.

Three estranged sisters are brought back together when their dad dies leaving them with a shop of curious items to sort and a winter solstice festival to organise for the village where he lived. Each sister has their mind on other things but soon realise that they are more alike than they think. By finally opening up and working together can they become a unit again and pull off their dad’s final wishes?

Highly recommended if you like a book with a cosy festive feel.

3 half sisters have very little contact until their eccentric father dies. Thrown together to hear his will and sort out his riddles, will they find the common interest in his antique shop makes them closer ? Perfect reading for a cold winters day .

In this lovely Christmas story we meet the three very different half-sisters Maggie, Simone and Star. They have not seen each other much since their teens and now as their father, Augustus Balthazar North, passed away they have to arrange for his funeral together and then there is the reading of his will.

The little village of Rowan Thorp is the place of it all happening. Eldest sister Maggie has lived there most of her life. Her mother moved to the village for her daughter to be closer to her father but still she only saw him during the six weeks of summer together with Simone and Star when they stayed at his place. His place being the antique shop which is in the possession of the North family for ages already.

His will says that the three sisters have to arrange for the winter solstice celebration to come back alive again in Rowan Thorp. As their father died beginning of December they only have a short time to arrange this all.
They have to work together and also get the community involved. By doing so they obviously find their connection again and we learn about the sister’s individual story.

The lovely epilogue a couple of years later gives the story a nice ending. For sure a warm and cosy winter read!

This is a lovely family Christmas story based in a small town where friends and family come together after the death of one of its long term colourful residents.

The three daughters are very different but all share the beautiful eyes of their father. All also have the temperaments of their very different mothers. All they thought that they shared was a month of the summer holidays together with their father when they were young. Following his death they are left with a quest to renew an age old village tradition, which needs them to work together and with their friends to achieve.

Well written with joy and tears this is a lovely Christmas read. The characters are likeable and realistic and almost immediately draw the reader into the story.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to the publisher for sending a copy of this book
Christmas books are just the best
This book was one of my favourites so far this year. The book filled me with hope and feel good vibes
the family was unique and I enjoyed learning about each sister and their story
This is definitely the kind of book you want to cuddle up with a blanket and hot drink with and immerse yourself in this winter
Highly recommended from me!

When Maggie, Simone and Star's father passes away, the estranged sisters have to come together in the town they spent every summer childhood in to say goodbye to the father they loved, but felt like they hardly knew. When Augustus's will is read, the sisters find out they have to work together to create the perfect Winter Festival for the town before they can rightfully inherit. The time together as the Christmas period settles in gives the sisters a chance to reconnect.

Another lovely Christmas novel from Jenny Bayliss. I really liked this cosy tale complete with an eccentric town that could rival Star's Hollow, sisterly friendship and strong bonds and some romance scattered throughout.

I always think Jenny Bayliss's strength is the wonderful settings she always creates in her books and Rowan Thorp reminded me a bit of Blexford from The Twelves Dates of Christmas (I would love to know if there are any Easter eggs in Bayliss' novels to suggest her books are all set in the same world). A picture perfect Cotswold type of town where everyone knows everyone and they all stand up for each other - what could be better. I did find there were a couple of too many similarities from The Twelve Dtes including the 'Cussy Crocheters' which was a little bit too similar to the Knitting Sex Kittens in a previous novel.

I loved the sister friendship in this book as well as some really honest and refreshing chats around motherhood, infertility and abortion which I appreciated. I did find Maggie and Joe's relationship slightly tedious as Maggie's concerns bordered on very repetitive due to the age gap, her obsession with the fact she was menopausing and her constant put downs about herself particularly her thighs. It might have been better if we were introduced to the relationship at the start when the chemistry was sizzling before anything happened other than right in the middle of it.

Overall, I enjoyed this one and Jenny Bayliss is a Christmas reading staple for me!