Kiss Me at Christmas is a heartwarming found-family story that seamlessly weaves together a diverse cast of characters and an engaging narrative about love and friendship. I found myself particularly captivated by the secondary characters, and I appreciated the thoughtful exploration of individuals with challenging backgrounds and lives. The Christmas atmosphere is beautifully infused throughout the book, and I loved how conflicts were consistently resolved through meaningful communication.

The book is a medium-paced read, offering a refreshing departure from the typical Christmas romance. One aspect I truly valued was having protagonists who aren’t the usual young characters seen in the genre; instead, they come with rich, complex family lives that remain joyful and uplifting. Since the story begins in November, it feels more like a winter or holiday-themed book rather than being solely focused on Christmas, making it a perfect choice to pick up earlier in the season rather than waiting until the end of December.

While I would have liked more time spent exploring Harriet as a character alone and her relationship with her daughter in greater depth, the overall story worked well for me.

I highly recommend this book to fans of theatre and stories centered on chosen family.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the advance review copy. I never miss a Jenny Bayliss novel, and it’s a pleasure to read her work a bit earlier in the season.

The blurb on Net Galley for Kiss Me at Christmas by Jenny Bayliss reads as though it were written for an entirely different book. There are glimmers of recognition but they are small. When I downloaded it, it was atributed to an different author too.

The novel itself is fairly standard Christmas fare. It's not earth-shattering but it was enjoyable. I found the extremes of Harriet's job and boss hard to believe in, but James, the male lead, was well-drawn.

Cute and cosy Christmas romance that will be great to re-read in winter. The book explores a variety of themes and I’d definitely recommend adding to your TBR

Really enjoyed this book. Left me all glowy and wishing it was Christmas! Could totally relate to all of the characters and loved the community spirit. Thanks for a great nights read!

Absolutely loved it. Read in one sitting in our tent. Could not stop. . I loved the story of Harriet with her worry of an empty nest and how she moved on. She was one hell of a teacher . The way the old theatre came back to life was brilliant. . James sounded very handsome. I loved the Christmas element and helping the community. and all the food parts . Just read , escape and enjoy.. My favourite Christmas book of 2024 so far and read a few. Just read it.

I love Jenny's books and Kiss me at Christmas certainly didn't disappoint.
It's the perfect book to curl up with over the festive season. It's a cute and cosy read with a great cast of characters. As always, another brilliant festive novel from Jenny. I can't recommend it enough and look forward to reading more by her.
💖 Thank you to netgalley, the author and publisher for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me. I couldn’t relate to main character Harriet and found the book missing something. Which is a shame as I was looking forward to reading this one.

I found this book a little slow to start with and just expected it to be another Christmas romance but it was absolutely fantastic. Yes the story had romance but also so much more and explored lots of different themes while having the magic of Christmas running through it
The characters were brilliant and I could really imagine being there in the theatre with them all.
Harriet was my favourite by far and I loved how the romance between her and James played out.
The ending had me in tears but it was a perfect.
Thanks to Netgalley, Jenny Baylis and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for an advance copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.