Meet Me Under the Mistletoe is the second book I've read by Jenny Bayliss. Like The Twelve Dates of Christmas, which I absolutely loved, 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.
Click here for more about Jenny Bayliss. Find Meet Me Under the Mistletoe on Goodreads - Barnes & Noble - Amazon
Take care and happy reading!
- Heather
Instagram - @GrantsCrossing
Goodreads - H.M.S. Brown
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the opportunity to read and review this book!
