REVIEW: Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Jenny Bayliss

In Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Jenny Bayliss, Growing up in the small village of Hartmead, Elinor “Nory” Noel dreamed of one day living in London, being surrounded by scores of people and with interesting shops to explore. And after some years of struggling in the big city, she now owns her very own secondhand bookshop: Serendipitous Seconds. As the holidays now approach and she learns that two of her former classmates from the private school they attended together–her on a scholarship–are getting married, Nory reluctantly decides she’ll join in the week-long festivities even though she’d rather avoid one of the men who will likely be attending.

“Watching your lives was like climbing inside a book. Those kinds of things didn’t happen in real life. Not in my life anyway.”
“Isaac, you literally lived in a castle garden. You weren’t exactly watching us from your inner-city tower-block window.”
Isaac laughed softly. “Touché.”

Robinwood Castle, which stands near the private school they all went to, is still as beautiful as Nory remembered. But it’s strange to be a guest instead of working there with her family, decorating the home and the grounds with plants and blooms from their nursery. Everything runs surprisingly smoothly for a while for the group. Until alcohol, untoward intentions, and Nory running out into the freezing winter night causes her to literally bump into Isaac, the former head gardener’s handsome son. Who also happens to not only be her older brother’s best friend, but the new head of gardening at the castle. Day after day, the pair’s paths keep crossing until it’s obvious there is something special between them. But with Nory in London and Isaac in Hartmead, will a long-distance relationship work?

‘She had kept her hopeful little heart tightly bound to keep it from disappointment, telling herself that whatever this was would be a holiday fling, nothing more. But Isaac had just handed her a license to dream.’

Charming and witty, heartfelt and nostalgic, Meet Me Under the Mistletoe was a love letter to all things bookish and botanical with some romance, reunions, and holiday merriment thrown in for our reading pleasure.

‘It was so frustrating. You wait your whole life for an honorable man to show up and when he does, he’s too virtuous by half! Why were the gods conspiring against her?’

Content Warning: View Spoiler »Cheating, discussion of secondary character having committed suicide five years prior, mental health concerns, racism. « Hide Spoiler

I had a whole lot of fun reading Jenny Bayliss’s newest novel. The huge cast of characters and the number of subplots reminded me a bit of Jill Mansell or Sophie Kinsella’s work–with its madcap adventures and lovely humor. Told specifically from our heroine Nory’s POV, it was tough to pin down the overall feel. To me, it was part romance (three new romances, actually!), part women’s fiction, and partly holiday themed. But each element worked together. And it made for an intricate plot that some might find intimidating, but one that I found endearing and exciting, all at the same time.

Nory’s love of books and how she could find the exact right novel for her customers was pretty magical. Just the name of her second-hand bookshop alone tickled me to pieces when it was mentioned for the first time: Serendipitous Seconds. (Right?!) From her right-hand man Andrew, who I adored, her bestie Ameerah who was downright awesome, steadfast Isaac, and the rest of Nory’s outrageous schoolmates and family we got to know, Bayliss kept the scenes–as well as the dialogue–lively.

The majority of the book was uplifting with some sentimental moments as the friends all reminisced. But there were some slightly darker themes woven in that were quite poignant, particularly as this was set during the holidays when people tend to get nostalgic anyway. With a sweet ending, after a big goof up by Nory that was thankfully rectified in a most satisfying way, I hope readers will enjoy every moment of Meet Me Under the Mistletoe.

QOTD: Have you gone to any school reunions that ended up being filled with drama?

Book Info:

Publication: Published September 27th 2022 | Pub: G.P. Putnam’s Sons |

A city bookshop owner heads to the English countryside for a holiday reunion— only to face her childhood enemy.

Elinor Noel—Nory for short—is quite content running her secondhand bookshop in London. Forever torn between her working-class upbringing and her classmates’ extravagant lifestyles at the posh private school she attended on scholarship, Nory has finally figured out how to keep both at equal distance. So when two of her oldest friends invite their whole gang to spend the time leading up to their wedding together at the castle near their old school, Nory must prepare herself for an emotionally complicated few days.

The reunion brings back fond memories, but also requires Nory to dodge an ill-advised former fling. When she falls quite literally into the arms of Isaac, the castle’s head gardener, who has nothing but contempt for the “snobby prep school kids,” the attraction between them is undeniable. And as Nory spends more time with Isaac during the wedding festivities, she finds herself falling hard for the boy she used to consider an enemy. Nory and Isaac explore their common ground, but pressures mount on all sides, and Nory must decide what kind of life she wants to live and what sort of love is worth the risk . . .