I really enjoyed this book by Jenny Bayliss, it is great if you love Christmas books which I do.
I loved the setting of Scotland, and the characters that were featured, and I liked the main character, Fred. I liked the will they wont they story, and really did feel as though I was there with the characters in Pine Bluff.

Oh wow! I wasn't sure how I would feel about reading a Christmas book in a heatwave, but thank you so much net galley for letting me have an arc copy of this book.
I was hooked from chapter one, didn't want to stop reading or put the book down.
This book has it all, made me want to go and visit the Villiage in Scotland to meet and be embraced by all the local residents and meet the hallow-Hart family.
Was just a nice cozy read, making me want it to be Christmas and having hot chocolates.

Thank you netgalley and Penguin Random House for my arc copy.
As a fan of Jenny Bayliss I was expecting to love this as much as I have her other books, However something about this just didnt hit the same for me. Although this is still a solid 3.5 star book for me and i'll still be recommending it to my friends and family who I know would adore it.

This was a warm hug and hot chocolate in book form. Gentle yet with some gripping moments. I think I would much prefer making Christmas crackers for a job. Ten out of ten.

Christmas comes early! But quite a nice change from Summer romances.
Frederika (I wont call her Fred) comes hom to the family home in Pine Bluff, after her life turns upside down. She really isnt going to stay, she insists, but somehow finds herself very involved helping her mother (who is another story!) and her dotty aunts in the family Cracker making business, Her old friend Ryan appears on the scene. See what happens!
Thank you for chance to read and review this book, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Free Courtesy of Netgalley

Surely not Christmas books already, but for reviewers the season has started, and OMG this is the book you must read this Christmas. From the opening chapter I was hooked, I haven't really taken my kindle everywhere with me for a while, but this book I couldn't stop reading.

When Fred returns home with her tail between her legs, she feels like a failure as she tried so hard to break out from her family and nothing has gone her way. Returning home to gather the strength to leave again, she must find peace in her family and learn where her place in the world is meant to be.

This book has it all, and you will be itching to visit the little village in Scotland, to be embraced by the residents and the Hallow-Hart family.

Ready to dive into Christmas, this is the book for you, and another new Author to put on my list. Thank you Jenny for this amazing book.

A real cutie of a romance with all the wrap around charm of small village life up in scotland. There are mad aunts, a very misunderstood mother and her partners, and the mayhem that is Christmas for those who work and need the income form a successful commercial time. The book is told in numerous points of view keep the story flowing and bounding along at pace rushing ever closer to Christmas. There are two men in Fred’s life and she will need to choose one or neither of them and love with the consequences of her actions. a great winter read.

Fred goes back to Pine Bluff after losing her job and her boyfriend. It's not for good she keeps insisting but decides to help put in the Christmas cracker business her mum is running. Also back is Ryan who was her best friend before she went away. Lovely book

Just finished this title and had to submit my review straightaway! Jenny Bayliss has created an ultimate cosy festive read, full of seasonal references, wintry weather, boozy hot chocolates and of course, romance. Set in Pine Bluff, a Scottish village, Fred Hallow Hart feels a failure when she has to return home to her Mum and Aunties in her mid-thirties after a relationship breakdown and losing her job. The quirky characters throughout the text are endearing and just the sort of people to make you want to visit.

An encounter with her childhood best friend Ryan (who she has secretly loved for years) and then the handsome Warren (up from London) set the scene for romance. Add in Christmas crackers, a Christmas Market and Santa's Grotto and well, you are transported to December.

This is a cosy read. It’s Christmas, there’s romance and it’s in a lovely Scottish village!

I’ll definitely read more books by Jenny Bayliss.

Clearly this is a Christmas romance and, as such, it was what you might expect. It was enjoyable enough but I didn't feel that it stood out from other Christmas romances. It's allegedly set in the Scottish Highlands. We're told this a number of times. And we have to be told because there's nothing in the book to suggest it. Jenny Bayliss even refers to the local vicar for goodness' sake!

A brilliant story. All about realising family are important . I loved the Christmas cracker company and the two Aunts are great. Real characters.You get old love. Lots of laugh out loud moments with the Aunts.. The craft market sounded amazing. I loved this book . One of my reads for 2025. Ace read.

Tras una ruptura devastadora y el colapso de su vida en Londres, Fred Hallow-Hart regresa a regañadientes a Pine Bluff, su pintoresco pueblo natal escocés, con el corazón roto y la autoestima hecha trizas. Lo último que quiere es volver a la casa familiar llena de tías excéntricas, supersticiones navideñas y recuerdos que preferiría olvidar. Pero su vuelta coincide con la excéntrica celebración local de la Noche de Krampus, y su inesperado reencuentro con Ryan Frost, el mejor amigo de su infancia y su antiguo crush, marca el inicio de un viaje emocional tan caótico como cálido.

Mientras intenta rehacer su vida en medio de muérdagos, crackers artesanales, tazas de vino caliente y traumas del pasado, Fred se verá obligada a enfrentar no solo sus errores, sino también las heridas de su relación con su madre, Bella, quien también arrastra viejas cicatrices. Con el espíritu navideño invadiendo cada rincón de Pine Bluff, madre e hija descubrirán que, a veces, volver a casa es el primer paso para encontrarse a una misma… y tal vez también para abrir el corazón al amor otra vez.


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No me gustó cómo las tías querían contarle a Fred sobre el "sacrificio" que hizo Bella por ella, porque para empezar, Fred no pidió nacer, y si Bella hizo lo que hizo fue por miedo, no por su hija. Que al final Fred se enterara y se sintiera culpable me enojó.

También me dio pena Claire, porque ella sabía que Liam amaba a Bella. Pero como Bella no quería mudarse y él sí quería formar una familia, decidió soltarla, y fue entonces cuando la conoció a C. Aun así, no siento que la haya amado por completo. Sí la quiso y jamás le fue infiel, pero su corazón siempre estuvo con Bella. Si no, ¿por qué iba todos los años a Pine Bluff? Incluso le presentó a Claire y permitió que se hicieran amigas. ¿Por qué no mejor cortar todo contacto?




Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest

It's giving Hallmark in a book!
Such a cosy, festive, small town romance perfect for your Christmas TBR.
This is the first book I have read by this author and I was really impressed. Full of festive fun, laughter and feel good vibes.
Set in Scotland, FMC Frederkia returns to her hometown in need of some holiday cheer after leaving her life behind her. But she's only here temporarily isn't she?
Frederika and MMC Ryan share an awkward past with sparks flying this time round is this enough to keep her in Pine Bluff?

Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House and the author for a free copy. All opinions are my own and left voluntarily.

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A wonderful festive read. You are immediately captured with the spirit of Christmas with the brilliant Krampus Run that introduces us to Fred and Ryan.
Granted an ARC by NetGalley I read this over the hottest weekend of the year in June but it still had me wanting a Baileys spiked hot chocolate and dig out my Christmas PJs!
It was wonderful seeing Fred and Bella's unfolding romances but more so them embracing themselves and for Fred in particular redefining her sense of self and home.

What a fabulous read. Full of warmth and hope. Follows the lives of a small Scottish village. A really cosy feel about it and so well written. I would definitely read more books by Jenny Bayliss. I was lucky enough to receive this as an advance copy and leave this review willingly.

Thank you to the publisher and thank you to NetGalley for the chance to review this e-ARC. Full review will be available soon

If you love a Hallmark Christmas movie in book form, this has a great line in wry humour that keeps it feeling festive but just the right side of schmaltzy and is well worth picking up. Bayliss’ Kiss Me At Christmas was my absolute favourite winter read last year and this is a worthy successor. If you're a fan of cosy, well-written, heart warming reads this is one for you.

Can you go wrong with this author? No! What a stunning, heart-warming read. I lapped it up and enjoyed every detail of this beautiful Christmassy Rom-com. It made me feel good, warm and had me smiling more times than I can count. One I hoe to reread this Christmas under the glow of the Fairylights for sure 🩵

Another beautiful tale from the beloved Jenny Bayliss. I loved Fredericas and Ryan’s story and I know readers will as well. We all have that love that has that hold on us even after the years pass and that exactly what Frederic’s is in for whether she likes it or not. ;)