Meet Me Under the Mistletoe

By: Jenny Bayliss

Narrated by: Shakira Shute

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 . . .

©2019 Jenny Bayliss (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

One of Reader's Digest's 30 Most-Anticipated Books of 2022

"A story of past flings, friendships, and new love….Reading this with a mug of hot cocoa sparked so much joy!”—FIRST

"Filled with holiday bliss and the spirit of new starts, Nory and Isaac's second chance is the perfect holiday romance."—PopSugar

"Meet Me Under the Mistletoe captures the same small-town charm and holiday cheer found in Bayliss’s debut novel, The Twelve Dates of Christmas, while tackling themes of class relations, self-acceptance, family loyalty, and the value of old friendships and new love.”—Apartment Therapy

Enjoyed but…

Listened to this on a road trip through the mountains and it definitely scratched my snowy romcom itch.

I do wish there were more likeable characters. Unlikeable characters are obviously necessary to drive plot but I disliked so many characters in this book.

Thoughtful, touching holiday rom-com

Beautifully read, wonderful story. I appreciated the complex characters and the lack of typical rom-com cheesiness. This was a quality novel, not just silly, predictable junk like so many rom-com books are these days. Loved it.

Wonderful story

Terrific story plot with great characters. I’ve enjoyed all of her unique stories and am waiting for her next book.

4.5 stars out of 5

Really cute winter story about friendship and love. I'm really glad my book club chose this for our December read.

Solid 3.5 stars

This book was ok. I fell asleep many, many times getting through it. The pace/content in the epilogue made me wish 2 hours had been cut from the book to make room for what was summed up right at the end. I think this is one of those circumstances where a movie would be better. A sleepy, not bad book.

Lovely read

I love Jenny Bayless writings, and this book did not disappoint! Easy to read, well developed characters, and a way of making me feel like I’m nestled somewhere in England!

Sweet story

If you need something easy and light hearted this is a good one. I listened to it while I baked Christmas cookies.

Good story

I liked the characters and story. Narration was alright. A little cheesy but a good story!

Such a Sweet Story

I loved the characters and their interactions. Of course, loved the romance. I love happy endings.

Corny but fun!

Lots of Twists and turns as a group of old friends from boarding school find their true loves.