MEET ME UNDER THE MISTLETOE
A cozy bookshop in London. A grand countryside castle. An enchanting cottage at the edge of the woods. A snowy, secret garden. Like all of @jennibayliss ‘s novels, Meet Me Under The Mistletoe has the most gorgeously drawn, wintery English settings! Her latest is about a bookseller named Nori who joins her prep school pals for weeklong reunion at a sprawling castle, before they all attend a Christmastime wedding there. A local girl who fell in with posh mates, Nori is reminded of her longstanding conflicted feelings between her working class family and her wealthy friends. This confusion is only intensified by her rekindled crush on the handsome groundskeeper, Isaac. Will the wintery magic of the castle be enough to sustain their romance, or will unforeseen obstacles keep them from pursuing their love of old books, botanical prints and possibly each other?
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This novel has a dash of The Big Chill, a smidge of Downton Abbey, and a heaping spoonful of holiday sparkly romance. Let me clarify, though, that this is not a fluffy romcom. This book tackles some decidedly serious issues of class, gender roles and emotional wellness in true grown up fashion. But that doesn’t make the romance disappear; if anything it makes it feel more like real life - and therefore that much more swoony. If flirting over botanical prints and cups of mulled wine sounds dreamy to you, settle in with this one in front of a fire - you are in for a treat. (I've got another hour on audio that I'm savoring today.)
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The holiday book/cookie fest continues! With “mistletoe” in the title, I just had to make some cookies with a “kiss” theme - and what better to bake with than Hershey’s kisses! These are my favorite peanut butter blossoms from @sallysbakeblog , along with her candy cane kiss and chocolate crinkle cookies. They’re super easy, you can make the dough ahead of time, and they’re delicious for days - if you can resist them for that long!
