A December to Remember

Jenny Bayliss

CAN a father’s final act reunite his three estranged daughters? Sit back and indulge your senses in this gorgeous rom-com which is guaranteed to warm the cockles of your heart.

Jenny Bayliss (pictured below), whose gorgeous wintertime novels have made her one of the reigning queens of feel-good, serves up a tasty festive treat with this beautiful, funny and joyful celebration of sisterly love, second chances, and community spirit.

Wildly different half-sisters Maggie, Simone and Star have hardly seen each other since their idyllic summers spent in the charming village of Rowan Thorp, the home of their eccentric father, Augustus. 

Known for the fruitful ways in which he and his bustling curiosity shop kept the town’s tongues wagging and ladies swooning, Augustus North was loved by all and known by none, not even his daughters.

Now, years later, the three estranged women are unexpectedly reunited at the reading of Augustus’s will. Maggie, Simone and Star are shocked to find out that Augustus has engineered a series of hoops through which the three women must jump to unlock their inheritance... the last thing any of them want to do. But each sister desperately needs the money and they are in no position to rebel against their father’s final wishes.

Spending the winter months at Rowan Thorp stirs up feelings with forgotten flames, and makes the sisters confront the lives they have left behind. 

As old wounds resurface and long-buried secrets come to light, the sisters must learn to work together if they hope to succeed. Sometimes the only way to move forward is to go back to where it all began. 

Bayliss has fun with this cosy winter-warmer which brings us a memorable cast of quirky characters, an entertaining slice of family drama, a delicious serving of romance, and a hearwarming reminder that it’s never too late to have another go at life... and love.
(Pan, paperback, £8.99)