Jenny Bayliss

Three bickering half sisters. One unique antiques shop. The coziest holiday season of their lives. Wildly different half sisters Maggie, Simone, and Star have hardly seen one another since their sprightly summers at Rowan Thorp, their eccentric father Augustus’s home. Known for his bustling approach to the knick-knack shop he ran, Augustus was loved by all and known by none, not even his daughters. Now, years later, the three estranged women are called upon for the reading of Augustus’s will and quickly realize he's orchestrated a series of hoops through which they must jump to unlock their inheritance—the last thing any of them want to do. But Maggie and Star desperately need the money. And who would Simone be to resist?  Through hilarious goose chases, small-town mishaps, and one heart-warming winter solstice celebration, love, hope, and reconcilation is in the air, if only the three sisters can let themselves grasp it.

A charmingly quirky seaside town offers a recently separated restauranteur a fresh start and possibly a new lease on love in A Season for Second Chances, by the author of The Twelve Dates of Christmas. Annie Sharpe's spark for life has fizzled out. Her kids are grown up, her restaurant is doing just fine on its own, and her twenty-six-year marriage has come to an unceremonious end. Untethered for the first time in her adult life, she finds a winter guardian position in a historic seaside home and decides to leave her city life behind for a brand-new beginning. When she arrives in Willow Bay, Annie is enamored by the charming house, the invigorating sea breeze, and the town's rich seasonal traditions. Not to mention, her neighbors receive her with open arms--that is, all except the surly nephew of the homeowner, whose grand plans for the property are at odds with her residency. As Christmas approaches, tensions and tides rise in Willow Bay, and Annie's future seems less and less certain. But with a little can-do spirit and holiday magic, the most difficult time of her life will become...a season for second chances.

White Christmas meets Nora Ephron in Jenny Bayliss’ latest wholehearted, ensemble-cast holiday extravaganza.Christmas can officially get stuffed because Harriet Smith is not feeling bright and merry this year. She hasn’t for a while. So when her college-aged daughter opts for Manhattan’s winter wonderland instead of Christmas at home, Harriet finds herself seeking solace in a wine-soaked one-night stand.  But how Harriet will spend the holidays is swiftly decided for her after she takes the fall for some students who break into the town’s old Winter Theater. To get the students off the hook, the theater’s elderly owner requests that Harriet direct the washed-out stage’s final Christmas performance. And Harriet will do anything to help the kids . . . even work with the owner’s lawyer who, as it turns out, is her less than impressed one-night stand.Directing the play with him won't exactly change her life. But it might just reignite the Christmas spirit and remind her what makes life merry and bright again.

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 . . .

'Tis the season for finding romance in this hilarious and uplifting holiday readWhen it comes to relationships, thirty-four-year-old Kate Turner is ready to say "Bah, humbug." The sleepy town of Blexford, England, isn't exactly brimming with prospects, and anyway, Kate's found fulfillment in her career as a designer, and in her delicious side job baking for her old friend Matt's neighborhood café. But then her best friend signs her up for a dating agency that promises to help singles find love before the holidays. Twenty-three days until Christmas. Twelve dates with twelve different men. The odds must finally be in her favor . . . right? Yet with each new date more disastrous than the one before--and the whole town keeping tabs on her misadventures--Kate must remind herself that sometimes love, like mistletoe, shows up where it's least expected. And maybe, just maybe, it's been right under her nose all along. . . .

The Winter of Second Chances is the hilarious, heart-warming second book from the author of The Twelve Dates of Christmas, Jenny Bayliss.'A gorgeous, cosy winter read that will transport you to the coast on a windswept day . . . This book will restore anyone's faith that it's never too late for a second chance at love, or indeed, life' - Sophie Cousens, bestselling author of This Time Next Year'A tender and enchanting read, full of quirky characters and second chances' - Jean Meltzer, author of The Matzah BallAnnie Sharpe has it all – an acclaimed restaurant she owns with her handsome husband Max, and two gorgeous grown-up sons. But after one indiscretion too many, she leaves behind the only life she’s ever known.In search of a fresh start, Annie takes up a position as a caretaker of a beach house on Kent’s beautiful south coast. The tight-knit village community soon feels like home – she even reopens the long-dormant café.The only thorn in her side is John, the owner’s nephew, who has his own agenda for the house, and a persistent Max, intent on winning her back.Annie can't run from her problems forever. Will she give her first love a second chance? Or step into the promise of a new life?***Praise for The Twelve Dates of you need help getting into the festive spirit, this is the book for you . . . This feelgood read has humour, romance and some gorgeous descriptions of the Christmas traditions of an English village' - Good Housekeeping'Sparkly and romantic' - My Weekly

Het ultieme romantische kerstboek! Twaalf dagen voor kerst van Jenny Bayliss is hilarisch en ook nog eens superromantisch. Twaalf dates met twaalf verschillende mannen. Het lot zou Kate goed gezind moeten zijn... Als het op relaties aankomt, zegt de vierendertigjarige Kate Turner graag "Bah, humbug'. Het besneeuwde, slaperige stadje Blexford zit immers niet bepaald vol met date-waardige, leuke mannen. Trouwens, wie heeft een man nodig als ze haar geluk heeft gevonden in haar carrière als ontwerper en in haar "bijbaantje' als bakker voor het café van haar jeugdvriend Matt? Maar dan schrijft haar goedbedoelende beste vriendin Laura haar in voor een datingbureau. Daar beloven ze eenzame singles te helpen om liefde te vinden voor de kerstvakantie begint…