“Jenny Bayliss is a Christmas book queen.” People

From Putnam’s beloved holiday author comes another charming, British wintertime tale following one dejected woman’s trip home to her eccentric great-aunts, her wayward mother . . . and her first love.

Fred Hallow-Hart isn’t in love with the idea of returning home to Pine Bluff. But after a bad breakup and a subsequent eviction, she’s fresh out of options. God knows she loves her mum and her eccentric auntsand who could forget their Christmas Cracker family business?but she’s always felt a little out of place in her small town.

Quickly roped in by her mother to help with the cracker shop, Fred decides throwing herself into work might actually be what’s best for her. Until she reconnects with her old best friend Ryan, who is suddenly making her heart flutter in ways she’s never known; and unexpectedly finds a spark with Warren, a charming journalist covering the Pine Bluff Christmas Market for the Daily News.

But as these connections slowly lead Fred back to her heart, she’s forced to confront some harsh truths, which, if she doesn’t find a way through, might just ruin the holidays for those dearest to her. Can Fred let go of the past enough to recognize real love? And when she does, how far will she go to protect it?