Peppermint Bark, No Bite by Bailey Seaborn

Synopsis

Grace is a social worker who wants nothing more than to become a mother — but her past relationships have all fallen apart once partners couldn’t handle who she is, and years of religious trauma from a pastor father have left her wary of trusting anyone with the whole truth. Taken in by her best friend Mallory’s family, she’s found something like real belonging for the first time.

When Mallory’s brother Alex, all sharp edges and unreadable intensity, starts falling for her over a Christmas spent together, Grace has to decide whether she’s ready to risk being fully seen again. When she finally tells him she’s transgender, it’s not the end of the story — it’s the beginning of finding out whether the family she’s building for herself can include the kind of love she never let herself want.

Why We Loved It

This is a direct quote from Nikki (pulled from episode 12) because Meg feels way too biased about this one!

I read an early copy of this one, and there’s a scene at the Christmas tree farm that genuinely made me cry — not because it’s sad exactly, but because Meg does something really specific there: she takes this cozy, warm holiday setting and lets a PTSD flashback crack right through the middle of it in about twenty seconds flat. One moment they’re cuddled up under a tree, the next Alex is triggered and falling apart and Grace is just exhausted. That whiplash is the whole book in miniature — joy and danger sitting right next to each other, because that’s genuinely what it can be like.

What gets me most is how carefully the coming-out scene is handled. Grace doesn’t just blurt it out — she stacks the deck in her own favor first. Yoga to calm him down beforehand, her best friend sitting next to her for backup, a beer in his hand. She’s done everything she can to set herself up for safety, and she still doesn’t know how he’s going to react. That’s such a real, specific kind of fear, and it’s not played for cheap drama — Meg worked with a sensitivity reader to get the buildup right, and you can feel that care on the page.

It’s not a traditional romance structure either — there’s a whole thread about Grace becoming a foster parent that could practically stand as its own book. But that’s what makes it hit different: this isn’t just two people falling for each other, it’s Grace finding the strength to build the family she was never given, and Alex being the person who shows up for that instead of running from it.

Where We've Discussed This

• Nikki interviews Meg about her debut novel in episode 12: Peppermint Bark, No Bite with Author Bailey Seaborn
• And in the discussion around dating your sibling’s best friend in episode 16: Bro’s Best Friend Romances with Mikayla Christy
• Then we interviewed Meg’s developmental editor & sensitivity reader about writing transgender characters in episode17: Sensitivity Readers 101 with Sydney Fowler
• And then we talked about the launching process in episode 23 | Debut Romance Novel Launch Recap with Bailey Seaborn
• And it also shows up on the list of our Holiday Romance Books