Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses by Jenny Hale

Title: Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses
Author: Jenny Hale
Publisher: Bookouture
Release Date: October 16th 2015

Summary from Goodreads:

An uplifting, beautiful story about never letting go of your dreams, the special magic of a family Christmas… and the rush of falling in love under the mistletoe.

Single mother Abbey Fuller loves her family more than anything, and doesn’t regret for a moment having had to put her dreams of being an interior designer on hold. But with her son, Max, growing up, when a friend recommends her for a small design job she jumps at the chance. How hard can it be?

Nick Sinclair needs his house decorated in time for his family’s festive visit – and money is no object. What he doesn’t need is to be distracted from his multi-million dollar business – even if it is Christmas.

When Abbey pulls up to the huge Sinclair mansion, she has a feeling she might be out of her depth. And when she meets the gorgeous, brooding Nicholas Sinclair, she knows that she’s in real trouble…

With the snow falling all around, can Abbey take the chance to make her dreams of being a designer come true? And can she help Nick to finally enjoy the magic of Christmas?

Review

I have been loving the Christmas books lately, and Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses did not disappoint.  It had a traditional cheese factor to it because it does have a happy ending and some very predictable plot lines.  Aside from that, I loved the dynamics between Abbey and Nick, he is rough around the edges but has a soft spot for Abbey.

The romance is sweet and incredibly cute, there are no steamy scenes in case that is what you are looking for but there are quite a feel heart-warming scenes that easily made me a bit teary eyed. Family relationships play a large part in the book; I love that both main characters have an elderly grandparent that they love and care for throughout the story.  There is also the relationship between Abbey and her son and Abbey and her mother that is wonderful and really drew me into the story.

This heart-warming, family oriented holiday read was exactly the kind of Christmas story I was looking for.  As the cover says, it is easily one of the more feel good Christmas books I have read. I definitely recommend Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses!

Blame It on the Mistletoe by Nicole Michaels

Title: Blame It on the Mistletoe
Author: Nicole Michaels
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Release Date: October 14th 2014

Summary from Goodreads:

Sometimes all it takes is a leap of faith for Christmas to work its own magic in BLAME IT ON THE MISTLETOE

’Tis the season for small-town Missouri boutique owner Brooke Abbott to get crafty. Much as she adores making art for art’s sake—decorating windows, designing ornaments, crafting the perfect present for under the tree—this Christmas she needs the gift of good customers. Lots of them. Sweet Opal Studios will go under if she can’t do some serious business before the New Year…and she has no time to lose. What Brooke needs is an honest-to-goodness miracle. Instead, she finds a burglar lurking in the back room of her shop. And here she thought the holidays couldn’t get any worse!
Or maybe things just got a lot better. Turns out the burglar is none other than Alex Coleman—local bad boy slash legendary heartthrob, childhood best friend to Brooke’s older brother, and…future landlord? That is the question. He’s come home for the holidays to see his grandmother, make peace with his distant mother, and settle his grandfather’s estate, an estate that includes the building that houses Sweet Opal. What he never expected was to bump into a grown-up Brooke, whose spirit, charm, and irresistible good looks give him pause. Should he go back to Oregon as planned, or give small-town life a chance? The only thing Alex knows for sure is that before he walks out that door, he’s going to get Brooke beneath the mistletoe, where anything can happen…

Review

I adored this wintry novella!  Blame it on the Mistletoe had just the right amount of romance, character development and engaging plot line.

Brooke and Alex had fantastic chemistry that complimented their different pasts.  In such a shorter story I was not expecting the character development to be as expansive as it is.  Both Brooke and Alex had different but life shaping/changing pasts that the readers slowly learns about throughout. This made the characters more real and brought me into the story.  The secondary relationship were also a strong point in the book.  The steamier scenes kept the pages turning and beautifully balanced out the heavier tones.

Aside from the character development, the plot line is engaging, it does take a backseat to the romance and characters.  It was cute, a bit cliche and predictable but incredibly enjoyable.  If you want to curl up with a warm drink ( or a tasty glass of win) and a blanket, I highly recommend this steamy read.

Snowed in by Rachel Hawthorne

Title: Snowed In
Author: Rachel Hawthorne
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: November 27th 2007

Summary from Goodreads:

Well, apparently I live here now—my mom just bought the place. And named it after me, Ashleigh, which was nice. But did she know how cold it is here??

Um, it's a tiny island with not much to do, unless you really like sleigh rides. But I gotta say there are quite a few hot guys on this cold island . . .

Review

Rachel Hawthorne delivered a cute snowy holiday read.  Snowed In is full of wintery drama blended with a light hearted love story. Similar to most holiday movies and books there is a level of cheesy-ness throughout but it didn't bother me.

Even though I enjoyed the overall love story, I am not the hugest fan of how it started.  The characters do acknowledge the issues with their budding romance making it easier to overlook. If you don't think you can overlook a bit of behind the back kisses this one might not be for you.

I loved the cheesy, cliche holiday activities.  I am a sucker for the cutesy romantic gestures and dates. Snowed In is full of snowy kisses, sleigh rides, hot cocoas, wintry storms, and cuddling by the fire.While Snowed In is not my favorite holiday read, I definitely enjoyed it and recommend if you want an easy light read.