Reviews for Love Finds You under the Mistletoe

The average rating for Love Finds You under the Mistletoe based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-01-18 00:00:00 Janet Griebel This book starts the Love Finds You tradition of having two Christmas short stories in one book that are in some way connected to one another. Usually, it is one story in the past and one story set in the present. This book uses a bond of friendship and a homemade mistletoe ball to link the stories of past and present. Unfortunately, both stories were lackluster at best for me. Irene Brand's "An Appalachian Christmas" is the stronger of the two stories, in my opinion, but it had a lot of flaws. Julia was very selfish in my eyes, resenting the care of her nephew after so short a time, just so she could get on with her own life and ambitions. David's reasons for wanting to be in Mistletoe were hinted at but never fully explained, though I did like the twist with the picture he carried through the war. Likewise, the period the piece was set in was confusing to me. It was set Post WWII, and yet it felt like Mistletoe was in the 1800s! I think that was intentional, but it wound up being more jarring and distracting than anything else. If it was a standalone story, I'd give it 2.5 stars. Anita Higman's "Once Upon a Christmas Eve" was set in modern times, in the town mentioned in passing in Irene Brand's story. To me, the story sensationalized Holly's abandonment too much, and she put too much emphasis on the fact that she was abandoned. The closure on this situation felt unwieldy, as if the author didn't know where else to take it but tragedy. Van came off insincere in his affections, and Owen came off as manipulative when all he had to do was actually talk with Holly about how he felt much earlier than he did. Holly's dilemma about choosing between the two men only took a couple of pages and was resolved easily, but the book was drug over three more chapters before finally concluding. If it was a standalone story, I'd give it 1.5 stars at most.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-09-01 00:00:00 Drew Adams Anita Higman's "Once Upon a Christmas Eve," the second of the stories in this Christmas-themed book, is the most delightful Christmas novella I've read in many years. Unlike a typical romance with one hero, the engaging heroine finds herself being courted by two very different men. And, oh, those courtships. Giving away the details would spoil the story, so let me simply encourage you to put this book on your 'must read' list.