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My Review:Title: Mistletoe in Paradise
Author: Jill Shalvis
Series: Wildstone #5.5
Published by: HarperAudio
Release Date: November 3, 2020
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Erin Mallon
Length: 2 hours and 28 minutes
Genres: Contemporary, Holiday, Romance
Source: Chirp
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2021 Audiobook Challenge, Lenoreo's 2021 COYER Summer
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ iTunes ✩ Book Depository ✩ Libro.FM
My rating:
Blurb:Problem Number One – Getting There
Old childhood friends each fly separately to join their families on what’s been an annual holiday themed yacht adventure. Secret ex-lovers, Hannah and James are determined to make the best of things…Problem Number Two – Getting Stuck.
When everyone but Hannah and James gets held up in an airport snarl, it leaves them stuck together for four days, making Hannah’s already problematic trip a whole lot harder to face. Especially because she comes bearing more than just gifts…Problem Number Three -- Falling In Love (again)
As the former lovers try to make the best of the Christmas snafu, they soon realize that the best things in life can’t be planned and sometimes love is sweeter the second time around.
3.5 stars — I think I wasn’t in the right mood for this book at this time…or really any books at this particular moment. Which always sucks for the book, b/c I think it gets short shrift.
Erin Mallon was solid as the narrator as always. It helps that I enjoy her male voices a whole lot.
I feel like I was expecting something slightly different from the blurb. Like I read it over again now and I feel like it gives a slightly wrong impression of what the book actually was. I don’t really want to describe it, but it was less light and fluffy than I was hoping. And a lot more family drama than I was expecting for a novella. I guess in a novella I’m more expecting the story to be romance centered.
In the end I’m not sure I fell in love with either Hannah or James. They were both complicated characters who were pretty blind to their own flaws and contributions. I can’t help but wonder how they genuinely made it work, because I know Hannah said she would focus on change until she achieved it, but she was full on workaholic, so… And James was kind of oblivious to others in some ways…most particularly Hannah. I guess I just wasn’t completely sold on the turnaround.
I’m still trying to figure out why it was good, but not great, and I think another part is that there were a LOT of VERY flawed characters in this one, and I didn’t really have someone good in the background to hold on to. Her parents were equally terrible…Harry was lovable, but terrible. James’s parents were better, but there were misunderstandings there too.
I don’t know. I don’t know! *snort* Whatever. Basically, it didn’t deliver the light and fluffy and Christmas-soaked romance I was hoping for.
It makes me sad that this was less light and fluffy than expected. I haven’t read any of hers in a while. I used to love her contemporary romances, but I feel like she’s transitioned more to women’s fiction. Maybe that was the issue here. I’m sorry you’re not feeling books right now.
I agree that this is more life fiction than contemporary romance now. I enjoyed this. I think with audio I get some good vibes in general because this narrator sounds the same so it stirs memories of past couples.
Shame that this one wasn’t as light as it could have been. I tend to expect novellas—especially holiday-themed novellas!—to be on the light and fluffy side, too.