Holiday Reads | The Mistletoe Promise by Richard Paul Evans

The Mistletoe Promise by Richard Paul Evans

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, November 2014

Genre: Fiction, Christmas

Pages: eBook, 203 pages

Rating: 5/5 stars

Summary (from chapters.indigo.ca):

Elise Dutton dreads the arrival of another holiday season. Three years earlier, her husband cheated on her with her best friend, resulting in a bitter divorce that left her alone, broken, and distrustful.

Then, one November day, a stranger approaches Elise in the mall food court. Though she recognizes the man from her building, Elise has never formally met him. Tired of spending the holidays alone, the man offers her a proposition. For the next eight weeks—until the evening of December 24—he suggests that they pretend to be a couple. He draws up a contract with four rules:

1. No deep, probing personal questions
2. No drama
3. No telling anyone the truth about the relationship
4. The contract is void on Christmas Day

The lonely Elise surprises herself by agreeing to the idea. As the charade progresses, the safety of her fake relationship begins to mend her badly broken heart. But just as she begins to find joy again, her long-held secret threatens to unravel the emerging relationship. But she might not be the only one with secrets.

Review:

Richard Paul Evans was one of those go-to Christmas authors that I read back when I was reviewing books... now that I am back at it, I feel it's only fitting that in the first Christmas season back, I revisit his work.

The Mistletoe Promise is the first book in a trilogy and it adds the romance and happiness that you expect in a Christmas story but it also has an element of mystery and suspense that I wasn't expecting. As mystery/suspense/thriller is my favourite genre, it was a very welcome surprise.

The story centres around Elise, a depressed, divorced woman with a past that haunts her and Nicholas, a man who seems too good to be true but you know there is something beneath the surface... it's just a matter of when and where their stories will come out and how much it will affect the relationship they are working to build. I really enjoyed these characters and found myself wanting to learn more and more about them and while I don't know that their story continues through books 2 and 3, I am hoping they at least make an appearance.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have already requested The Mistletoe Inn from the library... hoping I can get it in before Christmas. Such a good read!

Holiday Reads | Christmas on Primrose Hill by Karen Swan

Christmas on Primrose Hill by Karen Swan

Publisher: Pan Macmillan, November 2015

Genre: Fiction, Christmas

Pages: Paperback, 480 pages

Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary (from chapters.indigo.ca):

Christmas on Primrose Hill . . .

Twinkling lights brighten London's Primrose Hill as Christmas nears - but for Nettie Watson, it's not parties and presents that she wants.

Promises are made

For Nettie, Christmas only serves as a stark reminder of the life she used to have . . . One day she made a promise to never leave home, and so far she's stayed true to her word.

Promises are broken

Under the glaring spotlight of the world's media, Nettie is unexpectedly caught up in a 21st century storm . . . Her exploits have made her a global name and attracted the attention of one of the world's most eligible men - famous front man, Jamie Westlake. But now she has his attention, does she want to keep it?

Review:

Is it really the Christmas season if Karen Swan doesn't write a new holiday story? I have been reading her Christmas novels since 2012 and honestly, they are perfect! While I wouldn't classify myself as a romance gal, reading the cheesy, predictable stories during December is exactly what I want!

Christmas on Primrose Hill started off slow for me and I wasn't sure that I was going to enjoy it as much as previous novels but about 100 pages in, I was hooked. I found the 'mystery' part of the story very intriguing and even though I felt like I knew the back story of Nettie and her Mom, it took the whole book before everything pieced together.... being a huge mystery fan, I loved this aspect.

As for the romance part of the story... predictable. However, I wasn't really expecting anything different. You can almost lay money down on how Christmas stories will end but that's totally fine in my opinion. I loved the characters and their relationships with eachother... especially Jules and Nettie as they were such a ying and yang friendship. Also, can I just say that I loooooove stories that take place in England? I am obsessed... OBSESSED!

All in, very happy with this book and already have the newest Karen Swan holiday novel on my nightstand!