Sunday 1 December 2013

The Ultimate Christmas Countdown: Mistletoe Not Required

‘Tis the season to be daring!
This Christmas Olivia Wishart is determined to throw off the shackles of her past and have fun. And nothing says fun like a glamorous Christmas party! So, wearing a brand-new red dress and some seriously high stilettos, nervously clutching a glass of champagne, she’s finally ready to start living life to the max...
Olivia had thought that pre-party nerves would be the only thing to get her heart racing…until a view even more spectacular than the glow of Sydney Harbor catches her eye. The drop-dead-gorgeous man with the steely black eyes is everything Olivia has ever wanted—and this Christmas she’s not going to wait meekly under the mistletoe!

There's something about lonely people at Christmas in romance novels that makes me smile.  A lot. Mainly because they're pretty much guaranteed to be all cosy and loved up by the end of the novel.


Such is the story of Olivia and the utterly scrumptious Jett.  Olivia's one of those heroines whose backstory really helps you to identify with her.  She's raising money to set up a retreat for cancer survivors and their families to carry on the work of her mother, and the party where she meets Jett is a fundraising do that she'd really rather not be at.

Jett's at the party under much protest - he's only there cos his baby sister (whom he half blames for his father's decision to leave him to be fostered) wants him to be, and when he arrives at the party she's not even there!

And then they meet.

Lust at first sight can be problematic if you don't don't know the characters well enough to fully understand their actions, but Anne Oliver gives you plenty of satisfying backstory - followed by an ever so steamy make-out session.

Of course, confusion ensues, especially when Olivia realises that Jett's her best friend's brother.  They end up being thrown into situations over and over again - including during a scene that really makes me wish that I didn't get seasick - until we realise way before they do that love is in the air.

I think though, that the title's kind of key to the whole premise of the story.  Yes, mistletoe's not exactly a requirement in life, but if there's someone there beside you, supporting you in your dreams, making you laugh and kissing you under the mistletoe, then it'll make you smile all the more.

Full of Yuletide joy and romance, it's definitely one to read as Vanessa Hudgens (of High School Musical fame) recommends on tumblr:







I personally, however, think she's outdone by Mills and Boon Boy Tony (aka Thor):



4 comments:

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    1. I lent him the book and he set up a mini-photoshoot on Halloween; culminating in this gem!! I have the best friends. :)

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  2. Great review! And now I kinda want a Thor of my own . . .

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    1. Especially if he comes in the form of Chris Hemsworth... *swoon*

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