Wednesday, December 8, 2021

December 8, 2021 - Staff Reviews


Mistletoe in Paradise
By Jill Shalvis
Release Date: December 2020
Ebook Available from WV Reads!


3 Stars - A short Christmas novella that surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. Pretty much only the set up in Christmasy though as the setting itself was wonderfully tropic. Hannah a smart, loyal heroine, who has a pretty witty viewpoint. She's stranded with James, her rascally ex, and their story of rekindling romance was easily entertaining.

I hadn't been all that intrigued by the Wildstone family saga by Shalvis before. Either the blurbs didn't grab my attention or the books I tried disappointed me. They didn't seem to have usual level of fun. But this little story had a lot of charm. I admit to being lost as far as the family tree went but the beginning did a far job of explaining everyone. Hannah's seems a bit immature at first, sort of flighty yet overly committed to her job. James is a bit less obvious, though he admits to having a wild side. He's anything but carefree as he is still mourning the loss of his brother.

Like the previous Wildstone book I read, there's almost too much grief hanging over the characters. It makes for sort of an awkward vibe at times, given Shalvis' usually light-hearted writing style. She even occassionally goes for steamy. It just seems like some blurry lines here. Also, I wasn't really an advocate for how Jimmy's untimely death came to be. Yes, health insurance companies make mistakes and often don't put their customers first. But we never acknowledge the times they, particularly here in America. I really think Jason should have just died in a tragic accident but I get this was supposed to serve as Hannah's connection to her work. Underneath all the drama packed into this little romance though, is quite a lot of heart and heated connection between James and Hannah. They had some cute banter, trying to resist each other. But their chemistry was easy to spot, and they had a wonderful rekindling an old flame relationship going on. This is an easy, lovely island holiday read for anyone looking to fill a few hours.

(NS)

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