I found this to be a well written story that made me want to know what would happen next. A story of two people that must find a way to over come what has happened in their pasts to be able to move on with their future. I know this is a book I want to reread. I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.

I would like to thank netgalley and The Wild Rose Press, Inc for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this one. The hero and heroine both have issues with love and trust, but learn to overcome them in a small snowy American town.

I've got to be honest, I found the heroine Grace very insipid. She is dating this douche of a guy who keeps breaking up with her then crawling back. When Grace's younger sister runs away shortly before her wedding. Grace follows her trail all the way to Mistletoe. I loved the town how could you not with a name like that. Now onto the hero Ayden, he was annoying too. I got tired of the many mentions of the creeds he had. Ayden and Grace come to a compromise, she can stay at his place free of charge if she will pretend to be his girlfriend and then later on break is heart. Ayden hopes his sister will then let him sell their parents bed & breakfast in peace. Even when Grace is starting to have feelings for him she still answers her ex's call. One of Ayden' ex's comes round in just her coat and underwear, in the snow, then proceeds to throw things at the window and ends up breaking the glass. When she is eventually let in the house she throws herself at him, even though he isn't really giving her any interest. I'm giving three stars because I enjoyed the Christmas aspects and the minor characters.

Let me just say this sounded fishy from the start. I’m not sorry it ended the way it did but come on. If I had a family like that I might run away too.

This is my first book by Tammy L. Bailey.

What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Standalone
HEA

I look forward to reading more from this author.

From pretty much the first page, I had a hard time connecting with this story. Our heroine, Grace, was a little hard to read, and the hero, Ayden, came off as having a split personality - was he grumpy? was he charming? was he flirty? It seemed hard to figure out which he was as he vacillated between all three. And frequently. Throw in the fact that he’s the small town of Mistletoe’s local playboy who has dated/bedded a good deal of the town’s female population - and isn’t interested in having a relationship - and he's someone I'm just not all that interested in reading about.

The plot also was a little scattered. It seemed like the book couldn’t decide if it was a fake relationship trope, or maybe enemy-to-lovers. Throw in an attempt to make the main characters's pasts seem all mysterious, and this book was all over the place. Admittedly, I’m not a fan of the fake relationship trope because characters tend to spend too much time in their own heads and not enough in the world they are supposed to live in. Also, not enough time interacting with the object of their “fake” affection.

At 25 percent into the book, I’ve decided that In Mistletoe is the written equivalent of all those Hallmark Christmas movies with B list actors where the story isn’t terrible, but it is terribly cheesy and hokey. The problem is that I’m wanting a book to help put me in the Christmas mood - something light, and fun, and heartwarming. I’m getting nothing like that at all from this story. So, after reading 35 percent, and then skimming through another 15 percent, I’m tapping out. I have too many other Christmas books that I’m wanting to read right now, so I’m moving this to my DNF shelf.

Christmas romances just makes extremely happy, I think its the time of year and the time to celebrate family and love. Grace and Ayden meet when Grace is on the tail of her runaway bride sister and with Ayden;s help toys to find her. Ayden couldn't stop sending Grace mixed signals but with every kiss under the mistletoe love started to shine through. This was a great Christmas romance.

I loved this easy to read romance. The book is well written with a great plot and fun characters. I enjoyed the writing and the small town setting.

This was a fun, easy, romantic book to read! I really enjoyed the characters in the story & couldn't wait to finish the book to see how it ended. This is the first book I have read by this author & I look forward to reading more of her books!

I really enjoyed this story very much. My one criticism of the book is the descriptive sex scenes. There aren't many and the description doesn't go on for pages and pages, but it is just something I don't think is necessary to move the story along.

This story is about Grace who lives in San Francisco but who has followed her "runaway bride" sister to Mistletoe, Washington in the weeks before Christmas and right before her wedding. Grace has always been a caretaker. She took care of her mom and sister after her father left the family at Christmas leaving the family devastated. She takes care of her on again/off again boyfriend, Rick, when he is between women. She never seems to take care of herself, though.

Upon arriving in Mistletoe, she is introduced to Ayden. Ayden is a gorgeous, ex-military man who has closed himself off to love and commitment. His sister, Maggie, is determined to change him so she tries to set him up with every woman in the surrounding area. Ayden agrees to help Grace find her sister and give her a place to stay for free if she will pretend to be his girlfriend so the women and his sister will leave him alone. Neither Grace or Ayden planned on finding more from each other than just convenience. But their feelings grow but could either of them ever have more? Was it worth the risk of pain? You'll have to read to find out.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A swoon worthy read set in the Christmas season in the backdrop of a lovely cottage named Hearth’s Gate… what more could I ask for.
It’s a good girl – bad boy story! (I know it’s cliche but trust me the plot’s a lot different then your normal cliches).
It is not a book with lot’s of Christmas vibes and most part of the plot happens before Christmas though there’s some preparation for Christmas in the back – drop.


Grace Evans your typical good girl who puts her family’s needs before her own! So when her to – be bride sister turns into a runaway bride and the only hint is a backdrop of a town on the postcard sent by her sister she packs her bags and sets off for that town.
With not even enough warm clothes she enters completely unprepared in the gorgeous wintery town of Mistletoe.
Ayden McCabe the town’s heartthrob is a playboy. One who doesn’t believe in commitment due to a certain reason in his past.
When Ayden and Grace accidentally meet the connection is instant. Both of them have an agenda and so they strike a deal. A deal where Grace has to play the fake girlfriend while Ayden helps in finding her sister.

So would they be able to go on their own ways after the deal ends? Or would they end up falling in love with each other ? Or was their accidental meet not so accidental ? Will Grace find her sister ? Will Ayden be able to get in terms with his past ? Is the plot as simple as it looks ? Lot’s of questions and just one story to read for the answers!

My first read by this author and I was surprised at how well she created the town and the characters. It was like a movie playing in front of me so lucidly written.
And then the plot so smoothly woven and so nicely written! The twists they shocked me.. the emotions they definitely moved me!

I’m definitely reading another book by this author!

This story is sweet and the author's story telling talent is very evident. There is minimal cursing (no f-bombs), and while there is on-screen sex, it isn't crude or overly graphic. It's sexy without being erotic.

I liked the premise and most of the story, but I have to admit this was written in such a formal tone that it made it read more like a regency novel than a contemporary romance which made for very slow reading. While the highly formal tone made some sense coming from Grace's point of view, Ayden thought and spoke in the same manner, making their 'voices' exactly the same, which is not likely considering how different the characters are. Ayden's voice was too formal and feminine to be believable for me. Also, even though the spelling and the grammar in this one was almost impeccable (a rarity in e-books these days!), there were a handful of instances of words being over used (seems like everything was 'sensual' - especially Ayden's mouth) and there were even a few times that words were used in improper context.

I enjoyed the relationship between Ayden and Grace for the most part, even if Grace's weakness and wishy-washy personality grated on my nerves for the majority of this story. ***SPOILERS*** to end of paragraph: For instance, she allowed herself to be walked all over by everyone and just brushed it off rather than standing up for herself because being weak was easier than being heard. Seriously? And when she answered the phone to talk to her sleezy, obnoxious maybe-ex-boyfriend right after having sex with Ayden? I wanted to smack her so hard. Who does that? Grace, apparently. I really wanted her to have a spine for a lot more of the book than she did, and even when she DID find her voice, she stood up for herself with Rick and Ayden only to follow her mother's command? That kind of helplessness and weakness in the heroine is why this book got three stars rather than four or five.

For the most part this story was enjoyable. If you enjoy regency-like contemporary books with a very sweet happily ever after, you will enjoy this book.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley and was under no obligation to write this review.