A second chance romance for childhood friends will be the best Christmas present yet. If only they can move beyond the past.

All grown up means it's time to take a chance on romance. Can this cop open up his heart and find love with the one person he never thought he could have?

It's time to meet Lilly and Justin!

Mistletoe Kisses is a fun holiday romance about an Officer falling in love with a reporter. Officer Justin Weaver isn't a big fan of Christmas so when he is forced to participate in a Kris Kringle program he isn't thrilled. His assigned elf is his sister's best friend Lilly. She is a reporter and has to follow his every move for a piece. What they didn't expect was to develop feelings.

I give it 3 stars. Mistletoe Kisses Is cute and easy to read. I think any reader who enjoys a holiday romance can find joy in this one. I wanted it to flow better as a whole but it was still a good read.

I love sibling's best friend (or best friend's sibling) romances so I was really looking forward to this one. I loved the grinchy police officer and his sexy elf

Though, I don't think Justin really had reason to hate Lilly, it felt like it was added to bring some angst but the reasoning needed to make more sense. Their chemistry was strong and you could see it from the start. It's not my favourite holiday read but it's a cute Christmas story.

When Lilly rides along with Justin in his cop car over the holidays, sparks fly! I love a good best friend/brother story and this is a really cute holiday story. Entertaining characters and well written with good flow.

Justin and Lilly. She's his little sister's best friend. So you see where this is going!

Justin is a police officer, a bit of a grinch and is assigned to play Cop Kringle collecting toys for Ho-Ho-Patrol.
He has a sexy sidekick elf - Lilly! Lilly is a reporter, documenting Justin's week as Officer Kringle.

Justin has always been attracted to Lilly. They end up trapped in a police car, and it's hard to avoid things!

A cute holiday romance! Check it out!

This was pretty cute for a holiday romance. I enjoyed it but probably won’t pick up another one from this author.

This was more of a Christmas read, but I am just getting around to it now!

This story is a very short romance novel taking place around Christmastime. The main thing is supposed to be that Lilly was Justin's younger sister's friend, but she went away at age 15 and they never really spoke again afterward. I had many issues with this sort of "hate-to-love" dynamic.

For starters, Justin had no reason to hate Lilly. She didn't move after his dad died because she just had to escape the small town and get away from her best friend. Her parents thought that she was spending too much time with them and wanted her to focus on her studies, so they SENT her away. She did not choose to go away. Her friend literally forgave her! The school wanted her to focus and wouldn't allow her to call home for the first few months. Justin says that she ran away so that she wouldn't have to help her friends, but Lilly literally tried her best to go up against her parents in that situation. In the end, her parents are the authority, and they made the final decision for her. I don't know how Justin just didn't understand this. 

Also, the story starts with Justin having some sort of PTSD from the war. I thought that this would be used throughout the story. Maybe he would be sad around Christmastime because he would be reminded of a Christmas he spent sadly while overseas. Maybe he would have a panic attack because of fireworks. But no. He's just a jerk to everyone he meets. He treats everyone like he doesn't have the ability to say a single kind word to anyone. This is not PTSD, this is just being a bit of an ass really. like if he said that he was emotionally detached because of anxiety or something that would have made sense, but he was just mean for no reason. It almost seemed like the story just wanted to make him "hotter" because he's a military man instead of just doing the brother's best friend trope, and then decided not to go all the way with it. 

Besides these things, I did like Justin and Lilly in general. Maybe it was because they clearly had chemistry from the start of the novel? Maybe it was because of the sorta-cute Christmas storyline? I don't know, but I didn't completely hate them. I was happy when they found love with each other. 

Overall, I would not recommend this Christmas romance, but if you just want to pass time with a cute short story, then this wouldn't be the worst one to read. 

I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.

This book read like a young adult book starring two grown characters - kind of a weird vibe. I was 30% in and I felt like the same inner dialogue of each character repeated over and over several times. I was into the story at first but ended up losing some interest and skimming the rest of the novel.

This was okay. It's a super sweet, clean read. There isn't a lot to the story, and the love between the characters happens pretty quickly. Justin and Lilly know each other from when they were younger, but 10 years has passed. It's mentioned that they never really interacted with each other then, but they're in love with each other within a day. Justin was ridiculous for holding it against Lilly that she left, when it was her parents that made her leave. They honestly read like a couple of 15 year olds. Lilly kept calling him a "poop" or "poop head". Really?! At 26? This was just too sweet for my tastes.
I voluntarliy reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.

Really cute Christmas Story. I loved the romance and it was exactly what I was looking for in a Christmas Romance. I would recommend this book.

Two people brought together after and required to spend lots of time together for a week in the lead up to Christmas. Justine is forced to face his hurt and feelings of abandonment when told he needs to spend the week acting as Cop Kringle accompanied by reporter Lilly, acting as his elf support.

The character development and connect between the two main characters felt real, if a little rushed particularly in the end. However, I found Lilly's lack of understanding and 'i just don't let things get to me' attitude towards mental ill-health, and PTSD in particular, unhelpful and makes me thing that she will need to learn a lot if the relationship is going to progress further.

Overall, an enjoyable read and i would consider reading the rest of the series.

I received a copy of this book for free from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

There wasn't a single thing I didn't love about this new book. Marnie is a new author to me and I definitely will be reading more of what she writes. In this book - which seemed like a sweet Christmas Hallmark story - we meet Justin and Lilly. Lilly has always been off-limits as his little sisters best friend. He, himself, a police officer has just been recruited to play Santa while Lilly, a reporter, is documenting the festive occasion. Through this time together, without interruption, they realize they may just be ready to risk it all, for each other.
I loved the story, I loved the writing, I loved the what if's. I recommend this one for anyone who is looking for a sweet, quick read on finding love and going after what matters most.

It's that time of the year again -- time to read Christmas themed books. I continue to have a love/hate relationship with holiday season themed books. I'm usually disappointed but I'm still sucked into reading them despite that fact.

I often notice writers often try to cash in and Christmas (or whatever holiday they're using) is sometimes irrelevant to the plot or only briefly mentioned in passing. I'll give Blue points for not being guilty of this, at least. Mistletoe Kisses was a true Christmas story.

Unfortunately I'm not handing out many points for anything else. I'm afraid I found the book's plot and characters a little boring and its conflict really forced.

The hero, Justin, is a policeman who is forced to pose as Santa for PR for the force. His helper elf turns out to be Lilly, a friend of his and his family's who left town just after his father died. This is the conflict. He's mad at her for leaving town even though she was a minor and had to go where her parents took her. Wtf, Justin?

There is also a bit of a subplot about Justin’s PTSD but it was also a little forced. I kept expecting Lilly to be his great saviour in this regard but the storyline just plodded along instead really.

Lilly needs to keep associating with Justin so she can get a job as a reporter and the mistletoe kiss she and Justin share that initially gets the public involved and interested in their story was a good idea on Blue's part. Only Lilly and Justin’s supposed super chemistry when it came to kissing wasn't there in my opinion.

I really found myself skimming to the end. The book was harmless but ultimately unsatisfying.

2 out of 5

This is the perfect book for the holidays. Do love a great Christmas story and this is definitely one of them. This story is sweet, sexy and very well written and really grabs you and doesn’t let go till the very end of the book. Marnie Blue has done such amazing job with this book that I will definitely be on the look out for future books by her.

I absolutely love Christmas books & movies! I could read them any time of the year. This book did not disappoint at all. This book made me feel like it belongs on the Hallmark channel. This is my first book from this author but it won’t be the last.
This is a book that you will fall in love with the characters & get into the Christmas spirit with!

As winter sleet, ice, snow, and ice loom, and the day-job continues its relentlessly demanding pace, I can at least celebrate the coming holidays. And the hols bring the Christmas romance and Hallmark Christmas movies in double-time! What does this have to do with Marnie Blue’s Mistletoe Kisses? Everything, as it’s a slip of a romance that sounds like category rom and smells like Hallmark. If you like one or t’other or both, you’re going to be a happy camper.

Blue is a new-to-me author and the first of my newly-resolved reviewing decision to try new romance authors every few months. My introvert’s heart can’t really take much more change than that. I started Blue’s romance with trepidation, experienced delight, eye-rolled several bits, and ended up replete with reader satisfaction. Blue’s Mistletoe Kisses doesn’t break any romance molds and its Hallmark-Christmas-movie ethos will be familiar to those of us who revel in the joys of tinsel, garland, frosted gingerbread men, and tree-lighting ceremonies, of which there is a hilarious one in Mistletoe Kisses. When the novel opens, Grinch-like cop-hero Justin Weaver is sneezing his way through his Santa-beard as he grumbles at his commanding officer’s “request” to make nice with the public by playing Santa to collect toys for underprivileged children. It’s a good cause and Justin is a good egg, he just hates Christmas, his tight Santa costume, and public appearances … especially speeches.

Enter his childhood and teen friend, Lilly Maddox, back in town after ten years and eager to win a job at the local paper by shadowing Holly Hollow’s (yes, that really is the Hallmark-y name of the town) newest Santa incarnation on his Ho-Ho-Ho Patrol. Really, it’s all trite, but harmless. Justin harbors hurt feelings over what he remembers as Lilly’s abandonment of his family (mother and sister, Hannah, who was Lilly’s BFF in high school) when his father died and Lilly went away to boarding school. Lilly, in turn, after ten years as a foreign correspondent, yearns to make her way back permanently to Holly Hollow, to live in the only place she could ever call home and be with the people who were the only family she ever knew, Justin, his mom, and sister. Lilly was a poor little rich girl, whose parents lacked the love and wholesomeness she found with Justin and fam.

This is ostensibly the romance’s premise, but it isn’t one that is explored too deeply. There’s not much angst to work through and Lilly and Justin’s reasons for not being together turn flimsy fairly quickly. But I didn’t care. Mistletoe Kisses is a great piece of fluff: it’s fun, funny, and charming. Blue is a delightfully comic writer and there were scenes when I guffawed into my tea cup or pillow, depending on where I was reading. Justin is grinch to Lilly’s Wendy Lou. Justin is caution to Lilly’s throwing it to the wind. As Lilly sweeps, jumps, hops, and exudes from every pore with Christmas cheer, Justin grumbles, sneezes through this beard fluff, whinges, and bears all with grumbling forbearance. Aside from the hilarious non-speech Justin gives at the tree-lighting ceremony, there’s a church bazaar scene where I almost split a gut thigh-slapping laughing.

Is it all great? Nope. There’s a sloppiness to the blithe, innocent Christmas fairy Lilly and the idea that she’s seen war zones. Lilly’s the type to tiptoe through the land mines and her demeanor and mood don’t match what Blue set up for her as backstory. Justin saw combat too, before becoming a cop, as a soldier in Afghanistan, and his reactions are more believable. I thought it was endearing and refreshing that Justin owns his anxiety and doesn’t bear it all manly and silent. He’s also one of the few heroes I’ve read who keeps blushing and I loved that non-alpha bit about him. Blue has a talent for clever, funny dialogue and characters a reader likes and roots for. Sometimes, however, her prose style grated. It had a certain storytelling, artificial “voice” to it that distanced from her adorable characters. Wish she’d freed them instead of being hyper-conscious of her narrative. But I’m quibbling. Who can resist lines like, ” Alpha Santa” or “She was merry. He was a mess” or “he was a lonely man adrift in a sea of estrogen” or THE BEST OF ALL, as Lilly says to Hannah, ” ‘Hannah, this is real life, not a Hallmark movie. We’re not going to fall in love in front of a roaring fire or anything — ‘ ‘Of course not. He doesn’t have a fireplace.’ ”

Mistletoe Kisses is fun, heart-warming, and can pull out the poignant and do it well too. You’ll have to stretch your believe-o-metre, but you’ll also be delighted with this humble little Christmas romance. With Miss Austen, we say Mistletoe Kisses offers “real comfort,” Emma.

Marnie Blue’s Mistletoe Kisses is published by Entangled Publishing. It released on October 22nd and may be found at your preferred vendor. I received an e-galley from Entangled Publishing, via Netgalley.

This was a cute Christmas story. It was a little predictable but still cute. It was funny at times with some of the characters.

Who doesn't like a Christmas romance? The answer to that is no one. Everyone loves a good ol' Christmas romance. And Mistletoe Kisses was no exception.
Set around the Ho Ho Ho Patrol, the romance between Lily and her best friend's older brother, Justin, who happens to be a police officer (and apparently a very good looking one at that), was quite believable. You could truly recognise and feel that there was a strong connection and chemistry between Lily and Justin. There are of course moments of heartbreak, perhaps not as strong or as deep as I could have liked to have had, but elements of a narrative arc nonetheless.
Justin is revealed to suffer from PTSD, and I don't think I'm exactly qualified to comment on how well/badly it was portrayed in the book. However, I do have to say, that there is a revelation that Justin has towards the latter half of the novel, that felt like it was just..thrown in there. (not to do with PTSD). It didn't feel like it was organic, and perhaps it was just the concept itself or perhaps that particular scene could have been written better.

Overall however, with great characters, some misletoe of course, and a great Christmas feeling of giving, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel in the lead up to Christmas.

Note: I received an ARC of this novel, from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are solely my own.

Officer Justin Weaver has a hard time relaxing after returning from duty in Afghanistan, he is always on the look out for danger, which makes it impossible for him to settle down to a normal life. He saw what a cop’s duty did to his parent’s marriage and doesn’t want the same. That’s why he has to fight the love he feels for his sister’s best friend, Lilly Maddox who just has too much Christmas cheer for him to cope with. Fun festive story. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

There’s nothing like a good Christmas book to get you out of the after Halloween funk and ready for the holidays. I read this in one sitting and I’m so glad I did so cause it got me all the more excited for the holidays and it put me in a “let’s decorate everything in sight” mood.

I loved how short and sweet this story was, practically no drama and all the Christmas type tropes that just put you in a great mood. Definitely a great Christmas read!