*I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

This is such a cute romance.
I don't often read holiday themed romances or books for that matter, since I think they can sometimes be too cliche or... I suppose Hallmark-y is the best word for it. Nothing wrong with those things, I just usually don't like reading them.

Anyhow, with this one the holiday theme made it adorable. There was no 'Christmas Miracle' but the holidays and decoration do play a huge part in the book. It is done with SUCH FUN that I just ate it up. Justin is a grinch... although I don't think it is ever said why he stopped liking Christmas (???), but has to play Santa which can be funny, especially when he is thinking about how to get revenge on his partner.

I did like the main characters although with this being a shorter book, I don't think they were able to be fully developed. The side characters are more mentions than anything. I still liked Justin and Lilly and their interactions are adorable.

I think a few things could have been expanded upon (characters, Justin's dislike for Christmas, what was actually being broadcasted), which is what kept this from being a 5 star. This is a cute, shorter Christmas read which isn't pushing 'the magic of Christmas' down your throat. Justin still has panic attacks, and a holiday isn't going to stop that.

If you want something cute to read to go with the holiday season, I really recommend this one. Will I read the next one? Most likely-- I'd love to read about Justin's partner O'Rourke.

Officer Justin Weaver doesn't feel the holiday spirit, so when he's forced to represent the police as the annual Cop Kringle he is anything but pleased.
Lilly Maddox is trying to find a way to make herself a home where she grew up, but first she has to nail down a job. And when she realizes her assignment takes her smack into Justin things get a little complicated.
Really, what are a few kisses under the mistletoe between childhood friends?

I really enjoyed reading this story. So much passion and heart! It's a new kind of reading for me, which those books make me nervous but this was written well, smooth and clean. I really loved that Officer Weaver did not enjoy the holidays haha, what a shock alilly qas to him. Not so little anymore and not so innocent. My heart broke for him but in the end it qas so beautiful!!

This will appear on the website at Romance Reviews Today soon: http://romrevtoday.com/
Also just posted it at Amazon.

MISTLETOE KISSES – Marnie Blue

Entangled Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-64063-711-5

October 22, 2018

Contemporary Romance



Holly Hollow – Present Day



It’s the Christmas season and Officer Justin Weaver has been forced into dressing up as “Cop Kringle” for the Ho-Ho-Ho Patrol. He’ll ride his police car in the town’s parade while dressed as Santa and also have an “elf” accompanying him, a reporter who is on an assignment for a local station. When he gets his first glimpse of the leggy redhead dressed as the elf, he decides it may not turn out to be as bad as he thought. But when she turns around, Justin discovers that the elf is Lilly Maddox, an old family friend that he now dislikes because she abandoned his family during their time of bereavement years ago. How is he going to stand being alone with someone he loathes?



Lilly needs this plum assignment reporting on the Cop Kringle’s good deeds or she faces losing her job. She is stunned that Justin isn’t happy to see her, even after she explains what happened all those years ago. In fact, Lilly is still friends with Justin’s sister and mother, so why can’t he drop his animosity towards her? But no matter what, they are stuck working together for now, so both try to make it work. Lilly soon learns that Justin hates Christmas. It’s up to her to change his mind about the holiday…and it leads to an attraction that neither anticipated.



It’s Christmastime, and everyone should be jolly…except this Santa Cop isn’t. It’s up to Lilly to help brighten Justin’s holiday, even if he doesn’t want that to happen. When she was growing up, she cherished her time with the Weaver family. But around the time that Justin’s father died, her parents thought she was too involved with the Weavers and sent her away to boarding school. Justin didn’t know this and thinks Lilly just walked away from them in their time of need. In MISTLETOE KISSES, it takes a while to sort out the misinformation between them, but soon they’re past that and the story focuses on their slow-burning attraction for each other.



MISTLETOE KISSES is a sweet romance just perfect for a holiday read. While there is plenty of tension between Justin and Lilly as they are forced to work together, they start to realize a mutual attraction has developed. With a little help from some mistletoe and friends, they’re soon falling in love. Justin hates Christmas, and Lilly’s determined to change his mind. Will she? He’s not looking for any commitment but will he find it with her? A snuggle-worthy read, head to your favorite eBook store and grab a copy of MISTLETOE KISSES.



Patti Fischer

I received a free copy from netgalley exchange for an honest review. This is a cute short story about a girl who moves back into her hometown for a job opportunity and the boy she left behind when her parents shipped her to a boarding school. Cute story however the conflict that the characters have to deal with before they get their happy ending feels really weak. It's an enjoyable read for a couple hours.

Loved this Christmas tale. Well written plot with believable characters. Quick and easy to read. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my digital arc. This is my unbiased review.

Mistletoe Kisses is a cute Christmas romance about a cop coerced into playing a reluctant Santa for the holidays as a PR move and the report/elf covering the story who turns out to be his sister's childhood best friend. This is a pretty short book and I'd actually class it more as a novella than a full length novel, and at times it seems like there's a bit of whiplash in the timeline of events, especially in terms of the Rollercoaster of Justin's Emotions. I feel like had the book been a bit longer that could have maybe been smoothed out a bit, making for a better reading experience. He's super prickly and kind of a jerk, but also secretly a marshmallow? I couldn't quite pin him down and am still not entirely sure I liked Justin now that I'm done with the book, which made me hover between rating this one 3 and 4 stars.

Luckily, Lilly saved it for me. I really enjoyed Lilly, especially the way she just throws herself into situations with total enthusiasm and enjoyment, making the best of things even though they're not always as she'd like them to be. She's whimsical but still clearly pretty ballsy judging by casual comments about her past career, and I'd have loved to hear more about her previous investigative reporting - I feel like that could really have been built into the story more and played a bigger role in Justin's PTSD story arc in a meaningful way.

This is such a fun and sassy holiday read, and I adored the side characters - especially the crafters at the church bazaar! OMG, I'd like the website address of the macrame crafter, please? Thanks, haha. The sneak peak into the next book in the series definitely made me excited to read the next book about O'Roarke (and to see if Justin ever managed to get him into that Easter Bunny costume...)

4.5 stars! This was an extremely sweet romance. Justin and Lilly were two childhood friends but unforeseen circumstances tore them apart. It has been ten years since they seen each other and Justin can not forgive Lilly for leaving him and his sister. But they are thrust into each other’s lives and forced to work together as Santa and his elf. Justin is a police officer and is made to be Santa. And Lilly is a reporter trying to land a permanent job. So she will be riding with Justin and writing a story about their travels as Santa and elf. Of course all kinds of emotions are resurfaced and will Justin be able to finally forgive? A good story that flowed easy

Justin had been a cop for five years and his partner was Kevin O’Rourke. Now Justin had to play Cop Kringle and his kid sister’s -Hannah- best friend Lilly was a reporter and to be Justin’s elf. Lilly had been in combat situation as a correspondent. Everyone knew Justin was more of a grinch then a saint when it came to Christmas. Lilly hadn’t seen Justin in ten years. Justin had been her big brother by proxy. But when Lilly saw Justin his face was stony and fierce. Words failed Lilly and words never failed her as she was a broadcast journalist. Talking was what Lilly did. It would be so much easier for Lilly to run. But if she did she would not get the slot at Channel 10. Lilly wanted to live here by Hannah and Mary-Justin and Hannah’s mom- Mary was more of a mom to Lilly than her biological mother. Her family of the heart- Mary, Hannah , and Justin included. Even at six years old Lilly had decided to marry Justin and seven year old Justin said he would marry Lilly but no kissing. Then they pinkie swore. Lilly told Justin her article had to be great as she wanted to be permanently be there with Mary and Hannah. But Justin was angry at her still he had been for ten years when he felt Lilly had abandoned his family and him when they needed her most. But that didn’t mean he didn’t miss her and her… Lillyness. Then Justin and Lilly share a hot kiss under the mistletoe for the article. Justin realizes he cares about Lilly and not as a sister. Lilly also knows she loves Justin and always has. Justin also has anxiety from PTSD to deal with.
I really enjoyed this book, I loved Justin and Lilly together and how they interacted with each other. I really liked the plot and the pace. I would have liked to rate this 4’5 if I could have. I liked how close Hannah and Mary were to Lilly who really didn’t have a normal loving family life. I loved how protective justin was of Lilly even when he was angry at her. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I recommend.

Cute and fun
This is my first book by Marnie Blue.

What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Some funny dialogue
Standalone
HEA

I look forward to reading more from this author.

Flirty fun, sweet, clean holiday read!

Justin Weaver has been assigned to act as Officer Kringle for the holiday season. He isn’t exactly thrilled with this new twist to his career. On top of having to attend events, he has to deal with a reporter who is assigned to be his elf! And the reporter is none other than his little sister’s best friend, Lilly Maddox! The fact that he’s attracted to her, is just wrong in his eyes!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Entangled Publishing. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely.

Get ready to hear the sleigh bells jingle! Prepare yourself for laughter and romance in this story of an officer forced to play Santa, and the hot elf from his past that's too tempting for his own good. A great read for the holidays!

The story opens with police officer and Mr. Scrooge himself, Justin Weaver is now on Ho, Ho, Ho, kringle duty playing Santa and also collecting toys for the needy kids in town. Waiting for the parade to start is informed that a reporter will be going along with him. When that reporter turns out to be Lilly Maddox his sister’s childhood friend who he feels abandon them after their father died he does not want her around. He always liked her when they were growing up but ten years later he is still dealing with his father’s death, and PTSD from when he was in the military. Lilly wants the job at the local station and after years of traveling as a reporter she wants to be in one place, but Santa Justin is tough nut to crack, especially after they get caught kissing on camera under the mistletoe. Now the viewers want more of Santa and his Elf kissing but somehow the Elf must find a way to get to Santa. Will Santa let her go or keep her in his sleigh read this fun and fast read. My one and only sore spot is that the Justin character threw away an Aluminum 1950’S Christmas tree, having two of them myself and yes with the light and we put one up every year my heart went into shock, but it went with the character in the story. A good and fun story and a fast read.

Mistletoe Kisses is one of those stories that you could easily imagine as a Christmas movie. It has all the earmarks that would play out well on film. It’s a combination romance in the sense of lighthearted, laugh out loud moments – and some deeper issues, often part of the past that must be dealt with before any happy ending is possible for Justin and Lilly.

I have to be blunt and say that although I did connect with Lilly, it was often difficult to connect with Justin. His views of the past pushed him to say and do things that took him down a peg or two in my view of him as a hero. Yet, his was also a very human reaction so believable but not making him my next book boyfriend is probably the easiest way to put my reaction to him.

I enjoyed Mistletoe Kisses enough to put a new to me author on my list of author’s new titles to watch out for. If you’re in the mood for a Christmas Romance that touches your emotions, gives you a few laughs and maybe has you thinking as well, then you’d enjoy this story.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

This was a fun flirty and very enjoyable holiday read that put a smile on my face. There is excellent writing, great characters and a fun storyline.

As part of the city's plan to make the police seem more approachable and friendly, Officer Justin Weaver is given the assignment of being Officer Kringle for the season. This entails attending holiday events and being dogged by a reporter aka his elf! When that reporter turns out to be the very gorgeous Lilly Maddox, Justin knows this is going to be death of him! Lilly happens to be his little sister's best friend and a woman he should not be lusting over. Let the HO HO HO good times begin~

I highly recommend this one for the holiday reading list.

He has hang ups. She has determination. Caught in the chaos of Christmas can a Scrooge and his tempting elf unwrap a happily ever after? Marnie Blue is a genius. She tackles serious emotion wrapped up in a light - hearted holiday movie. Beat the holiday rush and make your heart rejoice with a humorous tale of the romantic variety. Mistletoe Kisses is Hallmark worthy reading.

The best way to describe this wonderful Christmas novella is “sweet”. The storyline is great with an easy ebb and flow, and the characters are heart-warming and real. I loved the relationship between Justin and Lilly, but the support cast add valuable depth to the story as well. Marnie Blue has a writing style that is interesting and consuming, without being over the top. I recommend this book as a warm, heartfelt, and festive read.

When you have an ugly weather outside but you are having perfect time wrapped in warm blanked and this sweet story is keeping your attention all the way...there is nothing more that you need, maybe hot chocolate...
I really enjoyed while reading. Story was easy to read thanks to the authors writing style and characters were likable.
This is my first book by Marnie Blue and it won't be my last.

Publisher's Description:
For Officer Justin Weaver, Christmas is the most hideous time of the year. To improve his “holiday cheer,” he’s been put on Officer Kringle duty, collecting toys for the Ho-Ho-Patrol.

It’s a week in holiday hell.

Worse, it comes with an elf—his little sister’s gorgeous best friend—but Lilly Maddox isn’t so little anymore. And as an annoyingly festive reporter looking to make her mark, she’s there to document his every move.

Justin’s always had a thing for Lilly, but he refuses to go there with her. Ever. Not after watching what his mom went through as a cop’s wife. But now that they’re trapped in his squad car, avoiding her just got a lot more complicated…

My Thoughts:

I loved this delightfully funny sweet/clean romance. I couldn't get enough and read it twice in three days.
I'm usually a historical romance fan but would read more of this new to me author's works.
Prankster cops and little sister's best friend all wrapped up in a funny romantic comedy that I really loved.
I gave this book 4.5 of 5.0 stars for storyline and characterization.
This sweet/clean title is one you wouldn't mind giving to your teen to read.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book to read. This in no way affected my opinion which is given freely and without influence by the publisher.

This was a sweet Christmas read about mending relationships. It took me some time to warm up to Justin but I really enjoyed the ending. The plot of this book was not my favorite, I just felt it kind of hung there. I loved that we saw closure with the characters which makes a book for me. I would recommend this book for anyone needed some holiday cheer to begin the season.