It’s almost Christmas and Leesa is returning home from a business trip, when a snowstorm leaves her stranded with Cary, the owner of the company she is currently working for. Everything is buried in snow and transportation is at a halt. Uncomfortable as she is around the no-nonsense handsome businessman, Leesa has no choice but to accept Cary’s offer to stay the night at his grandmother’s home.

When Cary’s grandmother Cressida, a popular novelist, assumes Leesa is the new woman in Cary’s life, Leesa’s life takes an unforeseen twist. This prompts Cary and Leesa to enter into a contract of convenience to be each other’s ‘plus one’, for the rest of the year’s major holidays.

As Leesa and Cary spend more time in their pretend relationship, friendship develops and eventually, feelings for each other start to bloom. Will they be able to void their business transaction agreement, and mutually move into a real-life relationship? Will there be more than the usual Christmas celebrations or could there possibly be something special happening under the mistletoe?

Taking on some serious topics, including the need for the world to be more environmentally efficient, Lucy Coleman brings her genuine characters to life in an authentic, realistic way. Page after page, she gives us more depth and insight into their personalities, revealing painful pasts that need to be faced before they can be healed.

I love Lucy’s writing - she has an innate ability to connect the reader to her characters and their lives and wrap you up in them.

I heartily enjoyed Magic Under the Mistletoe. For anyone looking for an engaging, lovely holiday read, Magic Under the Mistletoe is must-read.

Opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria for the read of Lucy Coleman’s, Magic Under the Mistletoe.

This just didn’t work for me. I felt like the whole romance was just too forced. The relationship between Cary and Leesa remained so formal throughout the book, it was cringeworthy at times. The way Leesa interacted with Cary’s family, her own family, and her ex’s family was just odd and unnatural.

The premise was good but nothing else held up for me here.

Lovely feel good read. It was well written and flowed well. I enjoyed it very much. The plot was good and interesting. Hard to put down

Thank you to NetGalley, Aria, and Lucy Coleman for an ARC ebook copy to review. As always, an honest review from me.

Like:
- fun, sweet wintertime romance
- Still realistic because there are some family and life struggles presented (allows the characters to be well created) but also still retains its romance novel quality
- The author writes consistently good winter holiday romances

Love:
- one of the main characters is a romance author
- Picturesque setting

Dislike:
- wasn't as captivating for a holiday romance as I had hoped - simply put, it didn't pull me into the story, wrap me up in the holiday feels and make me feel a part of the festive holiday season
- The family tension - there's not a lot of it but any will always take away from the enjoyment of a book for me, due to personal triggers

Wish that:
- I wasn't so busy so I could take time to truly enjoy this wonderful novel
- I related more to the main characters

Overall, a decent holiday romance novel but definitely not my favorite that I've read recently. I've read and thoroughly enjoyed another book by this same author, so I have high hopes for her next book. To be fair, I was very busy and stressed while reading this book, so I couldn't relax and become immersed in the world like I usually do.

Leesa is an ambitious and driven business woman working for the seemingly arrogant and bossy Cary. Both having to suffer through Christmases they don’t really want to, they come up with a plan to help each other through the holidays, But when do plans ever run smoothly?

I really enjoyed many of the characters especially Cary’s romance novelist Grandma Cressida and George, the man she meets on the plane home from Australia. I would have liked to see more of Jeff and seen the storyline to do with Cary’s business explored a little more.

Overall this was a light hearted festive read and has got me in the festive mood months in advance,

This cover of this book entranced me and drew me in
This author writes such lovely romance novels.
The characters had depth which was nice to see.
A great book

Leesa Oliver owns the company Dynamic Videography that helps to promote businesses with videos that Lessa edits and designs. Cary Anderson, CEO of Solar Powered Solutions, has hired Leesa and her company to do some work for him. They have been traveling and had to push back their return date even, and now they are trapped at the airport due to a snow storm. Cary's grandmother lives close by the airport and he knows just the person that can get them from the airport to her house with no problem. He just has to convince Leesa to go with him.

Leesa and Cary have just been work acquaintances so when his grandmother just assumes that Leesa is Cary's girlfriend, he knows that he needs to set her straight, but her really doesn't have the heart to. Leesa has made prior commitments to spend Christmas with her ex-in-laws this year. They don't live far away so Cary agrees to get Leesa there. Before Leesa leaves though, they make a pact to let his grandmother continue to assume that Leesa is Cary's girlfriend and to go with the flow of that story too with everyone else.

I thought the characters were very well developed and were very likable, especially Cressida (grandmother). Lucy Coleman paints a vivid picture of the Christmas decorations so you have no problem imagining all the Christmas spirit going around and feeling a part of the Christmas story. I always love a great Christmas read anytime of the year and when it is the middle of summer and I can feel like I want to just go cuddle under blankets reading a Christmas book is a plus!

I voluntarily read and reviews this book and gave my honest opinion voluntarily. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read and advanced copy!

Thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
Having read other books by this author and really enjoyed them was really looking forward to reading this book but I felt it was a book that lacked xmas spirit a good book but lacking xmas oomph

Leesa Oliver's company, Dynamic Videography has been hired by Cary Anderson, CEO of Solar Powered Solutions to make a promotional video. Cary needs to convince his board of directors that he is pricing the company's products correctly. After getting stranded by a major snow storm at Cardiff International Airport Cary calls his grandmother's friend who is able to come and drive Cary and Leesa the mile to his grandmother's house. His grandmother thinks Leesa is Cary's girlfriend. Maybe she is prophetic. Hmm...

Magic Under the Mistletoe by Lucy Coleman is an interesting Christmas romance. The Christmas decorations as described by the author paint a beautiful Christmas picture. I wish I could visit such a beautifully decorated house. The storyline is fun and the characters are well-developed. Christmas romances are always fun for me to read.

This book was so fun! This was the first book I've read from this author and I really enjoyed it. The story was different from anything I've read recently and really captured my attention. It was so well written and the characters were fantastic.

Lucy Colman
Magic under the mistletoe
My first book by Lucy .
What a wonderful Christmas romance, you get immersed into the storyline .
Enjoyed the book and it was very well written, it kept glued into the end .
Would definitely recommend this book and the author.
Many thanks to Aria and NetGalley for advance copy for my honest review.

Magic Under the Mistletoe by Lucy Coleman a three-star read that I wished brought Christmas magic with it. I had such high hopes for this story, I am really hoping that with another re-read it may get better. I have adored this author work previously, and I did enjoy some parts of this story, but others just felt never ending. I will be re-reading and once I do I may update my rating as I have hope that next time maybe if I read it over Christmas I will enjoy it more.

Great Christmas romance! Two people meet at work and after they agree to help each other through the family holidays find they have more in common than they think. You will love this one!! Would make a great christmas movie!

I usually don't read romance but sometimes the cover of the book just draws you in. The same happened when I looked at this cover. I was entranced, something about the lone woman against the backdrop of the snow gave me hope. And I started reading.

Lucy Coleman is truly an author who can write the depths of romance. The trope sounded familiar a clause between two coworkers who pretended to be in a relationship just to get the relatives off their backs. And love happened between the two.

The characters, Cary and Leesa, had depth in this book, they had a past, and they knew where they were going in life. Both had been hurt in love, yet the succeeded well enough in their careers. Maybe they recognized each other in their hurt. Cary was the gallant gentleman who stole away my heart too.

Lucy Coleman's writing had a sense of timelessness where family and relationships mattered. Cary's family, with all its skirmishes were still a delight to read. I loved the grandmother Cressida who tugged at my heartstrings. Her story of loss and love brought a sharp pain which gentle as I turned the pages.

A slower and a longer read as compared to my other books, it kept me engrossed in the lives of these characters. It was time and love which slowly healed their broken hearts to make them whole again, ready to love and find their magic under the Mistletoe.

A highly enjoyable novel. Enjoyed it very much. Excellent narrative and wonderful depiction of the characters. Highly recommended!

A fantastic read. I loved Leesa and Cary characters. This was a lovely feel good read. Christmas and magic. This is my first Lucy Coleman book. But it won't be the last. This took me a while to get into but ended up being a sweet festive read. Leesa and Cary were both likable and there were a host of interesting supporting characters. I especially liked Cary’s grandmother Cressida. Worth a read.

A magical Christmas novel full of heart and warmth. A lovely was for the winter months, would definitely recommend.

Leesa and her boss Cary are flying home for Christmas after s busy work schedule. When they get to England snow has blocked the roads. Cary offers Leesa a bed for the night at his grandmothers house. I liked both characters and enjoyed reading about their families. I would definitely recommend this book

Although a christmas book, I didn't think it was overly christmassy, so can be read at any time.

The story of Leesa and Cary, who meet through work. Neither is looking for a relationship, but decide to fake being in one to keep their families happy. Will it turn in to more.

Towards the end of the book it felt like some things were skipped slightly.

This took me a while to get into but ended up being a sweet festive read. Leesa and Cary were both likeable and there were a host of interesting supporting characters. I especially liked Cary’s grandmother Cressida. Worth a read.