Under The Mistletoe - Sue Moorcroft

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐩, 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐀𝐝𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞, 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐧𝐨𝐰-𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞.
𝐘𝐞𝐭, 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐑𝐞𝐚, 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠.
𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞, 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐲 – 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐨, 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐲’𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞-𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐌𝐚𝐜…
𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭? 𝐎𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐨𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦?

I have loved reading this Christmassy cosy book, yes I know it’s November and I actually read it in October but I was really ready for some snow, and a bit of a festive love story.

I felt totally at home in Middledip and I just loved immersing myself in this story.
It is just like a warm hug in book form, the characters are gorgeous
and there is such a real sense of community.
I really felt for Laurel coming back to the village and having to face some demons after her assault by Mac and his friends as teenagers. There are some difficult subjects tackled, such as infertility and agoraphobia, it is done with empathy and sensitivity, but just be aware that this could be triggering for some people.
I enjoyed the interplay between all the characters, there are some wonderful themes explored. Its not just a fluffy cosy read but really digs into relationships and friendships too. The descriptions of the artwork were amazing and I could really picture the canvases in my minds eye. I would really love to have a village Christmas fair like this one on my doorstep! It’s made me want to get creative and start making my own Christmas Wreaths, go stomping about in the snow and have a snuggly romantic Christmas - but perhaps leaving out any crazy ex’s!

I loved this book, cosy and full of festive cheer and will get you into the Christmas Spirit for sure.
I just wish we could have some snow this Christmas too!

✩✩✩✩✩ - all twinkling for Christmas

Under the Mistletoe is a festive romance with a mostly wonderful setting but what I really loves about it was how it tackled a variety of different relationship types in addition to other difficulties that many people will relate to.
Grady and Laurel are such lovely characters and I really enjoyed getting to know them as they became reacquainted after a Laurel left Middledip as a teen. I love how they confronted a shared common, but heart-breaking issue they both faced and how their love of art brought them closer together too. Moorcroft also explores sibling relationships, family and friendships in this heart-warming novel. I particularly enjoyed Daisy’s story arc too.
As cosy as many aspects of Under the Mistletoe is, there are some darker and important themes addressed too such as bullying, mental health and abuse. Sue Moorcroft deals with these issues with sensitivity but still manages to cerate an impact on the reader through the characters dealing with these things.
There are many books with food, books and travel as a theme but I haven’t come across many that use art to draw the characters and community together. As the whole community work towards lots of art projects during December. The festive feeling of the village is perfect and I adored all the background characters that Laurel meets.
I thoroughly enjoyed the festive romance that has such a real vibe to it. The characters are people you can relate to and who you really become attached to. I cannot recommend this book enough.

I would just like to say a big thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources and NetGalley who very kindly forwarded me an arc copy of this book, for my Kindle, in return for my honest review.
Sue Moorcroft’s books always leave me feeling warm and cosy and this one was no exception, with the added bonus of being set in the festive season as well.
Under The Mistletoe takes place in the fictional village of Middledip and I really do want to go and live there. It sounds like the perfect place to be at Christmas especially with all the crafts and festivities!!
From the very first page to the very last word I was thoroughly entertained and was left feeling very festive and happy…..

After leaving Middledip as a teenager Laurel was never planning on returning there to live. But after her divorce a cry for help from her sister Rea sees her going back to her childhood home The Nookery.
The traumatic event that lead to her leaving the village still looms large in Laurels mind and reminders of what happened are all around. Meeting Grady Cassidy again brings back even more memories, not all of them bad.
There is still a spark between Laurel and Grady but, in order to ignite it, Laurel is going to have to face up to what happened to her as a teenager and find a way to work through it. Is Grady the one who can help her or will he just make the problem worse?
This isn't just a romantic love story, its a story of family, friendships and moving on.

The full review will feature in my book column. Another perfect read from the skilled Miss Morcroft. An easy 5 stars.

Under the Mistletoe is a gorgeous story. It explores a range of emotional and evocative story lines and how life isn't always straightforward and that the past is never far away.
I really liked Laurel, she is a strong determined character.

I started this book and was unable to see it all the way through. I picked this because I had liked another of the author's works.
The lead protagonist in this book refers to her fertility issues as being infertile as an umbrella term. For someone who has issues of the sort, I did not feel like the emotion or the weight was genuine enough. There is no elaboration when she tells another about being 'infertile' I do not think anyone would leave it so simply.
I did not know that this would be the core story around which the narrative was built and so was unable to see it all the way through. This is a very personal reason as to why I cannot read and review the entire work, it might not impact others who would not focus on that aspect of the narrative.

Ever since I was lucky enough to meet Sue at a book signing a couple of years ago, I always jump at the chance to read her latest release and this one does not disappoint.

Set in the village of Middledip where everyone knows eachothers business, I loved this book from the first few pages when we first meet Laurel. Laurel has returned to the village she grew up in to help her sister and early on I loved the importance placed on both the relationship with her sister and overcoming trauma.

This is a story with lots of different scenarios playing out for many characters that have massive impacts on their lives and I loved spending time with them all and getting to know them as they found ways to move forward and old friendships were resurrected.

Another superb festive read that I love, I have my own teenage artistic daughter called Daisy and that added so much to the story for me and just made me love it even more.

I am already excited for the next release by this fab author as her books always hit the spot.

I found all the ingredients I always enjoy in a Christmas story but there is a lot more to the novel than that. Christmas and festive crafts overlay the story and add a glorious sparkly gloss over the village. Laurel's family ties are strong and what brings her back to Middledip. She has a secret which she has tried to bury in the past but which has influenced her all her adult life. The characterisation in the novel is a strength. We are introduced to the thoughts of several characters, either directly or through their actions. This gives them a certain depth.

The different generations interact in the story and at times, you can see them learn from each other. Despite the serious issues, there is a hopeful tone, with the possibility of forgiveness and moving on, if the characters can take that step. There are parallels in Laurel and Grady's lives. They realise that there is something in their lives that they both have to come to terms with. You also see their relationships with their siblings and niece and nephew. They also share a creative streak and express themselves through their art. I enjoyed all these story threads and found it to be a great Christmas read.

In short: Second chances and family ties.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the book

Sue Moorcroft is a holiday regular, and it is easy to see why with Under the Mistletoe! This is a heartfelt and genuine holiday romance. It is certainly a more serious book than most of the others on this list- if you want a light, Hallmark-ish read, this is not the book for you. However, if you feel that a lot of holiday books are fluffy and don't have any weight, you will definitely want to read Mistletoe. 

Trigger Warning: There is sexual assault referenced in this book

Under the mistletoe is taking us back to Middledip for a festive read. Full of Christmas cheer, snow and mistletoe.
Laurel has returned to Middledip after years to face a traumatic event that happened when she was a teenager. Rea her sister suffers from agoraphobia and needs help with her 14 year old daughter.
On returning to the village laurel gets involved with the build up to Christmas in the village and her teenage love Grady.
Unfortunately events from her past come back to haunt Laurel in the shape of Mac ( Grady’s brother )
Can Laurel put the past behind her for the sake of her future?
A lovely Christmas book with beautiful descriptions of a very snowy festive village. Really enjoyed being taken back to Middledip.
Thank You Avon Books UK and NetGalley for an ARC of this Book.

A festive trip to Middledip was always going to be a treat. I'm a big fan of Sue's books and she has delivered another treat with Under the Mistletoe!

Laurel returns to Middledip to help out her sister and niece. But returning means facing up to the past.

4.5 Stars

What an absolute joy it is to return to Middledip in Sue Moorcroft’s latest gloriously festive romantic charmer, Under the Mistletoe.

Recently divorced Laurel has returned to the village of Middledip to recharge her batteries and to start over amidst the beautiful snow-covered countryside. Laurel had hoped that relocating to the small rural village would provide her with some much needed peace and tranquility, however, no sooner has she set foot back in Middledip that she finds herself rushing to her sister Rea’s aid and trying to solve everybody else’s problems. Laurel thinks that she’s already had her fill of drama and upheaval – until she bumps into a face from her past she has never quite managed to forget: old boyfriend Grady Cassidy…

A lot of time has gone by since the last time the two of them were in each other’s orbit, but no sooner do they reconnect that they find all the old feelings and emotions rushing back to the surface with a vengeance. The more time Laurel spends with Grady, the more she finds herself falling back in love with him. However, having Grady back in her life has made Laurel reflect about the real reason why she had left Middledip all those years ago – mainly Grady’s wayward brother, Mac…

Laurel feels like she could build a future for herself in Middledip, but is she willing to draw a line under the past and move on with her life? Can she lay old ghosts to rest? Or will she find herself having to kiss goodbye any hope she might have had of cuddling up to Grady under the mistletoe this Christmas?

Forget about Hallmark, give me Christmas in Middledip any day! Sue Moorcroft’s Under the Mistletoe is a book that readers will have a hard time putting down. Engaging, emotional and immensely enjoyable, Under the Mistletoe hits all the rights notes with a charming blend of humour, drama, intensity and plenty of heart. Laurel is a brilliant heroine readers will immediately take to their hearts and Grady is a gorgeous hero every woman is going to fall in love with.

Sue Moorcroft’s Under the Mistletoe is an irresistible gem of a book that will give readers all the festive feels.

Under the Mistletoe is a heart-warming festive read that will get you right into the spirit of Christmas!
 
This book is such a lovely story, I felt soooo Christmassy as I was reading it and I especially loved all the traditions of Middledip – I would love to live there!
 
Laurel was my most favourite Character, I really connected with her as we have so many shared experiences.  She is one of those Characters that you would want to be friends with in real life, a genuinely lovely person. 
 
The topic of miscarriage and infertility was so beautifully written, especially with both Male and Female infertility being included.
 
I cannot recommend this book enough to get you into the Festive Spirit!

An enjoyable Christmas read that also deals with some serious issues.

3.5

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

Laurel is back in Middledip after her divorce and to help her sister and niece, who live in the old family home.
being back in the village brings back bad memories, especially seeing certain people again - can she move on and what will it mean for her budding relationship with old flame Grady?

Recently divorced artist Laurel returns to her childhood village of Middledip, to help her sister Rea overcome her agoraphobia and to spend some time getting back on her feet.

Middledip holds some dark secrets for Laurel…secrets she hasn’t even told her sister, but now she’s back in the village she has to face these demons head on.

However, time stands still when she sees her old flame, Grady Cassidy – and soon it’s as if they’ve never been apart. But through her happiness, Laurel is drawn back to the memory of why she left the village all those years ago…because of Grady’s brother Mac.

Can Laurel learn to forgive and forget? Or will her chances of Christmas under the mistletoe with Grady remain a dream?

This is a lovely, but sometimes hard hitting story of love and tales of the past. Sue Moorcroft never fails with her books, and although this is another visit to the village of Middledip, it doesn’t matter if you haven’t read the other books – you really won’t feel as if you are missing anything – Sue brings you in like a welcome member of the village rather than a visitor!

Issues like bullying, infertility and phobias are all addressed in the storyline and are done so sensitively.
This is a story that will have you up until the early hours of the morning saying to yourself “just one more chapter…!”

'Under the mistletoe' combines a love of Art with all things Christmassy. there is such a lovely snowy vibe to this book that I immediately went into Christmas mode in October.

Returning to Middledip after her divorce Laurel finds herself caught up in the school bullying of her niece and her sister Rea's agoraphobia. These themes help to make the characters multi-faceted. However, something that happened in Laurel's past is never far from the surface, and although it makes uncomfortable reading, I found myself in for the long-haul with her as she tries to move on and makes a future with her childhood sweetheart.

This book is guaranteed to put you in the mood for Christmas while tackling serious issues that many of us face.

Thank you NetGalley, Sue Moorcroft and Avon Books UK for the copy of Under the Mistletoe. This is my personal review.
This book is one of those that has so much to it that when I started to read, I was wrapped up in the story that everything around me disappeared. The author has put so much into it and made everything click together in a perfect way.
The character all went together, and this made me feel everything a lot more than some books I have read. The characters came to life for me as I was getting to know them and feel what was happening to them.

With Sue Moorcroft’s books, you will get the romantic, cosy vibes you’re looking for, but it will be beautifully woven into some heavy, and potentially uncomfortable situations. Under the Mistletoe has a lovely festive romance between Laurel and her old flame Grady, but within the setting of the ghosts of agoraphobia, bullying and guilt, and the question of when forgiveness is the resolution that everyone needs.

Set in the fictional but wonderfully familiar village of Middledip, as seen in some of Sue’s other novels, the snow, and the festivities, together with all the Christmas crafts made me really want to be there. I loved the idea of the willow wreaths that Laurel’s niece Daisy was making. It’s the second book I’ve read in recent months which has involved creating things from willow, and I have to say I would love to try it as a craft, in spite of not being particularly ‘crafty’.

I loved Laurel’s relationship with her sister Rea, and the way that she found ways to help her with her difficulties. Amidst the more difficult moments, there were so many light-hearted moments. I loved the community spirit, and the way the art group found to bring the community even closer. I adored the idea of the villagers putting their crafts in their windows to display, with a guide to where the arts and crafts could be seen around the village. I also loved the descriptions of Laurel and Grady’s artwork and their creative processes.

Under the Mistletoe is a delightfully festive romance that will certainly give you pause for thought, while making you want to create something Christmassy.