I had seen The Mistletoe Pact mentioned a few times on Twitter but had put of requesting it until this morning, was approved and then noticed it was published today and also due to be archived on NetGalley today too (1st October 2021)

Knowing it was going to be archived tonight, I thought I would just read a few pages and started reading it at 4:00 in the afternoon, couldn’t put it down and 7 hours later I had finished it.

I did skip read some of the back stories so as to finish it before it was archived but it was still a nice, simple easy to read and get in to book with characters you can really warm to.

I would describe it as more of a lovely little heart-warming story than a book, very pleasant, easy reading and enjoyable.

Evie and Dan make a pact that if they aren’t married by the time they are thirty, then they would marry each other. Dan had always been attracted to Evie and Evie always liked Dan, and he just happens to be her best friend’s brother. But then they wake up married on Christmas Eve, the night before Evie’s thirtieth birthday. They are in the honeymoon suite in Vegas. So they think a quick divorce will fix everything. Their friendship can easily go back to the way it was before the wedding, right? But is that what they really want to do…I don’t think so. This laugh-out-loud festive read will surly get you into the Christmas spirit. I enjoyed the storyline of this book, it was fun, festive and hilarious. This charming read is one that will stay with you after you read the last page.

Thank you Jo Lovett for such a wonderful story. I really enjoyed the flow of the story and the characters were an absolutely delightful bunch. They were a lively group of friends that definitely stick by each through thick and thin. I loved it, and I highly recommend this book.

This was my first Christmas read of the season! I really enjoyed the Christmas atmosphere and revisiting it with Evie and Dan through the years as they explore their relationship. The Mistletoe Pact is a lighthearted holiday read but does touch on some more deeper themes especially family issues which definitely adds a unique depth to the book. There are many interesting side characters, mostly their family and their involvement helps the plot and adds to the readers investment in the overall story, however my main focus stayed on if Dan and Evie end up together as lovers or friends, or nothing at all?


If you're in the mood for a holiday romance you should definitely check out The Mistletoe Pact.

Thank you Bookcoutre for sharing the ARC of The Mistletoe Pact by Jo Lovett in exchange for my honest review.
Dan and Evie make a pact under a mistletoe to get married if Evie isn't married by her 30th birthday. Dan is Evie's best friend's brother and they have known each other for years and are good friends too. The story moves over a span of 10 years in a non linear timeline. It switches between Evie & Dan's perspective. The mistletoe pact has some interesting characters and the plot has potential but unfortunately poorly executed. The book feels like little nuggets of events in Dan & Evie's life and at each event there are different partners who come and go. You just don't feel like the story flows or feel connected or see the relationship developing. The writing felt like it was all over the place and tiresome.

Happy #pubday ✨ to The Mistletoe Pact!

REVIEW:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars

Thank you to @netgalley @bookouture for the #ARC!

When I first requested this book, I was immediately drawn to the cover. The vibrant color of it and the cute character drawings instantly resonated with me. After reading, I can definitely say this book was a witty little love story about friends who’s lives we’re tied together for years. It is very much a “best friend falls in love with best friends brother” book - Evie is attracted to her best friend Sasha’s brother Dan, and one night 9 years before they made a pact to get married if they haven’t found significant others by Evie’s 30th birthday. Fast forward to December 2021 (Evie’s birthday is 2 days before Christmas) and they find themselves married in Vegas. The book then goes back and forth from present to past to illustrate how connected Evie and Dan are, and how much they need each other in their lives.

This was a book where I really enjoyed almost all the characters. There were only 2 that I didn’t care for, but none were main characters and both were established to help with other character’s arcs. I thought the dynamic between all of them was cute and fun, and I actually loved that the author wrote this in the future- kind of gives me a little hope for some normalcy lol.

Perfect book as we approach the holiday season! I also really liked the authors style and look forward to reading her other books! If you’re looking for a fun, easy and uplifting holiday read, definitely add to your TBR list!

This was an adorable slow burn. After Evie and Danny made a pact to marry each other if they weren't married by 30, neither of them thought it would really happen. But when they woke up married after a crazy night in Vegas, they both think that an annulment later, they can just go back to being just friends.

Through parallel flashbacks, Lovett reveals that Evie and Dan actually have been in love with each other for years, which despite a few close calls, neither of them acts on. Many of the flashback scenes were extranious - they didn't seem necessary to the story except to show that they've had a few close calls. It dragged out the slow burn, but was very frustrating filler.

This was cute, but if you're looking for something Christmas-y, fair warning, there's...not that much Christmas in this.

I excepted to like this book a lot more than I actually did and the sole reason is because of the slow burn. I only like a very specific type of slow burn story, the explosive kind, and nothing about dan and evie is explosive. The ending was no surprise. Thank god they do have a witty and funny personality I enjoy.

I really liked this book. It is a slow burn. Might even say a slow, slow burn. It's about two friends who make a marriage pact when they are teenagers to marry each other if they aren't married by the time Evie turns 30. Dan is Evie's best friend's brother. Through the book, which is a dual time line and also dual perspective, Evie and Dan have instances when they run into each other in their friend group and share a moment. However, neither is willing to tell the other what they are feeling. Neither has had a good example growing up of what a good relationship should be and really aren't willing to risk their friendship when they think the chance of it working is slim to none.

There are weddings in the book, intentional and not so intentional. There's lots of family and friendship, hurts and healings (and some continued hurts). If you can't hang on through the really slow development of their relationship, you might want to skip this one. I thought it was worth the wait.

Thanks to Bookcuture and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

Evie and Dan are lifelong friends who have occasionally entertained a romantic moment together. Hence the kiss under the mistletoe and the “promise” to marry in the future if need be. They both have reasons to be wary of entanglements, so neither has very functional relationships.

I really enjoyed this book, but found it confusing at times. Evie and Dan have real feelings for each other for years and never genuinely act on them. When they wind up accidentally married to each other in Vegas both immediately decide to divorce. There isn’t even the internal dialogue about “Should we try to make this work?”

There are a lot of time jumps, past and future, and each chapter is a different time period, and/or POV so sometimes it’s difficult to know where you are in the story. But I like having both POVs because it does help to really flesh the story out. And, you very much end up caring about Evie and Dan in this story.

I received an advance copy of this book from Net Galley and the author and these are my honest opinions.

Evie has always had a crush on her best friend’s brother, Dan. On Evie’s 22nd birthday they make a marriage pact if they are both single by the time they turn 30 they will get married. Flash forward 8 years and it actually happens…they elope on a wild night out in Vegas. They panic and get a quick annulment but from then on it’s a lot of will they or won’t they get together when clearly everyone else can see they are in love.

I read this one in two days. I couldn’t put it down. I loved the relationship between Evie and Dan. As a contemporary story they also address covid/quarantines but in a way that didn’t make it the focus of the story which I appreciated. This is such a sweet romance filled with relatable characters and cozy Christmas settings. Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

If you like quirky love stories set at Christmas time, this one’s for you.
What I enjoyed:
- The alternating POVs of Evie and Dan. It was nice to see both of their perspectives.
- The Christmassy vibes & the ‘local village’ feeling of Melting
- The two main characters were both likeable and had chemistry
- Light-hearted, easy read.
- Gets you in a Christmassy mood (I read it in September though!)
What didn’t work for me:
- Because of the time jumps, the outcome of the pact happens too soon in the book.
- All tension between the lovers fizzled out after Las Vegas, which happened early.
- The whole point of the book is ‘will they or won’t they’, but for me the mystery just wasn't there
- It feels like the time jumping and the fact that the characters always find excuses not to say what they’re really feeling are only there to flesh out the book.

Evie and Dan have always known each other. Evie is Dan's sister's best friend. 8 years ago on her 22nd birthday, feeling as though she might never find her one to marry, Dan suggested a fallback plan to marry on Evie's 30th birthday if they both are single. This was their mistletoe pact. Evie has had a crush on Dan and after their first kiss, Dan can't stop thinking about her. On Evie's 30th birthday, after a drunken night, Dan marries Evie in Vegas.
This plot had be sold from the start, I enjoyed reading it as well. However it was too slow and repetitive for me. Evie, in order to find a stable relationship after seeing her mother's heartbreak, would end up dating boring guys and Dan after having so many unresolved issues self sabotages any potential.
I have mixed feelings about Dan. I loved his backstory, though sad, but that shaped his present and future. He is a damaged soul and a result of his parents actions. I understand where his insecurities are coming from. What I didn't like is how he treated Evie. Communication. That's what she taught him. Their back and forth frustrated me.
I liked Evie's character. She was pretty stable and would step up for the people she cared about. I felt with Dan's issues being highlighted, Evie's insecurities were overlooked.
I loved the family members from both sides and their community. It is written very nicely and I enjoyed the chapter structures.

Anyone that knows me well, knows of my love of cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies. Yes they are schmaltzy and predictable but they are also warm and comforting and you know the girl will get the boy or vice versa. This book played out like one of those movies, miscommunications, funny moments and yet the only thing really missing was the most wonderful time of the year. It just needed more Christmas to really be a Christmas book.

It starts with Evie waking up severely hung over in a room so pink I thought it belonged to a seven year old girl. But it turns out it’s a Las Vegas honeymoon suite and her long term friend Dan is asleep beside her in the bed. It then goes back in time to a Christmas party and Evie’s potential date ending up with her own mum. With her best friend’s brother Dan walking her home after the party they share a kiss and make a mistletoe pact that they will marry each other if they are not settled once they hit thirty.

I really liked the chemistry between Evie and Dan but boy did I want to bang their heads together. They can’t see the wood for the trees these two. They are so vividly written that I instantly pictured Eddie Redmayne and Alia Shawkat. They are an easy pair to root for and for me that’s the real crux of the book.

So if you want a sweet easy read with a little Christmas, a will they or won’t they and some lovely supportive characters. (Evie’s mum is fabulous, you go girl!). Then I recommend you give this a read.

I am currently 40 % of the way through, but I can't seem to get myself to finish it. I think the 3rd POV but how it focuses on one or the other is fun. I have never seen an author do dual POV from 3rd POV. But the story itself is just moving too slow, I also wish there had been more insight in people around their reactions to the marriage, and that it hadn't been something shrugged off so easily. the way their relationship was described so far, it seemed as if it hadn't been something in the ordinary. I think the book is just not up my personal alley but I would recommend it to others.

I feel like there were equal things that were right with this one as there was wrong.
Evie and Dan have been best friends for a long time and they make a pact to get married at 30 if they weren’t married. So we begin with them waking up married in Vegas in December of 2021 and then we got back and forth from there.
Honestly, one of my favorite tropes is accidentally married in Vegas, but this one was a bit confusing because it didn’t go the way the trope normally does. I found myself expecting things that didn’t happen, and wanting more out of the book. I wish it wasn’t marketed like that, because it’s not typical of this trope and it just left me wanting.
I did enjoy Evie and her friendship with Dan, but Dan was kind of a mess. I felt like this book was written to be angsty but a lot of emotion was glossed over and it felt like a light romance. There were a lot of things that worked, but unfortunately a lot that didn’t and it confused me on why anyone would want to be with Dan in the end.
Thanks to Negalley and the author for an early copy.

2.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

When I read the description of this book I was very excited because I thought it was a really funny idea. Just think of it: Evie makes a pact with her friend Dan (who is also her secret crush and her best friend's older brother) where they promise to marry if by their 30s they are still single. The book begins when they both wake up after a night in Las Vegas and realize that they really did, they got married.

I think that one of the aspects that had a big impact on my opinion of this book is that it says it is a rom-com, when in fact 70% of the book was just Dan and Evie trying to resolve their personal problems.

I really did not like some of the characters, especially Evie. She tries to show herself as a mature girl looking for a safe partner to have a secure future (using her mother's life as an excuse), when the truth is that she is the opposite. Personally, I do not consider that a mature person has to remind themself that their partner is the right one because they are constantly comparing it with their secret crush.

I really wanted to like this book, but I think it wasn’t for me.

The Mistletoe Pact - Jo Lovett

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture and I am leaving this review voluntarily

On Christmas Eve eight years ago Evie and Dan made a pact: if they weren’t married by thirty, they were going to marry each other. Of course, neither of them took it seriously, even if Dan has always been mesmerised by Evie’s beautiful smile, and Evie has always fancied Dan, her best-friend’s brother.

But then “it” happens. They wake up on Christmas Eve, the night before Evie’s thirtieth birthday in Vegas… married. In a honeymoon suite filled with hundreds of heart-shaped pillows, they realise too late what they’ve done – just like Ross and Rachel.

I have mixed feelings about this book. The storyline started strong but very quickly tapered off. Parts of this book take place at Christmas, but I wouldn't necessarily class this as a Christmas book - so it could easily be read at any time of year.

We are navigated through this book with the help of Dan and Evie throughout the years. It was a cute and easy book to read.

Rating 3/5

When they were twenty-two, Dan and Evie made a pact under the mistletoe. If they weren't married by age thirty, they would marry each other. And on a drunken night in Las Vegas, that's what they do. Is it a mistake, or a sign they belong together?

This book is not what I expected. It goes back and forth in time between the present day and the intervening years since they made the pact. It's a low-angst, slice-of-life type novel without any real obstacles except their fear of commitment. Despite the commercial hook, this novel is more literary in its style and structure. (You could remove the Vegas wedding and subsequent intimate encounter, and it's wouldn't change the story at all.) This book might appeal to fans of Sally Rooney.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This is a fluffy romance with the added magic of Christmas, though it does not play a huge part. It's a will they/won't they tale and had a couple of extra side plots. I enjoyed this book and it's a cuddle up nect to the fire with a wine and some chocolates book, quick paced too, there were no slow bits for me.

Evie and Dan made a pact; if they weren’t married by the time they were thirty, they would marry each other. The pact was meant to be a joke, but the thing is they have feelings for each other; if only they could work up the courage to say so.

While on a group trip to Vegas, Evie and Dan find themselves waking up in a honeymoon suite, realizing that they did it. They actually got married. Suffering from a major hangover and a growing fear that they have ruined their friendship, they hope they can get a quick divorce and return to being just friends. But moving on isn’t as easy as they think. It’s become impossible to ignore the romantic feelings they have for each other. But they will have to find the courage to take that first step and say how they truly feel, or they just might miss out on a once in a lifetime love.

I was really looking forward to reading this book. I love the idea of a “Ross and Rachel” drunken Vegas wedding with a Christmas twist. But I hate to say this: I really didn’t enjoy this book. The Mistletoe Pact has a dual timeline and is told from both Evie and Dan’s perspectives. I liked the beginning of the book. I felt like I could hear Carrie Underwood’s song “Last Name” while I was reading the first two chapters that were set in Vegas, and I was excited to see what Jo had in store for Dan and Evie. I also loved the first flashback chapters, the author did a wonderful job at introducing the main characters and showing readers where everything started. Jo did a great job at laying the foundation for this book. The problem was that the story starts to jump around too much, and I had a hard time keeping up. It felt the author was trying to include too many secondary plotlines, which made the book jumbled and rushed. Many plotlines were left unfinished, which was really frustrating. I felt like I was left trying to figure out what happened to characters, relationships, or life events, because there were so many gaps.

The relationship between Dan and Evie was just okay. I loved them in the first flashback chapters when they made the marriage pact. They were so cute together and you could really see the sparks flying between these two. But then in later chapters things went downhill and the dialogue felt forced and awkward. That chemistry that existed between them disappeared and I often felt “meh” when these two were together. I don’t mind when there are some obstacles that a couple may have to overcome to be together, but the obstacles that Dan and Evie faced were often because of their own actions and because they were dragging their feet when it came to saying how they really felt.

The Mistletoe Pact is a holiday romance that starts off strong, but loses its way. It left this reader feeling lost and unsatisfied.

Thank you Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.