The Mistletoe Pact is the story of two people who make an innocent pact that if neither of them is married by age 30, they will marry each other. It is a story of unsolved emotions, hidden feelings, and several "almost" moments. It is also a story that involves two people who have basically known each other their wholes lives - he is her best friends brother so yes there is that dynamic too and it is so good!

The Mistletoe Pact starts on Christmas Eve 2021 when Evie and Dan wake up in bed together. After hazily piecing the previous night together, they realize that they got drunk and married in Vegas. Cue the awkwardness between them. It is then revealed that in 2013, Dan had offered to marry Evie if she was still single on her thirtieth birthday and they sealed their pacts with a mistletoe kiss. Christmas Eve is also Evie's thirtieth birthday and thus everything comes full circle.

The story of Dan and Evie's evolving relationship is told in both of their views and flows back and forth between past and present day. The reader learns about their deep connection which has evolved over the years from both of their points of view. This dynamic involves alot of slow burn and hidden feelings that these characters even struggle to admit to themselves. When they are together it is magic and there is so much chemistry yet for some reason they are both in some serious denial. Alot of this had to do with their home life when they were growing up. Both them witnessed their parents struggle with love and relationships and decided at a young age they did not want that for themselves. It is a long journey with these characters but a journey that I found was well worth it.

Evie and Dan are both part of a solid group of friends who enjoy getting together and celebrating occasions. There was alot of heart in these dynamics. Their friends are also not afraid to call each other out on what others might be afraid to admit. From 2013 to 2021 and then 2022, there is alot of growth in all of these characters and I loved how real these friendships felt to me as a reader. I wanted to be friends with them going to the bar and trivia night and celebrating their weddings.

The holiday season paints a beautiful backdrop for The Mistletoe Pact. It is not necessarily the primary focus but is still a nice detail. The locations of England and Vegas also paint a beautiful picture of where the story is taking place and the distances between the characters. Even though Evie and Dan had a distance between them, they always felt connected. And this connection was so heartwarming to read and will bring joy to those who love slow burn friendships turned romances like me.

**Rating: 4.5 Stars

I had to put this one down and did not finish about half way through the book. I found myself not wanting to read it at all, so need to move on. The story itself felt like it had a lot of potential. It’s a “beat friends brother” trope, which I don’t mind. But the writing was just not good. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it at first but realized SO MUCH is over-explained that it turns paragraphs and dialogue into a confusing jumbled mess. The dialogue was also not great. I think it was supposed to come off as quirky, but just came off as stilted and off. It’s possible I will come back to this at a later time, but I’m not quite sure.

I really enjoyed this book! It is a short book but for some reason it took me awhile to get through it. Maybe I got too distracted with all the descriptions.

Anyway, I really love seeing Evie and Dan's romance blossomed. I had a good laugh with how their Mistletoe Pact happened in Vegas when they were drunk. It also pained me seeing Evie fall in and our of love with other guys that doesn't compare to how she truly felt for Dan. I also like how Dan was fast to say that he would be there for his daughter no matter what. That alone shows how great of a person he would be.

I love how this book doesn't only focuses on romance between two people but also friendship and family. I love how they talked about the affair and the accident that Dan though he did and was not actually to blame.

Overall, it is such a good book and would most likely pick up another book by this author.

Enjoy the holidays with a new book. The Mistletoe Pact by Jo Lovett will get you in the holiday spirits;. Happy Reading!

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher ~ Thank you ~ !! This is my honest and personal review.

1.5 stars

This book was tiring to read.
I thought it would be a quick Christmas read, but it wasn't.
The first thing I didn't like about this book was how it was structured, I think the back and forth between the past and the future didn't work for me, as I already knew that in the future they weren't together it just made the past boring to read.
I think if the author had left it in chronological order it would be less boring reading.
The second thing I didn't like was our main characters, I thought Evie was boring, she knows from the beginning that she has a crush on Dan but still insists on having other relationships while comparing the guys to Dan all the time, besides Nothing in her relationships are good enough, she always manages to find something bad about them which with Dan is perfect, after you read this in all her relationships it gets tiring and irritating.
Dan, I didn't like it either, his problems are relevant but I didn't like how they were solved, since he made everything so difficult and in the end, everything was solved with a conversation, I also didn't like his plot with Hannah (I won't give any more details because of spoilers) I thought it was unnecessary and didn't add anything to the story other than unnecessary drama.
In the end, I didn't like the story not even the Christmas vibe managed to save this book for me.

Very repetitive and predictable. Spent the entire book basically saying the same thing, I like him but he can’t know and therefore we won’t be together and same for him to her. No one moved forward or changed as characters at all.

While I enjoyed the Mistletoe Pact and it's premise, the book seemed to drag out the "will they-won't they" plot for longer than necessary. It was almost to the point of not caring if the two got together. I loved the jumps back into the past, but the dragging out of the almost relationship was too much for me.

This is exactly what I was looking for in a breezy Christmas read. I would highly recommend Jo Lovett and would buy a future book.

A Christmas Rom Com--Dan and Evie made a pact, and accidentally follow through on it. Cozy British holiday vibes with a Vegas quickie wedding thrown in the mix.

The premise is cute but lacked connection and Christmas magic.
It was a very slow slow burn that felt long and drawn out and the lack of ability to communicate between the two 30-something year old characters made me so frustrated and annoyed. I wish we got deeper into the relationship but lacked the depth to actually get invested. Cute story and I like the dual perspectives of the friends to complicated lovers story.

🌲 Synopsis: Evie has had a secret crush on Dan, her best friend’s older brother, for as long as she can remember. Dan has increasingly had eyes for Evie. Then they make a pact to marry each other on Evie’s 30th birthday if they’re both still single. It’s a joke, but also sealed with a very real kiss. Then, while very drunk on Evie’s 30th, they find their way to a chapel in Vegas and wake up massively confused about their feelings. They both like the other, but marriage?! The risk of getting hurt is high and both have parental issues they don’t want to repeat.

❤️ Pros: Told through both the male and female perspective, this friends-to-lovers-but-it’s-complicated romance felt very real. The character development is fantastic. The closed door romance is a slow burn that also includes a strong focus on family relationships. This added element gave both leading characters great depth.

❄️ Cons: The timeline starts on Christmas Eve 2021 and moves forward from there with dated chapters to guide the reader on the story timeline and perspective. There are flashbacks throughout, so the dates are helpful, but the story (not the epilogue) ends December 2022 and it felt very strange to be reading a story set in the future. Nothing was futuristic besides the needed progression of the story arc, so the dates were a distraction. Another trip for me was the use of quite a few colloquial British terms. Some were standard (crisps vs chips) but many were not (marquee vs large tent for events; funfair vs carnival; and dodgems vs bumper cars). Learning these new-to-me British terms slowed my reading and took my focus from the story.

🧣 Verdict: This was a sweet, character-driven holiday romance. Enough took place outside of Christmas that it would be enjoyable other times of year too. Overall, this was good and sweet. Not my absolute favorite, but good.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Thanks to @NetGalley and @Bookouture for the free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The Mistletoe Pact is out now!

I loved the premise but not sold on the execution. I think a lot of my issues came down to the pacing and the lack of communication! I would try something else by this author though!

I am new to Christmas themed books this year and this was my second - after the first one was so good, I worried this would not be able to live up to it, but it was brilliant!!!

We start in Vegas where Dan and Evie have spent the night before Evie's birthday getting drunk, married and having sex! The problem is that they were not an item, in fact Dan is Evie's best friends brother but they had made a pact years before that should they both still be single on Evie's birthday, then they would get married.

The rest of the story flicks between time zones and the perspectives of both Dan and Evie in their journey to become a couple. This was the perfect Christmas feelgood story that had twists and turns along the way - one minute you find yourself screaming for them to get together and the next telling them not to bother. Intertwined in the main story are several mini stories belonging to other characters which are equally as satisfying and have the happy ever after vibe.

The book itself is very easy to read albeit a little cheesy in some places (you expect that from this type of book though don't you?!). Although some of the story is set at Christmas, I wouldn't necessarily say that it is only to be read at Christmas, it can be read anytime. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't imagine anyone not.

Many thanks to Netgalley for a free copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

I really like the premise and the flashbacks that this book used to tell it’s story. I do wish that the main characters relationship would have had more of a build up (beefed up with more details and moments) as I think I would have felt more vested in the story.

It felt like I was reading a Hallmark movie, but honestly missed the actual sparkle that reminded me it was happening at Christmastime! Regardless, a fun read but I was grateful it ended when it needed to.

Wow…. This book completely engulfed me from the start. Who doesn’t love a Christmas rom-com!! You’ll cry but most importantly you’ll laugh!!! Truly a feel good novel everyone to enjoy. Love it !!!!

While this was a cute story, it took me a long time to get through it. I've read other books by Jo Lovett and really enjoyed them, and the synopsis of the book made me think I was going to love this one, but there was something missing.

I felt the book dragged a bit, and without giving spoilers, there were parts of the book that left me asking why and wanting to shake sense into Evie and Dan. In the end I enjoyed the book, but I didn't love it.

This won't deter me from reading more books from this author, but after reading The House Swap I just feel this one was lacking for me.

Thanks to NetGaley and bookouture for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.

What a darling book! Never did I think I would end up reading a cute little love story where the two love interests were named after my husband and his favourite cat, but here we are!
The book opens with one of our MCs Evie waking up hungover in a tacky Vegas hotel, only to realize she has married her forever crush And best friends brother, Dan. They had a fallback pact, their Mistletoe Pact, to get married if Evie was still single on her thirtieth birthday, although this is not how she never hoped or dreamed such a relationship would transpire. What follows is a back and forth of Evie and Dan years before their marriage, after and just how stubborn the two of them are with revealing their feelings for one another. Beautiful characters and a very tastefully done closed door romance!

This book drove me insane, but in the best way that only a THEY BELONG TOGETHER, romance novel can do.

Evie and Dan make a pact one Christmas Eve that they'll get married on her 30th birthday if they're both still single. Then she is...and then do...but they STILL mess it up.

Ugh, it was so frustrating and made me devour the pages until they got their HEA.

The Mistletoe Pact is a sweet holiday story that’s great for reading next to a cozy fire. This book was a light, fluffy read, and though I felt like it was more verbose than it needed to be, the general plot was cute. The lack of communication between the two main characters was super frustrating, but made the end worth it!

Really cute book with flash backs from the past that help shape and show how the characters have made it to this point. Evie and Dan are both from a small village in England. Evie is searching for security and stability in a relationship after growing up with a single mom whose track record of men was dismal. Dan is unsure relationships are truly worth they pain they may cause after his father has had affairs most of his life.
After a drunk wedding in Vegas, they are left figuring out what they really want in life.

I really liked this book, it was an easy read and you could see the both sides of the story.