2.5*

I feel bad, the last few books I've read for review haven't really worked for me, and unfortunately neither has this one.

We follow Dan and Evie, best friends who accidentally got married while drunk in Vegas right before the story kicks off. We meet them the morning after, and while all sorts of awkward hilarious shenanigans should ensue, instead we don't really get much.

And that's kind of my general review for this story, it isn't giving much. I never became emotionally invested in any of it. Possibly because we didn't get to open with the actual wedding, which would have been amazing had we started the novel off thinking they were madly in love and it was great, only to be thrown an immediate curve ball and find out it was only because they were drunk in Vegas. But that is besides the point. The point is, I didn't care about what happened. At no point was I drawn in routing for one thing to happen, or another. I didn't care who ended up with who or what obstacles got in the way, because something was missing from the writing that gave the book emotional stakes.

I dunno, maybe I'm wrong, but it felt like everyone in ththe book was boring, which led to more disinterest while reading it.

Hopefully nobody else agrees with me and I'm just picky! Thank you to Netgalley and publishers for offering me a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book... and talk about a slow burnnnnnnnn. I love books told in dual perspectives like this one and love that it is told over the course of 10 plus years flipping back and forth between the past and present (it really pushes the character development and story up that much more). I'd definitely recommend this one for a rom-com lover looking for a sweet story to read over Christmas.

A lovely romance story with a splash of humor and characters you can easily fall in love with. I can't wait to read more by jo.

The Mistletoe Pact is a story of two people Evie and Dan that make a pact that if they are both single by the time they are 30, they will marry each other!

The book opens in present day where Evie wakes up in Vegas and is married to Dan but doesn't remember what happened the night before. It sounded like a cute and funny, if not predictable plot line, but unfortunately this one wasn't a winner for me.

The writing felt a little immature at times and the characters were not the most lovable.

Thank you Netgalley for the change to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was absolutely adorable! I loved this story and had to read it again when I finished. Perfect for the holiday season, it will warm your heart and make you so happy! A beautiful story with a strong heroine. I couldn't put this down!

Two young idiots get drunk and make a pact to marry each other at thirty if they are both still single. When Evie turns thirty she just so happens to be in Vegas when her friends brother Dan turns up. Two slightly older idiots get absolutely smashed and decide to make good on their pact, get hitched and have a night of good hot loving’. This is all fine until the next morning with the hangover to end all hangovers and a giant case of the fear.
What follows is a trail through time documenting how Evie and Dan got to this point when both of them have always fancied each other rotten but never done anything about it. It takes aaaaaaages, literally years, for them to admit they are hot for one another and always have been. Even after all the Vegas sex. I’ve read a few books like this recently, and I’m not a huge fan of this format. It takes much of the narrative tension out of the plot and is fairly frustrating. However it was a sweet story and I liked the characters and the family groups. Evie’s mother in particular. And it all worked out in the end hooray.

The cutest!
One of my favorite holiday reads!
I loved the banter and the character development throughout this book.
Awh my heart!

Lovely festive book that jogged along gently. I have to say it didn't pack a huge amount of punch with things being as clear as they were, but it was lovely nonetheless.

Evie and Dan make a pact that if they are single at age 30 they will get married. They go to Vegas with friends and get married while very drunk. They end up getting an annulment which I found disappointing honestly. They both have feelings for each other but literally years go by and they never tell the other person. Evie is best friends with Dan’s sister, Sasha, and she worries that will mess up her friendships if the relationship doesn’t work out. Dan is afraid to have a relationship fail like his parents.

The story is told from both POVs which I did like and it also flashed back and forth over several years. It was just so slow and felt like it would never end. I was frustrated with the lack of communication between the characters and I was over it by the end. There were a few side stories, with Dan in particular, that I felt were not beneficial to the story.

I was looking forward to a Christmas read but this one fell a little short for me overall and was not Christmasy enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC for a honest review.

A nice little young adult novel just like a hallmark movie. Perfect for the holidays and to give your soul some holiday cheer and romance.

I loved this book and think I’ve found a new favourite author, certainly one I’ll be looking out for in the future. Loveable characters and a lovely but predictable storyline ( I love this type of story) I liked how the story is told from two perspectives and is set both in the now and over previous years. Perfect for reading at any time of year but especially in the colder months and run up to the festive season. Highly recommended and think it would make a great festive film.

My Best Friend’s Wedding vibes in this cute story of second chance love and all the complications that come with it!

This book helped me break my reading drought and I'm so GLAD. This was such a sweet and romantic book. It gave me all the holiday feels and left me with a book hangover. So good!

I wanted to love this one so much. The cover is adorable and the story started off really strong. However, the extreme quickness to divorce/annul the mistake "marriage" didn't match with the sweet flashbacks to when the main characters had agreed to it in the first place. I loved the sweetness of that moment and I felt like it didn't match the abrupt change of character in the future. I would have loved to have seen more of the backstory and feelings rather than the odd avoidance to talk about things. All that said, I will definitely encourage others to check it out!

I was very excited for this book as Christmas is my favorite holiday and I live for romance books. However, I was a little let down. I understand that rom-com books have a predictable story line and going in, we know the main characters will fall in love. But this plot has been done before. The two main characters make a promise that if they aren't married by age 30, they will marry each other. Then they wake up in vegas and they are married. I was let down by this idea of everyone getting married in Vegas and not remembering. It also seemed so similar to my best friends wedding.

I was expecting a cute cliched holiday romance, instead I got a slice of life story about a long term friendship and two people who are afraid to cross over the lines and bare their honest feelings. The novel takes place over a year after the Vegas incident which left me a little frustrated with these two. Overall cute and lovely a solid 3.5 star read, with well built characters who you ultimately root for.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review #TheMistletoePact #NetGalley.

A little easy read that was quick to get through. Kind of not what I was expecting because I really do love Christmassy books and movies that are more stylised to hallmark in the lifetime but nonetheless a quick read that gives you the feels thats perfect for getting cosy on a cold night with a hot cup of cocoa

This was a light easy read. Which I needed.
Although I did enjoy this enough. I also felt a little bored towards the end.
The whole book is just Evie and Dan avoiding being honest with each other about their feelings. Which dragged a little by the end.
Im not 100% sure I really saw the chemistry between them. I just wanted them to be honest about their feelings.
I didn't dislike them or anything but I just would have liked something more. Especially as its basically set over a year.

Enjoyable, but not what I was expecting in a Christmas romance. Maybe it's because I'm very much a Hallmark rom-com girl.

The main characters, Evie and Dan, were and had a pretty sweet relationship, if not a bit rushed, so I could have used a little more development so that the ending didn't feel so ... incomplete and unsatisfying, if the Christmas magic touch is what you are looking for.

Even though it’s 60 degrees in New England, I’m kicking off the Christmas romance reading season today. Halloween is over- let’s get Christmassy!!!

The Mistletoe Pact by Jo Lovett is a low steam, friends-to-lovers romance taking place over the span of 8 years. On Christmas Eve and her 22nd birthday, Evie makes a pact with her best friend’s brother, Dan that they will marry on her 30th birthday. Fast forward to Vegas 2021 when the two shitfaced friends get married and have (sadly) closed door sex. The book actually starts on the morning after their marriage/hookup and proceeds in present time and in a series of flashbacks. While I enjoyed the present day storyline the flashbacks dragged at points and didn’t offer a whole lot other than showing us how much Evie and Dan crushed on each other for years. At times I found the characters lack of communication frustrating, but overall liked the cast of characters and all of the right friendships of the little English Village where they grew up.

This is a cute, chaste romance. And while it takes place over many Christmases, it isn’t exclusively a Christmas story. I’d recommend it to anyone who loves a friend to lovers romance with a side of Hallmark movie.

Smut- 1.9 stars
Romance- 4 stars (lots of HEAs in this one)
Story- 3.8 stars
“Marriage Pact” trope- 5 stars (does this ever happen in real life?! Bc it should).