***3.5 ⭐️***

Reilly and her sister run a home staging business and are passionate in their job. Every year, they book a Christmas vacation to celebrate the holiday. This year, Reilly books a trip to Mistletoe Lake and meets a man, his daughter, and their boat, a mainstay of the little town. Through financial concerns and the threat of change to their town, Reilly fights the sale of their boat and ends up falling in love with them all.

The cast of characters is wholesome and saccharine, and the boat acts as an anchor for them all.

Overall, not a bad read from an actor, film director, and author.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
The storyline for this book is set around a boat and the harbour in the lake. The characters are pleasant, gentle and straightforward and the love story developed very quickly. There were some odd phrases: 'knock-down, drag-out twelve-round bout' when Reilly had a poor night's sleep, and 'farmer-like' referring to Edward's morning characteristics. It was only to be expected that the ending would be happy but I thought the overall tone of this short novel was too schmaltzy as it lacked realism.

This is a good book. The two main characters are Reilly and Ray. Reilly is a home stager, who has come to the Mistletoe Lake Festival. Ray is a father, runs a general store and owns a boat. There is an instant attraction when they meet. Reilly can not find a place to stay, there is nothing available. Ray offers to let her stay on his boat. They go on dates. They each have issues but together they work them out and fall in love.

Christmas on Mistletoe Lake by Robin Dunne

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

Blurb

Every Christmas, Reilly Shore picks a random spot on the map and takes a trip. This year, that destination is the cottage country town of Mistletoe Lake. When she arrives, she discovers the town’s lone B&B is chock-full due to Mistletoe Lake’s annual Christmas Harbor Festival when all the boats docked along the water are decorated with festive lights.

When twelve-year-old Emma invites Reilly to stay on her dad’s boat, she learns that Emma’s dad, Ray Mitchell, is the only boat owner on Mistletoe Lake who isn't participating in the harbor festival. In fact, he’s in the process of trying to sell the boat. As the possibility of the sale saddens Emma, she enlists Reilly’s help to convince Ray to enter the festival so they can have one last perfect Christmas on the picturesque lake.

Reilly doesn't know she's about to meet someone who is as romantically adrift as she is. And she certainly doesn't expect to fall in love...or to unintentionally betray him. Christmas is a time for forgiveness, but Ray doesn't seem to be in a forgiving mood.

My Opinion

This is a short and sweet read. Perfect as a festive read. This is another heart-warming small town Christmas tale. The only thing that has been constant in Reilly's life is the perfect Christmas, can she help Emma and Ray have their perfect Christmas?

Rating 4/5

Reilly took turn with her sister to pick out where and how they will celebrate their Christmas.this yer she chooses Mistletoe Lake. Upon arrival, she found herself without accommodation. She met Emma who invited her to stay on her father, Ray’s boat. There is an annual harbor festival which was started by Ray’s father and he is the only boat owner on Mistletoe Lake not participating in the festival. In fact he is in the process of trying to sell the boat. Emma is sad with the sale and knowing Reilly’s expertise in staging houses, she enlist her help to convince Ray to enter the festival for the last time.


This story set in a beautiful small town with close knit community. Both Ray and Reilly met co-incidentally and are relatable to each other. Really like the interesting characters and story was well written. Overall, it is a cozy and sweet read to me.

*review post scheduled to be posted on my blog on 24/4/23*

You can really picture the scene at Mistletoe Lake ad it feels as though you are there in the plot. Lovely Christmas read, worth 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

I didn’t realise it was based on a tv movie, but it was festive enough! I enjoyed the plot and it was a quick good read.

Reilly Shore​ just picks a random spot on the map every Christmas to go on a trip. This year the spot is Mistletoe Lake​, a sweet small country town. She arrives only to discover the B&B in town is fully booked because of Mistletoe Lake’s annual ​Christmas Harbor Festival. All the boats docked along the water are decorated with festive lights.

A twelve year-old girl named Emma ​invites Reilly to stay on her dad’s boat. It's not without reason, as Reilly soon discovers. Ray Mitchell, Emma's father, is the only boat owner on Mistletoe Lake who won't take part in the harbor festival. He even wants to sell the boat. Emma is sad about the sell and she needs Reilly’s help to convince Ray to enter into the festival so they can have one last perfect Christmas on the beautiful lake.

Reilly and Ray are both troubled and romance seems impossible but then she falls for him anyway. Unfortunately bad things happen and she unintentionally betrays him. Ray isn't planning on forgiving her any time soon. Even though Christmas is all about forgiving. Can Reilly fix it and help Emma get her perfect Christmas?

All the ingredients for a perfect Christmas feelgood are here: Ofcourse it was that time of the year. There is a very sweet and beautiful small town, the people are close and organize many things together, such as the annual harbor festival. We have a troubled dad, trying to raise his daughter as well as he can, who feels this town not as it used to be, with too many tourists it's losing it's magic, or so he feels. Emma is the sweetest girl. She is out on a mission to make Christmas perfect and see her dad happy again. Reilly is not so happy herself. Alone after a long-term relationship, her job is not making her happy either. You just hope from page one that Reilly finds love and happiness with Ray and Emma tries to help but as it usually goes with kids, it often backfires. I was rooting for them that they would overcome the misunderstandings and be happy together.
This story reads as the movie it comes from. You can feel it was a script first but that didn't bother me one bit. It really loved the plot and the characters are heartwarming. The ending was perfect to make this an ideal Christmas small town feelgood story.

Robin Dunne started acting in 1998, with the blockbuster The Big Hit. He starred in many other feature films, series and television work, often as writer/producer as well. In 2021 he directed the Lifetime Movie Of the Week Christmas on Mistletoe Lake from his own script. Robin partnered with Vinspire Publishing to write the novelization of the film. Mistletoe Lake is his first novel.

This was read as part of my Christmas reading marathon (over 2 months) and it didn’t stand out from the many that I read.

It was a very predictable romance, guaranteed happy ever after, with no real depth given to the characters involved. Along with a lack of comedy/humour, which I find often enhances a romance, it just lacked the oomph needed to make it a nice, solid 3 star read.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I adored this intelligent, funny, sweeping romantic romance. A setting g to die for and well developed characters make this a must read.

Every Christmas since she was little, Reilly and her sister took turns choosing where they would spend Christmas. This year, the destination is Mistletoe Lake. Reilly arrives on the outskirts of town and spots the motel where she has made a reservation but decides to cancel. Unbeknownst to her, there are no other rooms available in town due to the annual Christmas Harbor Festival.

Reilly receives an invitation from twelve-year-old Emily to stay on her father’s boat in the harbor, the only boat not decorated for the festival. Emily’s dad, Ray, doesn’t seem overly keen with the idea since he’s getting ready to sell the boat, but agrees that Emily is able to stay there until the boat is sold. Emma, with the help of Reilly, does her best to convince Ray they should decorate the boat one last time.

Reilly doesn’t plan on falling in love, but she also doesn’t plan on one of her clients showing up in town with an agenda of his own.

This was a great novel to get in the spirit of the season and reiterate that sometimes things happen when you least expect them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Vinspire Publishing for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel. #NetGalley #ChristmasonMistletoeLake

Special thanks to NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy - I absolutely adored this book from start to finish! It was a wonderful feel good happy ending kind of book. Highly recommend!

This was a great story that I really enjoyed. I read the book in one sitting as it was that good it was hard to put down. I really loved the storyline. It was both fun and very interesting. The book was very well written, and there was plenty going on to keep my attention throughout. I really liked the characters they were interesting, realistic, and very easy to connect with. The story developed well, and I loved the ending it was very satisfying and felt complete. I definitely recommend reading this book as it definitely made me feel happy.

So much praise goes out to the author and publishers for creating this very interesting story that I just couldn't put down. I will definitely be looking out for more books by this fantastic author.

The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog today https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/christmas-on-mistletoe-lake-by-robin-s-dunne-vinspire-publishing-4-stars either under my name or ladyreading365

This was a sweet, cozy Christmas book. I wanted to visit and stay at Mistletoe Lake. Loved the characters in the book. Highly recommend!

This was such a sweet story! Perfect for a cozy Christmas read. Ray and Reilly’s starts and ends so sweetly. I especially loved Emma and her inquisitiveness and scheming to help the relationship move along a little faster. Another small town Christmas story with all the holiday feels.

A quick and easy Christmas romance story. Enjoyed this one and helped put me in the Christmas mood. Grab a mug of hot chocolate and curl up in a blanket with this one. Would recommend.

Reilly is searching for an authentic Christmas holiday experience. When she stumbles upon Mistletoe Lake and meets some of the locals, she begins to question her reasons for being there.

This is a very predictable, romantic, happy ever after. The author is used to writing screen plays and I think this shows in the book. It’s very short and there is very little character development. I can see it working as a made for TV film but in a book I’d like to find out more about the characters.

The book left some unanswered questions. If the festival is so important to the family, why have they not entered for several years? What was Edward’s motivation for making the decision he did at the end?

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Five Star Hallmark Christmas Story! Christmas on Mistletoe Lake is an idealic small town setting. With the right blend of modern and nostalgic. Reily, Ray, and Emma are lovable characters that you are rooting for from the moment you meet them. If you are looking for a feel good, book with all the joy of the holidays pick this up! You will be delighted!

A cute quick read, set in a Christmas loving town, it was heartwarming, sweet and had the happy ending. a good book to get you in the festive spirit

Requisite ubiquitous small town Christmas. Sad but Christmas-loving world-traveler arrives in said small town for the holidays. Flannel-wearing hometown love interest enters, happily ever after ensues. For a little twist, this one involves boats.

I did really enjoy the main character's fun holiday earrings!