This Molly the Maid holiday novella is a must for any fans of Nita Prose's series! It is best enjoyed with a hot chocolate in front of a fire with Christmas music playing in the background. While it was short, it was a sweet addition to her series and will hold me over until her next book comes out in April! ❤️💚 Thank you to NetGalley and Ms. Prose for the opportunity to review an advance copy of this book.

This is the first book I’ve read in this series. I do have a copy of “The Maid” and after not having the read that book, I can still say that this story wasn’t hard to follow. This was a short and easy read, but I will say that the ending was very obvious from the beginning. And after I figured out the ending, I found myself losing a bit of interest as I continued to read. Each moment (like Molly catching Juan Manuel outside of someone’s room and her granddad talking about the Claddagh ring) solidified my guess about the end. I still felt happy about the ending, but wished there weren’t as many obvious clues to what was going to happen. All that aside, reading this made me want to read “The Maid” as I’m interested in the progression of Molly and Juan Manuel’s relationship.

Molly is determined it will be a merry Christmas despite her doubts on her boyfriend, Juan Manuel, occasional challenging coworkers and missing her Gran. While the specifics may differ from our own lives, the fact that life is still life despite the music and decor makes this relatable. Molly invites us to walk beside her as she carries on, learning valuable lessons along the way and we do too.
The novella length makes it a perfect fit to start and finish between your holiday to do list.
Can’t wait for more from Nita Prose!

#TheMistletoeMystery #NetGalley
It was ok.
Molly Gray has always loved the holidays. When Molly was a child, her gran went to great lengths to make the season merry and bright, full of cherished traditions. The first few Christmases without Gran were hard on Molly, but this year, her beloved boyfriend and fellow festive spirit, Juan Manuel, is intent on making the season Molly’s mofinst joyful yet. But when a Secret Santa gift exchange at the Regency Grand Hotel raises questions about who Molly can and cannot trust, she dives headfirst into solving her most consequential—and personal—mystery yet. Molly has a bad feeling about things, and she starts to wonder: has she yet again mistaken a frog for a prince?
Don't expect much from Molly Gray. I'm tired of this character. When will this series end?
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group Vallentine Bantam for giving me an advance copy.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of The Mistletoe Mystery in exchange for my honest review.

Cute story....as usual, Molly is caught up in a mystery but doesn't always read the clues accurately!

Quick read and enjoyable. No death but a mysterious boyfriend who is sneaking around. I enjoy Nita Prose writing and look forward to another Molly the Maid book

Molly the Maid is back in this adorable Christmas themed novella. Surrounded by all the Regency Grand characters we’ve come to know and love, Molly finds herself at the center of a holiday mystery.

Nita Prose’s latest addition to the Molly Chronicles is predictable and sweeter than sugar, but it’s perfectly suited to the holiday season. There’s no “bah humbug” here; simply plenty of good cheer.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

Christmas has always been one of Molly’s favorite holidays but it has been tough without all the magical moments Gran would make it. Now that Juan is part of Molly’s life, he is doing his best to take Gran’s place and it seems to be helping.

The Charlie Brown tree is up, the advent calendar has all kinds of surprises, Secret Santa have been selected, the Regency Grand Hotel is all gussied up and the employee Christmas party is quickly approaching. But something is just not right and Juan has been acting a tad strange.

So, what could it be? Well, you will just have to pick up The Mistletoe Mystery on October 1, 2024 to find out how Molly the Maid solves this little mystery … or will she?

Nita Prose has created such a likable little character in Molly .. she is quirky, charming and to-the-point – you cannot help but love Molly and Juan too.

Thank you, Nina Prose, Random House Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc and to PRH Audio for the audiobook

I want to start out by saying that while this book is part of The Maid series, it is not necessary to read this book in order to follow the rest of the series. Essentially this book is a Christmas/holiday present for fans of this series.

I will start out by saying that this book is extremely predictable. The cover practically gives the story away. So this book wouldn't win any awards for creativity. If you are simply a mystery fan, I am sure you will be annoyed by this. Thankfully, I am also a huge fan of romance, so I didn't necessarily mind how predictable this book was. I thought it was a cute romance, but found it hard to catergorize this book as a mystery because of the predictable nature of this book.

Still if you are a Maid fan who enjoys romance, this book is a nice present for the holiday season and for Maid fans. However, if you are here for the mystery consider this a warning to possibly skip this book and wait for the 3rd book to come out. (this book is #2.5)

Lauren Ambrose does an amazing job once again bringing Molly's book to life.

I will rate this book four stars because I enjoyed it, but it should probably only get 2 stars for the mystery part realistically

2 ⭐️ Sweet little novella about Molly Gray from The Maid series and her boyfriend Juan Manuel. I was expecting so much more.

It’s a Christmas story with not much happening. I enjoy Molly’s and Juan’s relationship and the writing is good, but the plot is lacking for anyone expecting a mystery or much of anything.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine books for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

This novella was a nice little holiday add-on to the Maid stories. I listened to the books and really loved the narration, so I definitely missed it while reading this one. If you love Molly the maid and want a little more from her story, add this to your holiday TBR!

🎄🔎 BOOK REVIEW! [e-ARC]🔍🎄

The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose
Genre: cozy mystery, novella
Length: 128 pages
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this novella. The opinions stated here are solely my own.

Synopsis:
It's the Christmas season and Molly the maid is spending her 5th year celebrating it with Juan Manuel, the pastry chef at their hotel, The Regency Grand. The spirits are bright and all seems right in their lives until the hotel's Secret Santa gift exchange provides something of a Christmas mystery for Molly. Molly notices Juan Manuel sneaking around and can't help feel that something is amiss. Can she figure out what he is hiding in time for their Secret Santa party??

Opinion:
I loved this short little holiday installment with Molly, Juan Manuel, and company. It honestly felt like a warm hug. Molly has such a unique, honest, and kind heart, and it is always a joy to hear her thoughts, especially when she recalls words of wisdom from her gran. Part of what I love about the maid books is how all the supporting characters play a role in Molly's life and how she learns that she truly has friends and a found family that love her! This novella definitely got me excited for Christmas (I'm usually ready by mid-October haha) and it is definitely worth reading. Just wait until you find out what the mystery was about!!

A little predictable, but overall a cute little Christmas story. Was happy that I got to read this because I love Molly as a character!!

A sweet Molly Christmas mystery. Molly is so happy with Juan, but as Christmas comes, she misconstrues much that is going on around her. The hotel staff is all there, and the novella brought tears to my eyes. Now we must wait until April for the next book.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the EARC. Thanks to the author for the Christmas gift.

This was a cute entertaining read. The mystery was not super mysterious, but if you are a fan of the characters, you'll love the story.

I had high hopes for this novella, give Nina Prose’s previous work it everything about the Mistletoe Mystery falls flat.

The holidays, with all of their traditions, are always a time of reflection. This holiday season, Molly Gray, as she spends another wonderful year with her beloved Juan Manuel, is thinking heavily about their traditions. Ones they've kept from when her Gran was still alive and new ones that they've made for themselves.

The holiday season is also busy, and nowhere moreso than at the Regency Grand Hotel where they're preparing for a Secret Santa party for the employees. Soon, though, all the secrets have her wondering what else those she's closest to are keeping from her. Everywhere she looks, there seems to be more and more questions with no good answers. Worst of all, she begins to question Juan Manuel and with every suspicious thing he does, does this mean it's the beginning of the end of their relationship?

I rather enjoyed this quick novella set around a year after events in Book 2 of the series. The holiday setting is perfect and Juan Manuel plays a bigger part which is nice considering he was a very minor character in Book 2. I liked seeing the state of their relationship and was completely floored when Molly talks about them being together for several years now. Meaning, apparently the first book took place somewhere like 5+ years ago which apparently boggles my mind!

While I'm not going to say too much about this one, I will say that it's pretty easy to figure out what is going on, but I think that's kind of part of the charm of this particular story; being in on the secret while Molly tries desperately to figure it out in the way that Molly has figured out every other mystery she's found herself embroiled in thus far although with a much different outcome.

A nice start to the upcoming holiday season. Perfect for fans of the series already.

This was a short, fun novella set in the Regency Grand Hotel where all the other maid mysteries have preceded it.

Christmas is here once again and Molly and her beloved Juan Manuel are looking forward to celebrating their fifth festive season together. Molly is especially missing her gran this time of year and bits of her advice often echo in her mind as she preps for Christmas.

A shadow over the season is Juan Manuel looks more tired than usual and seems to be disappearing mysteriously all the time. Molly's analytical mind tells her he adores her and she has nothing to fear but her gran's cautions about men and good/bag eggs haunt her memories.

Molly tries to see the best in things but she is dreadfully fearful of losing her beloved. The mystery is, where is Juan disappearing to and what is the motive? Read to find out.

I adored this book because it gave us a glimpse into the prim and proper Molly's fun side. Her adorable traditions and Juan's infectious festive cheer make this a delightful short holiday read.

Many thanks to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Molly & Juan Manuel are gearing up for another Christmas season together, a season Molly loved so much when her Gran was alive. However, this year Juan Manuel is disappearing a lot & making excuses for his absences. Is Juan Manuel cheating on Molly? Molly soon learns the truth in a Christmas surprise.

This was a cute short story with a happy ending. A nice taste to the holidays.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine books for the ARC of The Mistletoe Mystery.

Molly the maid is back! I really enjoyed getting to read more of Molly’s and Juan’s relationship. It’s a cute Christmas romcom and not the usual Molly mystery. It’s predictable but also a quick and fun read!

4 stars!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.