There’s Something About Merry

I’m currently reading all mistletoe romance novels and have found them enjoyable so far. I loved this book so much more than Nick and Noel’s story.

For anyone that loves small town romances with a single dad attempting online dating, told in dual perspective, then this might be one for you!

The story follows Merry (the sister of Nick from the first book), who has returned to Mistletoe to focus on one day taking over the family’s Christmas Tree business. She feels like her dad doesn’t trust her and that’s why he hired Clark as the foreman to handle operations. Merry’s family has taken Clark and his son in and welcomed them like family.

Both Clark and Merry admit to each other that they both liked each other in high school, but never acted on it. They both wonder if they missed their chance. Each of them decide to put themselves out there by trying internet dating, though don’t actually see if their growing friendship could turn into more.

Clark was such a sweetheart and the way he was with his son was just heartwarming! I liked how this story focused on family and the acceptance that family isn’t always blood related. I really empathised with his situation as a single father and when he said he’d never been in love as he never had the opportunity.

Merry was a very likeable character too! Her random voodoo plushie for her friend, that ends up being her own personal business idea was entertaining. Her interactions with Clark’s son was sweet. I enjoyed her perspective and how she was a smart, independent person.

So many funny and adorable moments! Great rom com for the merry season! There is a small amount of 🌶️🌶️

Nick and Noel's Christmas Playlist

If you're a lover of small-town romances, fake dating and friends to lovers tropes then this is for you!

We are introduced to Nick who has returned from serving in the army and coming home early to surprise his family. Noel his best friend, has lost her parents at a young age and Nick's family took her in. Nick is looking forward to seeing his girlfriend Amber but is met with an unexpected break up. Noel, all his friends and family start letting him know they didn't like Amber all that much. Amber is onto the next guy when Nick decides to go to local pub to catch up with friends. Noel, in an attempt to make Amber jealous, starts flirting and kissing Nick. And this is where the feelings start coming up for both of them. Can they really be more? Noel has been closed off ever since her parents died and hasn't let anyone in. Will she get hurt if she pursues a relationship? Is it even something that she wants?

I enjoyed the dual perspective in this story and both MCs. There are quite a few side characters and I liked each of their personalities. Amber was always going to be a problem and the rivalry between her and Noel was fun to read. I was looking forward to what snarky comments they were going to make to one another. Nick was just an all-round nice guy and I loved how he would help anyone if needed. The trauma of Noel's past was a good focal point of the story. As she faced her fears, she really started thinking about what she wanted in life and how closed off she had been. It was stopping her from truly pursuing something deep and meaningful. Accepting that her parents would have wanted her to be happy was such a major step, which I think Nick really understood and supported her in.

Looking forward to the other books in this series

For anyone that has suffered a loss of a parent and may have an annoying and/or manipulative ex, these are the trigger warnings I can think of.

The Stand-In

This book was all over audible when I first joined. It is also available now in written format in paperback or e-book. I was flipping between the two to see how each would fare and thought either one works well.

We are introduced to Gracie who is sexually harassed by her boss Todd and takes a sick day to seek a lawyer for advice. The lawyer asks why she didn’t approach HR first and she mentions that she didn’t think it was a good avenue to explore. After the meeting she grabs a coffee at a local cafe and notices photographers snapping her photo. She doesn’t think too much of it.

Gracie gets to work the next day and Todd knows she wasn’t really sick, showing her the photos of her from the paparazzi mistaking her for international famous actress Wei Fangli. She gets fired and this starts some stress and worry. Gracie is wanting to get her mum into a good nursing home as she is being cared for her Alzheimers. In comes Wei Fangli with an offer of a lifetime. Can Gracie stand-in for Fangli at public events? Since the paparazzi already mistook her, it could work. Fangli’s closest friend and pretend boyfriend Sam Yao (also internally famous for acting) thinks it’s a bad idea. Gracie really wants the money to help her mum and decides what’s the harm in pretending to be famous for awhile?

I loved that we had representation in this book. The MC is biracial and so is the author. The concept of the book was funny and I don’t know that I could fake being someone famous as Gracie put in a lot of hard work to pull it off. It wouldn’t be the easiest job and there were moments that she could have easily been caught out.

What I loved about this book was that the characters didn’t realise they needed each other until they crossed paths. They each had a hand in each others growth and that to me was special. I didn’t love Sam at first and thought he was a bit of a rude d%*k to Gracie, but when they had their truce, they started to really understand one another. Recognising similar traits in herself, I liked how Gracie was able to assist Fangli get the help she needed for her depression.

There was a twist towards the end that I didn’t see coming, because I just wasn’t expecting it and it worked so well in the story. It was a sweet ending where everyone got something unexpected out of this bizarre set up.