It Must've Been the Mistletoe

NOTE: This coming year I have set a challenge for myself of reading one book a week that takes me out of my comfort zone. A book that may include one (or more) tropes (scenarios) that I avoid like the plague. Cheating. Older women/younger man. OW drama. Just to name a few. Nothing is off limits. I am taking a HUGE step out of the box I live in and charting a course into the unknown (HaHa). My reviews for these books will differ from my usual as I will focus more on whether the author wowed me despite it having content I avoid. That said, I will go into each book with an open mind and an open heart and who knows, maybe I will discover a new favorite author on the way!



 
~THIS BOOK INCLUDED THE FOLLOWING TROPES (SCENARIOS) I USUALLY AVOID~
– Historical Romance


~WRITING - PLOT - PACE~ 
I found this one to be well written and well paced. The plot was engaging and kept me turning the pages. The 1865 time period takes up most the page space in this story and I am not a fan of historical romances, hence why this one was a good candidate for my “stepping out” challenge. So it was surprising that the historical part was what I found the most enjoyable. That said, I wish we would have gotten more present as that was what I felt let this book down a little.


~HERO~
The William of the past was sweet. The William of the present was underdeveloped for me and a bit “meh”. I'll explain in more detail in the “IN THE END” section.


~HEROINE~ 
Adeline was a sweet heroine. I found her character a bit more fleshed out than Williams. Probably because most of the book is from her POV. Again as with Willam, I felt the 1865 Adeline was a bit more likable and easier to connect with.





~SIDE CHARACTERS~
There was a nice selection of secondary characters both in the past and the in the present. And again as I mentioned with the hero and the heroine the past characters were more fleshed out and therefore more enjoyable overall.


~HEAT LEVEL~ 
ZERO – As in NO SEX at all. I have to be honest I was not expecting this to be a clean romance. All of this author's other books (that I have read) have had sex in them. So I was a bit disappointed in that.


~ANGST LEVEL~ 
ZERO – This was an easy peasy insta-love book.


~IN THE END~
Overall this one was OK for me. Like I mentioned above, I am not a historical romance fan and I choose this one knowing it would push me outside my usual. And like I mentioned it was the historical aspect I ended up enjoying the most. So in that respect, kudos to the author. Was it enough that I will now start reading historical romances? Well no, since I spent most of the time wishing the author would get back to the present time. Alas, when we finally got there I found it to be underwhelming. I sort of wish the past and the present had been given equal time. I found William's character to be underdeveloped in the present time and had a hard time buying into their whirlwind “I love you's” (in the present). Of course, this was meant to be magical and Christmasy and heartwarming and all that. And it was. It was sweet and romantic and I am sure a lot of readers will love it (rightfully so). It just didn't WOW me as much as I hoped it would.