A cute concept, and I was drawn to holiday reads, but ultimately this was too stiff in writing for me.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I can guarantee that I will add as many holiday reads to my TBR as possible, so of course I was excited to add THE MISTLETOE PACT to my list.

Two single thirty-year-olds. One marriage pact. And a night in Vegas that's about to change everything. This was such a cute second chance love story, and I really enjoyed the audiobook format, narrated by Jo Lovett.

*many thanks to Saga Egmont Audio for the gifted copy for review

My entire reading list in December consists of Christmas books. I depend on these novels to inject me with the holiday spirit, so the more Christmassy, the better. So I was quite disappointed to discover that Jo Lovett’s The Mistletoe Pact was Christmas-lite, containing only a tidbit of the holiday here and there with the rest of the novel taking place during the rest of the year. Not what I signed up for. To make matters worse, this story is only mildly entertaining. It is written in a roundabout way that uses a lot of words to finally, eventually, get to the point, yet it loses its audience in the process. I just couldn’t keep my mind in this book, and unfortunately, couldn’t wait for it to be over.

As for the audiobook specifically, I appreciated the dual narrators, giving distinct voices to the female and male leads. I always appreciate when a production team makes an effort to cast narrators that fit the part they are reading for.

I'm not entirely sure what to say about this one. I really wanted to love it, and I picked it up because I was in the mood for something Christmassy! I don't usually read Christmas theme books but I was lured in by the accidental drunk marriage in Vegas, I can't lie.

It wasn't at all what I was expecting, like I was expecting hijinks and falling for each other despite the accidental marriage as they tried to get it annulled or something. I wasn't expecting that to happen pretty quickly and then for the two of them to move on from each other, or at least try to and the series of misunderstandings that took place. It's entirely my own problem for having one set of expectations and not necessarily the fault of the book, however I did also not particularly enjoy the constant jumping around through time. I'll be honest, I did find it hard to keep track of the timeline and their only 'romantic' interactions for a long while where in those flashbacks and weren't even that romantic it was more like they had feelings but didn't do anything about it.

I don't know, I just expected more of a spark between them. More humour, more spice perhaps. I didn't feel any particular connection to either character, I didn't particularly enjoy the romance between the two and I struggled to make it through the book. If it hadn't been an audiobook, I think I'd have DNF'd it pretty early on but the narrator was really good and I wanted to give it a decent shot.

Again, entirely my own fault, but I also was kind of hoping for some squeal-inducing moments and fluffiness but it was just a bit bland.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Egmont Audio for my copy of The Mistletoe Pact by Jo Lovett Narrated by Charlotte Hamblin & Frazer Blaxland in exchange for an honest review. It published September 1, 2022.
First off, I felt that both Hamblin and Blaxland did a fabulous job narrating this book. I would totally listen to other books they narrate, together or separate!
This was a cute book of the will-they, won't-they? trope. Definitely a fun read with a lot of meat on its bones, it will keep bringing you back to see what will happen! I enjoyed the character development over the years, the relationship growth between the main characters, and between them with their friends and family.
This is definitely a sweet one, and although there is a bit of Christmas involved, you get other times of year as well, and would work for anytime of the year, in my opinion!

I listened to the audiobook of the Mistletoe Pact.
I enjoyed the narration of the story; there were two readers - one read Dan’s perspective, the other read Evie’s perspective (the two main characters of the story). They were both easy to understand and were able to modulate their pitch to sound like the various other characters fairly well. The story itself reminded me of a Sophie Kinsella novel with its humour and the type of British banter between the characters.
The story alternates between Dan and Evie’s perspectives but it also alternates between past and present which adds an extra layer to the story. It’s a friends to lovers trope (rom-com) but because it hops back and forth between past and present, the story is less linear and seemingly has more twists and turns.
I wish there were more festive aspects to the story - it’s called the mistletoe pact and Dan and Evie make a pact under the mistletoe but .. that’s about as festive as it gets.
Overall I enjoyed listening to the story and would recommend it to fans of Sophie Kinsella or the friends to lovers trope!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced audiobook version of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Quite a few days late but, A big thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for approving me of a copy of an e-arc of this book!
Such a delightful audiobook! Would listen to again, definitely!

This book was cute! I will say there's a lot of back and forth between the characters. They both know they want to be together but it took forever for them to admit it. I am a bit on the fence on the aspect of the baby...I'm not sure it was necessary to add that drama to the story. Other than those thing I did enjoy this story and enjoyed listening to it.

This was a nice holiday read that had some heartwarming romance. I felt like the pacing was a bit too slow for the story, but I think a lot of readers will really enjoy this one!

There was a point when I just had to stop listening to this book because I hated it so much. I don't think I vibed with it at all. The timeline gets confusing, there's way too much predictability in the drama, and halfway through the book, the love interests are still no closer to falling in love. This may be a book for someone else.

The Mistletoe Pact is a light-hearted "if neither of us is married by age 30..." pact made on Christmas Eve begins this hilarious, romantic comedy with dual timelines and interwoven with fun side character plots. Themes of friendship and issues with relationships make this story well-rounded and authentic.

Better than your typical British holiday romance!! I was pleasantly impressed with this heartfelt Christmas story about two friends who make a marriage pact and then years later accidentally (on purpose??) get married after a wild night in Vegas. Told from dual POVs and alternating timelines, I enjoyed getting to know Evie and Dan's journey to HEA. Recommended for fans of books like One day in December or This time next year. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital audiobook copy!

The mistletoe pact - Review (https://thebookslayers.home.blog/2022/08/27/the-mistletoe-pact-resena-colaboracion-netgalley/)

English

Thanks to Netgalley and Saga Egmont Audio for the opportunity to read this audiobook.

In this plot, very similar to what happens to Ross and Rachel in Friends mixed a bit with How I Met Your Mother, Evi and Dan get married in Las Vegas several years after having agreed that when they reach 30 they will get married if they are still without a partner. Doesn't it promise chaos and drama? But the good kind, the kind that has ridiculous but funny and endearing situations?

It was both that and the Christmas setting that made me order this book on Netgalley. And it was just that that has made me lower the grade to a 3.....

Let me explain:

The plot promised a lot and the cover entailed that it was a romantic Christmassy book, one those that you read in the blink of an eye because it hooks you. You want to know if they end up together in the end and if Christmas goes off without a hitch, right? Well, that doesn't happen here. Yes, there are moments at Christmas; yes, there is a romance plot and yes it has more or less funny situations.

But Christmas shines by its absence when what we're constantly seeing are flashbacks to the times when Eve and Dan met over the years. This is quite confusing when we also have the POVs of the two characters, which usually like but here it was too much changes and too often.

I've been missing more Christmassy elements, there seems to be some moments, but little else.

I also think it tried to delve into very complex issues for the type of book it is. For example, Dan's relationship with his father and Eve's relationship with her mother. It's an interesting plot and I think the psychology of the characters makes sense, but it just doesn't quite fit for me in a Christmas romantic comedy. Also, it doesn't end up being important enough to make a novel such as Normal People, which is a bit more existentialist. I mean, it's a little too serious for a romance novel, but it's not quite a novel with themes like Normal people has.

It's not all bad, though. The book is entertaining and it reads more or less fast. But I don't think it was for me. I give it a 3 because I think it's a bit in limbo. I don't think I will read anything else by the author though.....

-Ele


Español

Gracias a Netgalley y a Saga Egmont Audio por la oportunidad de leer esta copia en audiolibro antes de la publicación del libro.

En esta trama, muy parecida a lo que les pasa a Ross y Rachel en Friends mezclado un poco con Cómo conocí a vuestra madre, Evi y Dan se casan en las vegas varios años después de haber acordado que cuando llegaran a los 30 se casarían si siguen sin pareja. ¿No os parece que promete caos y drama? Pero del bueno, del que tiene situaciones ridiculas pero graciosas y entrañables.

Fue tanto eso, como la ambientación en Navidad lo que me hizo pedir este libro en la plataforma de Netgalley. Y fue justo eso lo que me ha hecho bajarle la nota a un 3…

Me explico:

La trama prometía mucho y la portada me daba a entender que era un libro de navidad romántico de los que te lees en un abrir y cerrar de ojos porque engancha. Quieres saber si al final acaban juntos y la navidad se celebra sin problemas, ¿no? Bueno, pues eso no pasa aquí. Sí hay momentos en navidad, sí hay una trama de romance y sí tiene puntos más o menos divertidos.

Pero la navidad brilla por su ausencia cuando lo que estamos viendo continuamente son flashbacks de los momentos en los que Eve y Dan coincidían. Cosa que resulta bastante confusa cuando además tenemos el POV de los dos personajes, eso suele gustarme pero aquí era demasiado cambio y muy seguido.

Me ha faltado más elementos de navidad, parece que hay algún momento suelto, pero poco más. También creo que ha intentado profundizar en temas muy complejos para el tipo de libro que es. Por ejemplo, la relación de Dan con su padre y la de Eve con su madre. Es una trama interesante y creo que la psicología de los personajes tiene sentido, pero no me termina de encajar en una comedia romántica de navidad. Además, tampoco termina de llegar a ser lo suficientemente importante como para poder hacer una novela quizás más como Normal people que resulta un poco más existencialista. Me refiero a que se pasa de seriedad para una novela romántica pero no llega a ser una novela con temas como los que tiene Normal people.

No todo es malo, cuidado. El libro está entretenido y se lee más o menos rápido. Pero creo que no ha sido para mí. Le pongo el 3 porque creo que se queda un poco en un limbo. Aunque no creo que vaya a leer nada más de la autora…

-Ele

Evie and Dan make a pact that they will marry each other by the age of 30 if it doesn’t happen before then! What a great start to an audio book - I was straight in! So Evie and Dan were such lovely and believable characters, going from friends initially to lovers This cute pair were brought to life by narraters Charlotte Hamblin and Frazer Blaxland who did such a fabulous job for the audiobook! I also enjoyed the different locations travelling from my armchair to the Cotswolds and to America and the Christmassy scenes throughout were such a joy to listen to.
The cover of this book was a huge attraction for me - it really caught my attention - as did the blurb. This audiobook is the perfect heartwarming audiobook to enjoy during the festive season. Thank you Saga Egmont Audiobooks and Netgalley for my copy.

I liked this nice and tender and ful of misunderstandings. Somehow it worked out nice but it took forever. But some scenes were real nice even without a lot of steam scenes. I love the love that was there but just needed to be catch.

Thank you Saga Egmont Audio and Netgalley for the audio copy.