Sometimes there is nothing like a good, emptying cry during the holidays, especially when you are full of emotions that just kind of need to be drained away. Too much? Anyways, y’all, Christmas On Mimosa Lane by Anna DeStefano definitely fits the bill for a heartfelt, emotional Christmas read. If you love small town southern settings, closely knit neighborhoods and your characters tragic, then you will definitely enjoy Christmas On Mimosa Lane.
Mallory has moved to Mimosa Lane, a road in a small suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. Mimosa Lane is the sort of road where one can raise their children in peace and safety. The neighbors all know and care about each other. After a traumatic childhood, Mallory thinks that Mimosa Lane will be her fresh start. Yet, she doesn’t exactly fit in with her neighbors, she still feels the wounds of her childhood trauma. When her next door neighbor Pete”s daughter Polly starts sneaking into Mallory’s house to stare at her Christmas tree, Mallory is forced to reach out of her cocoon and finds herself undeniably attracted to Pete. Pete, on the other hand, lost his wife Emma in the past year to a battle with cancer. However, Pete finds that maybe it is time to move on and Mallory is just the person to help.
As a character, Mallory makes an interesting lead for Christmas On Mimosa Lane. She is a smart and highly competant nurse. However, her scars run very deep, occasionally to her detriment. Yet, she has a wicked sense of humor when bantering with Pete, plus she is very good with children. It was hard to read about Mallory’s struggle with allowing people to get closer to her. She’s very guarded and it was easy to see how that lead to her being isolated and not really fitting in. Pete is a decent male lead as well. He is an EMT, but he would often miss work to help his traumatized daughter, Polly. Plus, Pete’s grief is obvious. However he never really came across as a character with a lot of depth. He has surface characterization sure, but not exactly a lot going on beneath the surface.
The romance within Christmas On Mimosa Lane by Anna DeStefano is heartwarming — if a tiny bit unrealistic. Pete and Mallory fall for each other pretty quickly. Pete comes across as a little bit TOO perfect in his interactions with Mallory. Plus, the whole Emma would want Pete to move on and would not mind his using the marriage bed for activities with other women kind of grossed me out, but maybe I am being a prude in my reaction. I will say that the majority of Christmas On Mimosa Lane is very chaste, there is no graphic sexual content within the book.
Christmas On Mimosa Lane is a quick read with a lot of tragedy to go around. The romance is unrealistic, but perfectly escapist. The writing is fairly good — I especially liked that each chapter began with an epigraph taken from Emily Dickinson’s poetry. Mallory and Pete are palatable characters where I found myself rooting for them to have a merry Christmas. In all, I’d recommend this to anyone looking to get a fix of holiday reading.
Disclosure: Received for review via Amazon Vine.
Other reviews of Christmas On Mimosa Lane:
Charming Chelsey’s – “a beautiful Christmas light shines through them all”
Latest posts by April (Books&Wine) (see all)
- A Christmas To Remember by Beverly Jenkins | Book Review - December 5, 2024
- Make The Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake | Audiobook Review - December 4, 2024
- Christmas at Corgi Cove by Annie England Noblin | Book Review - December 3, 2024
I’ve been all about the Christmas stories lately, but hadn’t heard of this one. Though I’m sure it has a happy ending, I’m not sure I want to read about someone grieving the loss of a loved one due to cancer during the holidays 🙁 that may be a bit too emotional for me. Thanks for the honest review, April!
I love the Christmas stories lately as well.
It does have a happy ending, and yeah the cancer part plays a pretty large role. I think it’s cool that you are passing on this one, because it’s so essential to take care of yourself and your well being.
I’ll probably wind up skipping this one because it just doesn’t sound like something I want to read right now, but that cover is absolutely lovely!
eep to the romance being a tad unrealistic/too perfect but it does seem like a book that makes you smile! like you said, this sounds like an easy, escapist read. 🙂
I’m a sucker for Christmas books, so I’ll be adding this one to my TBR for next year. I also love books that are set in the South, so this seems like a good one. 🙂