Allison: Mistletoe Bay | Marcia Evanick | Book Review

I picked up Mistletoe Bay by Marcia Evanick at my local library because I wanted to help April in her quest to do all holiday related reviews during the month of December. I was instantly drawn in by the premise of a “magical Christmas” and was excited to see exactly what that entailed. Luckily for me, what I found was a cute story filled with just as much holiday mischief as there is romance.

Mistletoe Bay starts off on one Halloween afternoon where UPS driver Cooper Armstrong was just following his usual UPS route when he came across two young children dressed as a ghost and an alien and their worrisome mother, Jenni who is also a widow. Introductions are made, conversation is started, and before he knew it, he started coming over to the house more and more, not only for deliveries, but also to help start fixing things on the house and get fed delicious food. He never knew exactly what to expect on each of his trips to the house, and he always managed to be in the right place at the right time for the family which also included Jenni’s mother-in-law and sister-in-law. He also knew exactly how to help Jenni let go of her fears and finally be ready to fall in love again … just in time for a little Christmas romance!

Coop and Jenni are wonderful together. There is a slow build to their relationship so it doesn’t just happen overnight. Yes, the time frame is short – Halloween to Christmas Eve – but it works. It also helps that Coop is never trying to be a replacement father to Jenni’s boys. He is just there, and the boys adapt to him easily, and connect with him on their own level.  Also Jenni spends a lot of time reflecting on if she really is ready to move on or not which I think is important to the story.

Mistletoe Bay was a relatively quick read for me.  Jenni’s boys antics (in particular the four year olds) are hilarious at times. They sure did know how to get into trouble! Also, there is a bit of romance for Jenni’s mother-in-law and sister-in-law too. It was interesting to see how the blended household worked, and how each of them reacted to Jenni and Cooper’s relationship.  Apparently, this book is also part of a series by Marcia Evanick but I never got the feeling that had to have read the other books in order to understand what is happening in this one. Overall, it really was a “magical Christmas”, and was easily, simply satisfying.

Disclosure: Borrowed from local library.

Other reviews of Mistletoe Bay by Marcia Evanick:

BookLoons: “Mistletoe Bay is a wonderfully written book with fun characters and funny adventures that keep you reading with a smile.“