Synopsis:
Christmas and romance are in the air...
It's December 23rd and while everyone else is rushing home for the holidays, workaholic Leesa Oliver is dreading switching on her out-of-office for the festive season. And it seems her equally driven boss, Cary Anderson, isn't relishing spending Christmas at his family's country estate either.
So together, they draft an unexpected Christmas contract: They'll spend half of the holidays with each other's families, pretending to be a couple. Leesa knows the insufferably good-looking Cary will make her Christmas more bearable, but what happens after the last of the mince pies have been eaten...?
Leesa signed off on a sensible business agreement, but somewhere, amongst the fairy lights and carols something seems to have changed... It seems there might just be some magic under the mistletoe this Christmas!
My Review:
Hurrah! My stop on the Blog Tour for Lucy Coleman’s latest read ‘Magic Under the Mistletoe’ This is my first time reading a Lucy Coleman book and after reading the synopsis I wanted in!
Now I know the fake date trope has been done many times before but I have to admit I’m a big fan and I love those ‘will they won’t they’ storylines. But this story took me by surprise, it had a depth that I wasn’t expecting, the author putting her own little twist on it and I really enjoyed, it. There were also mini storylines for many of the characters running throughout the background making this so much more than a fake date trope story.
The story kicks off on the day before Christmas Eve on a long haul flight to London having not long left Australia. Having worked on a project together, Leesa and Cary are nothing more than work colleagues, so much so Cary leaves Leesa to sit cramped in economy while he settles into business class.
After a bad snow storm stops Leesa from getting to her final destination for the holiday season. Cary takes charge and offers to take her back to his Grandmothers rather than leaving her stranded at the airport. It’s not long before they both declare how much they are dreading the family festivities they have in store. This leading to them agreeing to a contract to be each other’s plus ones to keep the pressure off.
The whole book was written through the eyes of Leesa and at times I would have loved to have been able to get an insight into Cary’s thoughts but that’s me being nosey and wanting to know his thoughts and feelings which of course never happens like that in real life and so it had me hooked wanting to get through to the end to find out how the story ends.
As I said before running throughout the background of Leesa’s and Cary’s fake date trope was a series of mini storylines for the other characters either involved with Leesa or Cary and these little twists kept me intrigued but I won’t divulge any of them so as not to ruin the story for you!
I wanted to connect to the character of Cary much more than I did, I wouldn’t say he was cold or nasty but more of a closed book making it tough to warm to him. This goes back to me wanting to be able to read from his point of view; that might have helped me to feel connected to his character. It didn't spoil the book for me however, I just didn't fall in love with him as much as I have done previous male characters.
My favourite character had to be Cary’s Grandmother Cressida. A wonderful and interesting character that you wish you knew in real life. You could feel the love and warmth she showed to her family and even Leesa who she welcomed in as one of her own without a second thought.
This book had lots of festive moments which I loved but this can easily be read anytime of year. Magic Under the Mistletoe is an emotional and heartwarming read that will leave you feeling uplifted. I’m now intrigued to read another of Lucy Coleman’s books!
Big thanks to Lucy Coleman and Rachel Random Resources for the ARC and invitation to the blog tour!
Don't forget... scroll down for an exciting giveaway!
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Author Bio
From interior designer to author, Linn B. Halton - who also writes under the pen name of Lucy Coleman - says ‘it’s been a fantastic journey!’
Linn is the bestselling author of more than a dozen novels and is excited to be writing for both Aria Fiction (Head of Zeus) and Harper Impulse (Harper Collins); she’s represented by Sara Keane of the Keane Kataria Literary Agency.
When she’s not writing, or spending time with the family, she’s either upcycling furniture or working in the garden.
Linn won the 2013 UK Festival of Romance: Innovation in Romantic Fiction award; her novels have been short-listed in the UK's Festival of Romance and the eFestival of Words Book Awards.
Living in Coed Duon in the Welsh Valleys with her ‘rock’, Lawrence, and gorgeous Bengal cat Ziggy, she freely admits she’s an eternal romantic.
Linn is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Society of Authors. She writes feel-good, uplifting novels about life, love and relationships.
Social Media Links
Website: https://linnbhalton.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LucyColemanAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LucyColemanAuth
Linn is the bestselling author of more than a dozen novels and is excited to be writing for both Aria Fiction (Head of Zeus) and Harper Impulse (Harper Collins); she’s represented by Sara Keane of the Keane Kataria Literary Agency.
When she’s not writing, or spending time with the family, she’s either upcycling furniture or working in the garden.
Linn won the 2013 UK Festival of Romance: Innovation in Romantic Fiction award; her novels have been short-listed in the UK's Festival of Romance and the eFestival of Words Book Awards.
Living in Coed Duon in the Welsh Valleys with her ‘rock’, Lawrence, and gorgeous Bengal cat Ziggy, she freely admits she’s an eternal romantic.
Linn is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Society of Authors. She writes feel-good, uplifting novels about life, love and relationships.
Social Media Links
Website: https://linnbhalton.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LucyColemanAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LucyColemanAuth
Giveaway!
Win a Signed paperback copy of Snowflakes over Holly Cove and Christmas Pamper Pack. (UK only)
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