The Mistletoe Pact was a cute story about Evie and Dan making a pact to get married when they turned 30. The story alternates between Evie and Dan's points of views, as well as between the present and various times in the past.

While I can definitely appreciate the story, the book simply was just not for me. It was a little difficult for me to keep up with the alternating timelines. The cover also makes it seem like it will be a Christmas book, and while it does take place at various Christmases through the years, it didn't feel very Christmasy to me because so much of the book take place away from the holidays.

Ultimately the thing that kept me from enjoying the book was that I read so many holiday reads this month, that this one by comparison left more to be desired. Do I think it was a bad book? Absolutely not. Just unfortunayely wasn't a favorite of mine.

I loved all the characters in this book and the friendships they all had and the way they were all interlinked into a small community. However the main plot being about Evie and Dan slow burn romance was cute to start with, But now after finishing the book I've feel I've wasted my time with this book as their problems were due to lack of communication causing so many problems, and going on for so long and then suddenly the problems that were there werent a problem anymore a year later?!🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ I'm so disappointed in this book.

Thank you so much to netgallery once again for the chance to read this ARC. Very much appreciated.

The premise of this story intrigued me,and it had me laughing and enjoying the plot for the first few chapters. I mean, who doesn't love a friend's to lovers trope that starts with a drunken night in Vegas complete with wedding, pink heartshaped everything honeymoon suite and a 100% coyote ugly moment of omg, wtf...oh shoot!

Then things started dragging. Honestly I think this would have been a better novella than full on novel because the middle was just too much. By the end I was like oh thank God, finally! And that's a little disappointing. While the premise was all taking place around the holidays over several years ( like 10+) it really didn't actually have a lot to do with the holidays, But more of reconnecting with family and budding relationships.

Overall, the story was charming and not horrible, but it wasn't my favorite holiday read of 2021.

This was just not the book for me. I loved the initial premise. I am a sucker for a book about fate and second chances at love. However, the execution was lacking for me. I felt the plot meandered and by the end I was just fully annoyed with the main characters. I thought the book could have used a good edit. Overall, great idea, poor execution.

The Mistletoe Pact is a cute, laugh out loud (at times), heartwarming Christmas story by Jo Lovett. Turning 30 in Las Vegas, single Evie and her good friend Dan wake up in a honeymoon suite married. How did this happen? Things had almost always been platonic. Told through flashbacks, memories and looped with the present timeline, this charming book explores Evie's history with Dan and his family, her own interesting family dynamic and many Christmases past. Was the pact a mistake or something more? PIck up the Mistletoe Pact and find out.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

This was more of a 2.5 rounded up to a 3 for being in the holiday spirit! I picked this up as my Chirstmas rom com of the season and was sadly a bit let down by it. I thought the premise was pretty incredible and fun - a friends to lovers, marriage pact, wake up in Vegas situation. I mean how could that not draw you in? Perhaps it'd be a fun Christmas movie? Aside from that wonderful premise, the execution wasn't great. The characters were cute but there was not nearly enough tension between them. There were so many random side stories from the past timeline that did nothing to build the romance. I think the writing was really lacking in this - it feels very flat and emotionless at times. The adjectives are used over and over again so there's no diversity in the writing. I assumed this was probably a debut novel, but I see that the author has a 2020 release as well. I think Lovett can really make something special on future releases, so I would be open to picking up another when the releases show improvement. Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for this eGalley in exchange for my honest review!

This really isn't my usual type of book, I'm more into horror and crime, but thought I'd give this a read for Christmas.

It's a charming and comfortably predictable in a good way. The book is nicely written and is a quick read. Good for anyone who likes festive romantic comedies.

Many thanks to Jo Lovett, NetGalley, and Bookouture for this copy.

Thank you for the early copy but this was not for me.
I had a hard time getting into any holiday book this year.
It was to slow and I didn't love the story.
DNF'd after 100 Pages

I felt with the jumping of the timeline it made it a little confusing. After it stopped jumping between flashbacks I ended up really enjoying the story. It did make it hard to read with the flashbacks. I love a story with a happy ending.

A cute, witty romance! “Friends” who secretly love each other. A night of shenanigans in Vegas leads to them waking up the next day- MARRIED. I enjoyed the witty banter and found this to be a fun read. 3.5 ⭐️

Unlikeable characters, contrived situations, and predictable ending. I don't know why but I couldn't connect with the main characters and their motivations. Most of the time, it seemed that they caused all the confusions themselves where just a good talk would have sorted out everything.

1.5 stars.

I loved this book. I read it over 3 days. It reminds me of a cross between One Day in December and Where Rainbows End. This is a cosy and easy read for the Christmas season that can be read at any time of the year in my opinion; the book takes places over a number of Christmases but it is then set over the course of a year after we meet Evie and Dan in Vegas. I think this is a feel-good book for when you need to reach for a non-taxing read especially over the holiday break. It’s got Hallmark vibes all over it. This needs to be turned into a movie for next Christmas please and thank you!

DNF @ 15%

I tried to get into this one but the constant miscommunication really made it hard for me to enjoy. Friends to lovers is a hard trope for me to get into sometimes and this sadly wasn’t the book for me.

The Mistletoe Pact is a friends-to-lovers romance that spans 10 years and includes a marriage pact (aka the mistletoe pact). While points in the timeline do occur during the holiday season, I would not strictly say this is a Christmas or holiday romance.

Is there a name for the trope where two people secretly like each other and dance around it for years and years AND YEARS because neither of them will just take the leap to state their feelings to the other? If so, The Mistletoe Pact is that trope. I do not mind this kind of plot overall; however, it can be dragged out far too long to where it becomes annoying. In the case of The Mistletoe Pact, this happened. After a while, I grew frustrated that everyone knew the two main characters loved each other but them. There gets to a point where I find it ridiculous that two people can be so terrible at communicating. This is a me thing and not the book or author's fault. I just dislike plots that are primarily based upon non- or miscommunication. It did not ruin The Mistletoe Pact for me; it was just prolonged for far too long.

I found The Mistletoe Pact to be an easy read that held my attention for its entirety. The narrative does jump between timelines every chapter, which I did not find difficult to follow. But I also think this book could have been told chronologically, and it would have been just as enjoyable.

There were also some things that happened in the plot that I did not think really added to the story. I will not specify what for fear of spoilers. After I finished the book, I was just wondering why those events were necessary and what they brought to the table. I could not come up with anything. For me, these additional and unnecessary plot points did not take away from my enjoyment, but I do think that The Mistletoe Plot would have been stronger without them.

Overall, Evie and Dan were two likeable characters and made The Mistletoe Pact enjoyable. While I did not love every aspect of the story, I still enjoyed the book. I would recommend it to anyone who does not become super frustrated at non- or miscommunication within a book.

This is a very cute festive read. It doesn’t overdo it on the Christmas atmosphere but it is a very good book to read at this time of year and I enjoyed it. The premise of the book is not particularly original, a kind of what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas type of story. But then what happens when what happens in Vegas CAN’T stay in Vegas?! I really love the friends to lovers trope and this storyline was done very well here. There were plenty of cute moments and sweet times but also some frustrating lack of communication issues which I always find unpleasant to read. Overall I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a nice sweet warm festive read.

DNF'd at 17%

I wanted to enjoy this but unfortunately the writing was not for me and I could not connect to the characters. The writing is repetitive, wooden, and boring. After deciding to DNF, I read other reviews that said the characters are oblivious the whole time and don't really get together until the last 5% of the book. Not for me.

When Evie woke up with a massive hangover in an everything-pink-and-heart-shaped room in Las Vegas, she suddenly remembered that the night before she got married to Dan, her best friend's brother and her crush since she could remember. That morning, both of them freaked out and tried to avoid each other until they could figure out how to get an annulment. But, they had great memories of that night as well. Actually, they also had great memories about the first time they kissed, eight years before, when Evie had turned 22 and they made a fallback pact about getting married if both of them were still single on Evie's 30th birthday. The book has two timelines: one that follows the development of their feelings for each other since that first kiss in 2013, and the other that describes what happened since December 2021, after their wedding in Las Vegas. Also, some chapters are written from Evie's perspective and others from Dan's. This is a RomCom that I wouldn't describe as Friends to Lovers (they are not that close or keep in touch as much), but it's leaning towards that trope because of the slow-burn romance.

What I liked: Evie and Dan have good chemistry. Having the point of view of both was great because the reader can have a better understanding of the characters, their fears, and their intentions. Also, it was funny that both of them were nervous or thought they acted awkwardly while the other saw them as behaving in a totally normal manner. I liked the way Dan's family developed throughout the story and how the author wrote enough secondary characters to make the main ones believable. It was a cozy read and I enjoyed it.

What I didn't like: Sometimes I felt that the slow-burn romance was way too slow. I understand why they didn't want to start dating, but there were some unnecessary delays and miscommunication. I am also not convinced about the wedding in Las Vegas, as it didn't change the situation so much for Dan and Evie. I'd like to know why the author decided to start the book there or to even include it as part of the story. And, I disliked that it seemed that no one in this book could be happy being single because 90% of the secondary characters were given a significant other.

(I want to thank NetGalley, Bookouture, and the author for this ARC, which I received in exchange for an honest review.)

firstly, i am super thankful to have received this arc so thank you! i wanted to read this book right when i received it but decided to wait till the month of december just for the christmas-y vibes 🥰 here to give an honest review!

but wow, this book really had the fluff and it was such a light, easy read! absolutely perfect for the christmas season! 🎄 the friends-to-lovers trope in this book was done well and i was pretty hooked throughout the book!

one ick i had about this book was the miscommunication. it created afew unnecessary drama which i feel could have been omitted.

overall, a cute read! looking forward to more by this author! ❤️

Evie makes a pact with her best friend's brother that if they are both single when she turns 30 they will get married. After a drunken birthday celebration in Vegas, they wake up together the next morning and realize they got married. Awkwardness and an annulment ensue.

The Mistletoe Pact felt like a Christmas version of Emily Henry's Beach Read.

Unfortunately, the marriage pact trope felt a little too worn to be entertaining. I did enjoy the back and forth in the timeline and it wasn't hard to follow as it skips from the present to various past points in Evie and Dan's lives. There was a continuity mistake but as I was reading an ARC, it may have been corrected in the final version.

Dan and Evie and the rest of the cast are wonderful. I did feel like some parts of the story were drawn out too long - like the whole thing about Max's accident. I think the slow pace of the story is what made the story fall flat for me. I wanted it to be a quick, snappy read.

Really my disappointment with the novel is all just personal preference kinds of things. The writing was good and I really did like the characters. And it has one of the cutest Christmas covers I've seen this year. If you are wanting a Christmas romance, then this is the book you should pick up today.

My review was published at Girl Who Reads - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2021/12/celebrate-jolabokaflod-with-these.html

I really did enjoy this book. It wasn't exactly full of Christmas but I really enjoyed the story-line. This is one of them Christmas books that you can read throughout the year.
The story was great full of antisipation of will they or won't they get together.  I really loved the fact the story was based around a group of friends and close family bonds. I liked the fact than not only was evie out of luck in love but she obviously takes after her mother and all the dramas involved where great. The characters were brilliant each one quirky in their own way and this ment that sometimes it was hard to predict what would happen next. Not to mention some shocking moments where you find yourself saying noooo out loud. Personally I would of loved more Christmas content, spirit and cheer .
Many thanks to the author and publishers for creating this wonderful romance story.

The above review is already on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK and my blog
https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/the-mistletoe-pact-by-jo-lovett-bookouture-4-stars
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