I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Mistletoe Pact definitely gave me those Hallmark Vibes. Mostly because it seems like two friends, who became lovers, took FOREVER and a day to finally become a thing. Of course things got messed up after a little trip down to Vegas... but honestly what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Unless you want to divorce someone? Again, not sure but these two seriously needed to acknowledge their feelings for one another and just freaking talk to each other. It frustrated me to no one with their little dance around one another. At times, things could be cute but other times it felt like nails on a chalkboard for me because of the miscommunication.

Other than that, I did actually end up liking the book. Mostly because of the cute moments but that's it. I could have done without all the extra drama that came attached to certain characters. Still, somehow, these characters made it all work out in the end.

I'm happy that I got the chance to dive into this because I'm very excited for the colder weather to come my way. So I will definitely need to dive into more Holiday books soon.

A fun romantic read. Evie and Dan were entertaining main characters and I loved how their friendship remained strong even as their lives moved on from their initial pact.
The flashbacks to different stages of each of their lives were good fun - I especially enjoyed the gatecrashing of the Abba themed wedding. I really enjoyed the relationship Evie had with her mum and felt it was interesting to see how it impacted on how Evie behaved in her own relationships.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters and the storyline were brilliant and I liked how the book started and then went back to the beginning of the pact to explain the storyline. The only negative I have of the book is the jumps in the timeline as it sometimes gets a little too confusing with all the different times. Saying this, I would definitely recommend the book and I cannot wait to read it again.

Ehh. I guess I misunderstood the premise of the book. I was really hoping for a feel good holiday book. It was OK, just nothing I would want to read again.

Evie and Dan make a pact- if neither are married by her 30th birthday, they will marry each other. They have known each other forever- Dan is Evie's best friend's brother.

Evie wakes up on her 30th birthday, in a strange room, next to...... Dan. Slowly, the events of the previous night come back. Drinks. Wedding chapel. Sex.

She has been in love with Dan forever, but he doesn't return the sentiment, right? He wakes up and also panics. He has been in love with Evie forever.

As the book progresses, we go back in time 8 years, to the beginning of the pact. The story alternates between moments in the past and present day. Evie and Dan have many missed moments along the way. But it never seems to work.

This book is....... okay. I like the premise. I liked parts of it. But the problem I had was there is nearly no plot. And the small amount of plot is just repeated over and over and over. It wasn't a bad book, but not a lot happens.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Mistletoe Pact is a slow-burn romance between Evie and Dan, childhood friends who've both unknowingly had crushes on each other for forever. The story is written in a dual narrative from both characters alternating between the past and present which highlights the nature of their relationship as well as both their reasons for never getting together perfectly. On her 22nd birthday, Evie and Dan made a pact to get married at 30 if they were both availableThe pace of the story was tortuously slow and some points but it was actually beneficial to the character growth of Evie and Dan. This shines in the family relationship theme explored throughout the story. The most intriguing aspect was the dive into how much a parent's relationship can affect how their children go on to perceive romantic relations. Dan's parents were married well into his adult life however his father was unfaithful to his mother for the majority of their marriage. Evie never knew her father as a result of her mother always having more casual relationships and when she wanted to get serious she always chose the wrong men. As a result, both Evie and Dan were restrictive in their dating styles to avoid ending up like their mother and father respectively. It was fun to see them mature and unlearn their childhood ideologies and develop into individuals that were a better match for each other. I would love to read more of these two.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was really excited about the premise of this book - who doesn't love a friend to lovers romance, marriage pacts, and a little holiday cheer. From the blurb, I expected this to be a quick read with loveable characters and a smooth storyline.

The book started off fine. I liked the characters okay, but didn't necessarily relate to them. As the story progressed, the type of storyline I had anticipated isn't exactly what it panned out to be. IF you're looking for a light, fluffy, feel-good holiday story, this probably isn't the book for you.

This was a quick and easy read, and kept my attention. I enjoyed the flashbacks to see how Evie and Dan’s relationship evolved over the years, but the do they/don’t they will they/won’t they part of the book seemed to be drawn out. I started to get more into the story towards the end of the book, but then it seemed to end rather quickly.

I was not a fan of the Hannah/Katie story. It felt like it was put in just to cause drama, but there was no drama to be had. Also, the surprise pregnancy just didn’t seem to fit in the story.

Thank you NetGalley and the published for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Interesting plot but was a little slow getting to the point. I didn't really get those romantic feels I long for when reading chic-lit but would definitely try this author again

Oh, how I loved The Mistletoe Pact! It had some real laugh out loud times as well as some tearjerker moments. I was drawn in by the reality of the storytelling, in such a beautiful setting. Perfect book to snuggle under a blanket with

The premise was great, but the story didn’t quite deliver. I loved that there were dual pov’s, but there were too many flashbacks that slowed the story down. The begin and ending were great, but I skimmed a few chapters in between just to get to the end faster. Nevertheless if you like the slow-burn friends-to-lovers romance then this is a cute holiday read for you.

This was a fun idea, but it just wasn’t executed well. It was hard to follow, had too many random plot points, and the main characters were awful.

On the morning of her thirtieth birthday - Christmas Eve, 2021 - Evie wakes up in Las Vegas... married to her longtime crush (and her best friend's brother), Dan. Through her hangover, she remembers the night before - the birthday dinner with friends, the drinking and flirting, the wedding. But it was all a mistake... Except that it wasn't. Eight years ago, on Evie's 22nd birthday, she and Dan made a pact to get married if they were both single when she turned 30. And all this time that she's been secretly pining for him, Dan has had feelings for her too. But both of them have seen their parents suffer through difficult romantic relationships. Are they willing to take a chance on true love?

The Mistletoe Pact is absolutely adorable and highly readable, with realistic and sympathetic characters whose relationship I was rooting for from beginning to end. Although the first scene takes place in Las Vegas, most of the story is set in England, either in London or the village where the characters grew up. The Christmas element provides a pretext for the characters to periodically reunite with family and childhood friends, which provides a nice framework for the plot and feels realistic to the lifestyle of a twenty-something.

The book has an unconventional structure, alternating between chapters set "Now" (the 2021 wedding and the events that follow) and "Then" (the pact in 2013 and the years between then and 2021) as well as switching between Evie and Dan's viewpoints. The multiple timelines are occasionally confusing (they could be better marked) and seem to prevent the development of deeper subplots.

4 stars: A light and easy-reading story that skims over its more serious points.

This book was so adorable from the start. I loved the character's chemistry throughout the novel. This book also has dual POV and seeing into the male's perspective is my fav.

There was a little bit of a slow beginning but once you got past that the book was amazing and I highly recommend.

Eight years ago, on Christmas Eve, Evie and Dan made a pact sealed by mistletoe - if they weren't married by thirty, they'd marry each other. They'd know each other for most of their lives, and if they're being honest ... they're totally smitten with each other.

But now today, it's Christmas Eve again ... and Evie and Dan are married, the day before Evie's thirtieth birthday. But they don't remember a thing; waking up with the worst hangover in Vegas, they quickly try and end their accidental marriage and move on with their lives. But how do you move on from a relationship that never really started?

The Mistletoe Pact is not the cute festive romance I was expected; there is very little chrismassing involved aside from the fact there are two events that take place on Christmas Eve and Evie having a Christmas birthday. It's actually a lot more heavy than expected, dealing with some serious issues in our characters pasts and present that while written well, weren't really part of a holiday romance for me. I usually love the classic friends-to-lovers trope, but their relationship was full of passive-aggression and almost toxic jealousy so I just wasn't able to get behind them as a couple.

If this book was marketed differently, this could have been a decent story - and while I don't want to know the whole story in the blurb, if it's marketed as a cute easy read, that's what I expect when I read it.

Thank you @netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC copy of the Mistletoe Pact by Jo Lovett. Trying to find a Christmas aesthetic in September was a little challenging but here we are. I really enjoyed this story! I loved the personalities of both love interests and of the supporting characters and felt they all added something to the story. I also really enjoyed the relationship of Evie (one of the narrators) and her mother. The contrast to the other narrator (Dan) and how he had such a detached relationship from his family made for great character growth. If you do not care for a slow burn romance with lots of tension-(think Jim and Pam) this may not be the story for you but I did enjoy it! I also have always wanted to visit these storybook villages in England and this book just added to that wanderlust. Pick up your copy on October 1! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a lovely escapism read and an enjoyable rom com Evie and Dan have been friends for ever and made a pact that if neither of them was married by the time they were 30 they would marry each other and the mistletoe pact shares the ups and downs of this decision with the reader with a lot of other stuff about friendship and love thrown in along the way. The book parallels present day with Christmas of times past and all that has gone on in between. Despite being called the mistletoe pact there is more to it than a typical Covid read.

I enjoyed this authors previous books and this one didnt disappoint.

Lovett has produced a cute romance. Friends swore they’d marry at 30 if neither was attached. Then to each’s horror that’s exactly what happens in Vegas. The narrative follows a year of changes for both Evie and Dan as they embark on life changes and figure out what it is each really wants. If you’re looking to ease into the holiday spirit, give this book a go.

*arc provided in exchange for an honest review*

wow it's been a hot second since a romance book has made me feel so many things. After I finished this, I kinda had to lay and stare at the ceiling to process everything. While reading this I had to put my phone *down* several times and just glare at it because I was afraid of what this book was going to do to me.

These two characters hit so close to home for me, I could see myself in certain elements of both characters. The way Evie goes through life almost unintentionally, especially her love life, because that's a fear of mine, or the way Dan deals with all his familial issues. Both characters and their relationship to the concept of love were written beautifully. This book felt like a love letter to christmas, a love letter to love, a love letter to england, but also a story of two people doubtful of love, because they'd both seen how the reality can (sometimes) corrupt such a simple thing as love. I also loved how slow of a love story this way, the way the book was an exploration of love and friendship over more than ten years, because it meant any developments felt really natural and believable.

There were a couple small things that, in my heart of hearts, meant I couldn't give this the full five stars:
- The way max's backstory was 'hidden' from the reader felt a little pretentious, and it would've worked much better if instead of dan making comments like "after the accident" etc., we had seen a slow unfolding of it from Evie's perspective.
- The timeline became a bit messy. I loved how the book spanned over such a long time, but because the time (present vs. past and the year) were only given at the start of a chapter if there was a change in time, the two timelines kinda blurred in my head. If they were given at the start of every chapter, that would've been so helpful.
- Overall, I really liked the writing but there were small phrases or sentences that I didn't really get? I don't know if it's because I'm not British and those are words traditionally used there, but while this confused me, it didn't hinder my love of the writing.

I will say, though, that if you're going to read this book, you shouldn't hold onto the synopsis too tightly, since the Vegas wedding is only used as a starting off point, if that. The book is closer to a look at these two characters over more than a decade of their life, and while the effects of the vegas wedding or pact are discussed, it's only a small part of the novel.

Cute Christmas love story. Evie & Dan wake up married in Vegas from a pact they made 10 years ago.
Dun, cute and easy read.
Thanks NetGalley for the early copy.