Book Review
The Mistletoe Pact by Jo Lovett
Publication Date: October 1, 2021
4☆☆☆☆ for a fresh take on the friends to lovers, fall back (or back-up) plan marriage novel

Let me begin by saying that if you choose to check the GoodReads rating for this you’ll see that I’m overshooting the average here. I did, very fairly and honestly, consider giving this read 3 rather than 4 stars. Why? Read on.

The story begins in a post-COVID world (Hallelujah and good try) and although it’s all up to date we don’t get dragged through any COVID horror as much as we probably should have. That aside, the story begins with lifelong friends Dan and Evie waking up after a drunken night (that includes a wedding) in Vegas. Okay, go on.

The story then switches between the perspectives of the two, working forwards both from that point (a Christmas holiday amongst friends) and a Christmas ten years in the past. We watch Evie and Dan grow up, grow together and apart. And of course, back together - but you really have to stick with it to get to this part so please do.

If you’re looking for a light, fluffy romantic twirl, this might not actually be it - and maybe that’s part of why I gave it a four rather than a three. I’m not saying there aren’t swoon worthy bits and that I didn’t want to see the two of them back together from the start, but I think the growth of people and their love is an important part of this story and gives it a slightly more serious tone than one might otherwise expect from something called “The Mistletoe Pact.”

This is not your light, everything works out kind of romantic Christmas read. A lot of it isn’t set at Christmas, although yes we keep coming back to it (especially as it provides a convenient return for Dan from urban London to rural Coswalds, England where of course he and Evie run into one another) - and most of our character’s growth and depth comes through their multi-month, multi-year life experience.

I do find that this book includes a bit much, emotion wise. I would have loved to see one or maybe two of the three major issues/life events for Dan be unpacked - was three really necessary? If anything it leaves me with more questions than answers in some cases - although there’s also a lot left unsaid, so maybe Jo wanted to let us read between the lines, imagine it for ourselves.

And in Evie’s case, was she really so okay with not knowing who her own father was? Parenthood and family is such a key theme of the book yet Evie brushes off her father’s identity (unknown) so quickly and easily (it seems). Maybe Jo’s saving that for the sequel? Either way it seemed odd to have it brought up and then so quickly and tidily swept away.

Do I recommend? Yes.

Have I added all of Jo’s other books to my TBR list on Goodreads? Yes.

Do I recommend you do the same? Sure. My next pick will be the House Swap, hands down.

What does this book remind me of? Strong nodes of One Day in December (and not just because of the Christmas theme) by Josee Silver and Maybe This Time by Jill Mansell.

I think this is for the more mature, ready for deeper issues romantic-reader.

2 1/2 stars.
it was very close to a 3, but there were so many things that didn't work well in this story.

This story follows Evie and Dan, who have been friends for a long time (she's best friends with his younger sister) and have feelings for each other. On her 22nd birthday, at Christmas, they make a pact that they'll marry each other when she turns 30, if they're not married by then.

The story starts with the day after they married, in Vegas and under the influence. It would have made more sense to take the narrative from there instead of going back and forth between the present and the past.

But the premise was really good but the story fell short, which is unfortunate.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

This book definitely ended up falling flat for me. It started off good, two people make a pack to get married if they’re still single at 30, they go to Vegas get drunk and have sex. But then the book takes a completely wrong turn and I honestly just dislikes the rest of it. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC but this was a fail for me.

The Mistletoe Pact started off with a great premise that it didn’t quite live up to. It’s a second chance romance between Evie and Dan, her best friend’s brother. Nearly ten years earlier Evie and Dan make a slightly intoxicated pact on her Christmas Eve birthday that if they are both still single on her 30th birthday that they will get married. Fast forward through years of failed relationships and lots of hurt feelings, they wake up on her 30th birthday in bed together… in Las Vegas… after a passionate night together after getting married. They quickly decide to get a divorce, although they both wonder if it’s really what they each want. The two then spend the next year going back and forth trying to make something work between them and hurting each other by dating other people.

The premise was good and there were a lot of things about this that could have really worked, but overall it just felt a little flat. Nothing really jumped out to me - the timeline was hard to follow (I could never seem to remember if it was before or after their marriage), the characters lacked real emotional depth beyond embodiment of their parental damage, and the lack of chemistry between them didn’t fuel much emotional connection from me. I missed the real yearning and heartbreak that I’ve found from other stories - ones where I could actually feel it myself through the writing.

It had real promise that it failed to deliver on beyond the HEA, but if you like a good holiday romance, this might do it for you.

This book is about Evie Greens and Dan Marshall who happenly made a marriage pact if they are both single in their thirsties.

I really recommend this to my fellow reader who loves romance more likely a friends to lovers in a slow paced situation. I love their family gathering in their village.
Evie and Dan, the chemistry they have wherein, everyone knew but only them couldn't admit it because Dan value so much their friendship that couldn't handle to get hurt or destroy the things they have when they changed their friendship into a romantic relationship.

I love how the story tackles every kind of love, and how it impacts around the people you love.

Evie and Dan make a pact that if in 8 years time, they are both single they will marry each other. Good friends since they were kids, they both have relationship issues having grown up without good role models in the love department.
Will they follow through on the pact? Will they ever confess their true feelings for each other?

I really enjoyed this book. I’ve read other books by Jo Lovett and like her light writing style. You can feel all the emotions of the characters in her writing. And when Evie smiles, you smile with her. We’ll done!

The general idea of this book - two people who make a pact to get married years later, get drunk and do it - is so intriguing. I also love the Christmas theme- I went in expecting a really cozy book. All around, this book fell really flat. The writing felt juvenile and the characters were surface level. There was no depth to anyone, and no character development. Each chapter was honestly essentially the same - “I can’t stop thinking about him/her, but I bet they’re not thinking about me.” Over and over. It was also annoying that when they’d actually meet up, we saw none of their conversation. I honestly don’t even know how they’d ever fall in love because they never even talked. Also, Dan kept saying he didn’t want to ruin his friendship with her. Like that was the main reason for all of his hemming and hawing. Yet from what I could tell they only saw each other 1 time a year. How good of friends could they be if they live in the same town and never see each other?! It was also odd literally there were no discussions about their marriage with friends or family. Overall, this book just lacked any depth at all and was too frustrating and repetitive to be enjoyable.

2.5/5 stars

I have mixed feelings about the book.

We are introduced to Evie and Dan the morning after they got drunkenly married in Vegas. They have been friends for years (mainly because she is his sister's best friend) and it quite obvious that they have feelings for one another. However, both decide annul the marriage. I think that is where the book goes a bit sour for me. It would have been so interesting to see them navigate their marriage, especially since it was posted all over social media, and watch them juggle their feelings and hang-ups about relationships together. Which lies another problem because no one, not even their parents, really bring up the whole marriage thing throughout the book. Which is really weird considering people saw it on their socials.

We are also taken through two timelines: an array of events that led up to that one Vegas night and the aftermath of the morning after. While I can agree it was nice to see some of the history of their relationship, I felt like it did not add much to the story. Those chapters often felt a lot like those filler episodes in an anime. Plus, we hardly see any Christmas festivities besides the mention of mistletoe. You would think that a book revolving so much around it, we would actually get to experience some of that Christmas cheer.

Overall, I love the concept, but I just wish it was executed better.

Okay so this book was a bit of a surprise. I was so excited for a holiday read and I loved it. I really enjoyed what was here but I felt like I only read 1/3 of it. The relationship didn’t truly develop and their feelings fro each other weren’t real until the end of the book. I wish we could have seen more of that romance instead of just the pact aspect of it. Still a great read though.

Evie is about to turn twenty two and her glamorous mother is determined to set her up at the annual Christmas Eve party. The guy she makes a connection with ends up getting together with Evie’s mother. Evie turns to her friends and a few more drinks to cheer herself up.

Dan Evie’s best friend Sasha’s brother insists on walking her home. The two find themselves under the mistletoe and are cajoled into a kiss by Sasha and her siblings. Dan and Evie make a pact on the way home to get married on Evie’s 30th birthday if they are both still single.

Fast forward to the night of Evie’s 30th and the two end up married in Vegas. The pair then navigate the next year following that night. There are many twists and turns in their story but ultimately the pair have to decide what they actually want.

A lovely feel good story, perfect for enjoying with a cup of tea. Lots of laugh out loud moments and a few tears are shed coupled with shouting at the book it’s the perfect way to unwind.

When friends make a pact to get married it seems like a good idea until the love they thought would develop as more than friends doesn't, but then does? The main character is a writer and is using her "love life" as inspiration for her own expense but when things start to go sour, so does her writing.
I can appreciate a friends to lovers, slow burn, and finding inspiration for a love story poured into their own career but this book missed the mark. I was sad that they didn't really start having true feelings towards each other until the very end and then you are left wanting more. I also kept getting confused and annoyed that the book or story was being told within this book but I kept having to remind myself that it was the book she was writing not their actual story. Overall, I gave it a 2 starts because I was left with a huge build up and felt the story was more about her wanting inspiration for her own expense of the story instead of seeing what love was in front of her.

"The Mistletoe Pact" by Jo Lovett
Release Date: 10.1.2021

Evie and Dan made a pact on Christmas Eve eight years ago -- if they weren't married by the time they were 30 years old, they would marry one another! Both thought they were joking, even though each of them fancied the other.

On Christmas Eve eight years later, the night before Evie's 30th birthday, she wakes up in Vegas, in a honeymoon suite with way too many heart-shaped pillows! Evie and Dan are married! Even though a quickie divorce is the easiest solution, both are not sure if it is the best choice.

This is a slow-burning love story between two friends. The novel went between past and present of the Mistletoe Pact, learning about bad decisions, family troubles, and friends. It also switched point of views. I was disappointed that there was not more Christmas spirit in the novel, but it was a cute story.

Thank you to @netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #netgalley #netgalleyreads #2021bookreleases #contemporaryromance #christmasromance #2021romancebooks #themistletoepact #jolovett #bookouture

<b> thank you netgalley and bookouture for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. </b>

dnf @ 30% in.

i tried so hard to get into this book, especially considering how promising the entire premise is, but honestly i really couldn't do it.

the timeline is messy, the plot is so scattered and random, and the writing style was so difficult to get into. usually in romance novels the dual povs tend to help, however in this case it only made everything much more confusing. the timejumps and skips between the various chapters also don't help, seeing as it just makes you get lost.

the plot has no coherence to it. the two characters are introduced as distant friends (her best friend's brother), but then within our first flashback they have an intense makeout scene and the next chapter shows that they have crushes on each other??? huh? the idea of their pact actually seemed so cute, but then we end up getting a drunken wedding in Vegas and them struggling to get it annulled? what?

beyond that, the weird flashbacks that show "pining" threw me off so much. we know nothing about these characters and yet we're supposed to just know they like each other? they barely interact!

overall, the characters were also extremely unenjoyable. you're hit with the cliche "gay best friends" trope and the "girl bestie that actually is crushing on the guy too so she's mean" trope and it just... why.

(also, there's a line where dan makes a comment about living above "very fragrant indian restaurant" and one of the chacters sasha has herself & her fiancee dress as egyptian pharoahs, and i know these are miniscule details but they made the experience of reading worse.)

The Mistletoe Pact by Jo Lovett is a slow-burning love story between life-long friends who find themselves fulfilling a pact they made years ago and dealing with the anticipated fallout. A somewhat disjointed ride of a story, readers are thrown back and forth between past and present day and find themselves wading through a list of life-long friends, difficult family members and bad decisions. Although everything works out in the end, getting there is quite a journey.

Oh boy! I am so sad that this book just did not take me to a happy place. I have come to expect a certain magical realism to fit with the whole idea of the Christmas Spirit.
I found the characters were very one-dimensional and the story had little to no story development.
I found a few plot holes and confusion with the timeline.

I really wanted to like this😔

A bit of a misleading blurb. It was definitely a cute almost concept for a book. Loving the cover though.

It definitely did not reach my expectations. I felt like the book synopsis was a bit misleading and sold a certain view, that to me was it all! Although the writing was fine, it felt a bit over the place. I also felt bored when reading it, it was not exciting, it felt bland and vanilla. This book was not for me.

Sadly not what I expected from this book. It didn't make much sense in relation to the book blurb and I was hoping for more of a good feeling holiday rom-com!

I really liked this sweet story , about Evie and Dan and the joking pact that they made that if they were still single on Evie’s 30th birthday, they would get married. They surprise themselves by waking up the day after Evie’s birthday very hung over and married in Las Vegas. The story jumps back and forth from the time of the mistletoe pact and present day and many instances in between. This is a fun feel good story with Christmas themes interwoven. Very enjoyable. Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for an ARC of this novel.

The Mistletoe pact is a story about 2 friends Evie and Dan. At the ripe old age of thirty two, they wake up one Christmas Eve morning to find out they got married in Vegas. Throwback, eight years prior Evie and Dan made a pact that if they weren’t married by thirty they would marry each other. All jokes aside, they did it. They discuss divorce but end up following their hearts instead only to realize they are meant to be.
Honest opinion, this novel was not what I expected and just couldn't get into it. I'm a sucker for a good romance so this is a pretty strong review. I wanted to like it but was never able to connection with Evie as a main character and really had to force myself to complete the book.