Review: The challenge of a novella....
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 17, 2012
Under the Mistletoe is a great example of a book that had HUGE potential but was cut way too short.We met Mia in The Sweetest Thing (my favorite book in the Lucky Harbor series). I loved Mia's character in The Sweetest Thing, so I was delighted to learn that this holiday novella would feature her as the heroine.Quite simply, this book missed the mark. I finished it somewhat unimpressed and more tragically...unmoved. The potential was certainly there. Mia's character is still extremely likeable, but I was a little more hesitant with Nick's character.Both Nick and Ma were given up for adoption when they were babies, but that's where the commonality ends. Mia was adopted and loved by parents whereas Nick was bounced around from home to home. Nick required a whole lot more than 8 small chapters to fully develop, and because of the short length.... his character never developed for me. The relationship between he and Mia seemed immature, premature, and not entirely believable. Perhaps if they had been given their own full length novel, I may have come to love them.I can still recommend this book for die hard Lucky Harbor fans and I whole-heartedly recommend the first three books of the series for new comers.A big thanks to Grand Central Publishing via Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review!