Book Nerds Across America

Julie who is a Pathologist living in Arizona has been friends with Gavin, a pro football player in Texas since they were kids, their parents are best friends and they have spent holidays and vacations together.  When the two go home to Colorado for the holidays their parents take this time to finally get the two together.

Gavin has never been eager to jump into a relationship with Julie, afraid it will ruin the close friendship they already have, to him it is not worth losing. Julie needs to prove to herself she is not boring so she has Gavin fix her up with a friend, but when Gavin sets up the date for Julie, he realizes that maybe his feelings go a bit deeper than just friendship.

The book is a quick read, the family is funny as they try ways to navigate  Gavin and Julie toward a relationship other than friendship.  Julie and Gavin are both very likable, and you do find yourself rooting for them. They have great chemistry between them in whatever situation they are in. The relationship is not a hurried one, it builds gradually, but there were times I had an issue with that, I wanted them together sooner! There is also plenty of steaminess in the book, but nothing that verges toward vulgar.

If you are a fan of sports romances, or Christmas movies and reads,  you will enjoy The Mistletoe Trap, it is a fun romance with just the right amount of hotness!

Mistletoe and Mr Right is the second in a series from Sarah Morgenthaler, following Tourist Attraction, which I did not read. However I don’t feel like you need to read the first to read this one, it also acts as a great stand-alone. But if you want to invest some time in some of the more minor characters in Mistletoe and Mr. Right, I suggest reading Tourist Attraction.

Keeley Andrews knows more than anyone that you only live once. So when she receives an invitation to spend two weeks in Paris, all expenses paid, she jumps at the chance. 

Tee's Review

August was one of those months that I struggled to read. Nothing  I read seemed to captured my attention or if I did manage to read, it took me forever to finish the book. Luckily I was gifted a copy of the recently released Christmas romance A Perfect Paris Christmas by Mandy Baggot from NetGalley. I love Hallmark Christmas movies, yes, all the gooey stupid and predictable storylines, so I knew reading this book would help me get out of my slump. And it did!

A  Perfect Paris Christmas was not the typical romance at all, it was actually deeper than most that I have read. The Mandy Baggot has done a great job at writing not only a romance book but one that could easily be read by fans of women’s fiction. 

There are actually several plots going on in the book, with quite a lot of secondary characters, but the book is well written and they do not get confusing or overwhelming, they flow perfectly with the story.  There is Rach, who is the main character's best friend and her travel partner to Paris. Silvie, who is the mom of the kidney donor, and Erica, who is my favorite, and who reminds us that we need to live each day, as we are not guaranteed the next one.

The main character is Keeley Andrews, she is a survivor of a car wreck that kills her sister Bea. We are told that Keeley was also near the point of losing her life but was given another chance with a kidney transplant. She is invited to Paris to meet the mother of the donor and while she is there she also meets Ethan, who himself is struggling with the recent loss of his best friend, while also fighting with the friend's family on how to run the hotels that they owned together. Ethan also has a great storyline with a homeless girl named Jeannie and her dog BoBo which quickly became one of my favorite parts of the book.

My favorite in any romance, reading or watching, is always the meet-cute, and the one between Keeley and Ethan did not disappoint, it is comical and even involves a penguin and a prank. It wasn’t a quick meet, it was well into the book and I was beginning to think we would not be getting one!

The author also did a great job describing the streets of Paris, from the carousel to the Christmas markets, to the interiors of the hotels and small courtyards. It transported you there and made the story even more magical because you pictured each scene very vividly along with the added bits from your own imagination.

When I started A Perfect Paris Christmas I was expecting the nice fluffy candy floss sweetness of most romance books, but the book offered me so much more than that. It was a heartfelt read about several different types of love, dealing with grief, in-depth family relationships, and very touching friendships. If you need an escape from your usual reading I would highly recommend this wonderfully written story.