That's What I'm Talking About

Willa Davis, lover of animals, runs a successful pet boutique. She had a rough childhood, in and out of foster care, but she’s turned her life around; seeing the positive in everyone and everything. She believes in second chances, except maybe when it comes to Keane Winters, the boy who stood her up in high school, regardless of how sexy he is now.

Keane Winters, now a successful contractor, was just a teen when he stood up Willa for the Sadie Hawkins dance her freshman year of high school. The funny/sad thing is… he doesn’t recognize Willa one bit. Has no clue of their history or why she would be short with him. However, her feisty attitude is only one of the many things he finds attractive.

The Trouble with Mistletoe, Ms. Shalvis’s second offering in her delightful Heartbreaker Bay series, shares the story of Willa and Keane, two individuals with enough baggage and cynicism to keep away anyone looking for a long-term relationship. However, the power of attraction, on both a physical and emotional level, punches through their tough exteriors, allowing for a friends-and-lovers situation. I admire both characters’ independence, coupled with strong friendships, that they’ve used to help cultivate a healthy adulthood. Both genuinely generous and kind, they vacillate between mutual feelings of one-night-stand lust and wanting more-than-friends, not wanting to hurt the other, but not wanting to be hurt.

Their relationship takes time to develop, which is appropriate both because of their individual histories and fear of relationships, as well as the desire to be friends and like one another before acting on their desires. I appreciate that both characters are open and honest to a realistic degree (we all keep somethings to ourselves), and don’t seem to judge each other based on the past or potential misunderstandings.

The only somewhat negative on my end is that Willa and Keane’s relationship has a lot of back and forth, hot and cold. It is understandable, given the individual histories of both involved; however, near the end I became tired of the wishy-washy feelings expressed by both Keane and Willa. They shared an immense attraction and the fear of being hurt and/or commitment is legit, but the back and forth went on about one too many times.

In the end,The Trouble with Mistletoe is a sweet and spicy contemporary romance. Don’t let the title fool you; it’s not really a holiday-themed story, and it can be enjoyed at anytime of the year. Willa and Keane are two likable characters with hearts-of-gold, and you’ll be rooting for them to get together just as much as their friends do.

My Rating:  B, Liked It

Review copy provided by Edelweiss/publisher

Originally posted at That's What I'm Talking About