A Mistletoe Mismatch - Review

A Mistletoe Mismatch (A Christmas Match, # 4)

By: Sally Britton

Expected Publication: November 23, 2021 by Pink Citrus Books, LLC

182 pages

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Clean Romance, Christmas

Source: YouTube Audiobooks

( Goodreads | Amazon )

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Goodreads description--If Jessica and Ellis can put the past behind them to work together, it will be a Christmas miracle. Childhood enemies fight to end one relationship while trying not to fall into one of their own.

Christmas comes but once a year -- a relief for Jessica Nettle, because that means she need only see the horrid Mr. Webb when he visits his cousin. Jessica has been at war with Mr. Webb for as long as she can remember. What started as children playing pranks has grown to a competitive feud. This year promises to be the worst of all, especially when Jessica learns that her sister is falling in love with that cousin. A match between the two of them would be a disaster.

Ellis Webb spends every Christmas in the country with his cousin. The holiday is one of the highlights of his year, despite the prickly Miss Nettle's attempts to ruin it for him. This year, Ellis's cousin has a mind to marry, and he's looking with increasing interest at Miss Nettle's younger sister. Such a marriage, with such a family, will surely end in disappointment and broken hearts. When Miss Nettle proposes to Ellis that they join forces to keep the ill-fated couple apart, he swallows his distaste and agrees to her plan.

Amid the merriment of celebrations, Jessica and Ellis scheme to keep two hearts apart. But as the days pass and the magic of season works upon Jessica, she realizes she may have lost her clever game -- and her heart -- to her childhood enemy.

A Mistletoe Mismatch was the cutest story. Jessica's family has always been close with their neighbors. I can't remember their last name, but Franklin is the oldest of the neighbor's sons, and Ellis is his cousin. Ellis has been coming to spend the summer and Christmas with his cousins since his youth. Jessica developed a crush on Ellis, and when she was 14 or 15, he broke her heart. She has been pranking him ever since.

Jessica is a flawed character, it's true. She got hurt, and she's sought to hurt Ellis in return ever since. Normally, I'm against this behavior. But since we don't learn everything at once, I found their rivalry funny. The pranks she's pulled made me giggle. Of course, I would never condone someone behaving this way in real life. And Ellis was so patient with her, never retaliating in return. He doesn't have a clue why they went from childhood friends to rivals.

But the two make a truce in order to sort through the business of Franklin's pursuit of Jessica's sister. Again, I can't remember her name. And since I listened to the audiobook instead of reading this one, I can't just so look it up easily. Regardless, Jessica's dismissal of Frank's interest was a little annoying--perhaps the most annoying part of the book to me. But I guess she had some trauma she needed to unpack before she could wrap her head around it. Ellis wanted to ensure his cousin wouldn't change his feelings and damage a long-standing relationship between the two families.

I loved Aunt Temperance and her little dog. I liked how her meddling was helpful and impactful for one sister and painful for the other. Sometimes good intentions still cause pain.

When all is said and done, I enjoyed this enemies-to-lovers tale. Jessica grows in much-needed ways. Ellis also sees where he's been wrong in the past. Two happily-every afters. What's not to like? A Mistletoe Mismatch gets 4 Stars. Have you read A Mistletoe Mismatch? What did you think? Let me know!