Hello Everyone :)
I hope you're all doing well.
Thanks so much for joining me for Blogmas Day Eleven, here on The Preppy Book Princess :)
Back at the start of 2016, I had reviewed The Mistletoe Promise by Richard Paul Evans on my blog, which you can find here. This year I watched The Mistletoe Inn on TV, and I completely loved it, but I didn't realize it was based off of another Richard Paul Evans novel until afterwards. I knew with how much I adored the movie that I needed to read the book ASAP, and I ended up enjoying this beautifully written holiday tale so much that I knew I needed to share it with all of you guys today.
The Mistletoe Inn by Richard Paul Evans:
Source: Library
Publisher: Simon Schuster
Publication Date: November 17th, 2015
Genre: Adult Fiction/Contemporary Romance
Synopsis:
At thirty-two Kimberly Rossetti, a finance officer at a Lexus car dealership, has had her heart broken more times than she wants to remember. With two failed engagements, a divorce and again alone with no prospects, she hardly seems the type to dream of being a published romance author. Dreading another holiday alone, she signs up for The Mistletoe Retreat, a nine-day writing retreat in Savannah, Georgia. Deep inside Kimberly knows she's at a junction in her life and it's time to either fulfill her dream or let it go. The other reason she decides to attend the conference is because famed romance writer, H.T. Cowell, once the best selling romance writer in America, and the author whose books instilled in her the desire to be a writer, will be speaking in public for the first time in more than a decade.
In one of her breakout sessions Kimberly meets another aspiring writer, and one of the few men at the conference, Zeke, an intelligent man with a wry wit who seems as interested in Kimberly as he is in the retreat. As Kimberly begins to open up to him about her stories and dreams, she inadvertently reveals her own troubled past. As Zeke helps her to discover why her books fail to live up to their potential she begins to wonder if he's really talking more about her life than her literature. But as she grows closer to him, she realizes that Zeke has his own darkness, a past he's unwilling to talk about.
The theme of The Mistletoe Inn is that like literature, relationships must be lived with passion and vulnerability to succeed.
My Review:
The Mistletoe Inn is a beautifully written holiday tale that hooks you into the amazing story unfolding in its pages right from the start. The perfect mixture of sweet, bittersweet, and unfolding emotions; it'll definitely make you reconsider the things you take for granted this holiday season.
Kimberly has had her fair share of bad relationships; culminating in a divorce with a cheating scandal that rocked the local papers. She's getting by day to day working in the finance department of a car dealership, and she doesn't have much in her life besides her amazing relationship with her aging father. Her mother took her own life during the Christmas festivities, and ever since, she's had a hard time showing any enthusiasm for everyone else's favorite season. Deep down inside, Kim wants nothing more than to be a best selling romance author, but she lacks the faith in herself to see her dream come to life. Right before the holiday season approaches, she's dealt a devastating blow when she finds out her father's been diagnosed with cancer. However, he's insistent that his daughter will not drown in sorrow during the season, and he wants nothing more than for her to follow her dreams. So he takes it upon himself to register Kim for a nine day writing retreat at the Mistletoe Inn in Georgia. Kim's hesitant at first, but soon decides to embark on the journey towards seeing her dream come to life.
The retreat of course has its good points and bad points, but Kim soon finds herself bonding with a fellow budding writer, Zeke. He's the first decent man who's ever truly shown an interest in her, and his faith in her and her writing definitely helps her build her confidence. However, Kim is still struggling with the events of her past that she's never truly been able to deal with, and Zeke's past soon turns into a huge stumbling block between them. Both of their hearts are anxious to love again, but struggling to get over the reason's that have kept them locked up in the past.
I thoroughly enjoyed this heartwarming story from start to finish. Kim was a protagonist I really found myself rooting for, even though her bad decisions were a little hard to read about at times. I really admired the way she goes out of her way for whatever her father needs, and the endearing relationship between the two of them was such a beautiful addition to the story. I was worried going into this one that the romance would feel like insta-love, since the retreat only takes place over nine days. However, I was definitely pleasantly surprised in both the way the relationship developed, and the way it was concluded in the pleasantly satisfying ending. One of the main reasons I didn't end up loving The Mistletoe Promise, was because I felt it almost had too much deep and dark content in it for it to truly be a Christmas story. However, with this one, I really feel Richard Paul Evans hit the nail on the head, as the reader got the perfect combination of deeper emotional issues from both main character's pasts, but they also got a perfect mix of the budding romance, and the Christmas festivities happening around them.
After finishing this novel, I can honestly say I'd love nothing more than to visit Mistletoe Inn myself, as the author truly brought this beautiful place to life in this story, and I love reading novels where this is the case. Overall, The Mistletoe Inn is a wonderful story with beautiful writing, well developed characters, a plot with just enough twists and turns to keep you engaged, and a perfectly developed romance that happens in the most idyllic of settings. I rated this one four out of five stars, and I definitely think I'm going to have to pick up the third book in Richard Paul Evan's Mistletoe collection next holiday season. I can't recommend this heartfelt story enough, and you should definitely check it out if you're a fan of Christmas stories. Also, definitely do not miss the chance to watch this movie on the Hallmark channel if you get the chance. Alicia Witt and David Alpay both did a fantastic job of bringing these characters to life, and it's for sure one of my favorites of this year's lineup!
Thanks so much for reading guys! I hope you all have a great rest of your day, and I'll see you all tomorrow for Blogmas Day Twelve!
This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The Christmas tree photo was taken by me, and belongs to me. The book cover photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners.
I hope you're all doing well.
Thanks so much for joining me for Blogmas Day Eleven, here on The Preppy Book Princess :)
Back at the start of 2016, I had reviewed The Mistletoe Promise by Richard Paul Evans on my blog, which you can find here. This year I watched The Mistletoe Inn on TV, and I completely loved it, but I didn't realize it was based off of another Richard Paul Evans novel until afterwards. I knew with how much I adored the movie that I needed to read the book ASAP, and I ended up enjoying this beautifully written holiday tale so much that I knew I needed to share it with all of you guys today.
The Mistletoe Inn by Richard Paul Evans:
Source: Library
Publisher: Simon Schuster
Publication Date: November 17th, 2015
Genre: Adult Fiction/Contemporary Romance
Synopsis:
At thirty-two Kimberly Rossetti, a finance officer at a Lexus car dealership, has had her heart broken more times than she wants to remember. With two failed engagements, a divorce and again alone with no prospects, she hardly seems the type to dream of being a published romance author. Dreading another holiday alone, she signs up for The Mistletoe Retreat, a nine-day writing retreat in Savannah, Georgia. Deep inside Kimberly knows she's at a junction in her life and it's time to either fulfill her dream or let it go. The other reason she decides to attend the conference is because famed romance writer, H.T. Cowell, once the best selling romance writer in America, and the author whose books instilled in her the desire to be a writer, will be speaking in public for the first time in more than a decade.
In one of her breakout sessions Kimberly meets another aspiring writer, and one of the few men at the conference, Zeke, an intelligent man with a wry wit who seems as interested in Kimberly as he is in the retreat. As Kimberly begins to open up to him about her stories and dreams, she inadvertently reveals her own troubled past. As Zeke helps her to discover why her books fail to live up to their potential she begins to wonder if he's really talking more about her life than her literature. But as she grows closer to him, she realizes that Zeke has his own darkness, a past he's unwilling to talk about.
The theme of The Mistletoe Inn is that like literature, relationships must be lived with passion and vulnerability to succeed.
My Review:
The Mistletoe Inn is a beautifully written holiday tale that hooks you into the amazing story unfolding in its pages right from the start. The perfect mixture of sweet, bittersweet, and unfolding emotions; it'll definitely make you reconsider the things you take for granted this holiday season.
Kimberly has had her fair share of bad relationships; culminating in a divorce with a cheating scandal that rocked the local papers. She's getting by day to day working in the finance department of a car dealership, and she doesn't have much in her life besides her amazing relationship with her aging father. Her mother took her own life during the Christmas festivities, and ever since, she's had a hard time showing any enthusiasm for everyone else's favorite season. Deep down inside, Kim wants nothing more than to be a best selling romance author, but she lacks the faith in herself to see her dream come to life. Right before the holiday season approaches, she's dealt a devastating blow when she finds out her father's been diagnosed with cancer. However, he's insistent that his daughter will not drown in sorrow during the season, and he wants nothing more than for her to follow her dreams. So he takes it upon himself to register Kim for a nine day writing retreat at the Mistletoe Inn in Georgia. Kim's hesitant at first, but soon decides to embark on the journey towards seeing her dream come to life.
The retreat of course has its good points and bad points, but Kim soon finds herself bonding with a fellow budding writer, Zeke. He's the first decent man who's ever truly shown an interest in her, and his faith in her and her writing definitely helps her build her confidence. However, Kim is still struggling with the events of her past that she's never truly been able to deal with, and Zeke's past soon turns into a huge stumbling block between them. Both of their hearts are anxious to love again, but struggling to get over the reason's that have kept them locked up in the past.
I thoroughly enjoyed this heartwarming story from start to finish. Kim was a protagonist I really found myself rooting for, even though her bad decisions were a little hard to read about at times. I really admired the way she goes out of her way for whatever her father needs, and the endearing relationship between the two of them was such a beautiful addition to the story. I was worried going into this one that the romance would feel like insta-love, since the retreat only takes place over nine days. However, I was definitely pleasantly surprised in both the way the relationship developed, and the way it was concluded in the pleasantly satisfying ending. One of the main reasons I didn't end up loving The Mistletoe Promise, was because I felt it almost had too much deep and dark content in it for it to truly be a Christmas story. However, with this one, I really feel Richard Paul Evans hit the nail on the head, as the reader got the perfect combination of deeper emotional issues from both main character's pasts, but they also got a perfect mix of the budding romance, and the Christmas festivities happening around them.
After finishing this novel, I can honestly say I'd love nothing more than to visit Mistletoe Inn myself, as the author truly brought this beautiful place to life in this story, and I love reading novels where this is the case. Overall, The Mistletoe Inn is a wonderful story with beautiful writing, well developed characters, a plot with just enough twists and turns to keep you engaged, and a perfectly developed romance that happens in the most idyllic of settings. I rated this one four out of five stars, and I definitely think I'm going to have to pick up the third book in Richard Paul Evan's Mistletoe collection next holiday season. I can't recommend this heartfelt story enough, and you should definitely check it out if you're a fan of Christmas stories. Also, definitely do not miss the chance to watch this movie on the Hallmark channel if you get the chance. Alicia Witt and David Alpay both did a fantastic job of bringing these characters to life, and it's for sure one of my favorites of this year's lineup!
Thanks so much for reading guys! I hope you all have a great rest of your day, and I'll see you all tomorrow for Blogmas Day Twelve!
This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The Christmas tree photo was taken by me, and belongs to me. The book cover photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners.
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