Christmas on Mistletoe Lane
Includes a bonus short story
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4.4 • 17 Ratings
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
This USA Today bestselling author invites you to the delightful town of Sweetwater Springs, where the magic of Christmas brings two strangers together in the most unexpected way. Featuring a bonus novella.
Christmas is coming to the North Carolina mountains, and the air is fresh and crisp and filled with promise. After the devastating loss of her job in the big city, the small town of Sweetwater Springs feels like heaven to Kaitlyn Russo. She's inherited her grandparents' charming (if a little rundown) bed and breakfast, and it's just the new lease on life she needs. Only "heaven" comes with a catch - and a handsome and completelyinfuriating one at that.
After what he hopes will be a quick trip, Mitch Hargrove wants nothing more than to put his hometown in the rearview mirror. But his plans get derailed when he learns he's now half-owner of the Sweetwater B&B. The fact that he's given only two months to make the inn a success is a huge problem, but it's his pretty - and incredibly headstrong - partner who's the real challenge. With the holiday fast approaching and a grand re-opening looming, will Mitch keep running from the ghosts of Christmas past . . . or will he realize the true gift he's been given?
Includes the bonus short story "A Midnight Clear" by Hope Ramsay!
What readers are saying about Christmas on Mistletoe Lane...
"This book was exactly what I needed to kick off the holiday season."
"A holiday story full of second chances, romance and magic...It's got all the feels-and a fabulous holiday message."
"I truly enjoyed this fun holiday read."
"This book needs to be made into a Hallmark Christmas movie!"
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Rains (One Last Kiss) charms with this Christmas-themed contemporary series launch about a hard-nosed former Marine turned police officer and a vulnerable up-and-coming interior decorator. Kaitlyn Russo left New York City after she was fired for protesting a celebrity client's unwanted advances. She hopes to start over with a B&B her grandparents left her in the quaint town of Sweetwater Springs, N.C. Turns out she's not the only heir: the other is Mitch Hargrove, who is just finishing up a stint in the military and has no intention of staying in Sweetwater. To make matters worse, they must jointly run the business for two months or lose it to charity. Mitch agrees to stay on temporarily, but soon he's hoping to stay forever if Kaitlyn is amenable. This first installment of Rains's Sweetwater Springs series is cozy and most enjoyable. A strong cast of supporting characters (especially Kaitlyn's bestie Josie and cappuccino-reading fortune-teller and fudge-maker Dawanda) as well as expert characterizations and strong plotting will have readers looking forward to future installments.
Customer Reviews
sweet and sexy
CHRISTMAS ON MISTLETOE LANE is the first instalment in Annie Rains’ contemporary, adult SWEETWATER SPRINGS romance series focusing on the small town of Sweetwater Springs, North Carolina. This is interior designer Kaitlyn Russo, and retired US Marine Mitch Hargrove’s story line.
Told from dual third person perspectives (Mitch and Kaitlyn) CHRISTMAS ON MISTLETOE LANE focuses on the building relationship between interior designer Kaitlyn Russo, and retired US Marine Mitch Hargrove. The recent death of her grandmother Mable pulled Kaitlyn Russo to the small town of Sweetwater Springs, North Carolina where our heroine inherited her grandmother’s beloved Sweetwater B&B, an inheritance that came with a questionable caveat. Enter retired US Marine Mitch Hargrove, one-time B&B caretaker and friend to Henry and Mable Russo, and the new co-owner of the Sweetwater B&B. A two month ‘obligatory business arrangement ‘ in order to inherit or sell the B&B finds our couple working together to make the small hotel into a thriving business. What ensues is the building relationship and romance between Kaitlyn and Mitch, and the potential fall-out as Mitch struggles with memories of the past, and the perceived sins of a teenaged boy.
Mitch Hargrove wants nothing to do with Sweetwater Springs, a town that brings too many fractured memories of long ago. Aside from him mother, there is nothing and no one that calls to his heart. Preparing for a security assignment in the new year Mitch is surprised to discover that Ms. Mable has ‘arranged’ a two-month assignment of her own. Kaitlyn Russo was a successful New York interior designer but a designer whose career was destroyed by a professional fall-out and the accusations of a celebrity extraordinaire. Hoping to restart her life Kaitlyn is shocked when she is forced to work alongside a man who wants nothing to do with the Sweetwater B&B. If they cannot find a way to work together, the B&B will be sold, and everything will go to charity.
The relationship between Mitch and Kaitlyn begins as a forced business arrangement, an arrangement neither one is happy to oblige. Mitch’s plans do not include running a run-down B&B, and Kaitlyn hopes to rebuild her grandmother’s once-successful business. The sexual attraction between Kaitlyn and Mitch is palpable and immediate. The $ex scenes are intimate, passionate but mostly implied.
We are introduced to the colorful and charismatic people and places of Sweetwater Springs including attorney Jacob Garrison; police chief Alex Logan; Mitch’s mother Gina Hargrove, and aunt Nettie, and longtime friend Tucker Locklear; Fudge Shop owner Dawanda; bookstore owner Julia Kent; Kaitlyn’s best friend and journalist Josie; as well as a number of Sweetwater B&B guests including graphic designer and biker Paris. I am definitely hoping to read a happily ever after for Paris.
CHRISTMAS ON MISTLETOE LANE is a sweet and sexy story line; a small-town romance focusing on two people who lives are interrupted by a meddling but well-meaning old lady. The premise is entertaining, engaging and endearing; the characters are dynamic and lively, especially the B&B guest; the romance is tender and dramatic as Mitch continues to pull away giving mixed signals with every encounter. A wonderful holiday read, CHRISTMAS ON MISTLETOE LANE is a great start to the holiday season.