The Hazards of Mistletoe

Classic story of friends falling in love

Savannah and Glen have been holiday friends forever, always meeting up when her family stays in Vail for the Christmas holiday and then keeping up by phone, text, and email the rest of the year. And while Savannah can't deny how attractive Glen is, how she wouldn't mind knowing him quite a bit better than just a friend, she knows better than to cross that line with him. After all, they live on different sides of the country, and risking their friendship like that just isn't worth it, not if it means losing him. But then there's the mistletoe and the unexpected kiss and the almost so much more… And everything changes.

The Verdict: Savannah and Glen are clearly easy friends, in some ways having grown up together. So it's only natural that something of a crush forms. But a simple night watching a movie becomes much more complicated when Glen puts a stop to things and walks away, altering their friendship forever.

Unable to face Glen after he rejects her, Savannah gets dressed and makes a run for it — clear across the country and back to college, where it's easier to escape the friendship it seems she's ruined. But when Christmas rolls around again, she can't talk her father into making other plans, so it looks like she's going to have to find a way to avoid him until what used to be her favorite holiday is over.

But this year things are different. For one, her dad's got a girlfriend — a serious one — and her two kids are along for the holiday. Her potential new step-brother is just a few years older and is acting more protective than she expects. His younger sister is easy to get along with and looks up to Savannah, even before they've met. And Glen? After a falling out with his parents, he's got a job and a crappy apartment, a roommate who's more than happy to help him out, and a big need to explain, apologize, and somehow get Savannah back.

Their reunion was tense, as one would certainly expect, and Glen makes it very clear he's not giving up until Savannah hears him out. Against her better judgement — and in spite of her embarrassment from his rejection — she tentatively accepts Glen's olive branch. But as cute as their romance was, things started feeling a bit rushed. After lots of tension and build-up, not to mention some plotting on Glen's part just to get Savannah to listen to him, it almost felt like things fell into place too easily. In some ways, that was a good thing, since it was really all just a big misunderstanding. But it also would have been nice if the reward had been longer.

In any case, The Hazards of Mistletoe is a quick, easy story of genuine friendship coming of age and two friends finally bridging the attraction gap into something more. Glen is genuinely sweet, and Savannah is just as real and insecure as any girl her age. The characters are easy to love, and the classic story of friends falling in love is always a winner.

***FicCentral received this book from Inkslinger PR for free in exchange for an honest review. Even so, we're far too opinionated to let a freebie influence our thoughts or the contents of the reviews we post here.