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Maybe It's the Mistletoe: Christmas Christian Inspirational Romantic Comedy Holiday RomCom
151 pages, Paperback
Published October 31, 2023
About the author
Lori Soard
40 books36 followersLori Soard has a PhD in Journalism and creative writing, but she's hardly the stuffy professor type. She enjoys a good laugh and loves to read, write and watch romantic comedies.
"Life is too short to stay unhappy for long. Nothing cures a bad mood like a good belly chuckle."
She helps edit several areas at well-known websites and writes around four articles every week. When she isn't working on her novels or other writing, Lori enjoys reading and spending time with her family.
The entire family is passionate about animals.
"It's a zoo around here," she says with a laugh.
Lori has two daughters and one granddaughter. She's been married for 31 years to her high school sweetheart.
"Life is too short to stay unhappy for long. Nothing cures a bad mood like a good belly chuckle."
She helps edit several areas at well-known websites and writes around four articles every week. When she isn't working on her novels or other writing, Lori enjoys reading and spending time with her family.
The entire family is passionate about animals.
"It's a zoo around here," she says with a laugh.
Lori has two daughters and one granddaughter. She's been married for 31 years to her high school sweetheart.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 22, 2023
📚THE STORY📚
Annie is doing her best to look after her grandfather, who lives in an assisted living home and is still reeling from the loss of his beloved wife, Annie's grandmother. She spends lots of time with the quirky residents at Days Never New, brightening their days and catching up on gossip.
But despite her best intentions, Annie often finds herself falling frustratingly short. She's known in town to be a bit of a disaster, and though she's loved for her sparkly personality and big heart, folks in town also talk about her clumsiness and forgetfulness.
Firefighter Jackson is done with women after being humiliatingly left at the altar. And when he's called to multiple fires at a local nursing home, the scatterbrained volunteer who started them immediately rubs him the wrong way. He's not interested in someone irresponsible enough to accidentally set fires around vulnerable people more than once.
But the local Christmas celebration and Snow Ball needs to be planned. Annie's grandmother used to do it, and without her, there's no one able to step up. Annie and Jackson both want to make sure this important and magical event doesn't collapse, so they end up working together. As he gets to know her, Jackson realizes that Annie is an amazing woman despite struggling with some things. Will they become partners in more things than the annual Christmas festival?
💕THE ROMANCE💕
This starts off as 'enemies to lovers,' but Jackson's initial poor impression of Annie changes pretty quickly. He's supportive and friendly, and their time together working on the Christmas event includes a lot of enjoyable flirting. Jackson sees Annie for who she really is, loving her for all of it, from her cheerful caring for others to her challenges keeping track of things.
And Annie is good for Jackson, too. He learns about what he really wants in a partner and heals from his heartbreak. The specter of his ex informs the romance, from influencing his emotions to bringing up jealousy and other angst when she reappears in the third act.
🎄CHRISTMAS🎄
Annie is making gingerbread houses at the nursing home when we first meet her. The plot centers around her and Jackson creating a magical, romantic, holiday themed festival for the small town. Glittery snowflakes at the Snow Ball, and a band called the Candy Canes playing Christmas music top it off.
✝️FAITH ELEMENTS✝️
Annie is heavily involved in her church and cites her church as a place where she is unconditionally accepted even when other people are judgmental or shame her about her struggles.
A lot is made about a relationship being "God's plan," and how a person might come to understand that or get confused about whether God wants them to be with a specific partner.
Both characters pray, and prayers are directly answered, both circumstantially and via inner dialogue.
📝MY THOUGHTS📝
Okay, I know the narration never specifically mentions that Annie has been diagnosed with ADHD, but I can't help but think that this book is pretty good representation of life with that condition. Annie's mistakes create real damage and have real consequences, but she's able to overcome the obstacles of her poor attention and memory through the support of her community, a strong prayer life, positivity, and creativity.
We see how her personality and relationships have been informed by her executive function issues, and it really forms the backbone for the romance and the plot. Jackson learns to work with her, lifts her up in her uniqueness, and delights in who she is on every level. As someone who works very closely with young people with this and similar diagnoses, I really appreciated the way this was depicted!
I also loved the nursing home setting, and all the different personalities of the various side characters.
Annie is doing her best to look after her grandfather, who lives in an assisted living home and is still reeling from the loss of his beloved wife, Annie's grandmother. She spends lots of time with the quirky residents at Days Never New, brightening their days and catching up on gossip.
But despite her best intentions, Annie often finds herself falling frustratingly short. She's known in town to be a bit of a disaster, and though she's loved for her sparkly personality and big heart, folks in town also talk about her clumsiness and forgetfulness.
Firefighter Jackson is done with women after being humiliatingly left at the altar. And when he's called to multiple fires at a local nursing home, the scatterbrained volunteer who started them immediately rubs him the wrong way. He's not interested in someone irresponsible enough to accidentally set fires around vulnerable people more than once.
But the local Christmas celebration and Snow Ball needs to be planned. Annie's grandmother used to do it, and without her, there's no one able to step up. Annie and Jackson both want to make sure this important and magical event doesn't collapse, so they end up working together. As he gets to know her, Jackson realizes that Annie is an amazing woman despite struggling with some things. Will they become partners in more things than the annual Christmas festival?
💕THE ROMANCE💕
This starts off as 'enemies to lovers,' but Jackson's initial poor impression of Annie changes pretty quickly. He's supportive and friendly, and their time together working on the Christmas event includes a lot of enjoyable flirting. Jackson sees Annie for who she really is, loving her for all of it, from her cheerful caring for others to her challenges keeping track of things.
And Annie is good for Jackson, too. He learns about what he really wants in a partner and heals from his heartbreak. The specter of his ex informs the romance, from influencing his emotions to bringing up jealousy and other angst when she reappears in the third act.
🎄CHRISTMAS🎄
Annie is making gingerbread houses at the nursing home when we first meet her. The plot centers around her and Jackson creating a magical, romantic, holiday themed festival for the small town. Glittery snowflakes at the Snow Ball, and a band called the Candy Canes playing Christmas music top it off.
✝️FAITH ELEMENTS✝️
Annie is heavily involved in her church and cites her church as a place where she is unconditionally accepted even when other people are judgmental or shame her about her struggles.
A lot is made about a relationship being "God's plan," and how a person might come to understand that or get confused about whether God wants them to be with a specific partner.
Both characters pray, and prayers are directly answered, both circumstantially and via inner dialogue.
📝MY THOUGHTS📝
Okay, I know the narration never specifically mentions that Annie has been diagnosed with ADHD, but I can't help but think that this book is pretty good representation of life with that condition. Annie's mistakes create real damage and have real consequences, but she's able to overcome the obstacles of her poor attention and memory through the support of her community, a strong prayer life, positivity, and creativity.
We see how her personality and relationships have been informed by her executive function issues, and it really forms the backbone for the romance and the plot. Jackson learns to work with her, lifts her up in her uniqueness, and delights in who she is on every level. As someone who works very closely with young people with this and similar diagnoses, I really appreciated the way this was depicted!
I also loved the nursing home setting, and all the different personalities of the various side characters.
Displaying 1 of 1 review