Mistletoe and Molly

Americana #45

by Janet Dailey

Returning home to Vermont, Jonas Concannon meets his first love, single mother Bridget O'Shea, and, with some holiday magic, finds himself back in her life and falling in love with her and her daughter Molly.

Genres: Romance, Christmas, Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, Second Chance, Harlequin Presents

238 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Janet Anne Haradon Dailey was an American author of numerous romance novels as Janet Dailey (her married name). Her novels have been translated into nineteen languages and have sold over 300 million copies worldwide.

Born in 1944 in Storm Lake, Iowa, she attended secretarial school in Omaha, Nebraska before meeting her husband, Bill. Bill and Janet worked together in construction and land development until they "retired" to travel throughout the United States, inspiring Janet to write the Americana series of romances, where she set a novel in every state of the Union. In 1974, Janet Dailey was the first American author to write for Harlequin. Her first novel was NO QUARTER ASKED.

She had since gone on to write approximately 90 novels, 21 of which have appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List. She won many awards and accolades for her work, appearing widely on Radio and Television. Today, there are over three hundred million Janet Dailey books in print in 19 different languages, making her one of the most popular novelists in the world.

Janet Dailey passed away peacefully in her home in Branson on Saturday, December 14, 2013. She was 69.

Reviews

[*CJ* · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Green Mountain Man" is the story of Bridget and Jonas.

This sweet second chance romance has our hero returning back to Vermont and meet the love of his life again. Ten years ago, he had to leave the heroine to pursue a career, and was heartbroken when she marries another man, and has his kid. On returning, he realizes she is a widow, dating someone..and that he has forgotten nothing about her. The book then proceeds to us getting glimpses into their life- her relationship with her interfering mother and spirited daughter, his unrequited love, the interaction between the hero and the daughter and his jealousy towards her, the resolution and after a lot of drama, ending in a HEA. I could predict the reveal, however, I wished they had showed confrontation with the mother and a discussion with the daughter instead of fade to black.

Never the less, enjoyable!

SWE? Safe?
3.5/5

[Mum · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is not worthy of Janet Dailey. None of it made sense. The hero starts out as very manipulative. The heroine has tragic flaws thanks to her mother. Nothing is resolved. Everything is swept under the carpet. I’d be surprised if they were still married five years later. I do not recommend this book to anyone. I am a huge fan of Janet Dailey, and have read a significant percentage of her books. I rate most of her books three to four stars because she understood people. It is with a sad heart that this one only deserves one, at best.

[Karen Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy read. Great ending!

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars ✨

[Red · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first of my Christmas themed books for this season. Almost forgot I had this! Read this right after reading a romance with 3 short stories and I've decided on a new rule for picking out romance novels. There has got to be more then 2 characters in the story. Even though this book is named after the daughter in the story she is no more than a set piece. The writing was no more than passable. I would have quit on this book if it were any longer.

[Ginger Mcclintick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love all of her books her Christmas books are really good her books are never a disappointment loved this book.

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finished the book but was skipping whole paragraphs by the end. The plot was flat lined and never really went anywhere. There was very little drama and I had it figured by page 100. I've read many Xmas romances but this was one of the most mundane. Probably won't read this author again. Carol

[Season · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do believe that I have already read this book. I started it and it just sound so familiar to me. I remember thinking it was a little wordy and drawn out, could have moved a bit faster for me, but it is a nice read for this time of year.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice holiday read!!

[Liz Savidge · Rating 2 out of 5]

The MMC was possessive and manipulative, there were at least 4 typos in the book, the ending was ridiculous, and 99% of the book didn’t even take place around Christmas time!!! I read it in one night simply so I could be done with it.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another book handed down to me from my Mom. This one was more of a romance book. It was kind of boring to me and the characters didn't have much personality. There were two main characters and several others that weren't stressed much. It was a predictable book that had an ending that seemed kind of rushed. It seems as though the author wanted to wrap things up quickly and made everything happy in the end. From the conflict that was present through the entire book between the two main characters, it doesn't seem realistic that the ending be as smooth and peaceful as it was. It was an easy book to read, but not anything that I would want to read again. I have one more from this author given to me by my Mom and I am debating if I should even read it.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly this book was a bit on the boring side, so may opportunties for a bit of Christmas angst and Janet just blew by it. To bad the premise was very good and had the author just thrown in some well placed angst or one simple showdown this book would have been rated much higher. As interesting as vanilla pudding, takes care of the sweet tooth but has you chasing chocolate.

[Marianthi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sweet story.

[Eyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first romance I remember reading. I think I was 10 or 11.

[Jacqueline J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somehow I missed reading this this one back when it as first published and I was reading all of JD’s books. I liked it. Well written and well plotted.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first time I read this book was back in the 1980s. I was in my early twenties. I had remembered it as one of my favorite Janet Dailey's of the Americana series novels. I can see what fascinated me at the time. It was the way this story was written, with chapters alternating between the male and the female protagonists' points of view. I still like this idea. However, when I read it aloud to my husband on a long road trip. He had a lot of complaints that I agreed with. One: The male protagonist is a jealous, grudge-holding jerk. Two: The female protagonist is dishonest by omission. Three: Neither one of these people is mature enough to state one's true feelings or state what truly happened between them. I do not believe there would have been much of a story had there not been a child involved. I give this book three stars because, although I liked it, the plot could have been better. I read these Harlequin Romance novels with the hopes that they might become good movies, and this book comes up short. I did not like the characters enough. I saw no reason for their mutual attraction. I disliked the man from the beginning. Even though the story had a Save-the-Cat moment, it was not enough to exonerate him. It is good, but not great.

[Kristie Leaphart · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Mistletoe and Molly by Janet Dailey. However, I felt like the story jumped and missed full sections. It started off at a normal pace, but then about 75% of the way through it was like the author was told to wrap it up quickly. I don't feel like I really got to understand how the rekindled relationship between Jonas and Bridget really happened.
Jonas and Bridget fell in love at 18 and 19 years old. Bridget's mother doesn't like Jonas and with some good old mother meddling, Jonas, leaves town. Bridget isn't told much of anything.
10 years later, Jonas shows back up. He's a doctor, and Bridget is a widow with a young daughter. Jonas wants her back and decides to woo her.
Overall, it's a cute story, but I could use some more information. It does end well, at least.

[Merle Annette Boykin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely enjoyed this book. I am always looking forward to reading any of Janet Dailey's books, somehow the ones set around Christmas time touch my heart more.

Her books are great. It is inspiring to know that there are authors that realize the vulgarity and crudeness that surround us in today's world is not needed to produce best sellers.

When I found Janet Dailey's books after my mother passed away it brought back my long lost love of reading. She will be terribly missed, but I won't stop reading her works until I have exhausted all that are available to me.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story got better halfway through. Old flames reunite with a secret from him - he had a daughter and a cover story of a marriage so that her controlling mother wouldn’t have to deal with her daughter being unwed.
+ horses, dogs, sheep in the rural area of Vt
- beginning almost stopped Jonas kept pressing her into physical contact even when she said no. He was possessive like he was marking territory. He was acting like he owned Bridget. School guidance counselor from his past told him to chill and he did. Things got better then.
Janet Daily 1st author signed with Harlequin 1974 died in 2013

[Lu Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was originally published in 1979.
It has not aged well.
The new edition has been updated so that people are using cell phones and small stores do a lot of online business but things tolerated in 1979 are now considered completely unacceptable.



Remember that the term "date rape", though first used in 1975, was not commonly used in public health until the 1980's.

[Marcia · Rating 2 out of 5]

The beginning was absolutely terrible. Jonas did seem somewhat like a jerk, and Bridgit's mom is an overbearing nightmare. Fortunately, the mom finally minimized her appearances, and Jonas settled down, so to speak. The ending was rather abrupt. The slow development of the renewed relationship was really what made the book, as most of the time everything happens relatively quickly.

[Bev Walkling · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was published in 2007 and has a rather dated feel to it from flip top phones to attitudes. I didn't love the characters. Jonas was incredibly aggressive in the early part of the book and seemed to have little understand of the word no. Tihis book just doesn't compare in terms of writing quality to others that I've read lately.

[Nakisha · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked the general concept but the book lacked a natural flow. It jumped scenes like a poorly directed movie, which was very disappointing. I honestly don't think that this is one of her novels that I'd reread- Once was definitely enough.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very cute, tender Christmas romance. There were a couple of editing errors (typos) but other than that it was good. I also didn't realize the author is from Storm Lake, Iowa which I found interesting. Not all that far away.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised that this was published in 2007 because it reads like a romance from another era. It lacks the finesse of a good romance. The hero and heroine aren't easy to like. I didn't finish after getting 30% into the book.

[Amber’s Cozy Corner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good. There were time when I thought how Jonas was coming on was cringe but it got better once he backed off a little and let their relationship just happen. I thought how he reacted to Molly being his was a little unrealistic. Overall it was a cute book.

[Ruth Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

I loved the story but just how could a mother manipulate her daughter so bad? I question how after she got the correct story she could have an ongoing relationship with her mother.

[Ann Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable but a nice tead

[Tinae Goodell, Lowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book interesting and cute. I figured a lot of it before the end. Good book to read during the holidays.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of typos