My Favorite Color is Mistletoe

My Favorite Color #3

by Eva Austin

A double fake date for the holidays? What could go wrong? When Audrey suddenly finds herself without a date over Christmas break, Jax comes up with an outrageous plan. But what happens when their charade starts to feel...real?

Audrey, recently dumped and dreading the inevitable couple’s activities at her family’s annual Christmas gathering, reluctantly agrees to team up with Jax for a double fake date. She knows it's a terrible idea, but desperate circumstances call for desperate measures.

As they navigate a run-in with Jax’s ex, a couples' Christmas competition with Audrey’s meddling family, and the looming presence of her long-time childhood crush, the lines between fake and real start to blur.

With unexpected kisses, buried emotions, and a growing chemistry she can’t ignore, Audrey must confront her past and decide if the holiday magic of Carlton Landing can help her rediscover love, or if she’ll let another chance slip away.

Filled with humor, heart, and holiday spirit, My Favorite Color is Mistletoe is a feel-good, no-spice Christmas romcom that proves sometimes, the best love stories begin in the most unexpected ways.


This novel is a dual-point-of-view, young adult holiday romance, perfect for teens or anyone.

The My Favorite Color novels can be read in any
My Favorite Color is Your Something Blue
My Favorite Color is The Golden Hour
My Favorite Color is Mistletoe

See the author’s profile for additional content information and to learn how to get recommendations for more clean young adult romance books like this one.

Genres: Romance, Christmas, Young Adult, Contemporary, Clean Romance

282 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2025

Reviews

[Jaycee Ann ✞ · Rating 5 out of 5]

═══════ ∘◦ ✧ ◦∘ ═══════
This review contains a few random statistics, my personal thoughts, and a content review! ♡
═══════ ∘◦ ✧ ◦∘ ═══════
• Book - My Favorite Color Is Mistletoe 
• Author - Eva Austin
• Pages - Paperback, 270
• Genre(s) - YA contemporary romance 
• Published - 2025
• Trope(s) - Fake dating, he falls first
• Recommended time to read - Christmas/December
⇢─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───⇠
→ Setting - 5/5
→ Characters - 4/5
→ Writing - 4/5
→ Cover - 5/5
→ Vibes - 4/5
→ Plot - 4/5
→ Romance/Ship - 5/5
→ Overall - ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

♫ Now Playing - What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve? by Ella Fitzgerald ♫
═════════════════
╰┈➤ My thoughts (spoiler free)

Eva Austin does it again folks. How? I don’t know. But she seems to have this magical ability to write the most amazing romances ever. Her books are drastically underrated.

Finished this on Christmas Eve, and gosh it was so amazing! 🤩 I don’t like the fake dating trope but I still loved this! Eva Austin did it very well.

I’m literally in love with Jax y’all. He’s so perfect 😭 He also has gray eyes 🫠 And black hair 🫠 And sometimes wear’s glasses 🫠 And he’s so thoughtful and respectful and kind 🫠 AND SO MUCH MORE AHHHH
═════════════════
╰┈➤ Spoilers below!

Drew drove me crazy 😭 Bro really thinks he hung the moon. Zoe was annoying too but she was only in the book for like one chapter. Oh and Greyson was the worst boyfriend ever like what??

This book was literal perfection. Jax is perfection. Every time they kissed was perfection. Especially the one where Jax was blindfolded and Audrey though no one was looking 😭🫶🏻 *internal screaming*

Anyways Eva Austin always makes me feel single so that’s nice 😃 Go read this book.
═════════════════
╰┈➤ Content review

➸ Age Rating - 11/12+

➸ Language - None.

➸ Romance/Sexual - Some kissing but nothing descriptive. No inappropriate jokes or innuendo.

➸ Violence - None.

➸ Religious/Spiritual - A couple mentions of going to church.

➸ Magic - None.

➸ LGBTQ - None.

➸ Alcohol/Drugs - None.

➸ Other Notes - Audrey and Jax do lie about their relationship for majority of the book, but when everyone finds out apologizes and forgiveness is exchanged.

[Callie Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

before it even was published: OH MY WORD SHE’S GOT A NEW BOOK WE ARE GOING INTO HIBERNATION ONCE THIS COMES OUT

sooo i read it and here are my thoughts:
i loved the Christmas themes in the book and the festivities it was very cute. im writing this review quite a while later so i can’t remember what all happened but i remeber i loved it very much. will give an updated review that this author and book deserve when i reread it but for now this is all i got.

[🌷Holly (Jesus’s version) 🌷 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 this was so cute!

[Lyla Mobley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, this was good! I had very low expectation for this but it turned out to be probably be my favorite book of December! I loved Jax! And Drew and Greyson? Get out. Right now shoo! This book was literally perfect! Age rating: mature 11+ all there was, was a little bit kissing. I totally recommend this for the holidays!

[Noëlle ♡ (daughter of the king) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating - 5 stars
Age Rating - 12+ (no language, no spice, brief kissing (little description), no innuendo, no violence)
Genre - YA Contemporary Romance

Guyssssss she's done it again. Eva Austin wrote another 5 star read :)))))

I'm absolutely obsessed with Jax, he's my favorite MMC from her books so far. He's just so kind and sweet and such a gentleman I love him so much. I also like Audrey, although not quite as much, but I do relate with her.

I loved getting to see all the characters from the other books in this one, Morgan and Will, Emma and Bryson, and the side characters.

I was a little worried when I started this because it didn't have the same My Favorite Color Is vibe as the others, but it definitely gained that once they went to Carlton Landing. Maybe that's the magic touch about it lol.

I'm wondering who the next book will be about... assuming there will be another. Hopefully. I'm thinking it will either be Charlotte or Lucy. I hope it's Charlotte because I love her so much she's amazing hehehe :))

Anyways, amazing book, so festive, and very enjoyable for the holiday season :) I can't wait for the next one!!

[Sara Watterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute and sweet YA Christmas fake-dating romance. 🥰

[∘✿∘ɢɪᴀɴɴᴀ∘✿∘ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️
Rtc!!!

[Josie✨✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was so cute and so good! It was also completely clean. Perfect for Christmas 🎄

[𐬺☼.☆彡sᥲrᥲ ☆彡.☼𐬻]

Doing a happy dance BECAUSE IM SO EXCITED!!!! 🕺🎈

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 ish stars ⭐️ rtc hopefully!

[Riley]

OMG A NEW BOOK!!! I CAN'T WAIT!

[Lynette Baumgardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, Eva released another masterpiece!! I loved reading about Audrey and Jax, and this whole family!! This has been so fun to read and it has been such a fun ride!! I hope the next book is about Lucy….😏

[Claire Montierth · Rating 5 out of 5]

No words. Just infinity stars for my new favorite book ever.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐️

Light holiday rom-com for Christmas. Not my favorite. (Srry Claire!!) Prolly my last book of 2025

[tristyn dawn❤︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

so cute and clean! would recommend.

[Emerson A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars ⭐️

Honestly I’m kind of underwhelmed 😭
I guess just compared to the first two books (which I absolutely adore) this one seemed a bit off to me
I wasn’t as engaged or excited

The end was cute though and I cannot wait for the next book (my favorite trooooope) 😱🤩😁

[Josie Dooley · Rating 5 out of 5]

eek this book was so so good!!! Ending was a bit rushed but I don’t care because Audrey and Jax are legit like perfect for each other!! Now to read the first in the series since I’m doing this all wrong lol!

[Kyla · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars is being kind of generous if I’m being honest. This book was not good. Overall it was okay, the main story was cute enough, but omg the writing. Take a shot every time the author says “super” or “gray-blue eyes”. It was lowkey driving me nuts. Something about the writing was just not it in general. The conversations & just the writing felt flat. This was the book that completed my reading goal this year though 😌 …of 10 whole books

[Zoey Pick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah it was so cute! Quite possibly my favorite out of the series; I was so excited to read this one, I bought it the day after it was published, and it was worth it!

[Abigail S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so cute! A perfect cute Christmasy read

[charlie arton · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’m so thankful for Christmas break!!! Doing nothing = a whole ton of reading!
This book was super good! So wholesome and cute! I was happy to have a Christmas read!
Recs? I need some!!

[Kellie Coke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really cuteeee and i really liked the plot!
I always love me some fake dating tho 🤭

[Tatum Chyzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wowwwww! I love this book and seeing how Jax falls for her is so cute! I love that he is so thoughtful! The way that he was able to pay attention and how he noticed that Greyson was flirting with other girls when Audrey wasn’t arounds was so sweet.
4 ⭐️’s

[Kayla G · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF on page 16. The writing is just so bad. It’s like something I would find on wattpad when I was 16 but worse.

[ya favorite Angel · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book would’ve been better if I was younger. The plot wasn’t bad at all, but you could tell that it was made with preteens in mind, which isn’t a problem at all, but it wasn’t for me.

[Karis · Rating 4 out of 5]

<3 I love Eva Austin and her writing style SO MUCH! I was so excited for this new book to come out and I had to force myself to wait for December to read it that way I could get into the Christmas spirit. It's so rare to find a romance author who doesn't put smut in her writing! If you're looking for a sweet Christmassy YA book, then this is the one for you. One of the major things that I appreciated about this book (other than it was clean) was that there wasn't much denying feelings for each other which can be SO frustrating. But I will say after reading her last book (My Favorite Color is the Golden Hour) I was a little disappointed at the lack of internal conflict. I feel like I would've given this book five stars if it had just a tad bit more. I definitely feel like her last book was better but this one was still really good! Loved all the Christmas vibes. Another thing that bothered me a wee bit is that her family did seem a little too perfect. Like there was no family drama or rivalry at all, and I find it hard to believe that a family that large didn't have any issues whatsoever. But overall this book was a really good read and I have no regrets in reading it. Eva is an amazing author and I always find her writing so easy to read and understand and I always speed through her books. Totally recommend if you want a fun little book to get into a Christmassy mood!

[Shades · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable Christmas-themed read!
I'm not a huge holiday reader (in the sense of finding books that correlate to them), but this was funny and cute, predictable enough but not Hallmark-ish!
The Yuletide challenge with her family was cute; I loved seeing them again after Eva's other books.
The couple was adorable, but nearly drove me mad!! I wished, like always, that they would hurry up and get TOGETHER!
The book was completely clean with a couple of sweet kisses, but absolutely nothing more. No cursing that I recall or any violence. Mentions of lack of faithfulness from a boyfriend (or two), and being a "rebound boyfriend" (in the context of being picked by a girl - not the FMC- who only dated the MMC because she had just been dumped).
I would definitely recommend reading her books in order (Something Blue, Golden Hour, Mistletoe), but this certainly can be read without prior knowledge of the characters.

[Caroline Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐️
My Favorite Color is Mistletoe was a very cute and cozy Christmas romcom that is perfect for if you need a festive romcom for Christmas season. It is about Audrey and Jax, who are two very well thought out characters who do not bug me, unlike characters in some other romcoms. The story is very well thought out, and I loved the plot. At the beginning of the story, I felt like it was very rushed, like they grew feelings for each other very fast, but then it slowed down and everything else was evenly paced. I enjoyed the writing and it was easy to read. I thought that the book was adorable, and I am glad I read it, but there was nothing about the characters that really stood out to me, it was mainly the plot that made this book stand out. I would definitely recommend this book if you like fake dating and if you want a short, but well thought out book to read for the Christmas season.
spice: none
language: none

[HoneyBee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely one of my favourite quick read books! The romance can be predictable at times but oh my goodness I ATE THIS UP. I would recommend this book to tweens and preteens because it's that clean. Eva Austin spreads amazing messages about good relationships vs. bad relationships! Audrey and Jax are so darn cute! (Also I enjoyed this more than her other romance book, My Favourite Color is the Golden Hour, just bc Audrey and Jax are a little older and are not 16 years old. I feel like in real life 16 year olds don't normally understand romance fully, so authors compromise by writing them like they're in their 20s.)

[Meredith Hooten · Rating 5 out of 5]

An adorable, clean romance with college-aged protagonists, this book delivers all the cheesy, feel-good emotions while mostly avoiding the “okay, that would never happen” moments that can plague the genre. The characters and plot are well developed and genuinely enjoyable - I was hooked. The dual perspectives allow readers to fully step into each character’s mind, revealing layered, multifaceted personalities. It’s a perfect cozy read for anyone who loves Hallmark movies with real substance and plausibility and just a hint of cliché.