Montana Mistletoe: Return to Mistletoe/Christmas Confusion/All I Want for Christmas is...You/Under the Mistletoe

by Debby Mayne, Lena Nelson Dooley, Kim Vogel Sawyer

Contemporary Romance: Four girlfriends make a pact to find true love by their twenty-eighth Christmas. As the deadline looms, each keeps busy with expanding career and experiences faltering Christmas spirit. Lori is a major struggling to bolster the small town's economy, Madison runs a Christmas store and often travels to build up stock, Deanna is the town's director of tourism on a campaign to put her town on the map, and Kathy is a writer living in California who has lost her small town faith. When romance arrives in Mistletoe, Montana, in unexpected Christmas packages, will each woman be able to accept the gift?

Genres: Christmas, Christian Fiction, Christian Romance, Christian, Romance, Contemporary

352 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

Debby Mayne has published more than 30 books and novellas, 400 print short stories and articles, more than 1,000 web articles, and a slew of devotions for women. She has also worked as managing editor of a national health magazine, product information writer for HSN, a creative writing instructor for Long Ridge Writers Group, and a copy editor and proofreader for several book publishers. For the past eight years, she has judged the Writers Digest Annual Competition, Short-Short Contest, and Self-Published Book Competition. Three of Debby’s books have been top ten favorites by the Heartsong Presents book club. Love Finds You in Treasure Island, Florida received 4-1/2 stars from Romantic Times Magazine, and was named a Top Pick for the month of July 2009.

Reviews

[DAISY READS HORROR · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're looking for a romantic Christmas book to get you in the holiday spirit this season then look no further for you have found it with Montana Christmas! These 4 novellas take place in Mistletoe, Montana which is a city that celebrates Christmas all year long. I don't know if there is any city that really exists like this but if there is I would love to go there one day!

Don't read this book if you don't want to dive in a romantic fantasy and I don't mean a perverted one. I say this because the stories are very unrealistic in what happens in real love when you first meet someone and then they are proposing to you the next week. I caught myself thinking "Come on this would never really happen". But I allowed myself to just get into the stories and see where they would take me. & I must say the last 2 Under the Mistletoe & All I Want for Christmas is You pulled on my heartstrings.

Under the Mistletoe- I loved the toymaker falls in love with the girl plot.
All I Want for Christmas is You- I loved Daisy (Erik's Bassett) & the way him and Kathy meet.

I enjoyed that all 4 novellas are tied together in a way. That was a unique twist to the book itself. This left me feeling happy, joyful and looking forward to Christmas! :)

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked how faith-filled the stories were, but the whole idea of giving yourself and your friend group the “goal” of being married before 28 seemed silly and over the top to me.

[Giselle Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four novellas written by different authors, all set in the same town in Montana. The four novellas focus on four childhood friends, their careers, town, and eventual husbands. Fast reads & perfect for the Christmas season. They aren’t new, copyrights says 2007 but they are clean reads and satisfying.

[Cindy DeLong · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't enjoying this book. I couldn't relate to the women.

[Rosina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about four friends who grew up in Mistletoe, Montana. They all find love in Mistletoe, Montana, in hopes to be married by the age of 28. Each of the four characters are individually written by the four different authors. Happy and loving stories. Perfect for a Christmas reading.

[Gemma · Rating 1 out of 5]

All these stories drove me nuts. I wasn't able to make myself finish a single one. This is a book about four friends who have a pact to get married by the time they're 28, and this is the deadline year.

Heroine in first story: I expected the pastor to ask me to marry him, even though we weren't even dating (!) Then he didn't. I like the new pastor, but I'd better not even consider a relationship with him. Since one pastor disappointed me, all of them will, right?

Heroine in second story: I supposedly put my trust in God, but this arbitrary deadline is coming up. I know, I'll force a relationship to happen with the guy I've been seeing. Even though we have no chemistry. Even though I like someone else, I'd better force myself to stop liking the second guy. Because of this pact I made with my girlfriends, I'd better make things happen. So much for trusting in God.

Heroine in third story finds out that small towns are heaven, and big cities are eeeeeevil. Gag. I hate this theme.

Heroine in forth story: the deadline is coming up, and my three other friends are all engaged! Oh no. I think I'll marry the guy I've been casually dating, even though I don't love him. After all, keeping to this pact is more important than marrying the right person. Who cares about marrying the right person, so long as I get married before I'm 29! And the hero in the forth story: my sister got her heart broken by someone in the television industry. I like this woman I just met, but she works in television. Therefore, because one person in television was bad, she must also be a bad person and I'd better not consider dating her.

Argh. Give me a break. For characters who supposedly trusted in God to guide their lives, they certainly did an awful lot of trying to force things to happen on their own timing.

[Tima · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four friends who grew up in Mistletoe, Colorado are looking for love. A pact made long ago that they would each find love before twenty-eight has them searching for a husband. Each one finds that God and small town values are very important in their quest for love.

As with any novella, I had my favorites. Lack of plot seemed to be the downfall of several of these stories. I just couldn't get invested enough in the characters.
It's a fast, fun, Christmas read if you are looking for a light romantic story.

[Jeanne (love2cook) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is 4 christian stories all based in Mistletoe, Montana where Christmas is celebrated every day of the year. Each story is about one of four girl friends that grew up in Mistletoe and made a pact with each other that they would be headed for marriage at the age of 28. These are the paths their romances have taken. I enjoyed the read!!

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a delightful holiday read with a collection of novellas from authors that were both favorites and first time reads. Set in the town of Mistletoe, Montana, four friends find love and romance in these enjoyable interwoven stories. I recommend for anytime of the year!

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Christmas or after Christmas read. It's made up of four short stories, written by 4 different authors, but each story takes place in the same town, with the same characters.

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book to read with four novellas placed in a small town in Montana. I came to care about the characters and the town itself. It's a place I wish I could really go & visit!