Kissing Under the Mistletoe

A St. Helena Vineyard Novel

By: Marina Adair

Narrated by: Renee Raudman

Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Regan Martin stopped believing in Christmas miracles the day she discovered her fiancé was already married.

The fallout cost her everything - her career, her home, and her impeccable reputation in the wine industry. But now she has a second chance with a dream job in the Napa Valley, and a cozy cottage for her and her daughter, whose one Christmas wish is for a forever home.

But those hopes are threatened when Gabe DeLuca, the scorned wife’s brother, tries to drive Regan out of town - even if he can’t seem to drive the luscious beauty from his thoughts. When his attempts to get her to leave backfire, he sees that Regan may hold the key to tracking down his sister’s stolen start-up capital. As Christmas nears, Gabe realizes Regan might even be his Christmas wish and hold the key to his heart.

©2012 Marina Adair (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Another Narrator Please

Sorry. I hated it from the first minute. I can't stand this unprofessional, barely literate, untalented narrator. Why would anyone hire her.

The book may be ok if it wasn't narrated by someone whose character voices I can't stand. 
Sorry again.

nah

i got so bored that reading it is so dragging. story is so boring that as much as i want to finish every page of it, i jump to the last chapter just to finish it.

Supposed to be humorous.

Many uninteresting misunderstandings, adding troubles upon troubles for poor Regan. Some readers will enjoy this type of humor in a slapstick sort of way, but it did not work for me. I was impatient, wanting it to be over.

Regan is a single mom who has been unable to find work in her field (wine marketing) for six years - because Gabe repeatedly sabotages her career. He is wealthy and influential in the wine industry. Regan’s goal in life is providing the best she can for her daughter Holly. Regan does stupid things and makes stupid choices which snowball into problems.

The story opens with stupidity. Regan sees Gabe in a grocery story. She’s so upset that she walks out of the store without paying for her purchase. Then she damages Gabe’s car by running her grocery cart into it and throws several small statues from the nearby Christmas display at his car causing a broken window, dents, and scratches. He watches her do this. Then she puts one of the statues (Randolph a reindeer) in her trunk and drives away. The subject of who will pay for the damages to his car and the statues never comes up in the book. The town is upset at the theft of Randolph, with the sheriff planning to arrest the thief.

Randolph in her car trunk causes repeated problems for Regan. Notices are posted asking for help to find Randolph. So why does Regan tear down a bunch of notices to throw them away? And then she is seen doing that. She tries a few times to return Randolph but people are there. Why didn’t she go in the middle of the night? Or leave him somewhere with an anonymous note or a phone call to the authorities. No, she creates embarrassing situations for herself.

Another poor choice:
Isabelle wants to hurt and humiliate Regan every chance she gets. Regan knows this. Regan is a single mom working as a hotel maid. So why does Regan let Isabelle sign her up to volunteer for the children’s Christmas play? She later discovers that Isabelle signed her up as chairwomen of the most expensive and time consuming job. Instead of getting out of it claiming there was a misunderstanding, Regan takes it on. Has she no brain? Has she no backbone?

One part I liked:
One dimensional Isabelle. For those who have volunteered for charitable organizations, you will find parts of Isabelle in the most unpleasant people you’ve known and had to work with.

As to the romance:
Regan and Gabe desire each other and begin a relationship, but during the book a series of things happen causing misunderstandings and problems for them. These problems did not entertain me - maybe because they were one person assuming something inaccurate about the other - causing angst and worry. For example, she doesn’t tell him a minor thing from her past. When he later discovers it he is angry and disses her in public - won’t take her phone call. It’s a problem because only part of the story was told to him, not the whole thing. When he later learns the whole story, it’s no problem after all. Yes these types of misunderstandings are commonly used in romances. Sometimes they work. But for me they did not work here.

The narrator Renee Raudman was ok.

Genre: contemporary romance.