Christmas Wishes & Mistletoe Kisses

A Feel Good Christmas Romance Novel

By: Jenny Hale

Narrated by: Katherine Fenton

Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

An uplifting, beautiful story about never letting go of your dreams, the special magic of a family Christmas...and the rush of falling in love under the mistletoe.

Single mother Abbey Fuller loves her family more than anything and doesn't regret for a moment having had to put her dreams of being an interior designer on hold. But with her son, Max, growing up, when a friend recommends her for a small design job, she jumps at the chance. How hard can it be?

Nick Sinclair needs his house decorated in time for his family's festive visit - and money is no object. What he doesn't need is to be distracted from his multimillion-dollar business - even if it is Christmas.

When Abbey pulls up to the huge Sinclair mansion, she has a feeling she might be out of her depth. And when she meets the gorgeous, brooding Nicholas Sinclair, she knows that she’s in real trouble....

With the snow falling all around, can Abbey take the chance to make her dreams of being a designer come true? And can she help Nick to finally enjoy the magic of Christmas?

©2015 Jenny Hale (P)2015 Audible, Ltd

aloof handsome millionaire intrigued by simpleton woman ridden with welfare mentality

"Feel good romance!?!" I kept yelling at my car speakers REALLY BROAD, you told him you didn't know how to eat pasta!?!?! Ohh rich handsome loner millionaire YOU FIND HER LACK OF DINNER TABLE ETIQUETTE CHARMING?

Nope. Can't deal. ✋🏼I tried for 2 days I really did. It was supposed to be a short mushy book club read but ... the over the top welfare mentality was a turn off.

Her questioning his car collection for instance reminded me of note someone shared recently on social media that said:

''A guy looked at the Corvette the other day and said I wonder how many people could have been fed for the cost of that car. I replied I am not sure, it fed a lot of families in Kentucky who built it, it fed the people who make the tires, it fed the people who made the components, it fed the people in the copper mine who mined the copper for the wires, it fed people who make the trucks that haul the copper ore. That's the difference between capitalism and welfare mentality. When you buy something,you put money in people's pockets and give them dignity for their skills''

Anyway, if all that gives you butterflies and charmed vibes, I recommend listening to the performer at 1.25.

Enjoyed the other Jenny Hale Christmas novel more

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

The characters didn't feel believable to me.

Would you ever listen to anything by Jenny Hale again?

Yes, as the other book was better.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

This narrator was not a match for the character. Her tone did not seem to match the dialogue given to the character. A Xe Sands type voice would have been better for this novel.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Some renovation/small business mention struggle, but not enough. The premise was interesting.

Any additional comments?

This book should have been right up my alley for Christmas reading, and I was surprised how much it didn't work for me. I do think the narration was a big part of this.

Here’s to family

Everyone wants to be loved. Family is hard to come by. This is wonderful well thought out story.

Absolutely wonderful!

It transported me right there the house with them, decorating for Christmas!! Having hot chocolate by the fire!!

Voices

The voices of the children made the story very annoying, and for a nurses salary, the story could not be true

Wonderful Christmas Story

Teaching someone how to balance work and family life through love and thoughtful suggestions wins the day.

It was ok

The relationship was very frustrating and confusing to me. I wanted to love the book but I just liked it.

Happy times☺

So refreshing to listen to a book that helped me to recall precious, happy times!lol

A sweet story!

I really enjoyed the story. It was slow in some spots but I enjoyed it overall.

Unable to get into the story

Each time the story started to take me along, the wording would change direction and I would lose that sense that I was there in the book. I enjoy being taken away when I read. I like jumping into the novel being a third person witnessing the encounters and the snow, and the visuals. The words, however, would change and stop the direction like, "the napkin dangled from her fingertips"... napkins do not "dangle", they hang from or are held in a delicate hand...but they do not dangle. Wet noodles dangle, bells, dangle, but not napkins unless they have gooey stuff on them and then they dangle as you are trying to remove the goo as well as the sticky napkin. The author's choice of words would snap me out of the story. Other people might not agree...the plot was alright, but strange.

Predicable but an easy listening Christmas read.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Only when you have the time to waste. It was an easy listening Christmas story but incredibly predicable from the start.

If you’ve listened to books by Jenny Hale before, how does this one compare?

No this is the first.

What didn’t you like about Katherine Fenton’s performance?

I found her narration nauseating and I'm surprised I finished the book. Sickly sweet and without real ability to define accents. Therefore everyone sounded the same other than a slightly higher or lower pitched voice!

Did Christmas Wishes & Mistletoe Kisses inspire you to do anything?

Determination to finish the book and not press 'mark as finished' before the end!

Any additional comments?

Tried to be fair with the scoring as it was a predicable feel good story for Christmas but unless you have time to waste and a great deal of patience to put up with the narration - don't bother.

A fun feel good story

Would you listen to Christmas Wishes & Mistletoe Kisses again? Why?

No. It was a fun read, but too predictable to read it again.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The grandmother

What aspect of Katherine Fenton’s performance might you have changed?

She read the story very slow and I didn't really enjoy how she tried to characterise characters with her voice.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Simply feel good and easy to listen to.

Any additional comments?

I don't think I would listen to another book by Katherine Fenton's.

Feel good Christmas tale

A lovely (predictable) feel good Christmas tale that has been beautifully narrated. If you are expecting a twist and turn in the tale then this won't be the book for you. I think the narration added to the overall quality of the story. It's a story that could be shared with all the family.

Cannot bear to continue

The narrator is very annoying I cannot listen the thought of spending 11 hours with that voice is beyond me. No idea on the story as not got beyond first chapter

Poor narration, limited story

I did not enjoy this audible story. The storyline was basic and the narrator was very poor with a condescending voice, it was really off putting. The main character Abby was so incredibly needy that I wander she wasn’t thrown out of the job.
Whilst there was some feel good elements they were overtaken by the main characters neediness. I did not enjoy this book.

very Poor

very poor and very American. i gave up on this book after 1 hour, disparaging. Don't waste your money

Wasn't sure at the start

When I started the book I though no this isn't for me but I perservered and found myself listening to it at every opportunity. I loved it

Lovely book

I loved this story, everything about it was beautiful. I enjoyed the narration it brought the characters to life.. This is one of the most romantic stories I've read in a while and I loved every minute. I've listened to this a few times now and each time I fall in love with it more each time. A joy.

Relaxing & enjoyable

A lovely Christmas story . I would recommend to anyone who is looking for a light read.

narrator

the narrator spoiled this book for me. to insipid and phony. I couldn't bare to listen to her voice and changes of voice.