Review: Mistletoe and Mr.Right by Sarah Morgenthaler

Title: Mistletoe and Mr.Right

Author: Sarah Morgenthaler

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Publication Date: October 6th, 2020

How the moose (almost) stole Christmas.

Lana Montgomery is everything the quirky small town of Moose Springs, Alaska can't stand: a rich socialite with dreams of changing things for the better. But Lana's determined to prove that she belongs...even if it means trading her stilettos for snow boots and tracking one of the town's hairiest Christmas mysteries: the Santa Moose, an antlered Grinch hell-bent on destroying every bit of holiday cheer (and tinsel) it can sink its teeth into.

And really...how hard could it be?

The last few years have been tough on Rick Harding, and it's not getting any easier now that his dream girl's back in town. When Lana accidentally tranquilizes him instead of the Santa Moose, it's clear she needs help, fast...and this could be his chance to finally catch her eye. It's an all-out Christmas war, but if they can nab that darn moose before it destroys the town, Rick and Lana might finally find a place where they both belong...together.

“A compliment from him felt like a warm brownie & a mug of hot tea in front of a fireplace.” 

I finally got around to finish this book. I’ve been wanting to since September but couldn’t. This was a slow read, with emphasis on the exaggerated slow. I have the most mixed feelings about it in the history of mixed feelings. I’ll probably use that line, again😃. I liked and disliked Lana. Her character seemed inconsistent at times. Not at times, all the time. To start with something basic, she’s got rules as to what Montgomerys are supposed to behave but she acts the opposite way when she gets nervous in board meetings, doesn’t follow propriety when it comes to sitting, and hugs her friend Zoey. 

“Montgomerys didn’t hug either, but some rules were made to be broken.”

She speaks of being good at managing her company but doesn’t specifically enjoy it. She’s not highly ambitious either, which is why the climax of the story isn’t justified. If Lana was shown handling other business aspects that don’t include Moose Springs, her business savvy would've been believable. 

 “Negotiating a million-dollar deal over cocktails was a normal thursday for her.”

Rick was fine. I liked him more than Lana even though he was a pretty routine character. His strengths, pain, and his love felt real. I enjoyed all his scenes with his family, friends, and Lana. 

“They’d been doing this for three years now. Cereal. Roger. Sitting on the couch to watch TV and eat in silence. Pissed-off cat on one side, pissed-off twenty-year-old on the other. Rick picked up his cereal bowl and took a bite. Unbelievably grateful for them both.”

I liked the ensemble characters and their stories more than Lana and Rick. Zoey and Graham, Quinn and Diego, I sincerely hope they have their books. My least favorite part was the moose. In the beginning, it was fun, bizarre, and weird but the entire moose concept got annoying quick. 

This gave me a lot of Gilmore Girls' vibes. It could be because of the Town-Hall meeting, single town officer, mayor, diner... This novel is set in the town of Moose Springs, a tourist spot in Alaska. While slow-paced, the writing is engaging and has excellent flow. The author made it easy to imagine the situations. It's written in the third person in Lana and Rick’s perspectives. It would’ve worked better if the perspectives switched chapter-to-chapter instead of in between them. 

Mistletoe and Mr.Right is recommended to all rom-com book lovers. Overall, a good, holiday read. ARC provided by Sarah Morgenthaler and Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley. Thank you.