Christmas on Mistletoe Lane: Includes a bonus short story

This book has totally put me in the mood for Christmas!! Kaitlyn and Mitch have inherited her grandparents' B&B. Kaitlyn is thrilled to start over. Mitch isn't looking to come home. Kaitlyn's grandmother had a plan in mind for these two: run the B&B together for six months or neither gets to inherit it. Sweetwater Springs is such a cute town and I loved getting to know some of its quirky residents. This town is going to be an amazing place to visit during this series. I loved everything about Kaitlyn and Mitch and all of their friends. I can't wait for the next book in this series!! *This is my voluntary review of an advanced reader copy*

CHRISTMAS ON MISTLETOE LANE is the first instalment in Annie Rains’ contemporary, adult SWEETWATER SPRINGS romance series focusing on the small town of Sweetwater Springs, North Carolina. This is interior designer Kaitlyn Russo, and retired US Marine Mitch Hargrove’s story line. Told from dual third person perspectives (Mitch and Kaitlyn) CHRISTMAS ON MISTLETOE LANE focuses on the building relationship between interior designer Kaitlyn Russo, and retired US Marine Mitch Hargrove. The recent death of her grandmother Mable pulled Kaitlyn Russo to the small town of Sweetwater Springs, North Carolina where our heroine inherited her grandmother’s beloved Sweetwater B&B, an inheritance that came with a questionable caveat. Enter retired US Marine Mitch Hargrove, one-time B&B caretaker and friend to Henry and Mable Russo, and the new co-owner of the Sweetwater B&B. A two month ‘obligatory business arrangement ‘ in order to inherit or sell the B&B finds our couple working together to make the small hotel into a thriving business. What ensues is the building relationship and romance between Kaitlyn and Mitch, and the potential fall-out as Mitch struggles with memories of the past, and the perceived sins of a teenaged boy. Mitch Hargrove wants nothing to do with Sweetwater Springs, a town that brings too many fractured memories of long ago. Aside from him mother, there is nothing and no one that calls to his heart. Preparing for a security assignment in the new year Mitch is surprised to discover that Ms. Mable has ‘arranged’ a two-month assignment of her own. Kaitlyn Russo was a successful New York interior designer but a designer whose career was destroyed by a professional fall-out and the accusations of a celebrity extraordinaire. Hoping to restart her life Kaitlyn is shocked when she is forced to work alongside a man who wants nothing to do with the Sweetwater B&B. If they cannot find a way to work together, the B&B will be sold, and everything will go to charity. The relationship between Mitch and Kaitlyn begins as a forced business arrangement, an arrangement neither one is happy to oblige. Mitch’s plans do not include running a run-down B&B, and Kaitlyn hopes to rebuild her grandmother’s once-successful business. The sexual attraction between Kaitlyn and Mitch is palpable and immediate. The $ex scenes are intimate, passionate but mostly implied. We are introduced to the colorful and charismatic people and places of Sweetwater Springs including attorney Jacob Garrison; police chief Alex Logan; Mitch’s mother Gina Hargrove, and aunt Nettie, and longtime friend Tucker Locklear; Fudge Shop owner Dawanda; bookstore owner Julia Kent; Kaitlyn’s best friend and journalist Josie; as well as a number of Sweetwater B&B guests including graphic designer and biker Paris. I am definitely hoping to read a happily ever after for Paris. CHRISTMAS ON MISTLETOE LANE is a sweet and sexy story line; a small-town romance focusing on two people who lives are interrupted by a meddling but well-meaning old lady. The premise is entertaining, engaging and endearing; the characters are dynamic and lively, especially the B&B guest; the romance is tender and dramatic as Mitch continues to pull away giving mixed signals with every encounter. A wonderful holiday read, CHRISTMAS ON MISTLETOE LANE is a great start to the holiday season.

The Sweetwater B & B has been on the decline for the past several years, but has new hope and a new owner in the form of Kaitlyn Russo. Inheriting the inn from her grandparents, she’s left a ‘situation’ in New York, and packed everything in her new-used car and headed south. She’s arrived in Sweetwater Springs hoping to make a new start and be in charge of her own destiny, ignoring the gossip in New York and her parents’ displeasure. Arriving in the dusty and rather run-down inn, she’s planning on plenty of work and elbow grease to get the inn up and running. But the first hiccup in her plan arrives that first night in the form of Mitch Hargreaves. Local boy who left town at 18 to join the military, with plans to settle the issue of his ‘inheritance’ from Mable and head to a security job in Virginia – breezing in and out of Sweetwater Springs without running into anyone from his past. Half owners of a non-functioning inn, the terms of the will state that Katie and Mitch have to run the inn, together, for two months- or it will go to a charity. Mitch isn’t happy with the plan – he doesn’t want to stay. And Katie is busily trying to figure out a way to protect her own legacy in the inn while not allowing Mitch to scupper her plans, all while she tries to ignore the current between them. When his planned move to Virginia gets delayed until after the new year, and Mitch’s visit home finds his mother looking ill enough to worry him – he agrees to work with Katie on fixing up the inn, all while making it clear he’s leaving in two months, and won’t get ‘involved’ in more than the ‘outside work’. Oh this was sweet and clever – Mable (the strangest way to spell that name I’ve ever seen) has a plan – always wanting to match up Katie and Mitch – but neither ever were around at the same time. Katie’s memories of the inn are from odd weeks spent during the summer, while Mitch was a frequent visitor with the couple, learning stories and helping out. With his mother Gladys more than willing to help out, and Katie’s best friend Josie pulling some strings as the editor of a national magazine, while the inn is given a facelift and Katie’s design ideas are set free, the guests start arriving and never stop. Both Katie and Mitch have pasts that have aftereffects – an accident as a teen sent Mitch away from the town with a promise to never return, and her dream job as interior designer to the stars went up in smoke when she was harassed and later fired on the word of a ‘star’. But there’s something that calls to them both- if only they can work past the hiccups and Mitch’s constant “I’m not here for long” refrain. Katie is a natural hostess – and the guests are all happy with their stay, the holiday events of the town offering plenty of community feeling, and the community is one that takes their own into their hearts and under their wing. Rains managed to make these two very disparate people join in the one thing that everyone wants – to belong and feel wanted, and with a few hiccups along the way, they find their way to new possibilities and potential. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.