Book: Meddling Under the Mistletoe by Melissa Grace
Reviewed by Maggie Hayes
Rating: 4.5/5
📚✨ ARC REVIEW ✨📚
Meddling Under the Mistletoe by Melissa Grace
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (4.5/5 stars)
Thank you, @penpalpr, for providing a free ARC!
Lindsey, a small-town veterinarian, has built a quiet yet fulfilling life surrounded by family, friends, and lovable pets. When she meets Oliver, a firefighter EMT with a heart of gold, she’s reluctant to let herself fall, still reeling from the loss of her father five years earlier. Enter Lindsey’s meddling mother, MJ.
MJ is struggling to move forward while clinging to the joyful memories of her late husband. When she learns Lindsey is running from a chance at love, she can’t help but interfere. Playing matchmaker seems just the thing to nudge her daughter—and herself—toward healing and maybe even a second chance at happiness.
As I’ve come to expect from Grace, this story perfectly balances humor, heart, and just the right amount of holiday chaos. Oliver completely stole my heart (you should see the notes I took while reading). He’s the kind of man who puts up Christmas lights as a surprise, sings terrible karaoke to save someone from embarrassment, and tells the woman he loves that he wants to add to her happiness—not complete her. I am absolutely obsessed with him.
Where this book really shines is in its depiction of family and healing. MJ’s grief and her tentative journey toward joy again were written with such empathy. The relationships between mothers, daughters, and sisters felt real and refreshingly imperfect. I laughed, teared up, and absolutely adored Rose, MJ's hilarious older sister who steals every scene she’s in.
Meddling Under the Mistletoe is a touching story about second chances, the courage to love again, and the ways family helps us rediscover joy. Cozy, heartfelt, and brimming with small-town magic, it’s the perfect way to kick off the holiday season.
For fans of: 🎅 Christmas holiday romance | 🐾 Veterinarian FMC | 🔥 Firefighter MMC | 🏡 Small town | 👩👧 Multi-generational stories | 💌 Meddling families | 💔 Love after loss
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