Review: The Mistletoe Pact by Jo Lovett

My friends…I did it again. I wound up reading a story about “fated” love set at Christmas time where the characters spend most of the book apart. HOW DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING? It never works for me. I had such high hopes from the synopsis and thought it was going to be so fun and clever but…alas. This was really not the right book for me.

Now, why am I reviewing it and giving it the time? Because it might work for one of you instead! While I do not like books like One Day in December (the concept, I think that one was actually done quite well), I know a lot of people do like them!

My review if my personal opinion, but if you like closed door, sweet fated romance books, I think this might be the perfect quick read for you this holiday season. Although, it may start and end at Christmas, but it’s not super Christmassy.

Synopsis:

“Two single thirty-year-olds. One marriage pact. And a night in Vegas that’s about to change everything…

On Christmas Eve eight years ago Evie and Dan made a pact: if they weren’t married by thirty, they were going to marry each other. Of course, neither of them took it seriously, even if Dan has always been mesmerised by Evie’s beautiful smile, and Evie has always fancied Dan, her best-friend’s brother.

But then “it” happens. They wake up on Christmas Eve, the night before Evie’s thirtieth birthday in Vegas… married. In a honeymoon suite filled with hundreds of heart-shaped pillows, they realise too late what they’ve done – just like Ross and Rachel.

Surely if they just get a quickie divorce, they can go back to the way things used to be, right? If it wasn’t for the alcohol and Susan-with-the-huge-beehive-hairdo who just wouldn’t take no for an answer, none of this would have happened. They can just go back to being friends.

Except moving on is easier said than done when you've secretly loved each other forever… but if one of them doesn’t admit that, what happens to their friendship? If they don’t get together this time, what happens to the pact? Are they really ready to let it go for good?” —Amazon

What I Liked:

The Concept—When I read the synopsis for this book, I got SO excited. I don’t read a lot of marriage of convenience books (and this isn’t) but it felt like a contemporary version in a way. Two friends, an 8 year old pact, and a drunken night in Vegas. I was ready for fun and hijinks.
The Beginning—The beginning was fun! We wake up in Vegas with the pair…but that was about it.

What Didn’t Work:

The Dual Timeline—I really think this book would have been more successful for me if it eliminated the dual timeline and instead, the memories were sprinkled in and we got to see Evie and Dan figure out next steps after their Vegas marriage.
The Romance—I wasn’t rooting for these two at all. I just felt like they didn’t actually have any chemistry!
The Overall Theme/Message—Everything was too convenient (what happens after their Vegas wedding) and the flashbacks didn’t serve the ending at all.