Elena Reviews: It Must've Been the Mistletoe By L.P. Dover

Title: It Must've Been the Mistletoe

Author: L.P. Dover

Publication Date: December 2017

Genres: Adult, Romance

Finding your soul mate is a dream Adeline Hamilton thought was just that … a dream. After several failed relationships, she realizes she’s not capable of falling in love. The only passion she’s ever had is teaching U.S. History at the local high school. 

A week before Christmas, Adeline is all set for her best friend’s wedding, even though she dreads having to go to it alone. But when she’s given a Christmas wish that could change her future forever, she’s whisked away to the past, to a completely different place and time. It’s also when she meets him, William Blair, the man who steals her heart. 

As their relationship grows, Adeline realizes that true love does exist. What she doesn’t know is that her wish can’t last forever, that soon she’ll have to leave the past behind. Will Adeline and William find their way back to each other? Or will their love have to stay where it all began . . . in 1865? With mistletoe and Christmas magic, anything’s possible.

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

 It Must've Been the Mistletoe follows Adeline, a High School History Teacher who's single and lives all by herself! She doesn't plan on falling in love anytime soon and dreads going to her best friend's wedding alone, mainly because she's been trying to set her up with her brother in law to be, for quite some time. But, our dear William - the brother in law to be - loses his flight and ends up being absent from the wedding rehearsal. By the end of the night, Adeline meets Margaret, a sweet old woman who gives her a locket that will change her life forever! She goes to sleep, just to wake up and discover that she's in her house but, nothing is as it should've been! 

First of all, I read this one during Christmas and I have to say that, it perfectly reflected on the season. Reading an actual book set in Christmas during Christmastime was so much fun and if you have this one on your TBR list, definitely try and read it then so that you can feel the holiday spirit! The story itself was very sweet and definitely romantic but, it took me a while to really get into it. The pace was pretty slow at the beginning but fortunately, it picked up after the first couple of chapters. I don't really go for books that have to do with any kind of time travel or set in both the present and the past because I genuinely don't enjoy them. I don't know why but, it's just one of those things I avoid when it comes to choosing what to read and what to stay away from. But, this one took me by surprise because it was quite entertaining and the premise of it was very interesting!

The writing was okay and I really enjoyed the characters' development throughout the book. Adeline was a great main heroine and her journey to falling in love when she leas expected or even wanted it. I really liked her, even though it took me a while to connect with her as a character, something that usually affects my reading experience. If you can't connect with the characters you're reading the story of, it makes it a bit difficult to actually wholeheartedly enjoy it. William was also a great love interest and their unlikely romance was very sweet and full of cute moments! Truth be told, I wasn't really mind blown by it because I couldn't relate to it but, it's perfect for fans of magical romances that lead to a happily ever after! 

The secondary characters were probably as important as the main characters in the novel since they basically orchestrated the whole thing and I really enjoy books in which all the characters develop and help with how the plot progresses, regardless of how big their part in the story itself is. And even though I didn't fall in love with the book itself, I have to admit that it was a very quick and easy read, which easily got me into the holiday spirit. I obviously had some trouble with relating to the characters and really wish they'd been portrayed a bit more realistically, if that makes any sense! The premise of the book though was very impressive and managed to transport me to the past, without making it seem to obvious. 

Overall, It Must've Been the Mistletoe was a very fun read, perfect for those of you looking for something to read in between intense love stories of battle and war, also known as Fantasy. I always read a couple of Fantasy novels and some light Contemporaries in between, just to prevent myself from being too overwhelmed!

Until the next post,