A Mistletoe Affair is a sweet, well-written romance for the holidays. Perhaps in deference to the fact that we all have plenty of conflict during the holidays as it is, this novel is almost totally conflict free (at least between the hero and heroine). This makes for a pleasant but somewhat bland read.

A Mistletoe Affair is part of a series of loosely connected, contemporary romances set in the fictional town of Wintersage, Massachusetts. Three women, Janelle, Sandra, and Vicki (the Silk Sisters), share a Victorian house and they house their three businesses in it. Vicki is a florist whose business, Petals, is flourishing. She’s pleased with her professional progress, but frustrated that her family doesn’t acknowledge her success. She’s also the last of the three to find love, so she decides to reinvent herself. This reinvention has some minor physical components to it (new clothes and new haircut) but largely involves her being less quiet and more assertive. This new version of Vicki, who isn’t always content to fade into the background, attracts the notice of her longtime friend, Jordan. Vicki has had a crush on Jordan for years (he’s her friend’s brother), but he had never noticed her in the past.

Jordan is going through his own re-invention post-divorce. He is trying to raise his baby son and solve a political mystery, while considering his next career move as a lawyer. Suddenly he has a huge attraction to the new Vicki, who is friendly to him and endlessly sweet to his son. Their romance develops very quickly but both of them, Jordan in particular, are worried about moving too fast.

One thing I liked is that the whole “Vicki reinvents herself” thing is presented less like a superficial makeover and more as a way for Vicki to take a proactive role in shaking up her life. It was nice to see her go after her personal goals, instead of whining. I was also thrilled that she sticks to her guns regarding continuing to value her professional life – she wants to get married and have kids, but she also values her skills as a businesswoman and there are no signs that she’s going to give her business up when she finds a guy.

In contrast, Jordan decides that he values fatherhood more than ambition and money, and he takes steps to reduce his working hours and increase his time at home:

It’s never been about the money. It was always about winning. It’s still about winning. I just think the prize has changed. I don’t want the things I used to want in life. Those things aren’t as important to me anymore.

 

I enjoyed the role reversal in which the father is the one to discuss spending less time chasing career advancement and more time at home – it’s a character arc that we often get with female characters but less often with male characters.

As is often the case in romance, the book has a lot of wish fulfillment and not a lot of gritty realism. For starters, both of these people have way more time on their hands than is realistic for two people with careers, one of whom is a single dad. For crying out loud, Vicki wants to enter a float in a parade that is happening in a matter of days – how is she not working around the clock?  Can you really make big money as a florist? Why is Jordan so harried that he needs Vicki to babysit just so he can nap, but as soon as he gets a shot at romance, his parents are happy to babysit for entire weekends? Why does no one feel bad for this kid, whose nanny (who takes care of him full-time) is on vacation (thus setting up the “Jordan is harried” plotline)? Do they think there’s no emotional bond between the baby and the nanny?

I also don’t believe you can judge a romance novel by its cover, but I do have an observation and a question. Both the people on the cover are supposed to be caring for a baby and both are wearing white. Has the cover artist ever met an actual baby?

For the most part, I’m willing to give this book a pass on its less realistic aspects. While romance can and does tackle realistic, hard problems, it also often incorporates an aspect of fantasy that I’m used to (to wit: our Regency heroines don’t die in childbirth right after the wedding, our pirates have great teeth, our billionaires have spare time, etc). A bigger problem with this book is that there is virtually no conflict between the hero and the heroine. Jordan has trust issues, but they turn out to be pretty mild. I kept thinking that the trust issues would cause a major fight between Jordan and Vicki, but they actually seem to trust each other pretty well. There’s conflict about Jordan’s ex-wife, but that never turns into a major thing either. They have a misunderstanding regarding said ex that lasts for about five minutes before it’s cleared up. It’s great to see a couple with such great communication – they are very mature people. But with nothing pulling the couple apart there’s very little tension or drama or suspense to the story.

At any other time of year, I’d find this romance to be nice but unbearably bland. However, personally, I already have plenty of stress during December. I was quite content to read a short book in which the conflicts not only between the couple but between all the other characters are resolved by people behaving like rational, mature human beings who know how to talk. The characters are extremely likeable and the ambiance is lovely – Wintersage is that quirky, affluent but not snobby, full of good food and great shopping kind of town that I find to be mostly fictional and totally irresistible. I enjoyed the inclusion of Kwanzaa into the festivities (all the main characters are African American, and they have a big Kwanzaa celebration every year that involves the Silk Sisters and their families). There’s tons of sexual chemistry. This may not be a classic book for the ages, but as a quick read between wrapping presents, it’s like a nice cup of excellent, soothing cocoa.