Review – The Trouble with Misteltoe by Jill Shalvis

If she has her way . . .

Willa Davis is wrangling puppies when Keane Winters stalks into her pet shop with frustration in his chocolate-brown eyes and a pink bedazzled cat carrier in his hand. He needs a kitty sitter, stat. But the last thing Willa needs is to rescue a guy who doesn’t even remember her . . .

He’ll get nothing but coal in his stocking.

Saddled with his great-aunt’s Feline from Hell, Keane is desperate to leave her in someone else’s capable hands. But in spite of the fact that he’s sure he’s never seen the drop-dead-gorgeous pet shop owner before, she seems to be mad at him . . .

Unless he tempers “naughty” with a special kind of nice . . .

Willa can’t deny that Keane’s changed since high school: he’s less arrogant, for one thing—but can she trust him not to break her heart again? It’s time to throw a coin in the fountain, make a Christmas wish—and let the mistletoe do its work . . .

I received an ARC of this book from the Publisher, via Edelweiss, this does not affect my opinion of this book or the content of my review.

I was hooked with the debut in this series and have not been waiting patiently at all to get my hands on this book after reading the teaser. So I loudly squeed and did the butt wiggle dance in my chair when I got this handed to me. (Don’t judge, the butt wiggle chair dance is a real and valid thing.)

I’ll admit that it is a little odd to read a Christmas book in the summer, but I am giving that a pass because of the whole wanting it immediately thing.

This series so far is pretty fantastic. I am not always down for contemporary, but these characters really work for me. Just a messed up group of mostly adults hanging out, making family of friendships, and often having a ridiculously good time. You really can’t go wrong with hot drunk guys doing karaoke.

Willa is such a mixed up sweetie pie, taking care of pets and people and her friends, but not really taking such great care of herself. And mostly she’s just out there and open and upfront, maybe not so much with herself, but she’s a clear read for almost everyone else including the reader. Keane on the other hand is pretty opaque and who he is, his past, and his motivations dribble out through the story. It takes a little more to get him. And then there’s the cat, I am a fan of the plot pet, and this one is just a delightfully supercilious and vicious cat.

Delight with the secondary characters aside, the focus is clearly on the main characters. The secondary characters make up part of the tapestry of who they are, but the story focuses on their individual character growth and how they develop their relationship…which is hella bumpy at times. But it worked, because their struggles in coming together as a couple made sense in the context of their personal histories. And they were sweet together, and when they hurt, I hurt. And when they finally resolved things all I could do is grin.

As for the relations (as opposed to the relationship) they have mad heat, and are by turns awkward, and hot, and make-up, and hilarious. Cat care indeed :grin:. Plus, we have condom love, and I love that kind of love.

So I am really digging hanging out with these people, and it is probably only psychosis if I actually ADMIT that I refuse to admit they are imaginary. So I am going to be all stoked waiting for the next book to find out what hapens next, and to hang out with the gang as the mute friend in the corner. Because that is what it feels like, being there and hanging with the gang. It is really good stuff.

(I have one quibble, one little point of being irked, and this one won’t make a lick of sense unless you have read the previous book, but I simpy must get it off my chest. I wanted to see Jake getting enfolded into the group and hanging around so I could feel secure he would be getting his own hapily ever after. There, whooo, I got it off my chest.)