Release Blitz + Review: "Misplaced Mistletoe" by Isabel Jolie

Congratulations to Isabel Jolie on the release of "Misplaced Mistletoe," part of the West Side series. It works well as a standalone, though several characters from earlier books in the series make appearances in this one.

 

Eight years ago, Nora met Ashton at her new boss's holiday party. They shared a kiss under the mistletoe and then left together, talking for hours before hooking up. He called her on Christmas Eve, and after they spent the night together Ashton invited her to Christmas dinner with him and his sister at a friend's home in Connecticut. However, when Nora learned that his sister was actually her boss, Anna, she freaked out and refused to go. She had only worked for Anna for a week and was afraid that she'd be fired for hooking up with her boss's brother. They parted ways and Ashton never called her again. Since then, Anna's party has become an annual event, though on a much grander scale. Ashton, now a fully qualified heart surgeon, hasn't attended because he was too busy with work, but this year he shows up and makes things uncomfortable for Nora. He's still incredibly attracted to her and determined to make up for past mistakes, but she won't allow herself to make the same mistake twice. Can Ashton convince Nora to give him a second chance for Christmas?

I wanted to like this story a lot more than I actually did. The whole premise is that Ashton "ghosted" Nora, but I'm not sure that's really what happened. I read the flashback scene of their last encounter multiple times, and unless I completely missed something, I never saw him promise to call her as she claimed. Not only that, their fight seemed an awful lot like a breakup to me; Nora didn't leave much room for them to move forward given her fears about what would happen if Anna found out about their relationship. What exactly was the plan if Ashton had called? The fact is that neither one of them was ready for a relationship back then, and if they had tried it, they probably wouldn't have made it. Ashton needed to focus on becoming a doctor, and Nora had a ton of emotional baggage to work through. It's unfair to put all of the blame on Ashton, and Nora's grudge against him really bothered me.

I'm being nit-picky, but I was also bothered by the author's incorrect use of terminology related to doctors and misunderstanding of their career progression. For example, people in medical school are not yet doctors, they're medical students. Medical students are not residents; residency comes after medical school. Internship is the first year of residency. Finally, cardiothoracic surgeons perform surgery on hearts, not cardiologists. Again, I know this is nit-picky, but the fact is that details matter, and getting them wrong can serve as a big distraction, taking readers out of the story. (There's really no excuse for getting these particular details wrong, either; they're ridiculously easy to find with a simple Google search. Besides, anybody who's watched an episode or two of Grey's Anatomy or ER probably knows the basics already!)

In the end, I didn't hate this novella, but I don't think I can recommend it. Even though it wasn't for me, it may well appeal to existing fans of the West Side series (and people who are less detail-oriented than I am). I've read other books by this author in the past and really enjoyed them, so I will plan to pick up her next book and hope for a better result.

*Review copy provided by the author/publisher via Grey's Promotions. All opinions expressed are my own.    

 

About "Misplaced Mistletoe"

One secret kiss under the mistletoe can never lead to happily ever after...right?

Once upon a time, Nora shared the hottest kiss ever—followed by an equally steamy Christmas—with her boss's super-sexy brother. Then he ghosted her. That was eight years ago. Now, she's completely over it. And when he shows up at the annual holiday party, she will not let herself repeat past mistakes. This time, she'll stay far away from the mistletoe...

Ashton doesn't lose control. Ever. Well, except for that one time. His focus has always been on completing his residency and fellowship programs. But seeing the gorgeous redhead again makes him think that losing a little control, just once more, might be just what the doctor ordered...

Will the magic of the season—with an assist from a certain mischievous matchmaker—convince Nora and Ashton to take a second chance on love? It might just take a Christmas miracle...