Jess Michaels: Mismatched Under the Mistletoe

John Cavendish has carried a secret for most of his adult life: he has been in love with the wife of his best friend, Lady Emily Rutledge, since the first time he laid eyes on her. Years have passed, she’s been widowed and they have become the closest of friends, but that deep feeling has remained. However now the holidays have arrived and she has invited him to a country party with a Twelve Days of Christmas theme. A party where she intends to matchmake all her guests.

Emily has leaned on Cavendish during the lonely years since her husband’s death and she will lean on him once more at her party. Only nothing is going to plan. The couples don’t like each other, the birds are going wild and who knew drummers drumming would get so repetitive and LOUD? Plus, there is the fact that she and Cav are getting closer by the moment, igniting a desire in her that she never saw coming.

Will twelve days of revelry and seduction be enough to lure these two toward a future that could change their lives? Or will fear and angry geese keep love from blooming?

CW: Husband death and grief (although minimal on page)

With a creative spin on the Christmas house party, widow Emily attempts to set up known wallflowers with rakes in need of reforming. With her best friend (deceased husband’s best friend) Cav in tow to help manage the men, the 12 Days of Christmas house party ends up forcing Emily to admit her feelings for Cav. And Cav, who has been nursing almost a decade of feelings for Emily, is under pressure to marry so decides to take his last chance with Emily.

This is a shorty with little angst and a lot of fun. Some of the set ups are funny, the supporting characters sparkle (I want so many of their stories, too), and the romance is really hard won.

Cavendish is a reformed rake who fell in love with Emily the instant he was introduced, only to have his hopes dashed by learning she was engaged to his best friend. He is able to play it pretty cool and controlled on the surface, mostly after nine years of not showing his love for Emily, but underneath bubbles deep feelings. Not quite a cinnamon roll…but definitely not Alpha or Beta. With limited page count to cover his backstory, Michaels nonetheless manages to make him come alive and be tremendously sympathetic/loveable.

Emily is just a burst of sunshine, a bit impulsive, believing the best in a magical sort of way, and facing her uncertain future with a final push to spread some love and light in her life and among friends. She is a woman who has suffered a lot of loss and grief, but makes the best of it by focusing on everyone else around her. This makes her self discovery of feelings lower angst than it might have been and rather sweet.

This was a fun and great winter novella, that I would recommend especially for readers who love a friends to lovers or a secret crush that turns into love.

5 Stars 4.5 out of 6 Best friends realize their feelings over the two weeks of a Christmas house party