As the holidays descend, three single women take a thoroughly modern approach to good old-fashioned romance, and wonder if the bestāand most complicatedāgift of all is just a click, tap, or swipe awayā¦
MADE UP
Like a Christmas miracle, the Build a Boyfriend App lets you simply input the stats of your dream man, and witty texts, passionate emails, and hot Instagram pics start flooding in. No more awkward questions or pitying looks as you face the holidays alone!
MIXED UP
But even the best technology has its glitches. When real-life emotions come into play, this trio of twenty-somethings find themselves in a tangle of crossed signals, flying wrapping paper, disastrous Christmas partiesā¦and surprising kisses.
MATCHED UP
Yet despite the confusion of their mistletoe misadventures, when the New Year dawns, these very satisfied women just may find themselves waking up with true love beside them.
| Title: | That Mistletoe Moment: A Boyfriend by Christmas All I Want for Christmas Isā¦ Her Favorite Present |
| Author: | Cat Johnson Kate Angell Allyson Charles |
| Series: | n/a |
| Pages: | 320 |
| Category / Genre(s): | Anthology Contemporary |
| Trope(s): | Christmas Romance |
| Point of View: | |
| Location: | US |
| HEA: | āļø |
| Release Date: | 27th September, 2016 |
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Three fabulous Christmas tales
Okay, okay – Iāll admit that itās the hottest day of the year (at least here in Scotland) and Iām sitting here reading Christmas stories and dreaming of chilly snow, roaring fires and hot chocolate. And Iām loving every minute of it.
Iām a card carrying member of the āI love Christmasā club which, Iāll admit, does make it a little bit more difficult to impress me with festive stories. I keep trying nonetheless, hoping that Iāll find a wee gem that fills you with the spirit of Christmas no matter the time of year.
These three stories are connected by one thing: The Build-a-Boyfriend mobile app which allows you to pretend to have a boyfriend, especially handy over Christmas when youāre avoiding that āare you still single?ā question.
A Boyfriend by Christmas by Cat Johnson
Noelle decides being alone is better than staying with her long time boyfriend who is definitely Mr. Wrong, but thereās no way sheās attending the annual holiday party alone knowing her ex will be there. She needs a new boyfriend by Christmas Eve. Good thing thereās an app for that and the perfect mateāor the illusion of oneāis only a text away.
There is normally one great story in any anthology and as soon as I started reading, I had this tale pegged as having that honour. Noelle is a great character, in a long term relationship but really only because theyāve both fallen into it. She and Nathan have such an adorable āmeet cuteā as well as a great chemistry together. Nicki – Noelleās sister – is also a great character and I had to laugh at the banter between the siblings as Nicki forces Noelle to make up a boyfriend to save face after just being dumped.
I was a bit surprised by the quickness of the declaration and proposal but thatās more based on the length of the story as opposed to the quality of the tale. I could have done with the story being longer but thatās the mark of a really good short story.
A sprinkling of festive touches, enjoyable characters and a nice smattering of sexiness makes this a really great tale. Iām now on the lookout for some longer stories by Cat Johnson – her writing style and storytelling could make her a future favourite.
All I Want for Christmas Isā¦ by Kate Angell
Itās Christmas and Riley Tyler is desperate to land the job as personal shopper to CEO Daniel Hayes. Not only has she to find the perfect gift for the uptight businessman, she has to find herself the perfect boyfriend at the same time so she looks like the perfect candidate. The Build-a-Boyfriend app is a lifesaver, until itās standing in the way of happily ever after.
Kate Angell is the only of the three authors in this anthology that I have read before but seeing as that was a long time ago, Iām as unfamiliar with her newer works as I am the others. I had already pegged Cat Johnsonās story as the great story in this collection so imagine my surprise when this story managed to delight me as much as the first.
The story is not new – straight laced CEO meets free-spirited, quirky girl and finds love as well as the joy of the season. The way that this story stands out is that itās so subtley done and the characters written so true to life that it never feels the same as others or too standard.
Daniel was great character – I especially loved the way he was baffled and intrigued by Riley. Riley herself was fun, likeable and while quirky, was probably more like your average girl than many other heroines.
The Christmas present challenge, snowstorm and Christmas decorations really gave this tale a touch of Christmas but the descriptions of the ornaments really gave it a some festive magic. Lovely.
If I did have a very minor criticism (I admit I started to feel like I had to find something so I wouldnāt be waxing lyrical about all the stories!) then it would be that the sexual tension that built up between Daniel and Riley when they were being kept apart by Rileyās āboyfriendā, slightly dissipated when the pair finally got together. Again, I would have loved to read more about this pair and their story.
Her Favorite Present by Allyson Charles
Gabe Harrison is determined to make himself and his company – Build-A-Boyfriend – a success. Too bad that he seems to be losing the respect of his co-founder and best friend for labelling his app users as losers. So a bet is born. All he needs to do is prove that the women using the Build-A-Boyfriend app are pathetic and he wins. Itās also too bad that Rachel Sanders is the furthest thing from pathetic and while heās still all about winning – the prize is now Rachelās heart.
Okay, this story must be especially rubbish in order to make up for the first two, excellent stories, right? Wrong. So, so wrong. This tale was also amazing – this time going for a different spin on the Build-a-Boyfriend theme. Sure Rachel was a user of the app but, unknown to her, Gabe is the CEO and developer of the company.
The way this tale worked so well was because at the start, Gabe wasnāt a particularly nice guy. Oh, he wasnāt terrible but he was a bit of a dick to be honest. The fact that by the end of the story I was not only liking him but rooting for him, just shows what a good job the author did.
Thereās plenty of heat in this tale – definitely a story to revisit on a cold winterās night. Delicious! Rachel and Gabe were just perfect for each other and I especially liked their teasing banter and the fact that Rachel wouldnāt give an inch and didnāt fawn all over the handsome Gabe.
I could have done with a wee bit more grovelling from Gabe at the conclusion of the story but there was still a satisfying conclusion.
I really canāt quite believe that Iāve found an anthology where I really enjoyed all the stories. All three authors have delivered with a great, contemporary tale that will warm your cockles and get you into that festive Christmas mood. I would highly recommend this anthology and recommend that you get your hands on a copy, get yourself settled in and ready for Christmas no matter what month it is.
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