The Mistletoe Motive by Chloe Liese
The Mistletoe Motive by Chloe Liese
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Festive Holiday Bliss and Scorching Chemistry Abound In This Romance
5 Holiday Stars
What you need to know about “The Mistletoe Motive”:
✔ Bookshop/workplace romance
✔ Holiday Romance
✔ Enemies to Lovers Romance
✔ Gabriella DiNatale, co-manager of Bailey’s Bookshop
✔ Jonathan Frost, co-manager of Bailey’s Bookshop
✔ Slow Burn
✔ First person narration by Gabby
✔ Epilogue narrated by Jonathan
Get swept up in this festive delight by Chloe Liese.
Gabriella and Jonathan co-manage an independent bookstore. They do not get along.
“I hate him. He is the prickly holly leaf in the Fraser fir garland of my life.”
Their one part-time co-worker quit because he found their dynamic “toxically hostile”.
Gabriella has trouble reading Jonathan’s facial expressions, although she’s memorized many of them after working with him for a year.
“I’m a neurodivergent girl in a neurotypical world, and my autistic brain doesn’t read people the way Jonathan Tactical-Mastermind Frost does.”
She fears that this gives Jonathan an advantage over her even as she admits that they need each other (he’s the brains, she’s the soul of the bookstore) and that the shop’s owners will soon have to choose one of them over the other with the shop’s declining financial returns.
“Meaning that while our feud might have started out as a clash of personalities, it’s now a duel to the death.”
Gabriella lives with her best friends Eli and Jane but she sadly foresees a time coming when they will move out and she’ll be alone with her cat. In the meantime, she has a great found family.
Gabby grapples with revealing her neurodivergence to others and thus becoming vulnerable in an uncharitable world. It was really encouraging and satisfying to read about a neurodivergent character unsure of who to let in as I struggle with this as well. Neurodivergence is not very well understood by the majority and it makes it difficult to confide in people and be authentic.
The bookstore that Chloe Liese has conjured is also the shop of my dreams: built-in bookshelves, warm wood everywhere, stacked shelves and an operational fireplace with wingback chairs.
“…the comforting smell of books mingling with fresh-cut evergreens, wraps me in a blanket of festive bliss.”
The Mistletoe Motive is also a blanket of festive bliss with sympathetic and real characters who have undeniable chemistry.
Chloe Liese’s prose, as always, is beautifully crafted and filled with heart, insight and passion.
The relationship between Gabby and Jonathan grows as they learn new things about one another and have their preconceived ideas turned on their head. Liese accomplishes this turn from loathing to loving in an incredibly graceful way allowing the reader insight into the realities of neurodivergence and Type 1 Diabetes. She also gives us profoundly intimate and quiet glimpses into Gabby’s and Jonathan’s hearts.
Gabby and Jonathan’s electrical connection leads the reader happily through this evergreen-scented, magical winter wonderland that is The Mistletoe Motive.
WRITING STYLE: 5/5
PLOT: 5/5
WORLD-BUILDING: 5/5
PACING: 5/5
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 5/5
ROMANCE: 5/5
HEAT: 5/5
I received an e-ARC of this book, my opinions are 100% my own.
View all my reviews
The Mistletoe Motive, a Kobo Original by Chloe Liese is now live!
From the author of THE BERGMAN BROTHERS series comes a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers holiday romance, perfect for fans of THE HATING GAME and YOU’VE GOT MAIL.
Synopsis
He loathes the holidays. She loves them. She’s full of festive cheer. He’s brimming with Bah, Humbugs. Besides unreasonably seasonable names, the only thing Jonathan Frost and Gabriella Di Natale have in common is a healthy dose of mutual contempt. Well, that and the same place of employment at the city’s most beloved independent bookstore, Bailey’s Bookshop. But when the store’s owners confess its dire financial state, Jonathan and Gabby discover another unfortunate commonality: the imminent threat of unemployment.
With the Baileys’ requests to minimize expenses, win new customers, and make record sales dancing in their heads, Jonathan and Gabby conclude–barring a financial Christmas miracle–one of them will soon be cut from the payroll. Neither are willing to step down from their position, so they strike a bargain: whoever has more sales in December gets to stay on in the new year; the loser will resign. With a lifetime’s worth of festive tricks up her sleeve, Gabby should easily outsell her nemesis, except the unreadable Mr. Frost’s every move seems purely designed to throw her off her game.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Gabby’s deceptive ex won’t quit pursuing her, and her anonymous online friend suggests they take a break. Worst of all, as the pressure mounts to save the bookshop and her job, Gabby meets a new, tender side of Jonathan. Is this the same man she’s called her cold-hearted enemy?
Maybe he’s got a motive she just can’t figure out–or maybe Jonathan Frost isn’t as chilly as she once thought. Maybe Jonathan and Gabby already know–and love–each other in ways they never thought possible.
This is an #OwnVoices story for its portrayal of autism by an autistic author.
Download today on Kobo!
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3BqPV4X
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3k4sJUo
Coming soon to the Libby app!
Meet Chloe
Chloe writes romances reflecting her belief that everyone deserves a love story. Her stories pack a punch of heat, heart, and humor, and often feature characters who are neurodivergent like herself. When not dreaming up her next book, Chloe spends her time wandering in nature, playing soccer, and most happily at home with her family and mischievous cats.
Connect with Chloe
Website: https://chloeliese.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18859163.Chloe_Liese
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Chloe-Liese/e/B07PH1Y8TR
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chloeliese/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chloe_liese/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/chloe_liese
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chloe_liese
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/chloe-liese
The Mistletoe Motive by Chloe Liese is one of my favorites of 2021! Look for that list coming soon. If you’d like to read more by Chloe Liese, check out my review of her second Bergman Brothers book, “Always Only You”, here. For more Christmas romances, click here.