eBook Review: Mistletoe in Manhattan by Talli Roland

"As Little Missington's first Christmas baby in fifty years and the daughter of Christmas When You Like It party-planners, Holly West has been surrounded by the holiday spirit since birth. Trouble is, she's not exactly filled with festive cheer. In fact, Holly can't wait to ditch the tinsel and Santa suits for champagne and celebs, and become a party-planner to the stars.

When British TV star Dean Layton hires her parents' company to throw his holiday bash in Manhattan, Holly jumps at the chance to help, confident she can handle a little Christmas in exchange for access to Dean's exclusive world.

But New York and Dean's over-the-top demands are more than Holly bargained for. Can Holly deck the halls and make it a party to be proud of, or will this Christmas be one she'll never forget . . . even if she wants to?"

Rating: 5/5

For some odd reason, I don't think I've ever read anything by Talli Roland, but I really couldn't resist diving straight into this new eBook short story from her, mainly because it's set at Christmas, and of course that time is coming rather quickly! The cover for it is gorgeous and looks very professional, and matches the rest of Roland's covers too. As I said, this is a novella (short novel) but it felt a good enough length for me to get into and get involved in the characters without being over too soon and leaving the reader hanging! I sat and read it in one sitting in an evening, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The main character is party planner Holly, who works for her parent's business in Little Missington but has far bigger dreams. When the opportunity comes for Holly to take her party planning over to New York City, and at Christmas no less, she jumps at the chance. While planning Brit star Dean Layton's lavish party, she meets bartender Alex. I loved Alex. He's so nice and I wish there were more men around like him, he's the perfect hero for the novel! He and Holly seemed really well suited too, and I loved the developing friendship between the pair. These two were the main characters, and both were very likeable, and made the book fun to read. The setting of New York was perfect too, I've been there at Christmas myself and it brought back some great memories for me, and I could imagine all of the things clearly in my mind.

I really enjoyed this novella, it was a quick read but I enjoyed every page and didn't want it to end. I wasn't sure how things were going to work out for Holly, and I liked the unpredictability of it too. The idea of party planning was good too, and the book showed how much work actually has to go into it, as perhaps some people (like me!) think it's perhaps easier than it actually is! There were great characters in here, both likeable and very dislikeable, and with a gorgeously festive setting, this is the ideal novella to sit down with on your Kindle on these really cold nights to make you feel all Christmassy! I loved it, and can't wait for Talli's new full length novel The Pollyanna Plan!

You can buy Mistletoe in Manhattan as an eBook now!