The Mistletoe Secret: A Novel

This OK; it's reminiscent of a Hallmark TV movie. Alex Bartlett lives in Florida and is recently divorced from Jill, who ran away with a boyfriend and the lion's share of their savings by the way. Months later, Alex is encouraged by his buddies to get over it and start looking for someone new. He tries dating services, surfs the web, then trips across a blogger, identified only as LBH. LBH's soulful writings strike a chord with Alex and he looks forward eagerly to the next message. He shares LBH's writings with the reader. LBH is lonely; she goes on and on and on and on (get it?) about how lonely she is. Now this appeals to Alex, he feels her pain as I am sure a lot of Evans readers will. I didn't; I was secretly urgently him to run show more away, find someone else, this one is a loser, a whiner, someone who enjoys wallowing in agony - but he didn't listen to me.

After several more blogs it becomes evident where she lives via some fairly obvious clues. So Alex goes off to find her. After all how many LBH's can there be in a town in Utah near Salt Lake? A reasonable number it turns out; Alex begins to knock on doors. During his hunt, Alex discovers woman number 2, and starts seeing her in the midst of his hunt. He develops some feelings for number 2, and then there is The Blowup.

I don't usually read romances. I'm more into crime fiction and spy novels, also bios and history. So the romances were to break up the pattern of my reading habits, and hopefully come back to my favorites somewhat recharged. Anyway, I found it interesting that The Blowup was a major scene in both books, that The Blowup felt contrived in both, got resolved rather quickly and painlessly (not in my life experience) and Happy Ending was right around the corner. "Mistletoe Secret" was OK not as good as I had hoped and expected, but mission accomplished. I won't read this author nor the author of the other one again, but I'll probably read some others. I discovered Rainbow Rowell's "Eleanor and Park" this way and maybe I'll find another such gem. show less

Sweet story. It kind of reminds me of You've Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle. I say that because of the storyline, not because I could be as in love with this book as those movies. Sorry, they're just all time favorites.

This story is about a few lonely people. Alex is still recovering from his divorce. On a whim one night, he Googles "lonely". He stumbles upon a blog written by a very lonely woman who signs her posts LBH and leaves no contact information.
Alex feels so connected to this stranger that he cleverly tracks down the city she lives. When he goes there, he tries to find his LBH.
During his search, he has dinner in the local diner and meets Aria. He is very attracted to her and decides to ask her out.

He finds himself falling show more for Aria but he can't bring himself to end his search for LBH. Who does he love? Does he love them both? Can he be with Aria before meeting LBH?

I thought this was a sweet story and is a good message about not really being all alone in the world. It is not unusual to be lonely. Alex definitely learns this and I believe he inspired others on his way to learn this too. show less

Okay, I love Richard Paul Evans. As soon as the calendar switches to November, I can usually be seen with an RPE book in one hand and a tissue in another. Seriously, I love him books.

That said, I think he needs a break. This book was so.... unsatisfying. I can't think of a more applicable description.

Seriously, Richard, consider a hiatus and try to recapture some of the magic your older books have.

Being a fan of the first two Mistletoe books I couldn't wait for this one. Then it took me by surprise that this third book was not what I expected. The blog part, so boring. I was so disappointed and almost gave up, so glad I didn't. It turned out to be another great holiday book.

Hmmm... Two lonely people find love, Christmastime, I love it! Pretty good story that's not horribly predictable. Good December read. I really like Richard Paul Evans and wish I could've read more of his Christmas fiction this season.

Aria writes on the internet about loneliness. A divorcee starts reading it and begins looking for her.

I would honestly say 4.5 stars. There were a few twists on the story I enjoyed and some well-placed humor. Overall, it was a very sweet story.


I'll post a full review on my blog in a few days.