Books, Fiction

Mutts and Mistletoe by Natalie Cox

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Beau and I curled up in our jammies reading Mutts and Mistletoe | My Jammies | Beau Jammies

Should I Read It Yes
Length 320
Quick Review There’s dogs, love, personal injury, English countryside, mystery, hunky men with accents, and Christmas, what else do you need in a satisfying Christmas tale, or should I say tail?

Natalie Cox rights a puppy filled Christmas romance in Mutts and Mistletoe from P.G. Putnam’s and Sons. She fills the pages with everything a reader could possibly hope for in an easy going novel to curl up with by the fire or with your four-legged friends. As I was reading this, I realized four out of the five Christmas themed books I’ve read this month are set in England. Spoiler alert, but there are several more books coming set across the pond before the big guy lands on December 25th.

Charlie hates dogs. The only thing she likes less than dogs is Christmas. Mutts and Mistletoe begins with top ten list of things she hates about Christmas. To be fair, she does try to find a handful of things she enjoys about the season. She’s overworked, but suddenly finds herself with a bunch of time on her hands when the apartment above falls on her. Literally. Impermanently homeless, she visits her cousin, who owns a dog kennel, in the English countryside for a few days. Her cousins tech-aided, long-distance, lesbian relationship is made possible when Charlie agrees to watch the dogs for a few days. A hot but hard to read veterinarian makes an appearance. A dimpled, rich man drops off a Great Dane. A pregnant beagle. A scary white van. A reindeer dressed as an elf. So many wonderful little things to look forward to.

The bit with the white van is everything my nightmares are made of. I’m not kidding. It’s my greatest fear as a dog mom. There could literally be nothing worse in my life.

One of my favorite aspects of Mutts and Mistletoe is the witty dialogue. It’s definitely giggle worthy: “Better pack your wool knickers, then.” | “Who has wool knickers?” | “Sheep.” Cox has a talent for coming up with dialogue that is interesting and comical. I can imagine having these conversations with my best friends.

The plot is cute. I definitely appreciated all the dog personalities and appearances. I wish the puppies on the cover more closely imitated the pooches on the page, but I’m being nitpicky. The plot, though engaging, is very thinly veiled and highly guess worthy. I think that is a flaw of romantic comedies; the reader expects their happy ending.    

Buy on Amazon | Buy on Book Depository

Memorable Quotes
“Sian has long maintained that Beatrice and Eugenie will single-handedly bring down the monarchy, simply through their choice of hats.”
“Admittedly they (dogs) are rubbish at housework, but then, so is every man I’ve ever known.”

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Title: Mutts and Mistletoe
Author: Natalie Cox
Publisher: P.G. Putnam’s Sons (Penguin Random House)
Copyright: 2018
ISBN: 9780525539193

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Beau was chewing on a marshmallow, which I used to bribe her into posing so cutely behind the book!
Books, Reading Lists

Christmas Reading List

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A Christmas Treasury | Christmas Camp | Last Christmas in Paris |Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery | One Day in December | A Christmas Revelation | Alaskan Holiday | The Nutcracker | An Irish Country Christmas | Sweater (this is so soft and cozy)

Merry Christmas! Or Happy Holidays to all my non-Christmassers.

I have a whole bunch of books I’m going to read this month. I’m being optimistic because eleven books in 22 days is insane. Reading a new book every other day. I’m a Christmas nut, so I’m only reading Christmas related novels this month. Several are new releases this year. Here we go!

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Alaskan Holiday
by Debbie Macomber
I read this already, and it was awful. Feel free to read my review here.

One Day in December
by Josie Silver
A winter story about love in London. This month, it is a Book of the Month book and chosen by Reese Witherspoon for her book club.

The Nutcracker
by Alexander Dumas
The classic Christmas story brought to the stage throughout the world in ballet form.

A Christmas Revelation
by Anne Perry
I’m branching out to read a mystery, but not too much because it’s still a Christmas book!

Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery
by Jenny Colgan
I don’t know anything about this book, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by Colgan in the past.

An Irish Country Christmas
by Patrick Taylor
Enter the fictional Irish town of Ballybucklebo for a Christmas season full of adventure with familiar characters.

Mutts and Mistletoe
by Natalie Cox
I don’t know anything about this, but there are puppies on the cover.

Last Christmas in Paris
by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb
I’m looking forward to reading a historical fiction novel about Christmas in Paris.

The Adults
by Caroline Hulse
A novel about Christmas and family drama… It seems appropriate. The two tend to go together.

Christmas Camp
by Karen Schaler
I hear this is being turned into a TV movie.

A Christmas Treasury
This is an anthology of some of the greatest Christmas stories. If you buy one book this Christmas. I HIGHLY suggest this one!!!