Mistletoe Season by Michelle Major is the second book in her Carolina Girls series
Angi Guilardi left Magnolia, NC for a career in the big city. That didn’t turn out so well. The best part of that time in her life was the gift of her son Andrew even though his father wanted nothing to do with either one of them.
For the first few years back in Magnolia Angi was content working at her parents’ restaurant Il Rigatone. But that was their dream, not hers. Angi wanted to follow her own dream so she went into business with Emma Cantrell who opened the B&B, The Wildflower Inn. It was decided that Angi would handle the food side and be the exclusive caterer for the B&B. Then Angi’s father died and eight months after that her mother had a major heart attack so Angi had to take care of her mother and manage IlRigatone. Her mom wanted Angi to have nothing to do with The Wildflower Inn so Angi had to sneak around to prep for events – but only until the end of the year. That’s when Angi had to give up her dream entirely.
Adding to all this chaos Angi gets talked into taking over as chairperson of the town’s annual Christmas on the Coast event when her friend Carrie became too ill to do it. That’s how Angi ended up spending so much time with Gabriel Carlyle who she had bullied when they were young. She sure didn’t plan to bully that hot guy now.
Gabriel Carlyle returned to Magnolia after his beloved grandmother, who owns the town flower shop In Boom, falls and ends up in an assisted living facility. Gabe loves his grandmother very much. As a youth he spent summers with her when his abusive mother dropped him off. Gabe would do anything for his grandmother. So now he’s running In Bloom. All the business owners are expected to contribute to Christmas on the Coast and Gabe somehow allows the mayor to talk him into c0-chairing the event. He hadn’t known that meant working with Angi Guilardi. Yes, she bullied him after she started hanging with the mean girls but before that they were good friends. How will spending so much time with Angi affect them both?
This is a heartwarming story filled with wonderful characters, lots of Christmas cheer and a couple who find they can overcome the past now that they have experienced enough of life to realize they both made mistakes. I enjoyed all the caring of friends and family in this story. Ms. Major always entertains her readers with a really good story.
QOTD: Is it possible for people to overcome past mistakes and be happy again?
Book Info:
Publication: October 26th 2021 | HQN | The Carolina Girls #2
Spend the holidays in Magnolia, North Carolina, where two lonely hearts find exactly what they need for Christmas.
Anji Guilardi needs a man for Christmas—at least, according to her mother. What she really needs is to grow her fledgling catering business. Partnering with Magnolia’s Wildflower Inn holds promise, but when her mother falls ill, Anji’s drawn back to the responsibility of the family restaurant. Balancing work and her eight-year-old son, she has no time for romance…until Anji runs into Gabriel Carlyle.
Temporarily helping at his grandmother’s flower shop, Gabriel doesn’t plan to stick around, especially after he bumps into Anji, one of his childhood bullies. Sure, she’s all grown up and gorgeous now, and when they find themselves under the mistletoe, their chemistry is undeniable. But it’ll take more than a Christmas miracle for Anji to break through the defenses of Gabriel’s well-guarded heart and find a love built to last.
