REVIEW: My Merry Mistake by Courtney Walsh

In My Merry Mistake by Courtney Walsh, Raya Hart honestly isn’t sure why she’s always been so laser focused on, well, everything in her life. Her two sisters, Poppy and Eloise, are her polar opposite in personality and jobs but most importantly in their romantic lives. Raya has never had good luck with men. They don’t understand her drive to succeed. The only guy who has ever treated her like her workaholic tendencies aren’t extreme is Finn Holbrook, an NHL player for the Chicago Comets. The team Raya now works for. So even if she found herself attracted to him–which she isn’t–it would be a conflict of interest to date Finn. Or so she tells herself. Because when he comes to her rescue, again, she can’t help but admit they definitely have a spark between them. Too bad they want different things. Happy-go-lucky Finn would never be content with her. Would he?

“He’s so into you,” Eloise says.
“Uh, look at who he’s dating,” I say. “The exact opposite of me. The literal photo negative. That’s who he’s into.”
“I think you terrify him,” Poppy says.
“I think you terrify everyone,” Eloise chimes in, holding in a laugh.
“Good.” I pump my eyebrows. “I like to be feared.”

Finn has been mesmerized with Raya since the minute he laid eyes on her seven years ago. Had she not been living through one of the worst days of her life when they met, he would have tried to date her immediately. But now, after years of biding his time and trying to slowly get to know Raya better, Finn thinks it’s finally the moment to make his move. Just as he starts creating inroads into a friendship–to start with–Raya has a health crisis that scares everyone around her. There’s no question that he’ll step up and be there for her in any capacity possible. Finn knows she thinks he’s a goofy hockey guy who will never amount to anything serious, but he’s going to do his best to prove he’ll not only be the one there to protect her, he’s also the one who will love and cherish her unconditionally.

“I may not be a serious guy, but I am serious about her.”

A holiday novel that included not just Christmas but Halloween and Thanksgiving as well, MY MERRY MISTAKE was a grumpy-sunshine clean romance that will have readers feeling ALL the feels and cheering on one of Courtney Walsh’s most endearing heroes ever.

‘I’m starting to think if I’m going to have a shot with her, I’m going to need a personality overhaul, because the one I’ve got just annoys her.’

CW: View Spoiler »Drunk driving accident death (historical), stress-induced migraine w/ stroke-like symptoms (detailed), cheating (historical) « Hide Spoiler

MY MERRY MISTAKE not only had all the warm & cozy feelings of the holidays, but it also had a dynamic opposites-attract couple whose slow-burn romance felt oh so right. The third book in the Holidays with Hart series, this was the time for Type-A personality, all-business-no-fun eldest sibling Raya to loosen up and fall in love. And she did…eventually. It was a struggle, though. And honestly, there were times where Raya would backslide in her attempt to work less, stress less, and have more fun–and times when I didn’t always like how she treated her love interest, Finn–but her winding road seemed genuine. As did the way Raya’s family stuck with her, lovingly prodding her forward as needed.

I loved that this was dual POV, so we had Finn’s perspective on it all as well. I always enjoy Walsh’s heroes but there was something so caring, charming, and *good* about NHL player Finn. His golden retriever energy was precisely what Raya needed in her structured life. And the fact that he fell first? Swoon. As I would expect from Walsh’s characters, Finn had hidden depths that truly just made me adore him even more. The event from his past that shaped who he became today was heartbreaking, but he used it to stay focused on being there for his loved ones and helping them achieve their dreams any way possible.

I did want to mention that while this can be read as a standalone, it will be extra meaningful to get more time with Raya’s family, the Chicago Comets, and to “meet” Finn’s raucous family for those who have read the previous two books. The way they all rallied around Raya during her health scare and coaxed her into finally admitting her feelings for Finn was touching, hilarious, and will absolutely warm your heart.

QOTD: If you unexpectedly had time off during the holidays (paid!), what would you do? Travel, shop, visit family, cook, watch movies?

Book Info:

Publication: Published: November 3rd, 2025 | Pub: Courtney Walsh | Holidays with Hart #3

Sometimes the perfect gift is standing right in front of you. . . You’re just too stubborn to see it.

I don’t like to make mistakes. Ever.

Especially when those mistakes are witnessed by the same person—flirty Finn Holbrook—who can’t seem to leave me alone. Can I really trust him not to tell anyone that the night we met, I tried to kiss him? Or that I fell apart after I got fired from a job I loved? Or that I’m not as strong as I want everyone to think I am?

The simple fact that he’s boomeranged back into my orbit after all these years feels like a great, big cosmic joke.

Only now he’s a professional hockey player, and while he doesn’t look like the goofy college bartender I met all those years ago, he still acts like one—immature, flirty, and unable to take anything seriously.

Which is why I never, ever fall for his game.

I know better than to get swept up in romance. I don’t have time. I’m busy making myself irreplaceable in my new job with the Chicago Comets. Work isn’t just something I do, it’s who I am.

And while my sisters are constantly on me to slow down and take breaks, those things aren’t on my schedule, so . . . I push on. Do more. Load up my schedule. Overcommit. Until eventually, my stress lands me in the emergency room.

The prescription? A month off. No emails. No work. No distractions.

Unless you count Finn Holbrook, who keeps showing up at my door, determined to leverage his positive, golden retriever energy to show me there’s a great, big world outside that I haven’t bothered to explore, most of it covered with white twinkle lights and Christmas decorations.

I begrudgingly go along with his grand plans, and little by little, I start to see there really is more to life than work—and more to Finn than flirting.

Which makes me wonder . . . how can someone so obviously wrong for me start to feel completely right? And more importantly . . . how do I make those feelings go away?

My Merry Mistake is an opposites attract hockey romance with all of the sizzle but none of the steam. It’s the third book in the Holidays with Hart series, but can be read as a stand alone.