Book 767: Tic-Tac-Mistletoe (Hartbridge Christmas #1) – N.R. Walker

For the 8th book of 12 Books of MM Christmas Romance 2020 we have N.R. Walker’s Tic-Tac-Mistletoe.

First, I have to admit that it took me way too long to realize the tic-tac-toe still worked with the damn Mistletoe, like mentally it was there, but I didn’t really make the connection until I was typing out one of the quotes and was like OMG I GET IT. So yeah these might be rotting my brain.

Second, I’ve realized Walker is pretty hit or miss with me. I have to really concentrate and focus on just reading the book and can’t have any distraction or I won’t be able to get into the character or the character’s dialogue. I honestly thought this was just a problem with her characters, but when it happens with at least one character in every book it’s a sign of a bigger challenge (for me at least).

As much as I grew to like Hamish, an Australian upending his entire life to move to the US to live with his sister for a few years after a rough patch, I didn’t really fall in love with him. I mean sure he broke down all sorts of gender stereotypes and I LOVED IT, but I was mostly just annoyed at him.

Frazzled and trying not to cry— Yes, cry. A thirty-one-year-old man can cry; shove your toxic masculinity in your cakehole and stop judging me. (4)

Are you a serial killer? I really hope you’re not a serial killer, though to be honest, I’d probably just roll with it at this point. (19)

I mean he made some great points and I loved that he quotes Schitt’s Creek and Legally Blonde among other shows, but it got old after a while, but that being said it did allow him to bond with Ren, the quite hardware store owner without any gay friends or anyone to talk to in small town Montana. AND he did sort of embody and say out loud everything I’ve decided I love about these books being Hallmark/Lifetime substitutes:

I feel like I landed in a Hallmark movie or something. Scenic mountains, small town, snowstorm, rescued by the handsome stranger who also happens to have the local hardware store. I should totally sell them my story. (29)

Oooh, those Christmas movies are like sugar. You know you shouldn’t love them but you totally do. All the smiling people and houses with more Christmas decorations than a department store. (59)

‘I did land in a Hallmark movie! This is a freaking Hallmark Christmas movie set! Actually, the last twenty-four hours have been straight out of a Hallmark movie, I’m sure of it. I think I hit my head when my car ran off the road.’ I put my hand to my forehead. ‘I’m dreaming, aren’t I?’
Ren snorted. ‘Uh, no?’
‘Pretty sure that’s what all gorgeous Hallmark movie guys say.’
‘Gorgeous?’
‘Utterly.’
He pulled the truck over to the kerb and shut the engine off. He turned in his seat to look at me. ‘You didn’t hit your head yesterday. You’re not dreaming. This is Hartbridge. It’s not a Hallmark movie set.’ He shrugged, amused. ‘Though it could be, I guess.’
‘It should be.’ (64)

I mean no need to beat a dead horse (I think there were many other references), but yeah this book was similar to All I Want in that it’s probably second closest to being an actual Hallmark/Lifetime movie if you dropped all the references. AND, somehow, this one had the shortest of all the story lines. Ren and Hamish were madly in love after three days and moved in not long after and were engaged the following Christmas (thank you epilogue).

And I knew Walker was a nerd (or at least likes writing nerdy characters), but I definitely appreciated this Harry Potter shout out. It just made me laugh

‘Oh, the gay memo. Yeah, it’s like the letter from Hogwarts. And Hagrid appears and says “yer a gay now, Harry.”‘
He laughed again. ‘He must have got lost.’ (62)

Recommendation: If you want a super low-angst, steamy Christmas romance this is for you. I liked Ren more than Hamish but loved that they threw quotes at each other from Schitt’s Creek and Legally Blonde. I will say though, if you can’t suspend your disbelief you may want to skip this one. The entire book takes place in less than three days and that includes both characters growing exponentially in confidence and moving on from bad experiences with a year later epilogue. It’s not a bad thing, just definitely outside the realm of possibilities that aren’t in a Hallmark/Lifetime movie.

Opening Line: “A totally catastrophic, unmitigated disaster.”

Closing Line: “Ren pulled me against him, kissing the side of my head and holding me tight. ‘Merry Christmas to us.'” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)

Additional Quotes from Tic-Tac-Mistletoe
“After getting out and walking around to the other side and getting in behind the actual steering wheel, I took a few deep breaths. I had prepared myself for this. Driving in a different country, on the wrong side of the car, on the wrong side of the road, honestly couldn’t be too hard. People did it all the time. And while I might be a totally catastrophic, unmitigated disaster, amongst a long list of other things, contrary to popular belief, I was not an idiot.” (5)

“I was a gay country boy, which seemed to add to my loneliness. Not that the good folks of Hartbridge had a problem with it. There just wasn’t a line of eligible gay guys knocking on my door. Hell, there weren’t any gay guys, eligible or not.” (16)