Review: The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens by Jaimie Admans

I am SO excited to share my review of The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens! 

This is an awesome story full of heart, heartache, hope, faith and Christmas magic!

Jaimie Admans always tugs at my heartstrings and fills my heart full of joy with every story she writes!

I highly recommend The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens!

It's currently FREE in Kindle Unlimited in the US!
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In Mistletoe Gardens a legend exists: anyone who kisses underneath the mistletoe will be guaranteed another year of love…

When local baker Essie Browne discovers that Mistletoe Gardens is to be demolished in January, she’s determined to save the place she loves so much. So Essie proposes building a life size gingerbread house to bring in the crowds…just how hard can it be?

Well, quite hard actually. Essie can bake gingerbread blindfolded, but she hasn’t got a clue how to build an actual house with it! She needs help - and fast!

Enter local builder, Joss Hallissey. Essie is convinced that with Joss’s help they can pull this off. There’s just one tiny problem: Joss hates Christmas, gingerbread, and… well, just about everything else too.

Joss the Grinch makes it clear that her idea is ludicrous and pointless, but he reluctantly agrees to help with her plan.

Will the gingerbread house be enough to save Mistletoe Gardens? Or will Essie's chance for a magical kiss under the mistletoe be lost forever?

My Thoughts

An utter delight! A true embodiment of the magic of Christmas!

This is a lovely grumpy/sunny romance set against the backdrop of the small Welsh town of Folkhornton during the Christmas season. The magical Mistletoe Gardens park is in jeopardy of being bulldozed to make way for a new apartment complex nobody wants. A plan forms to make the town’s annual winter wonderland the biggest and best event ever to help save Mistletoe Gardens and Essie foolishly promises to make a life-size gingerbread house to help draw more people to the holiday celebration. Has she bit off more than she can chew? Definitely. Essie will need a Christmas miracle–and a grumpy builder–to pull off this daunting task.

Essie is a beautifully crafted character full of life and promise. She’s a little battered because she’s lost her confidence after some past mistakes but she’s determined to save Mistletoe Gardens. Essie is a multigenerational baker and has made many gingerbread houses over the years, but none to the scale of a full size house! She visits Joseph Hallissey Jr.–owner of a local construction company–in hopes of getting his help with the house, but is quickly and firmly rebuked, repeatedly. Luckily, Essie is determined and fully dedicated to making this gingerbread house the best thing ever, despite all the naysayers.

Joseph–prefers Joss–hates Christmas and people. He’s busy with his own business problems and has no time to help some flighty baker make a life size gingerbread house in three weeks’ time. There’s just no way. Well, until Essie brings him a basket of sweets from the bakery where she works and her annoying persistence–and her kindness–has Joss thinking up some good ideas on how to begin the process. Soon he’s grudgingly swept up in the gingerbread house construction and spending more and more time with Essie. And the more time they spend together, the harder it is for Essie to remain detached. You see, Joss has plans of leaving Folkhornton after the new year, and never coming back. How can Essie not lose her heart to this gruff man, who secretly has a heart of gold? I know I couldn’t!

I mean, I love Essie and Joss together but I was absolutely enamored with the citizens of Folkhornton! So many lovely and quirky people with so much love and generosity and wicked senses of humor! They are the perfect complement to the story and were the royal icing that held everything together so brilliantly!

The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens is a story full of joy and heartache, of love and loss, of courage and doubt, of faith and hope, and of miracles. It will melt your heart and have you reaching for the tissues! I was quickly swept away into this magical story and held captive until the very end.

Whenever I need a joyful read to brighten up my holiday season, I turn to Jaimie Admans who never disappoints! I highly recommend The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens!

FTC Disclaimer: I voluntarily read a copy of the book generously provided by the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influences my thoughts or feelings about the book or the content of my review.

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