The Rules of Mistletoe by Taylor Epperson: Book Review

 *Book received for consideration. All thoughts are my own.

She's got a list of rules and he's about to break them all.

Rules for my future boyfriend (husband):

3. He always opens doors for me

6. He has to lean (like in While You Were Sleeping)

8. He has a good relationship with his mother

11. He loves watching romcoms and thrillers (because I have excellent taste in movies across a variety of genres)

I, Holly Nelson, have been dreaming about the perfect romance my entire life. You know the kind: guy and girl have an adorable meet cute and slowly, over the course of the movie, fall madly in love. I have spent hours of my life watching romcoms and I now have a list of qualities and rules for my perfect man.

I finally found him, but I haven’t figured out how to get him to notice me. Instead, I’m stuck with Drew Rossi.

Andrew (Drew) Rossi doesn’t fit a single item on my list and yet he’s coming home with me for Christmas, posing as my boyfriend. He breaks every single one of my rules, well, except for maybe #5, because he does have an arm full of tattoos. But Drew is not my perfect guy, and we both know it.

This fake relationship started because of a misunderstanding, but when Drew agrees to help me land my dream man & he agrees to follow my rules, I reluctantly agree. We don’t actually like each other, so what could go wrong?

The Rules of Mistletoe is a sweet romantic comedy. It is the second in a series of stand-alone romances.

Taylor Epperson writes swoony and sweet romances. When she's not writing, you can find her curled up with a good book and a big bowl of popcorn, or chasing a toddler around.

You can follow Taylor on Instagram @authortaylorepperson or sign up for her newsletter: https://authortaylorepperson.com/newsletter

The Rules of Mistletoe is the second book in The Nelson Sisters series. I had not personally read the previous book in the series and found that this read just fine as a standalone. 

I absolutely adored this story. Holly is such a fun character that I couldn't help but like right from the start. Were her expectations for the perfect man a little unrealistic? Sure, but it certainly was the perfect set up for a love story... and to see her falling for the man who was the complete opposite of what she thought she wanted in almost every way. This story has two of my very favorite tropes-- fake dating and grumpy/sunshine. Drew is definitely not a people person, but as we get to know him, we understand why he struggles to allow others in... and it only made me root for him to get a happily ever after all that much more. Along with all the humor and swoon-worthy moments that I love in a romcom, this also has all the warmth and traditions of the holidays too! Family, caroling, mistletoe kisses... what's not to love about all that? If you're looking for a quick, fun holiday romance, this is definitely one to check out. 

The Rules of Mistletoe is a closed-door romance with nothing beyond kisses. There is just a bit of minor language throughout the story.