“Fresh, fun and romantic.”—SARAH MORGAN, USA Today bestselling author of A Wedding in December
How the moose (almost) stole Christmas.
Lana Montgomery is everything the quirky small town of Moose Springs, Alaska can’t stand: a rich socialite with dreams of changing things for the better. But Lana’s determined to prove that she belongs…even if it means trading her stilettos for snow boots and … means trading her stilettos for snow boots and tracking one of the town’s hairiest Christmas mysteries: the Santa Moose, an antlered Grinch hell-bent on destroying every bit of holiday cheer (and tinsel) it can sink its teeth into.
And really…how hard could it be?
The last few years have been tough on Rick Harding, and it’s not getting any easier now that his dream girl’s back in town. When Lana accidentally tranquilizes him instead of the Santa Moose, it’s clear she needs help, fast…and this could be his chance to finally catch her eye. It’s an all-out Christmas war, but if they can nab that darn moose before it destroys the town, Rick and Lana might finally find a place where they both belong…together.
Readers are falling in love with The Tourist Attraction:
“Utterly charming—a delightful debut.”—LAUREN LAYNE, New York Times bestselling author of the Central Park Pact series
“An enchanting romcom debut! I loved it.” —TERI WILSON, award-winning author of The Accidental Beauty Queen
“After reading Sarah Morgenthaler’s darling debut, I wanted to hop a plane to Alaska and find my own grumpy cinnamon roll hero!”—MELONIE JOHNSON, award-winning author of Smitten by the Brit
“Prediction: Readers will stampede to Alaska looking for The Tourist Trap and their own Graham after they read the first chapter of The Tourist Attraction. Sarah Morgenthaler’s Alaska is so vivid and amusing that it really should be a real place in the world!”—SARINA BOWEN, USA Today bestselling author of the True North series
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The quirky fun continues in Mistletoe and Mr. Right, the second in Sarah Morgenthaler’s three romcom’s that take place in Moose Springs, Alaska.
Where the first story, “The Tourist Attraction,” centered around tourist Zoey and diner owner Graham, this story is built around Zoey’s best friend, Lana, and pool hall owner Rick. Lana is the beautiful and hardworking real estate investor who has purchased vacant land to build luxury vacation condos, much to the frustration of the locals, who wish that the tourists would leave them and their town alone. Rick is the pool hall owner struggling to get by, because he won’t allow tourists into his business, reserving it only for locals. He’s had an attraction for Lana the minute he met her, but feels she’s out of his league and could never be interested in him.
Yet he doesn’t realize that Lana is actually as lonely as he is, and craves to have a place where she will be accepted for who she really is. She desperately wants to call Moose Springs “home” and tries many ways to get the town to accept her — throwing a wonderful family Christmas party (which no one shows up for) and trying to find ways to help the small struggling businesses in the town. She even makes a vow to capture the Santa Moose — a renegade beast who is intent on destroying the town’s Christmas decorations.
Although they fight their feelings, Rick and Lana find are drawn to each other. But can they overcome their own insecurities, not to mention the biases the town has against an outsider like Lana?
Similar to “The Tourist Attraction,” Morgenthaler has sprinkled this book with some laugh-out-loud moments. Like the time that Lana accidentally grazes Rick with a tranquilizer dart meant for Santa Moose. He’s fine, although the tranquilizer effects him in an way that a bit too much beer effects other people. An inebriated Rick says some hilarious things to Lana and his friends.
Or the time when Rick and Lana decide to go on their first real date. Rick doesn’t want to take her to the fancy resort restaurant, since she’s been there many times before. Yet as he drives around Moose Springs, none of the other restaurants seem right either for someone as beautiful and sophisticated as Lana. They drive out of town and land up at a B&B restaurant, so decide to try it out. Rick wonders why he has never heard of the place from any of his friends, but starts to get an inkling when they step inside and discover the restaurant’s decor features taxidermy squirrels dressed like a miniature Santa, elves and other characters out of various Christmas stories. The waiter and cook are equally strange, and the meat on the menu questionable. Morgenthaler did such a wonderful job describing the restaurant that I alternated from laughing to freaking out a bit at its strangeness.
Yes, this is a book I’m definitely recommending to friends. It takes place at Christmas time, so “Mistletoe and Mr. Right” would make an especially good read in November or December. However, if you can get your hands on a copy when it releases in early October, dig into the wonderful story right away! You will want to meet the funny and memorable characters in Moose Springs as soon as you can. (In fact, while waiting for this book, check out “The Tourist Attraction”.)
Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca Books for providing an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.