The Mistletoe Trap was such a fun holiday read and definitely did the job of getting me in the holiday spirit!! I loved Julie and Gavin. They are the best of friends but I loved this wasn’t like most friends-to-lovers stories (my favorite!!) I usually read. This isn’t one of those books where these characters have been fighting the attraction for years and years and years. It was one of those organic growths of a relationship that I absolutely love with all of the typical ‘will this ruin what we have’ angst. I wasn’t at all a fan of either of their families since they seemed too toxic and enmeshed to ever come close to healthy but that didn’t stop me from truly enjoying this book and how Gavin and Julie ended up with their own HEA.

Best friends Gavin and Julie have been each other’s person for as long as they can remember. Always being there for each other no matter where or when. Until things turn to more then friends. Great characters and fun banter while they discover there has always been something more there.

3.5 stars I love Cindi Madsen, holiday romance, sports heroes and friends to lovers romances. This book should be the perfect storm for me, and I liked it a lot, but a few things bugged me enough to make me set the book down a time or two. First off, I love Gavin and Julie but she has some serious lack of self esteem. I’m not sure if it’s a coincidence or just a new theme in romance, these women, like Julie, need to ignore their jerk face exes and own their wonderful selves! While I saw tons of friendship chemistry between these two, the insta-spark wasn’t very strong for me. Maybe it was because of their so-over-the-top moms and their constant pushiness. Honestly, it got annoying pretty quickly...like Hallmark movie annoying. If you like that sort of thing, you’ll love this book! The dialogue and humor is awesome and they seem like people I’d want to hang out and be friends with. But something was missing for me to take this story and put it in my love column. Still a good read from a favorite author.