An enjoyable and cute holiday read by Ms. Madsen about two people who grow up together but keep getting pushed together by their families. Julie and Gavin are both successful individuals, who have remained best friends, yet do not realize they are in love with each other. Neither have has luck with relationships lately, among other things. Julie needs a boost in self confidence and Gavin is the man to do it. Both visiting their home town for holidays, they get thrown together constantly, which leads to mischief and mayhem. But the more time they spend together, more feelings come to the surface and they can no longer deny the truth. What begins as fun, turns into something more complicated. But they agreed to not let it interfere with their friendship, but you can change your mind, right?
I received this novel from net galley and the publisher as an ARC. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Mistletoe Trap is a fantastic holiday read. If you love a cute Christmas read that will put a smile on your face along with a sports romance then look no further then this one. Julie and Gavin have been best friends forever. Neither expected the feelings of more. You will laugh at the antics their families go through to finally make them a couple. You will get all the feels once Julie and Gavin give in. I love how strong Julie is and how she puts Gavin in his place and makes him work for it. Gavin never expected the one to be Julie and you will love the length he goes to keep her. I loved this one so much.

This book was just the feel good read I needed. I’m a sucker for a cute Christmas story.

Julie and Gavin’s friendship is what friends to lovers romance is all about. Their quirky connection, their history and their slowburn chemistry was sooooo good!

I loved their extended family and the small town feel of this one. It made me smile from beginning to end.

5 Star Review of The Mistletoe Trap (Heart In The Game #2) by Cindi Madsen
This is a friends to lovers, sports romance centred around Christmas so all in all a win/win for me. Their families have always pushed for them to get together but these Julie and Gavin have remained in the friend zone. Julie and Gavin are friends who can pick up again no matter how long it has been since they have seen one another. Gavin is an NFL player in Texas while pathologist Julie is in Arizona.
I loved that the relationship that evolved was based on such a solid friendship. The chemistry between them is strong and as their relationship bloomed, it made for an entertaining read and made it seem more realistic, if that makes sense.
The characters were easy to relate too and Gavin was totally swoon worthy, romantic and a man I could easily fall for. The secondary characters, particularly the families were just as fun and I loved how much they poked their noses into Gavin and Julie’s relationship.
The writing is strong, the story flowed well and ticked the boxes for me. I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

The Mistletoe Trap is such a fun read. It had me laughing out loud so many times and this book kept a constant smile on my face. I loved the friendship between Gavin and Julie. I thought that they were perfect for each other when they still thought they were just friends. Once I picked up this book I could not put it down. Their journey from friends to more then friends was a really great read. Mistakes were made and feelings were hurt but the author did such a wonderful job of bringing everything full circle. I would high recommend this book. Thanks Net Galley. I voluntarily reviewed this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of the book for my honest opinion.

This book is a sweet Christmas romcom. Thanks, #Netgalley. I really enjoy this book. I will be reading more from this author.

The Mistletoe Trap (Heart in the Game, #2) by Cindi Madsen

This is the first book by Cindi Madsen that I have read.... I will be looking for more...
Julie and Gavin have been friends since they were in diapers and their families are closer than most families and have been planning for Julie and Gavin to be a couple for just as long. BUT they are just best friends...
Then things start to change and we have laughs, tears, schemes, misunderstandings and steam all getting us to a very HEA.
Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Action-packed Easy-to-read Entertaining Funny Great world building Happily Ever After Page-turner Romantic Steamy Witty Wonderful characters

I loved this friends-to-lovers book so much! It was a bit of a slow burn, but I never felt that the story was dragging on too long as I have with others like this.

Madsen does an amazing job of slowly making these two friends aware of the other person as attractive when previously neither thought of the other in that way. The little glimpses rather than a bolt of awareness that is found in so many other books was an interesting and new-to-me way of writing this trope.

I absolutely LOVED that Julie was smart and successful in her field. And for her to still be insecure about herself and her body was 100% relatable.

And Gavin was definitely no "dumb jock", which I really appreciated. The fact that Julie was smarter than him and he never felt intimidated by this just made him that much more appealing.

I wasn't a fan of the parents being so disrespectful of their adult children, but as it's a holiday romance some allowances must be made, I get that. But the other minor characters were so much fun! And I loved seeing Lance and Charlotte, and getting them involved was genius!

I'm so looking forward to whatever the author writes next!

Julie and Gavin are best friends since childhood (literally there’s pictures of them in diapers together), but they couldn’t be more different. Julie is short, brainy, and super uncoordinated, while Gavin is tall, dark and super athletic. Even though they’re totally opposite of each other no one knows them better, so when Julie needs help getting her confidence back after some hurtful comments from her ex enter Gavin, her wingman. Too bad no one told their families that the best friends are too different for each other. While both are home for the holidays they go through a bunch of hilarious scenarios that their families put them through like Christmas pageants, being Santa’s elves for town people and an interesting first date for Julie. Soon Julie and Gavin realize that their feelings are more than friendly, but is a little bit of heat worth losing your best friend? This book has a lot of build up as it focuses on their friendship more than their romance, but there’s a lot of sexual tension, a lot of humor and a great supporting group of characters. This is a nice and sweet friend-to -lover romance with a holiday twist. 4.5 stars. I received an arc copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley for my honest review.

I love this reverse parent trap! These families were so fun and there were times I definitely laughed out loud. This was a very sweet, holiday ready.

Man Gavin and Julie never stood a chance. Not just a Match mom or grandparent, they have both of their whole families plus the whole town in on the match making scheme. I enjoyed reading this holiday romance novel. It's the best kind of best friends to something more.

Julie who is a Pathologist living in Arizona has been friends with Gavin, a pro football player in Texas since they were kids, their parents are best friends and they have spent holidays and vacations together. When the two go home to Colorado for the holidays their parents take this time to finally get the two together.

Gavin has never been eager to jump into a relationship with Julie, afraid it will ruin the close friendship they already have, to him it is not worth losing. Julie needs to prove to herself she is not boring so she has Gavin fix her up with a friend, but when Gavin sets up the date for Julie, he realizes that maybe his feelings go a bit deeper than just friendship.

The book is a quick read, the family is funny as they try ways to navigate Gavin and Julie toward a relationship other than friendship. Julie and Gavin are both very likable, and you do find yourself rooting for them. They have great chemistry between them in whatever situation they are in. The relationship is not a hurried one, it builds gradually, but there were times I had an issue with that, I wanted them together sooner! There is also plenty of steaminess in the book, but nothing that verges toward vulgar.

If you are a fan of sports romances, or Christmas movies and reads, you will enjoy The Mistletoe Trap, it is a fun romance with just the right amount of hotness!

This was a fun, sweet romance between two best friends who seem not to realize that they are meant for each other even though they live in different states and have such different professions. Julie lives in Arizona and leads a pathology lab. I don’t really buy that anyone would have a habit of describing some of the gross things she’s dissecting in the lab, but that’s a mild quibble. Gavin is a professional quarterback for an imaginary San Antonio team.

I enjoyed reading along to see how long it would take these close friends, who were also sexually attracted to each other to figure things out. Their parents were fun and the friendship between the two families was very sweet.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

A feisty young lady who speaks her mind keeps the alpha male best friend real. Throw in a little romance and a bit of steam and you have a great story.

This was a fun, fast paced best friends to lovers holiday romance. They've been pushed by their families to become more than friends their entire lives, but they are adamant they are only friends, albeit extremely close friends. But then while they were at their parents place for the holidays, they both suddenly seen the other as someone they want more with. While trying to deny their feelings and fight the attraction, they also wouldn't want to do anything that would jeopardize their friendship. She is a bit of a nerd with her job in the medical lab dissecting the human body. She is also a bit of a klutz. He is the starting QB of an NFL team who is slowing rising in the ranks thanks to him. He is also one of the very few to understands and accepts her and all her quirkiness. There is plenty of humor in this and while the characters are struggling with their feelings, it's a light-hearted read. There is that one heartbreaking scene as well as the grand gesture. The sexual content is limited. (Just one scene.) This is book two in the Heart in the Game series, but can be read as a complete stand alone (though there is a cameo appearance by the couple in book one.) It alternates POVs. While this is a holiday read, it's not overdone. Most all of the holiday related stuff is just in the settings.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley.

I have a love/hate relationship with this author’s books, and even though this one sounded like a good one, it turned out being not so great for me.

The writing is fine, the storyline decent (friends-to-lovers), but the heroine was a problem for me and a total irritation. She was whiny, sought confidence from other people (constantly beating up on herself when there was no reason), and at 25+ she was just plain immature. She ruined it for me, and at times I did consider DNF’ing it. Another annoyance were the leads’ families...talk about meddling! They were so over-the-top it was unbelievable.

Some may enjoy this for a light read, but it was more of a slogfest for me.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #EntangledPublishing for providing me the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.

I was so ready for holiday reads!! This one was amazing! I could not put it down and I need more. I haven't read the first book in the series but its ok since they are all stand alones. This one hit all the points I was looking for in a story! It was a cute holiday romance that I fell in love with and so will you!

Thank you NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

This is the first book I’ve read in the series (didn’t realize that when I requested it) but it didn’t seem like you need to have read the first one in order to read this one. Overall, the book is really fun like a Hallmark channel movie just a little bit more sexy. Also, while is billed as a Christmas romance I didn’t find it to be overly cheesy like some Christmas romance books can be.

Overall I’d give this a solid 3.5 stars and I’m definitely going to read the first book in the series now.

I loved this story! 5 Christmas stars for this one!
Here we have a story about life long best friends, Julie & Gavin. Their families are just as close with each other and have been on a mission to get these two friends together every chance they get.
Gavin is a starting quarterback for a new team, he's finally reached his dream. When an injury sidelines him for him a week, he heads home for the holiday, and gets to spend some time with his best friend Julie.
Julie is a quirky girl, who works in labs analyzing tumors, and best of all, has shared pictures and explanations with her bestie Gavin, among other men in her life. No one but Gavin gets her, but she would never cross the line of just friends with him, she could never lose that in her life.
Read along and enjoy this holiday story, as their parents and other family members try to get these two together!

3.5☆
Cute

What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Friends to lovers
Part of a series: Heart in the Game
Standalone
HEA
Epilogue

I look forward to reading the next book in this series.