This is a very cozy holiday story and it's perfect for fans of Hallmark Christmas movies. Actually this would make a great holiday movie.

Lucy and Dante are set up really well for a second chance romance, and it's a unique idea that brings them together again. It definitely helped to have a concrete reason for Lucy to agree to this, as there was no doubt how much she still held ill feelings toward Dante at the start of this book. Their first interactions with each other were uncomfortable, and you really can't help but feel for them both.

Mistletoe is a great location. If it was real I'd go there in a heartbeat. It's such the perfect, cozy small town for a holiday story.

A nice second chance story. Lucy is the one left behind, and now Dante is back to film a movie in their hometown. Eight years is a long time so much work is needed for a HEA. Good Christmas romance, and would recommend.

Happy Wednesday y’all! Man, I’m exhausted and I definitely do not want to be doing anything but napping today, but someone’s gotta work (and take breaks from working by writing blog posts). Thankfully, I have an adorable book to review, so this post is not going to be hard to write at all! Thank you so much to Forever/Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for letting me read an eARC of No Ordinary Christmas. This book came out yesterday (September 28th), so make sure y’all go out and grab it as soon as you’re done with my review!

No Ordinary Christmas 4/5 Stars

Summary from Goodreads:

The quaint New England town of Mistletoe is thrilled to welcome back one of their own, Dante West. Now a famous Hollywood action star, Dante is filming a movie in town to help the local economy, as well as make amends with the people he hurt when he abruptly left Mistletoe all those years ago.

Librarian Lucy Marshall isn’t thrilled to see Dante. He was once her best friend and first love until he left her behind without a word of goodbye. When Dante makes her an offer she can’t refuse — use of the library as a filming venue in exchange for a lucrative donation, Lucy finds herself spending a lot of time in Dante’s company. With the magic of Christmas in the air, Dante and Lucy begin to forge a new bond. But can two people leading such different lives find lasting love the second time around?

This book was so freaking cute! I loved the setting is Mistletoe, Maine and I’m so, so excited about Christmas romance time starting up again! This book was about a second chance romance between Lucy and Dante and even though it wasn’t super steamy or over the top (and I mean I love over the top), it was cute and fun and all about trying to fix past mistakes and believing in yourself as much as others do. And it’s the first book in a new series, which is amazing, because we were introduced to a plethora of amazing characters who have great stories just waiting to be told (like Stella and Nick). I really liked Tess, Lucy’s little sister, and even though she was so much younger than Lucy, you could tell that they had a really close bond. I also liked how much effort Dante put into trying to mend his relationship with his brother- I’m a sucker for familial relationships (when done well) and I thought that all of the familial relationships in this book were so great. Plot wise, I really enjoyed it too- nothing was too big or flashy, but everything just made sense. Like, I could totally see this story actually happening in a small town anywhere and I loved that. No Ordinary Christmas was an adorable read and definitely great for getting you into the Christmas spirit!

No Ordinary Christmas reminded me a lot of Home For The Holidays by Sara Richardson. It was a quick, adorable romance that I listened to in one sitting while repotting a plant. It’s so weird to be reading Christmas books when it’s still 90 degrees out, but I adore holiday romances no matter the season.

No Ordinary Christmas had all the hallmarks (get it) of a great holiday romance. I loved reading about the town’s Christmas festivities, the tree farm, and the characters’ own traditions.

This is the only kind of second chance romance I enjoy: when the characters split up because they’re too young and then find each other again later in life. I loved how these characters were able to have emotional conversations about why they broke up in the first place and what they could improve in the future. I would have liked to see a little more about their past, but overall their romance was interesting.

This is the perfect little romance to enjoy by the fire with a cup of cocoa.

Eight and a half years ago Dante West abruptly left his hometown of Mistletoe, Maine to try an acting career in LA. Not only did he leave his family but also his high school sweetheart Lucy. Now back in his hometown to film a movie, Dante wants to make amends. Can Lucy forgive and give love a second chance?

This story had a great setting in Mistletoe. You can't help but feel the Christmas vibes with all the descriptions of holiday festivities. Dante has his work cut out for him trying to apologize and smooth things over with not only Lucy but also his brother. Lucy, now the town librarian, is wary of trusting. A cute secondary character was Lucy's 10-year-old sister. She had no problem making her feelings known.

This sweet romance had a nice introduction to other characters that we will hopefully see in future books. Thank you to the publisher for my ecopy of this book.

I was looking forward to my first Christmas story of this season. This sounded so promising, but either I wasn't as ready as I thought, or this lacked something for me.
A second chance for Dante and Lucy. This is a clean read, and I have no idea how close they were nine years ago. Promises to leave this small town together, but yet it states that Lucy would never leave this small town, and all she's ever wanted was to be a head librarian. And Dante just left, without a word to Lucy, to become a movie star-wow! And the reason he left is so rather lame for me, an excuse it sure was. These two are so opposite. Of course she's harboring hate, hurt, and resentment. He wants to make a grand jesture which I thought was cool, but even that didn't work smoothly.
It was a happy ending, but I feel there was too much going on in there from beginning to end, and then just too pat at making it be all hunky dory. Skipping the deep emotional details kept me from feeling that same goodness I think this could have had. A few character intros that sound promising for more romance in Mistletoe, ME.
I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley, and am giving my own thoughts and opinions voluntarily.

I was so disappointed in this story. I expected to find a sweet second chance romance, where the reasoning for their separation would be explained, there would be some groveling, and the hero would be redeemed. Sadly, that didn't happen. In fact, the hero didn't seem all that interested in making amends so much as he was interested in relieving the burden of his guilt. Everything he did - and I mean EVERYTHING - was done to make himself feel better. He wrote the script of this new movie and had it filmed in his hometown to get closer to the girl he left behind - sounds sweet, right? Except he hadn't spoken to her in nine year. NINE. He left her there to go chase his dream in Hollywood, knowing that they had plans to be together, made one measly attempt at contact after several months of not talking to her at all, and now nine years later he thinks the key to her heart is going to be a movie? What planet does this guy live on? Oh, that's right. His own. Where everything revolves around him. When she gets upset with him for abandoning her, he actually gets mad. Rather than apologizing and acknowledging all the things he did wrong, he gets all upset that she won't immediately forgive him. And then has the gall to think that he never really knew her after all, she's not the person he thought she was, all because she wouldn't immediately say all is forgiven. Of course, she doesn't make it too hard. Real quick, she starts to cosy up to him. It takes little effort for him to get in her good graces again.

And don't even get me started on him trying to make amends with his brother. Their first meeting, his brother is rightfully upset, and instead of apologizing, he once again gets defensive. Is this guy 30 or 13?

This is not a cosy Christmas romance. This is a second chance romance that just happens to take place at Christmas, with a heroine who deserves better and a hero who deserves a kick in the read that boots him all the way back to Hollywood.

Dante and Lucy...oh MY! Talk about a couple that the air sizzles with love when they are together! They were childhood sweethearts and planned to spend their lives together until Dante unexpectedly moves across the country without even talking to Lucy. That was giant mistake #1. Fast forward 8.5 years to the current story, and Dante returns to Mistletoe to produce a movie. He wants to mend burned bridges with his family and Lucy while he is back, which is definitely not going to be easy. As the story progresses, the reader absolutely has no doubt that neither Dante nor Lucy ever stopped loving each other, but will that be enough to bridge the painful past and vast chasm between their current lifestyles?
I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who loves clean love stories! I received an advanced copy of this ebook from the author. All opinions in this review are my own.

It’s no secret that I love second chance romances and holiday romances, so one that combined the two? Should’ve been a homerun. Unfortunately, while there was quite a bit of both that worked, the book overall didn’t hit well for me.

Dante and Lucy grew up together in the little town of Mistletoe, Maine. They’d been childhood friends and then in a relationship, until he unexpectedly took off for California, throwing away all their careful plans for the future. In the almost nine years since, he’s become a famous actor in multiple action movies, and now he’s back in Mistletoe to direct a film he’s written and produced. While the rest of the town seems to have forgiven him, she’s eager to avoid dealing with the man who broke her heart so badly, the only man she ever loved. Dante has his own reasons for coming back. He’s eager to reconcile with not only Lucy, who he also still carries a torch for, but also his family and friends. But repairing relationships isn’t as easy as an apology, and as Lucy and Dante are thrown together again, it’s hard for either of them to deny that they still have feelings for each other. But with Dante going back to LA after Christmas, will Lucy be left in Mistletoe with a broken heart again?

“She loved snow almost as much as she adored the Christmas season itself. There was something about the white fluffy stuff that instantly took her back to the joys of childhood. Sledding. Tubing. Skating. Making a snowman in the backyard and drinking steaming mugs of hot cocoa. Growing up here in Mistletoe had been idyllic.”


First off, this is very much a Christmas book. There’s lots of (secular) holiday goodness, from finding the perfect tree at a tree farm to lots of snow to a town Christmas fest complete with a tree lighting. There’s even a particularly hilarious section where Dante has to sub in for Santa, and it was one of the most adorable interactions between him and Lucy. Lucy, for her part, adores Christmas (she goes all out decorating the town library), and has a special fondness for holiday decorations with lobsters. It’s one of many ways she’s firmly and happily settled in her hometown. Lucy’s calm and collected, the perfect reputation for the town librarian. The last thing she wants is gossip about her and Dante making the rounds, not to mention the inevitable pity when he leaves again. Plus, she was deeply hurt when he left, and neither she nor her close family and friends want to see the same thing replay again. But she can’t quite seem to play it cool around him, and it’s clear quickly that all the sparks between them never faded.

“Couldn’t Lucy see that he was trying? He truly wanted to make things right, or at least put his best foot forward. He’d written the script for the movie as a love letter to their youthful relationship. It had been a painful process to relive those moments and face the fact that he’d singlehandedly ruined something beautiful and genuine. It wasn’t fair for Lucy to be so dismissive.”


My main issue with the book was that I didn’t like Dante. Dante does seem to generally want to reconcile with everyone, but he seems to not know how to go about it. Apologies are all well and good, but I think it’s also important for the person to show they understand the other person’s pain and that they won’t hurt them in that same way again. Instead I got the impression that Dante expected the other person to accept and understand his extenuating circumstances and forgive him without regards to their own pain. He mentions several times that his pride kept him from reaching out to her, and it nearly sinks them again due to the bleak moment. Rather than realizing he needs to explain what happened, he immediately jumps to “she doesn’t trust me!” over something that, without going into spoilers, yeah, I’d be rather hurt by as well. Understanding that you may have hurt someone inadvertently, even when you’re not really at fault, isn’t a trust issue. He also based the movie he’s filming in Mistletoe on their relationship without telling her. She’s initially quite shocked by that, but unlike me, she eventually seems to think it’s sweet and a sign of his desire to mend fences. A lot of their current relationship also seems dependent on their past, and not much of that was really shown in the book. There’s references to Dante being a ringleader and pulling Lucy into silly schemes, but not a lot about what those were. Maybe if more had been included, I would’ve seen Dante better through Lucy’s eyes.

Besides Lucy, Dante’s coming to terms with his father’s death and his estranged relationship with his brother. When Dante’s father was ill, he didn’t come home to visit him, and while he returned for the funeral, it’s been his brother Troy who moved back in with their mother to help her out. So Troy is naturally upset about his reception in Mistletoe and that his mother welcomes him back with open arms. Unlike the reconciliation with Lucy, I thought the way his relationship with Troy changed and grew was realistic and ultimately satisfying. I also enjoyed several of the other side characters. Lucy’s little sister Tess was pretty fun, as was Dante’s friend’s kid Miles. And since this is a small town romance, which tend to be extremely white, I liked that the main characters and several side characters were Black. It’s also firmly a closed door romance, with nothing more beyond a few kisses even suggested.

Overall, while this is an adorable holiday romance, unfortunately I never quite warmed up to the hero. It’s definitely the sort of sweet holiday movie I would watch with a giant mug of cocoa, though!

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Lucy Marshall is the sweetheart and head librarian in the small town of Mistletoe Main. Her life is quiet and just as she likes it, that is until her high school best friend/boyfriend Dante shows up in town. He is now a Hollywood Star and left Lucy in the dust when he up and left town years ago. Now he is home and wants to make amends to his family and friends, and especially the one he can not forget. Can Lucy spend time with him without getting her heart broken again? Can Dante make up for all he has lost? Maybe this Christmas might be a second chance for them both?

Belle Calhoune’s new Mistletoe Main series has started off so beautifully with the story of Lucy and Dante. It was the perfect way to introduce us to a multitude of characters and to set the scene of a perfect little town. I loved the banter between the characters and how they both came to terms of their pasts and their relationship with each other. Belle’s writing style takes you right into the story as I sat and pictured this idyllic Christmas tree farm with the snow lightly falling. As I kept reading, I was wondering whose story would be next and am already excited for the next book in the series. Thank you to Forever Publishing for my advanced readers copy that I voluntarily read and reviewed.

🎄 No Ordinary Christmas by Belle Calhoune 🎄

Mistletoe, Maine, is buzzing and not just because Christmas is around the corner! Dante West, local cutie-turned-Hollywood hunk, is returning home to make his next movie. Everyone in town is excited . . . except librarian Lucy Marshall. When Dante took off for LA without warning—or even a goodbye—he broke Lucy’s heart. She swore not to spend one more minute thinking about her ex, but Dante makes an offer Lucy’s struggling library can’t refuse: a major donation to film on-site.

Dante is thrilled to help boost his hometown’s economy and finally begin making amends to the people he hurt years ago when he left, starting with Lucy. But seeing his former best friend on set every day feels a lot less like closure and more like a fresh start. It’s one thing for Dante to fall for Lucy all over again, quite another for a famous movie star and a small-town librarian to find lasting romance. Can the magic of the holiday season give Lucy and Dante’s first love a second chance?

MY THOUGHTS | I am ready to spend the holidays in the winter wonderland of Mistletoe! I enjoyed the second chance romance between Lucy and Dante; however, at times I felt their thoughts were a bit repetitive which took away from the Christmas season. Dante was a bit unlikeable for me, and I feel he didn’t do enough to earn Lucy’s trust again. Overall, a sweet Hallmark Christmas tale set in a beautiful town!

RATING | ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to for the gifted copy @readforeverpub and @netgalley

Hi Hallmark Channel, I found your next book to movie adaptation! Seriously though this was adorable and would be the cutest Christmas movie. Second chance romance usually has to be pretty special for me to enjoy it and I definitely was won over here. I liked that Dante is now a celebrity who wants to give back to the community he grew up in by filming his new movie in his hometown, I mean how fun is that?! Lucy is a librarian and I pretty much liked her based on that alone, but she was super endearing as well. The town itself was depicted beautifully, think I could convince my entire family to spend Christmas back east in some little small town with a giant Christmas tree in the town square?! This was more sweet than sexy and super cozy, definitely best read with some hot chocolate by a fire while it’s snowing outside! Also my first from the author but I’m checking out her backlist ASAP. It was also the first book I listened to that was narrated by Mela Lee or Tre Hall and I applaud the use of two narrators, they were both great!

Lucy is not happy that her ex-boyfriend Dante is back in town to film his newest movie. Years ago he left her and their hometown without warning. They were supposed to go to California together but he went on his own. Now she plans on trying to avoid him as much as possible, but it's obvious from early on that won't work.

I liked the small-town setting of Mistletoe, Maine. It was really well described and sounded like a really cute place to live. The characters were interesting, too, and I was curious how they would heal their old hurts and move forward.

It is a cute Christmas second-chance romance and start to a new series. I did have a harder time connecting with the writing style, but I think that's more my personal reading style/preferences.

No Ordinary Christmas was the Christmas read my heart was looking for. Set in the cute New England town of Mistletoe, we’re introduced to Lucy, who works as the town’s librarian and is less than pleased when her ex-boyfriend and Hollywood star Dante West returns to down to film a movie. I’m not going to go into more of the plot than that, but I’ll say that this is a plot that’s fit to be a Christmas romance film.

I loved these characters. I found Lucy particularly relatable, and I loved the relationship that she had with her youngest sister. Dante is a great male lead who’s not only an attractive movie star but has a sensitive side as well. This was a second-chance romance that I really enjoyed, and the setting only added to this. I’m excited to see what comes next in the Mistletoe series, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for the next book in this series.

This book is a great choice for fans of Hallmark Christmas movies and Christmas romances.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

It's always nice to get to a Christmas book in the fall.

In this one, we have Dante, who up and left town with no good explanation. The person who hurt the most from him leaving was his childhood best friend Lucy, who happened to believe Dante was the love of her life. When he comes back to use his fame to help the small town of Mistletoe, MA, Lucy isn't happy about it.

These characters are relatable, and are both imperfect humans with struggles. Though I don't always love romances about a famous person, this one did a good job of making Dante feel down to earth by the end. Lucy was upset for valid reasons, and it took time for her to move past it.

Would recommend.

Dante West left Mistletoe long ago to become a successful actor in Los Angeles. Now he's back in his hometown to film a new movie he's producing. This is the perfect opportunity for him to help boost the small town's economy and make amends with friends and family.

Lucy Marshall is the local librarian and also happen to be Dante's ex-girlfriend. She's not happy when he appears in town and asks to film at her library. But she can't refuse his offer to make a major donation. She's already imagining how she can allot the money. But as she finds herself falling back in love with Dante, she's afraid he'll end up leaving and breaking her heart again.

Dante has regrets over not being around while his father was sick and it's driven a wedge between him and his brother. He hasn't been close to his family in awhile and he's realizing that he doesn't have that close supportive circle in Los Angeles. He's also hoping to reconnect with Lucy and his movie's plot mirror's their love story.

Belle Calhoune is no stranger to Christmas romance. I watched the movie Love, Alaska that was based on one of her books. This book reads like a holiday movie. There's enough snow, hot chocolate, and Christmas decorations to get you in the mood for the season. Just because a romance is closed door doesn't mean the characters can't have great chemistry and steamy kisses which Dante and Lucy had. I love small town romance so I was enjoying how the town celebrated the holidays. Lucy and Dante's rekindled relationship was the talk of the town. I adored Lucy's little sister Tess and their closeness despite Lucy being so much older than her. And I also liked how protective her older sister Stella was of her.

If you love Christmas stories and you need something to get you into the holiday spirit I definitely recommending checking this one out. It's a cute and quick read with Black leads set against a charming small town New England backdrop.

I received an arc from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I adore Christmas romances, but most of all, I love the second chance trope. This book did not disappoint. It was well written with good conflict. It's a story about making amends, forgiveness and healing from the past. I loved the small town feel. It kept me reading from start to finish. I'd highly recommend reading to get you in the holiday spirit. Huge thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

A great Christmas story and perfect for the season. Predictable at times but an enjoyable read. I look forward to reading more about the characters in this story.

This was a fun light read. Readers will come back for book two. It's perfect for fans of holiday tv movies.

This is a perfect Romcom for the holiday season! I loved the setting, it’s exactly what you’d picture when you think idylic small town Christmas and the characters.

Second chance romances are my favorite. I think this one was done well and the reason for the original breakup was something they could move beyond.

Overall this is the perfect, light holiday reads.