Hate Me Under the Mistletoe (Romancing the Rink #1)

by Kelly Jamieson

Blurb:

What happens under the mistletoe stays under the mistletoe…

Amy’s life isn’t living up to the famous Heller family brand—her love life and her career—and she just wants to be alone for Christmas. So she takes off to a friend’s secluded mountain cabin. Ho fu*king ho.

Ryder’s workaholic tendencies have made him super successful in his business, but he hasn’t spent time with family for years. That’s all he wants this Christmas, plus a little down time at a cabin in the mountains. He loves Christmas and can’t wait for the family ugly sweater contest!

When Ryder walks in on Amy at an “awkward” moment, she can’t believe the man she’s hated since she was sixteen has shown up here. He has to leave. But Mother Nature has other ideas when a blizzard shuts down the entire region...

Amy thinks a good place for Ryder’s Christmas cheer is up his ass. Ryder thinks Amy’s grown up into a smokin’ hot babe. Christmas is all about giving, and he’s got a really big package for Amy. Maybe naughty is the new nice...

Themes: Contemporary, Holiday

Rating: 4 stars

Heat Rating:

Review:

The holidays are always the best time for some sexy fun in the snow, but even after the holidays are over we can read about other’s holiday fun to relive them. I am a big fan of Ms. Jamieson but to my understanding this series is a crossover series with different authors writing each of the stories in the series, so I’m not sure if I will have the chance to read the rest of the series. I will say that this story on its own is fun, sexy, sweet, sad, and filled with holiday magic. Amy comes from a long line of hockey royalty, but when her career and personal life take a dark turn right before the holidays she decides it’s time to hit the mountains for some alone time. Ryder is headed to a big family holiday out of time but needs some quiet time before the madness and decides to hit up the mountains for that solitude after the crazy busy year he’s had. Too bad Amy and Ryder’s friends don’t realize they have each loaned the cabin out to someone else, and now with a blizzard barreling down on them they are trapped together in the cabin. Amy has loathed Ryder since he broke her tender teenage heart and Ryder has no idea why he is so attracted to the prickly hot woman she has grown into. He is determined to make their holiday time together into something fun and exciting and soon Amy finds that the irresistible attraction she felt as a teen has only become deeper and more intense. Together they find themselves falling into the magic of the holidays and the magic of love, but Amy is too terrified of risking her heart and when Ryder leaves she stays behind. Amy has to step up in order to decide if she is willing to risk her heart in order to find the love of her life or if she’ll allow old fears to hold her back. I loved this story and seeing these two old acquaintances come back together as adults in order to find the love and passion they had begun to feel as teens had never died. Amy was a bit of a mystery in many ways, fighting so hard for what she wanted professionally, but fearing the future in her personal life, but I liked seeing Ryder pull her out of her shell and reminding her how to just be silly and have fun. It’s obvious she has spent so much of her life trying to live up to her family legacy that she has stopped enjoying her life or personal successes. She was sassy, smart-assed, sweet, and loving all at once, making her a great puzzle piece to slot in with Ryder. Ryder has become a workaholic and needs to get a life, and Amy is just the woman to give him that balance. He was fun, silly, and lovable when he was with her, but with his family he was more quiet, circumspect and seeing both sides of him was great. It was obvious that he had stopped living his life in order to just find success but that finding Amy is going to give him a reason to enjoy his success by sharing his life with the woman of his dreams. The passionate sparks these two shot off one another were there from the very first second they see one another again, and oh boy once they set hands on each other it becomes almost unbearably hot. I loved the little glimpses of the small town they traveled to and to my understanding that is where the bulk of the rest of the series takes place (little Easter eggs in this story lead into those stories). This story truly was a beautiful, sensual, fun and sweet holiday romance that warmed you up in all the right ways on a cold winter night.