Narrated by Renee Raudman
From the first minutes, Regan Martin captured my attention and heart when she attacked her nemesis’ SUV with a shopping cart. Regan, festively attired with blinking plastic antlers, a shirt that said “Elves do it better’, and Bah Humbug sweats (ripped to show her Rudolph panties), felt all of her Christmas spirit go right down the drain when sexy Gabe DeLuca, her personal Grinch, appeared in the town that she had escaped to and blocked any escape with his enormous “overcompensation with an engine”.
Regan has spent the last six years trying to overcome being labeled as the “other woman” after discovering that the man she thought she loved was married – to Gabe’s beloved only sister. Gabe was the DeLuca, the oldest in the family who owned and ran the winery that employed Regan. Because he prided himself on protecting his family, especially his betrayed sister, Gabe personally made it his mission to spend the next six years being the primary force behind the fact that Regan could not keep her last eleven jobs in wine marketing. While he tried to keep his ex-brother-in-law’s mistress away from his baby sister, Regan was just trying to put her past behind her as she supported and protected the cute and tiny result of her affair – her five year old daughter Holly.
But the wine business is a small world and Regan just can’t seem to escape the DeLuca family. When she uproots her daughter and moves to St. Helena in California, Regan finally feels like she can make a fresh start. She’s been hired as the head of marketing at a small female-run winery and is settled in the perfect small town that celebrates Christmas as only a small town can. Imagine her dismay when she finds out the female running the winery is Gabe’s maternal grandmother.
What follows is a romantic comedy of errors; as fast as Gabe tries to block Megan’s presence in the winery, the school, or the town, the women of the town (led by his grandmother) are making sure that Megan is placed to keep them both hot and bothered.
In Kissing Under the Mistletoe
None of the holiday spirit contained in this story would be possible without the talented narration of Renee Raudman. That woman can play a scene! Her characterizations are distinctly different, and the tones and nuances pull you right into the comedy, drama, or passion. I was blown away by Holly’s voice (did she have a guest speaker? Was that really her?). She even made me smile at her annoying depiction of the display reindeer, Randolph (no, that is not a typo).
Raudman has that rare ability to rotate between characters – be it woman, man, grandmother, or child without making an obvious effort at a pitch change. This was my first time listening to one of her narrations and I will definitely look for more of her efforts. ChiChi (the grandmother) had a gang of women friends who were constantly in dialogue, and Raudman made their personalities sparkle.
In fact, that is what this audiobook did. It sparkled. I listened as I commuted to work and dashed to the store for last-minute gifts and I looked forward to finding out what would happen next (and enjoying it all with a smile on my face). Don’t worry, you can enjoy this mistletoe even after Christmas; we all need a reason for more kissing.
I encourage anyone to postpone the inevitable return to Grinchtown and dive into Marina Adair’s Kissing under the Mistletoe. It has just enough spice, blended with the sweetness, to make this a heart-warming and fun listen.
Victoria
Narration: A
Book Content: A
Steam Factor: Glad I had my ear buds in
Violence: None
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Kissing Under the Mistletoe was provided to AudioGals for review by Brilliance Audio.
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