Review: MISTLETOE IN JUNEAU by Dahlia Rose

My first holiday read of the season!!! I’m so happy that I started with this book. A fantastic, sweet, interesting holiday romance, set in Alaska, and full of hot chocolate fun and finding love under the northern lights.

Author: Dahlia Rose
Series: Alaskan Christmas Romance
Release Date: October 19, 2021
Pages: 280
Review Copy: NetGalley Audio*

Blurb:

Danni’s a social media influencer who’s way out of her element. She sort-of broke up with her boyfriend-slash-manager, and she escaped her fast-paced life in New York to spend Christmas with an old friend in Juneau, Alaska. Danni takes in the beauty of the scenery and the warmth of the community…and she’s drawn to the local sheriff.

Before Declan was an Alaskan state trooper, he was in the Army. An IED explosion cost him his leg…and his fiancée, who couldn’t deal with the injury. He knows Danni’s a city girl, while he loves the Alaskan wilderness.

Could two very different people find what their hearts are looking for?

Initial Thoughts/Expectations:

This was my first book by Dahlia Rose. I’ve become a fan of *her*, from watching video chats and online appearances, and I’ve been looking forward to reading this since I first heard about it. The writeup sounded sweet, and I’m getting in the mood for holiday stories. I had a good feeling about it. 🙂

What I Loved:

I think this is the first book I’ve read that’s been set in Alaska. It was nice to have someplace new-to-me as the backdrop for the story. The location actually did come into play a few times, when planning travel and meeting the locals. Danni’s reaction to the plane being used for one leg of her travel absolutely cracked me up! And learning a little bit about the indigenous people of the area, and their customs, was really interesting.

Danni and Declan were really fun to get to know. They each had families that loved them dearly, but had a few flaws in the showing of it. They each had doubts about themselves that had to be overcome for their own personal growth, and in order to be a good partner for someone else. Watching them go through the necessary “growing pains” was sometimes a bit hard, but they stumbled forward, and eventually, of course, made it through.

The charm of this story is rooted in love. The love of the friends and family for our main characters. The love of the people of Auke for their town and their way of life. The love and dedication that Danni and Declan both had for the career they’d chosen for themselves, and their desire to be the best they could at it. And eventually, because this is a romance, the love they discovered in each other. All very sweet, all very true, and all very relatable.

Another thing I have to mention is the humor. This wasn’t necessarily a “funny” story, but there were definitely moments that made me actually laugh out loud. I listened to the audio, who was amazing, and just how some of the lines were delivered was thoroughly entertaining. Having come to know the author through online chats, I could absolutely hear *her* voice in the story. Just enough lightheartedness to keep things fun and the characters on their toes!

What I didn’t Love:

I’ve been trying to think of anything that I didn’t care for about this, and I’m coming up blank. If I had to pick, I’d say there were a couple of technical things that popped up from time to time, but nothing that took away from the story as a whole.

Final Thoughts:

This book was just what I hoped it would be. Sweet, fun, delightful romance, just in time for the holidays. I’m so glad this was my first Dahlia Rose book, and I can’t wait to read more.