Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Mangos and Mistletoe

This was cosy and Christmassy, and a wonderful sapphic romance. I am in awe of Herrera’s ability to create fleshed out main characters with believable connection and chemistry in under 150 pages.

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rorikae's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

'Mangos and Mistletoe' by Adriana Herrera is a festive holiday novella that incorporates baking and a little bit of spice.
Kiskeya Burgos and Sully Morales each entered the Holiday Baking Challenge to help set them up for careers in baking. What they didn't expect were to be paired up with each other and feel an instant attraction. Now they have to balance their lust for one another with preparing the perfect holiday treats to crush the competition.
Herrera has created a fun and festive novella that's the perfect bite of romance around the holiday season. She balances spice with sweetness while also creating two characters that you come to quickly care for. Despite it being a novella, she provides a good enough amount of backstory to feel that we know the characters while also balancing the plot.
My one downside is that I don't love instalove in my romances. Since this is a novella, the instalove does make some sense as it allows for the characters to explore their relationship despite the shorter page length.
If you're looking for a fun romance that's perfect for this wintery holiday season, 'Mangoes and Mistletoe' is a great option.

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thefatpaperback's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

5.0

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_kassandra9_'s review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I read this book in one day. I love it. It was just what I was in the mood for

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ladysadiereads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I think this really didn't land 'cause I wanted more! There was a lot to unpack in a novella and it was an oddly slow burn for such a short Herrera story. BUT I still adored it. There is such a sweet atmosphere not to say this is lighthearted - this is definitely heavier than say Her Night with Santa - but the food, the soft sapphic sweetness? Loved it! Also made me very hungry...

TL/DR Review
Stars: three and three quarters
Steam: a few steamy scenes, some dirty talk
Tropes: enemies to lovers, reluctant teammates, only one bed, holiday
For Fans Of: Great British Bake Off
Theme Song: Slow Burn by Kacey Musgraves
Subgenre: contemporary romance/ holiday/ sapphic romance
CW/ TW: microaggressions, whitewashing, references to homophobia and mentions of toxic masculinity

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sarah984's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was a sweet little romance novella. I liked the main characters and their interactions and inner conflicts were interesting (probably a little too easily resolved but that's common in novellas). Most of the side characters were charming as well, though I found the 'villains' a little silly. I was a bit disappointed how little the actual competition featured in the story, but the food descriptions were good. The romance was cute enough and I liked the ending, but that one sex scene in the kitchen was really goofy.

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