A Mistletoe Kiss

by Katie Flynn

It was only a mistletoe kiss, Miss Preece told herself, stepping out into the icy December evening and locking the library doors behind her. A mistletoe kiss means nothing, everyone knows that; but this did not quench the warm glow inside her.

Hetty Gilbert is a canal child with no permanent address, so when she needs to join the library, she cannot do so. Miss Preece dislikes children, but Hetty's longing for books touches a chord and she stretches the rules to allow the girl to read on the premises.

Soon, Hetty's chief desire is to become a librarian like her friend. But with war on the horizon, their lives will never be the same. In 1939 Hetty joins in the war effort, for her knowledge of canal boats is desperately needed, whilst Miss Preece can only sit and listen to the dangers her young friend faces, knowing she herself can do nothing to help.

But her chance will come, and with it the meaning behind that fragile mistletoe kiss ...

Genres: Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Christmas, Friendship, Audiobook

406 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Katie Flynn was born in Norwich and attended Norwich High School, where she was extremely happy and extremely undistinguished. Published at the tender age of eight, in Enid Blyton's Sunny Stories, she joined a Writers’ Circle as an adult, publishing short stories, articles, etc; only turning to novels in 1971 because the postal strike cut off her main source of income!
At first she wrote under several different names – Judith Saxton, Judy Turner, Lydia Balmain, Judith Arden – but her Katie Flynn books were a delight to write and proved far more popular than she had dreamed. She has now published nearly ninety novels, twenty-seven of which are Flynns. Her most recent titles are: Lost Days of Summer and Christmas Wishes.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read many Katie Flynn books as I enjoy reading fiction set during the war. Whilst the two main characters were interesting and well constructed, the storyline was bland and I lost interest halfway through. I continued to read the book in the hope that it would pick up but was once again disappointed when I got to the end as it felt rushed and not a natural place to end the book. Unfortunately I will not be recommending this one.

[Shirley Revill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book a few times and it's one of my favourites.
Easy to read but hard to put down.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely little book ! The characters Hetty, Agatha and Gareth were a joy to get to know throughout the pages of the book.
The setting of the book around barges and a library made it a very different type of book to read.
As we saw Hetty grow up and blossom into a lively, sparky young women , it was nice to see that she never forgot the people from home. The surprising friendship that developed between Hetty & Agatha , became cherished and respected between both as their lives moved along in ways they never expected.
I loved the surprise man and never really guessed who it was, so the ending was lovely for Hetty.
The writing style was easy to read and thoroughly pleasant, however the ending felt very rushed. I felt cheated that Hetty and Gareth never really got a proper moment!

[Libbeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasant read with enough going on to keep you interested and a gentle romance of the old fashioned variety running through it. The story takes place over a number of years before and during the second world war. Although I have this on my Christmas shelf, it's not particularly Christmassy but was a good uncomplicated holiday read.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

That's a wrap for Christmas books for the season..

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely read- Hetty has relatives who work on the canal and she often helps out in the summer. She loves reading and makes friends with the local librarian, as she has to read books there rather than take them home. It follows their lives as war starts.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely heartwarming stiry told in typical Katie Flynn style. Loved the 2 main characters - a gentle read.

[Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently read this book and really enjoyed. A nice easy read and will look forward to reading more books by Katie Flynn.

[Veronica-Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another marvelous family based story, full of the normality's of everyday life. Set just before and during the early years of World War 2 in England, it tells of friendships garnered and treasured over the years and the personal journey's of some very likable characters. I really enjoy reading this author's perspective on relationships and how they change and grow over time and also where they start from. A great read and highly recommended.

[Diane Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and the events really came alive for me. Unfortunately the end was a bit abrupt and totally unexpected. There were several pages left and I did not realise they were not part of the novel so when the ending came I was really shocked. I did think that there was more to be said and I felt the writer had run out of ink.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't read any Katie Flynn before, but I enjoyed this book. I particularly found it interesting learning more about canal boats and the running of them. But it was the adventures of the two main female characters that kept me reading. I would recommend this book and look forward to reading more of this author.

[Ruth Ropper · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't the Christmas book I had expected from the title and cover. The story is actually told over a number of years and develops the two main characters Hetty and Miss Pierce, their friendship and family relationships, their lives, loves and losses. The main characters are developed well but it didn't engage me they way I had thought so I took a longer time to read.

[Kim Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmm. I had this with my “to be read at Christmas” pile and although a decent enough read, is not a Christmas story at all. Even the cover is misleading. It also ends very abruptly; if there isn’t a follow up then there really should be!

Gripes aside, a good tale and having spent time in Liverpool recently, it was nice to be able to visualise the area properly.

[Mae Leveson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book, but I was disappointed. I felt a vested interest in the characters in the early chapters as they developed, but the end was lacklustre and it seemed like the author just ran out of steam.

[LAURA JONES · Rating 4 out of 5]

another brilliant book from Katie Flynn
an unlikely friendship between a strict non child like librarian and a young barge girl. gradually barriers break down and they become great friends
war arrives and the young girl joins up the librarian hopes her friend stays safe
well worth reading

[Felicity Rogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was a gentle, relaxing read, which is what I want at bedtime. Even so, the story was so touching. Wartime, so losses, but despite that, it all came right in the end. I love romance and happy endings!

[Caroline Southgate · Rating 3 out of 5]

easy read. lovely story. enjoyed this

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fast paced story, but the ending could be less abrupt

[Laura jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

if its Katie Flynn its worth reading this is a really good read

[Rebecca Wright · Rating 1 out of 5]

It started okay but no matter how much I was reading I just couldn't get into the book. It didn't feel like the story was going anywhere.

[Στεφη Λουλη · Rating 4 out of 5]

It reads as though its a book of a different era even though thats not the case. The writing was splendid and the characters so lovable!!

[Amanda Carver · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely story, but I wasn't keen on the author's style of writing

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming love story set through the run upto and including the years of WWII.
Hetty Gilbert is desperate to join the local library but as a grubby street kid the librarian, the lame Miss Preece is reluctant to lend her any books or even admit her to the library but when she is set a task for school and has to use the library it is the start of a long friendship that lasts into adulthood.
Hetty was a charming child and consequently won over Miss Agatha Preece and her cantankerous mother to the point they see her as a part of the family so much so that on a day out to Llandudno with old Mrs. Preece she comes across a mysterious man on a motorbike who gives her a helping hand when Hetty gets separated from the coach with Mrs. Preece but after a fleeting meeting life goes on but Hetty finds she cannot get the stranger out of her mind, meanwhile Miss Preece herself is starting a shy love affair with a professor she has met but with war looming is love really on the horizon for either Hetty or Agatha?
Can Hetty find the enigmatic man who casually mentioned he knew her grandfather on that day in Llandudno and will Agatha after many years of feeling herself unloved and unattractive due to her club foot manage to keep hold of her new found love or will the war tear her and Max apart?
A really lovely tale and a nice festive tale set against the backdrop and heartbreak of war that adds a bit of realism to the tale.
Well worth reading especially at this time of year as it has a great feel good vibe.

[Felicity Terry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another case of what looks and sounds ('It was only a mistletoe kiss, Miss Preece told herself, stepping out into the icy December evening and locking the library doors behind her. A mistletoe kiss means nothing, everyone knows that; but this did not quench the warm glow inside her....') like a Christmas read being anything but.

Still, at least this was a marginally more enjoyable read than the authors In Time For Christmas and given that its largely about main character Hetty's love of books and relationship with librarian Miss Preece it should appeal to all bibliophiles out there.

Copyright: Tracy Terry @ Pen and Paper.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book covers a number of years, this means that there are very few events in each year that were talked about, but there was detail when those events were mentioned. It would have been nice for this to be a set of books, I feel there is enough in the story to spend maybe 2 years in each book and produce 3 books

I enjoyed the book, though I was disappointed that the story wasn't in the slightest bit christmassy as the title may suggest. The reason I gave this book 4 stars was that I was enjoying it and then it seemed to come to an abrupt end. I feel it needed a chapter adding on to the end

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprise and treasured gift from Libbeth. Thankee very much.

opening - July 1934 - Hetty Gilbert wandered slowly along St Domingo Road, trying to look completely casual, completely indifferent, but when she reached the library she could not help turning towards it and staring at the imposing doors with their big glass panels with the gold writing upon them.

A lovely gentle read that is somewhat reminiscent of Dahl's Matilda storyline. It was just the thing for the Holidays when all one can grab is a couple of pages at a time.

[Krisz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first KF but I quickly bought an other :) The story's main plot isn't really about the mistletoe kiss and the story is deeper than suspected after I read the cover. It was a slow, enjoyable read around Christmas time, I just couldn't get back to my book whenever I had the time. I like multi-character books and this one was a very good example, I recommend it to anyone in search of a good and impressive, yet light story!

[Tiina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fine book! The characters were believable and I would have liked to read on and on to find out more about what happened to them.

[Terena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did quite enjoy it, as I have a library background, and I also learned a lot about working on the canals, however it seemed to end a bit suddenly for me!