Bookending Winter: Under the Mistletoe

Hello bookworms!! Welcome to Bookending Winter, and today’s post: Under the Mistletoe!!

I have been pretty out of the loop this month, but I am trying my hardest!! HUGE thanks to Clo (@ Cuppa Clo) and Sam (@ Fictionally Sam) for putting my hosting days towards the end of the month!! Love you both, so much!! Please check out their blogs, because they are both queens!! ??

If you don’t know about Bookending events, you are in for a treat!!  Bookending Events are fun month-long themed events run once per quarter, aspiring to bring the book blogging community closer together! Bloggers sign up to host 3-4 days each, and make a list of fun prompts to encourage collaboration and chatting, related to the specific theme of the season. Bookending Winter 2020 has a vague theme of snow, coziness, the holidays and everything related to Winter, but you DO NOT need to stick to this theme at all!! Which I sometimes don’t, because I’m always in the opposite season to what we’re doing!! (Yes, it’s summer in Australia right now!!)

If you want to check out some of the past 23 days of prompts, please click on this link: Link to blog-hopping masterlist. And if you want to sign up (it’s still not too late), you can check this link: Link to Bookending Winter sign-ups. If you’re interested in past events, this is one of my faves: Bookending Autumn: The Lion, the Witch, and the low Wardrobe choices.

Without any further ado, let’s get started!!

Under the Mistletoe

Fun fact, this holiday season I learnt that mistletoe is actually a poisonous, noxious parasite. It’s probably why we don’t have it in Australia (that I’m aware of). But let’s focus on the fun part of the tradition!! Kissing!!

Let’s talk about OTPs!! Who are your faves? Who would you split up? And who aren’t together, but if you were at a party with them you’d lure them under the mistletoe to make sure they kissed? (Each other, or maybe you?!)

Jude and Cardan

Yes it’s true, I am complete Jardan trash. I think it’s the way that Jude treats him with utter contempt in the first book, and he basically stammers and flounders his way around trying to find a crack of entrance of her heart that he can wiggle his way into. But also trying to be the most villainous villain that ever did villain. AND JUDE BELIEVED HIM. Honestly. They’re both such precious marshmallows it’s a wonder anyone got stabbed (or murdered) at all.

Verdict: trading knives and barbed comments under the mistletoe

Tiffy and Leon

Yup, a new one for this year. If these two hadn’t been kissing under the mistletoe than I might have had to push them under it myself!! Honestly, I just love how different they are, and how neither of them saw it coming because they were both so put off by their own perceived shortcomings. How adorkable are they?! *swoon eyes*

Verdict: trading post-its notes under the mistletoe

Ron and Hermione

OK, so I make a point of trying very hard to not talk about HP on here since events in June, but this is one I just cannot go past. I would 100% break these two up. I’m sure I’ve ranted about it here before, but in my head Ron died and Fred is still with us. And more to the point, Fred is with Hermione. They make so much more sense to me. (You should go back and reread all the skiving snackbox arguments with an undertone of flirting between their arguments.)

Verdict: drop Cornish pixies on them from the mistletoe

Puck and Sean

It is really a post by me if I can’t try and sneak some Stiefvater in here?? And what better couple than the one from my fave book of all time?! Yes, they don’t so much fall in love as they do race it along the edge of a cliff while on the back of a murderous water horse, but it achieves the same results. Their relationship is built on begrudging respect and a floundering friendship, but it probably had the strongest foundation of any. Plus they are two quiet people finding themselves and each other in the midst of turbulence and noise.

Verdict: trading furtive glances under the mistletoe

Emma and Mr Knightley

Yes, my favourite of the Austen couples!! I love Emma and Mr Knightley immensely. (This may or may not have any correlation to the Jonny Lee Miller playing Mr Knightley in the BBC mini-series version.) Unbelievably, it’s also one of the only exceptions to my dislike of friends to lovers tropes. I just like Austen really nailed how to move from one to the other without too much drama (although Emma is rather dramatic…)

Verdict: trading dance cards and cheek kisses under the mistletoe

Cassian and Nesta

Ahhh… my OTP from a book that is probably going to be one of my most anticipated books of 2021. To say that I am excited for A Court of Silver Flames is probably a rather large understatement. But regardless, I imagine that this book is going to be S-T-E-A-M-Y!! However, as much as I love Nesta, would I shove her out of the way to kiss Cassian myself under the mistletoe? Abso-freaking-lutely!! *fans self*

Verdict: trading barbs (and snogging) under the mistletoe

Wishing you and your families a happy Christmas Eve, and I look forward to chatting to you all again tomorrow!!

Who are some of your favourite, disliked or different OTPs?