Author: Eli Easton
Narrator: Tristan Wright
Publisher: Self-Published
Run Time: 4 hours and 45 minutes
Category: Holiday Romance
At a Glance: Mr. Miggles is another holiday hit. I was so pleased with both the story, and the performance.
Reviewed By: Jules
Blurb: Toby Kincaid loves being the junior librarian in his hometown of Sandy Lake, Ohio. He spends his days surrounded by books and chatting with the library patrons. He especially adores the head librarian, Mr. Miggles, who is kind, witty, knowledgeable about everything, and hopelessly addicted to Christmas. Sean Miggles is also pretty cute – especially for an older guy who wears ties and suit pants every day.
But Sean keeps himself at a distance, and there’s a sadness about him that Toby can’t figure out. When Sean is accused of a crime he didn’t commit, he gives up without a fight. Toby realizes that he alone can save the library – and their head librarian.
Toby will need to uncover the darkness in Sean’s past and prove to him that he deserves a second chance at life and at love too. And while Christmas miracles are being handed out, maybe Toby will get his own dearest wish – to love and be loved by Mr. Miggles.
Review: Before I get into the review, I want to quickly give the book some cover love. Not only is this story adorably titled, it’s also exquisitely covered. Am I the only one who is totally hypnotized by the model’s eyes? It’s also perfect that he’s leaning on books, of course, and I love the lights in the background. So much love for this cover.
Ok—on to business…
Since reading Blame It on the Mistletoe three years ago, each year I anxiously await the announcement of a new holiday story from Eli Easton—that’s when I know it’s almost Christmas. :) Sadly, I wasn’t able to fit this year’s story, Mr. Miggles, in when the eBook released in late November, so when the audiobook came out, I snapped it up! And, I’m so happy I did, you guys. This story was a delight to listen to.
Toby is an absolute love, and Tristan Wright gives him the perfect voice. As the junior librarian at the Sandy Lakes library, he has a fair amount of responsibility, and he takes his job, which he loves, very seriously. He’s obviously extremely well-read, and maybe a bit of an old soul, but he’s also very youthful and cheeky. I also loved his close relationship with his parents. Easton’s portrayals of tight-knit family units, and strong parent-child ties, always make me smile, which they did again here. In the first half of the book, Toby has a shithead of a boyfriend, who I was oh so happy to see the back of when Toby finally kicked him to the curb. Of course, the fact that Justin was such an asshat was what made it ok when Toby started seeing Mr. Miggles in a new, non-boss light so soon after the breakup.
Mr. Miggles, or Sean, as we come to know him when he isn’t wearing his head librarian hat, is in his mid-thirties but seems older. Especially in the narration. That was my only tiny peeve about the audio. In many places, Wright’s voice for Mr. Miggles sounds even more stuffy and formal than I think maybe he’s intended to come across, which in turn makes him seem much, much older than his years. Other than that little niggle, though, the performance was good. Sean’s love for the library and for its patrons was so apparent in everything he did. I loved that he was so clearly an integral part of the town. One thing that made Mr. Miggles who he was, was that he loved putting his all into the Christmas decorations in the library, waiting no later than the Monday after Thanksgiving to get started. However, Toby could sense that there was something in his past that kept him from being truly happy throughout the rest of the year.
As the blurb suggests, there are allegations brought against Mr. Miggles that set the ball rolling for the entire second half of the book. Certain events had the story heading toward what was building up to be a Footloose-meets-It’s–a–Wonderful–Life type climax, which I was completely stoked for. And, for the most part, Easton delivers. It was definitely satisfying, and I loved it…But, I could have gone for even more of the awesome outpouring of love we got at the end.
Tristan Wright is an excellent narrator whose voice lends especially well, I think, to NA and YA characters—his narration of Eli Easton’s Superhero is one of my absolute favorites, in fact—and he does a great job again here. Easton is so good at writing guys Toby’s age, and we’re lucky to have Wright to bring them to life for us. Mr. Miggles is another holiday hit. I was so pleased with both the story, and the performance.
You can buy Merry Christmas, Mr. Miggles here:
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