A very nice selection of cozy Christmas mystery that are quick and fun to read plus a nice way to get Introduce to these authors if you never read them before

Christmas Sweets by Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, and Leslie Meier is a delightful collection of holiday-themed short stories that is sure to bring some cheer to your holiday season. The three stories, "The Twelve Desserts of Christmas", "Nightmare on Elf Street", and "The Christmas Thief" offer a delightful trio of cozy mysteries with lighthearted humor, all with a common theme of the joy and festivities of Christmas.

"The Twelve Desserts of Christmas" by Joanne Fluke is a charming mystery that follows Hannah Swensen as she investigates a string of robberies targeting her Christmas dessert orders while watching over six children during the holiday break. "Nightmare on Elf Street" by Laura Levine is a hilarious take on the holiday season as Jaine Austen finds herself embroiled in a mystery at Santa's workshop and becomes a suspect in a murder case. "The Christmas Thief" by Leslie Meier is a heartwarming romance about Elizabeth Stone and her mother Lucy Stone, as they team up to investigate a case of missing jewels during a fancy Yule ball in Florida.

Each of the three stories in Christmas Sweets is well-written, engaging, and has just the right balance of humor and heart. The characters are relatable, and their struggles and triumphs are touching, making it easy to become invested in their lives. The collection brings together three talented authors and is sure to satisfy fans of holiday-themed fiction. If you're looking for a warm and cozy escape this holiday season, Christmas Sweets is a perfect read.

I've had this book for quite awhile, and with the holiday season quickly approaching, I was hoping to find a seasonal book, and this one popped out at me.

I have always been a huge fan of Joanne Fluke. This story takes me back a bit in time with Hannah, and really stars a new couple holed up at a boarding school with six children who make a bet they don't want to lose. While the reader knows what is going on behind the scene, the main characters don't. I thoroughly enjoyed it and the fact that it didn't have to have a murder to be a good book.

My favorite of the three was the the story by Laura Levine. The main character is a bit of mess, but in the end, she solves the mystery. I've read over books with the same main character and had forgotten how good this series is.

I thoroughly recommend this book. The variety of stories was a wonderful way to start the holiday season.

While all three of these stories were previously published, the last time around Laura Levine's NIGHTMARE ON ELF STREET (absolutely hilarious) was in a romance collection and finding it here in the company of stories from two other light-hearted female sleuths is perfection.

Fluke's The Twelve Desserts of Christmas brings a light touch of romance along with the 12 delicious recipes that are certain to please.

Leslie Meier's The Christmas Thief includes a winter visit to Florida and the chance to solve the mystery of some very valuable missing jewels.

A wonderful stocking stuffer for anyone who enjoys light mysteries. With the included recipes this is really like getting two gifts.

I was mainly here for Janie Austin. All three stories come from long-running cozy series and Hannah and Lucy get on my nerves, but I still read the books. Their stories were predictable but ok. The best story is Janie's. Big surprise there, right? It was funny and festive. Overall Flukes and Miers stories were 3 star worthy, but Levine's made up for that. Its a festive and quick read.

A delightful smorgasbord of three Christmas delicacies, one in the Hannah Swenson baker series (Minnesota), one in the Jaine Austin series (California), and one in the Lucy Stone series (this one is set not in snowy Maine but in hot, sunny, Florida).
All will tickle your Christmas cheer, but I especially enjoyed the cold and snow of the Hannah Swenson story (because, Minnesota in December!) I also appreciated Jaine Austin's snarky character, under-appreciated and often ignored because of American culture's fat-shaming tilt.

I really enjoy these collections of cozy mystery novellas/short stories from Kensington. It is funny because I don't enjoy Leslie Meier or Joanne Fluke's full length books any more but these shorter mysteries really hit the spot. I also read holiday books every December and this fits right in.

This was a nice cozy book. Quick read with good stories. You would not regret your purchase if you were to take a chance on this book.

A very beautiful book and entertaining. I really enjoyed the recipe 😋. This book is fast reading and enjoyed. You will not be disappointed and if you are a fan of cooking then this is the book to read.

CHRISTMAS SWEETS by Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, Leslie Meier is another collection of three novellas by prolific mystery writers: The twelve desserts of Christmas; Nightmare on Elf Street and The Christmas thief, respectively. Fluke's story takes place at a boarding school where a few students are spending the holidays with two romantically inclined teachers. Hannah Swenson, of course, makes an appearance along with several holiday recipes. Levine's nightmare story involves a murdered Santa with one of his elves as a key suspect. And, Meier transports Lucy Stone from Tinker's Cove, Maine to Florida where her own daughter is embroiled in a puzzling theft. Familiar characters and the holiday theme (plus some great recipes!) make this a fun read – cozy up by the fire and enjoy! 3.5 stars

Since it's Christmas time I thought it was the perfect time to pick this one up! I loved that it was three short novellas in one. They were all love stories that involved a little bit of a cozy mystery! These are some of my favorite books and I can never seem to pass them up!

I only read the first two stories; The Twelve Desserts and Nightmare on Elf Street.

The Twelve Desserts was a short story that showed a little bit of insta-love that lead to a rush into marriage. Yes, the two people knew each other beforehand but they had never really spent any time together alone. The recipes were nice and I liked how the kids interacted with the adults. It was just a little too short for me.

Nightmare on Elf Street was an immediate no from me but I pushed myself to finish it. The main character while okay and the story was okay the mystery itself was just blah and ended up not being interesting at all.

Overall this short story collection just wasn't for me. It was a little too sweet and not enough of the real-life and murder/detective stuff like I was hoping. I didn't end up reading the last one as I just couldn't take any more of the sweetness. I think if you love cozy mysteries this will be a good Christmas short story series for you. I'm on the fence about cozy mysteries so this was going to be either big hit or miss for me and sadly this one was a miss.

Just a trio of quick, fun, holiday stories, two were mysteries and only one had a murder. The Leslie Meier one was my favorite of the bunch. Thanks, Netgalley, for this arc.

What could be better than a book with THREE great writers of cozy mysteries? I enjoyed this novel and recommend to anyone that enjoys this genre of fiction. It is a great escape from reality, such a fun read! I will be recommending to anyone looking for a fun read with great characters.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked that there are three stories in the book. It's easier to get the stories read in one sitting than trying to work in a whole book. Christmas is a busy time of year, so that's really helpful. And it doesn't hurt that the stories are good and by three of my favorite mystery writers.

Did not finish.
I read the first 2 stories but couldn't finish the 3rd story.
Enjoyed the story by Joanne Fluke and that is the whole reason I picked this up in the first place.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Three mysterious cozy mysteries. These were brief tastes but left you wanting more. The writing showed the trials of the character’s lives and mysterious issues that they deal with. All were fun mysteries that were solved but left the reader desiring to follow up on them. A good read that I can’t wait for more of.

Such a fun holiday book by three authors I read quite a bit of. I love it when they come together for a book. Especially one to cozy up with during the holidays. I have never been disappointed in any of their mysteries and all have long going series. Writing is amazing! Just a fun set of reads.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

Since I only read two of the stories included in this book I will only be reviewing those stories.

THE TWELVE DESSERTS OF CHRISTMAS by JOANNE FLUKE
It's the perfect mix of naughty and nice when two love struck boarding school teachers watch six kids over Christmas break. But when someone wants the cozy couple's romance to burn out faster than a scorched fruitcake, it's Hannah Swensen to the rescue, armed with her sleuthing skills and twelve deliciously festive recipes.

This story was more romance than it was a mystery. The only mystery in this story was the reader trying to figure out which student or students pulled which of the many pranks to keep the teachers apart.

It wasn't until I was halfway through the second chapter that I realized that I had read this story before. I then remembered that I had read the story in another book of collected stories called Sugar and Spice that was published in 2006.

THE CHRISTMAS THIEF by LESLIE MEIER
Elizabeth Stone is ready for a white Christmas in Tinker's Cove, Maine until a fancy Yule ball at the Florida hotel where she works dumps snow on her plans. The sponsor's jewels have gone missing and the police are asking about her ties to a cute mystery guest. Good thing Elizabeth's mother, Lucy Stone, flew down to surprise her. ʼTis the season for a little investigating.

Lucy Stone is the main character of the series but she is hardly in this story at all. The pace of the story is very rushed and at times things happen so abruptly that you don't realize what is going on in the story.

I also realized that I have read this story years before in a collection of short stories called A Winter Wonderland that was published in 2012.

For a book that was being sold as a collection of new stories this was just a collection of previously printed stories put together in a new collection.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and Kensington Books for my review.

Christmas Sweets is a compilation of three holiday novellas by three bestselling cozy authors, Joanne Fluke (author of the Hannah Swenson series), Laura Levine (author of the Jaine Austen series), and Leslie Meier (author of the Lucy Stone series).

THE TWELVE DESSERTS OF CHRISTMAS by JOANNE FLUKE
Six boarding school students don’t get to go home for Christmas for various reasons, so two teachers are put in charge of watching them over Christmas break. The problem is that the teachers are falling in love, and someone is trying to sabotage the romance. Hannah finds herself in the middle, and hopefully her investigation will find a solution before the romance fizzles.

NIGHTMARE ON ELF STREET by LAURA LEVINE
Jaine Austen is roped into playing an Elf with Santa at a Mall. While most of the Santas are great, one is awful, and when he ends up murdered, Jaine has to work hard to find the real murderer so she doesn’t go to prison. Levine’s books are always humorous, and this one is no exception.

THE CHRISTMAS THIEF by LESLIE MEIER
Elizabeth Stone has vacation time to visit her family for Christmas, but a change of plans is in the works when a very rich client books a huge ball and Elizabeth finds herself working. One of the clients brings priceless jewels, and when they are stolen and Elizabeth is blamed, Lucy flies in to help her daughter investigate.

The three novellas are well-written, as can be expected from these three bestselling authors. They include our favorite characters from the series’ and fans get to read more scenarios involving them. Joanne Fluke’s novella includes several; (12) recipes, which is a bonus – they are very timely for the holidays, and Hannah’s recipes are always a highlight of the novels. Anyone who wants short, festive, and fun books will enjoy reading these novellas while taking a break from baking, shopping, and planning for guests over the holidays.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.