This is a wonderful Christmas read with 3 novellas but some of my favorite cozy authors.
THE TWELVE DESSERTS OF CHRISTMAS by JOANNE FLUKE (Hanna Swenson)
NIGHTMARE ON ELF STREET by LAURA LEVINE (Janie Austin)
THE CHRISTMAS THIEF by LESLIE MEIER (Lucy Stone)
They are all stand alone but have all your favorite characters enjoying the Christmas holidays. I like novellas for the busy holidays because you can sit and read an entire story in one sitting. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Christmas sweets was a charming series of short stories written by three cozy mystery authors. Joanne Fluke wrote Twelve Desserts of Christmas, where we meet students and teachers at a boarding school where love is in the air, much to the dismay of a bystander. Recipes are mouthwatering, which is classic Joanne Fluke. It was a nice change of scenery as the story doesn't take place in The Cookie Jar, so we were able to meet new characters and see how they all interact with each other.

Nightmare on Elf Street by Laura Levine was a fun read. What a concept! The happiest time of the year, but poor Jane gets stuck with a bah humbug Santa. Santa eventually gets what's coming to him, and it is up to Jane to solve the mystery.

The Christmas Thief by Leslie Meier was also a quick and enjoyable read. Elizabeth Stone's soon holiday plans are disrupted at the last minute. A huge party, celebrities, and missing jewels give away to a memorable evening. Who is the thief? Will Elizabeth spend the holidays alone or in jail?

I haven't read anything by Laura Levine or Leslie Meier, but after reading this book, I will definitely keep them on my list.

Thank you, NetGalley, and Kensington Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I read this as an advance copy through NetGalley, in return for an unbiased review. This has three short stories - Joanne Fluke was known to me, the others new. Fluke was predictable as always - it’s why I’d stopped reading her for a while, as you could almost have a checklist of things that would get mentioned in every single book (which gets wearing for the devoted reader after so many books), and also I found it annoying that Hannah seemed to juggle two boyfriends who were both OK with this. Nothing really changed with this book, except it hardly had any mystery at all, and largely seemed a vehicle to just share more recipes. Laura Levine was new to me, and fairly enjoyable - if with many preposterous moments. But as a cosy read, it worked. Leslie Meier’s short story felt like it had the most mystery I guess, despite no murder, with the theft of some jewels from a hotel. It felt like it had more substance to the characters, and although all the stories were about 33% of the book on my Kindle, this felt the longer, fuller story somehow, whereas the others felt short and fluffy.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43865460-christmas-sweets

I loved, loved, loved, these stories! A little bit of everything you look for in an anthology. From start to finish, you are entertained, intrigued, and held captive, in this book. I am very happy to read all the stories in this anthology. You will not be disappointed!

3.5

I actually finished this on Christmas morning 2019. There could not have been a better way to bring some laughter into what can sometimes be a crazy holiday season. I thought all three stories were light and funny. I was already a long time fan of Joanne Fluke. The other two stories introduced me to the creative and entertaining writing of Laura Levine and Leslie Meier.

I think this could be read any time of the year. But at a minimum, make sure to mark it down for next holiday season.

My thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC.

Princess Fuzzypants here: I do enjoy these anthologies where you get a number of different authors doing thematic stories. I do like all three authors so I knew I would enjoy it.
I confess I felt a bit cheated by the first story, Joanne Fluke’s, as there seemed to be almost more pages devoted to recipes than to the story, although the story itself was quite sweet. Two young teachers are asked to remain at the school where they teach to take care of six students who, for one reason or another, are forced to spend Christmas there. Romance is in the air. It seems to be going well until the three boys attempt to sabotage it before there is a proposal.
My favourite of the three was Laura Levine’s Janie Austen and Prozac tale. I confess I love these two and there are tons of laughs when Jaine takes on the role of elf in order to be in the running for the writing job she wants. All hell breaks loose when she takes Prozac to the mall for Christmas photos but what is worse is someone killed Santa. He was a very bad Santa but Jaine feels obliged to find the killer since she is considered a suspect. These stories never fail to please.
And the final one, by Leslie Meier, has Lucy Stone and her daughter Elizabeth returning. Elizabeth is working as an assistant concierge at a flash hotel. When some very expensive baubles are stolen, she is the prime suspect partly because she handled the jewels and partly because her new boyfriend is the suspected thief. Never fear. Help is on the way when her mother and friend arrive to sort out the mystery and uncover the real villain.
All three stories were fun and entertaining and well worth a look.
Four purrs and two paws up.

“Christmas Sweets” contains three tales: The Twelve Desserts of Christmas, Nightmare on Elf Street, and The Christmas Thief. All three were fun, cute reads. And the recipes, delicious!! Overall, I definitely enjoyed and look forward to reading more from these authors in the future.

* I received a digital copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

I love a good multi-author collection if story to read around Christmastime. These stories are the perfect length to take a break with during the busy holiday season. Each of the stories in this book are well written with great characters and a satisfying storyline. I have read each if these authors in linger format books and was delighted to find them all together this holiday season. I am so glad I found this book.

A fun collection of Christmas cozy mysteries that are perfect for reading during the holiday season. All three are from very good authors. They are each the perfect length to read during a busy time of year. Each story felt complete and not rushed. I’m glad I gave this book on my Christmas bookshelf.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This mystery and romance book including some recipes with three stories is a quick read — so a nice sweet treat to read. The stories first includes The Twelve Desserts of Christmas by Joanne Fluke, which is about a couple teachers who are watching some students during Christmas vacation at a boarding school. This is a mystery with some romance featuring Fluke’s character from some of her famous books — Hannah Swensen. Yes, this author is known for her recipes in her books and they won’t be left out. The other two authors I don’t know much about. One story is Nightmare of Elf Street by Laura Levine is about a mall Santa elf and her experience dealing with a bad Santa and then a murder. Then the elf becomes the suspect. Who is the real killer? The Christmas Thief by Leslie Meier is about a jewel theft, a snow storm and now an investigation to figure out what has happened. The recipes in this book are wonderful and even if you don’t enjoy the stories you will enjoy the recipes. If you have read books from these authors before the characters you know, but if you haven’t read books by these authors before you will still enjoy the servings of sweet treats in this books. Though these stories can be slow to action though with some elements I felt didn’t add to the story or move the action they are nice stories. If you are looking for a quick holiday read, with a collection of stories and haven’t read these before this might be the book for you.

I'm not great with words, but Joanne Fluke sure is! I love ed this book. Hannah Swensen is the ultimate kid-friendly murder detective.

A cute collection of Christmas stories that put me in the holiday spirit! It's Lucy Stone at her best!

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really do not have any good ideas about how to grade this book of three novellas by three well-known authors. In the first, two teachers are drafted to chaperon six students at an elite boarding school, who, for one reason or another are not going home for Christmas. Naturally, the students dream up all sorts of mischief, involving the two teachers, who just happen to be attracted to each other. The story is filled with numerous recipes, covering dishes mentioned in the story. I found the story interesting, but it will never be one of my favorites. Still, the recipes sounded wonderful. In the second, a young advertising professional, hoping for a lucrative job with a new, upscale, mall, agrees to fill in for one of the Santa Land elves, assisting THE MAN with children who come to see him. She does not know he is the Santa from Hell, with lots of annoying and terrible habits and ideas as well as being rude. When he is killed, she rushes in to try to figure out what exactly happened. In the third story, Leslie Meier portrays Lucy Stone’s eldest daughter at work in the ritzy hotel she works for in Florida. Naturally, things go awry, and a major theft occurs. Probably getting the investigative genes from her mother, Elizabeth, Lucy’s daughter, delves right in, trying to piece together what happened to allow the theft to occur.

My favorite of the three tales was the third one, though it felt like the story was rather rushed, especially toward the end. It may because I am very familiar with Leslie Meier’s series with Lucy Stone, and it was fascinating to watch her daughter take on a mystery and figure things out. I really did not like the first or the second story all that much—though, as I said, the recipes were great. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

Last year I read a 3 short stories book centered around Christmas by these 3 ladies and was very excited to see another one was being published this year. I am sad to say, I was disappointed with this year's book. One story, which was a republished story, really didn't have much of a mystery. The second one (I could swear I have read before) was good and the last one I also though was ok.

The Twelve Desserts of Christmas by Joanne Fluke was about 2 teachers at a boarding school who were "volunteered" to stay at the school during the holiday to chaperone 6 young students that were not able to go home. The 2 teachers had just started a romance. The students made a bet about if they would get engaged or not at Christmas. The boys started scheming to make sure they win and started causing lots or trouble. The story featured lots of receipes that were fixed for these kids for deserts. This story was a cute, light romance, but not a cozy mystery.

The Nightmare on Elf Street by Laura Levine was about an Jaine Austen who takes a seasonal job as an elf in an upscale mall. One day the not so nice Santa turns up dead. Jaine's cat, Prozac and the "conversations" she has with the cat is my favorite part of this story.

The Christmas Thief by Leslie Meier was about one the side characters in Leslie's Lucy Stone series. Lucy's daughter, Elizabeth, is working at a hotel as a fill in concierge during the holidays. Along come a handsome stanger, Chris Kennedy, who starts to date Elizabeth. During a big fancy Christmas Ball, jewels come up missing and the last person to supposedly have them was Elizabeth who becomes the prime subject along with her new beau, the mysteries Chris Kennendy. Lucy Stone and family friend, Miss Tilley, fly down from Tinker's Cove to help prove Elizabeth's innocence.

All in all, I would give the first story 3 starts, the second 3.5 stars and the 3rd 3.5 stars.

This book is "cozy mystery" perfection! It has three delightful murder-mystery novellas by Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine and Leslie Meier. I loved "The Twelve Desserts of Christmas" (with its mouth-watering recipes!), I laughed out loud at the "The Nightmare on Elf Street" ( can you imagine a wedding between a cat and its next door neighbour - dog?) and I adored the cuteness of "The Christmas Thief". The perfect book for Christmas Day!

Three perfect Christmas cozies. I look forward to these short mysteries every year. I laughed through the nightmare on Elf Street, Prozac the cat made this story. The Twelve Desserts of Christmas was sweet and had a perfect Christmas romance in it. The Christmas Thief was good, I think you love the Lucy Stones series you will love this story. These stories would be perfect to put in anyone stocking.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. The opinions are my own

This short Christmas read contains three short Christmas themed novellas. In Twelve desserts of Christmas Hannah Swenson makes 12
Different desserts for six young boarding school students who are stuck at school for the holidays. Yummy recipes are included as an extra bonus. Supervised by two young si gle
Teachers, not all the student want a happily ever after.
In Nightmare on Elf Street Jaime is desperate for a job connection. She is forced to dress in a hideous elf uniform until Santa is mysteriously killed by a snowflake?
Finally in the Christmas Thief, Elizabeth Stone’s Christmas trip home is jeopardized when expensive jewels turn up missing on Elizabeth’s watch as concierge and she is a suspect.

Fun quick reads!

"Christmas Sweets" contains three short novellas by three different authors of cozy mysteries. For readers of other works by these three authors, the stories provide interactions with familiar characters. For readers unfamiliar with the cozies written by these authors, the stories serve as a "sweet" introductions to their writing styles and stories. Each story is a stand alone, so no prior experience with the characters and settings is needed to get interested in the plots. The main drawback to the stories is that they all seem tedious at times, with some rather drawn out scenes that add little to moving the plot forward.

Joanne Fluke offers a mild mystery set at a private academy, with a romantic couple as the key characters. Their young charges seem to be trying to separate them, but why?

Laura Levine's trademark humor sets the silliness in SantaLand, where elves and murder abound.

Leslie Meier sets her story in sunny Florida at Christmas time, where a posh resort serves as the backdrop for a huge jewel theft.

These clean mysteries feature no adult situations or language. Each of them offers readers fun and mystery set at Christmas time.

I received this book from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Christmas Sweets has three entertaining cozy mysteries. You will find yourself laughing frequently while reading them. While these stories had been published previously, I have not read them. I have read A Hannah Swensen Mystery series as well as A Lucy Stone Mystery series. This was my first A Jaine Austen Mystery, but I had no problem reading Nightmare on Elf Street. I was amazed at the trouble Jaine and her cat, Prozac could cause. Each story is well-written and easy to read. They are novella length so each story can be finished in one sitting. I enjoyed spending time with Elizabeth Stone in The Christmas Thief, and I like that Lucy brought along Miss Tilley to help. I appreciated the note from Leslie Meier at the end of the novella. The Twelve Desserts of Christmas contains recipes for each item that Hannah created. The mysteries are not complicated but I did not mind. They were fun mysteries that suited each story. I found each short story to be delightful, and I look forward to reading more books by these authors. Christmas Sweets contains three humorous cozy mysteries with a shameful Santa, a frustrating feline, spectacular sweets, a blingy ball, starry eyed schoolteachers, and an unwise wager.

I am a huge fan of the Hannah Swensen series and had not read The Twelve Desserts of Christmas. A cute novella that makes you love Hannah even more. Of course, it is filled with plenty of yummy recipes!

I fell in love with Jaine and Prozac (yes that really is her cat’s name). I have added this series to the TBR list that is already full but I laughed my way through Nightmare on Elf Street. Just imagine a cat running through the mall with a corn dog in her mouth all the whole wearing antlers.

The Christmas Thief was my first Leslie Meier book and I wasn’t sure I was going to like it but by the end I did. Very interested in this series now.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, Kensington, through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.