It was a bit boring, it was extremely short so it all felt very rushed and i did not get to know the characters much because of that.

I never felt the chemistry between the MCs, it wasn’t really tangible for me. What I liked was, that Mia got challenged by Sandra and she experiences for the first time that she’s running from a woman and she didn’t have a clue how to react.

A supremely fun and short romance (I finished it in a single sitting) about a serial womanizer getting her entire world turned upside down by the most unlikely woman.
Mia “The Dyke Maker” is proud of her reputation and lifestyle until she meets Sandra and gets completely thrown. I don’t want to include any spoilers since it such a quick read but the dynamic between them is utterly fantastic, I loved watching the hunter become the hunted.
The Chemistry between Mia and Sandra is absolutely perfect. They have a great connection and their saucy banter is to die for. Even with Mia actively trying to deny it she can’t escape its pull.
I loved everything about this story. Wild bells is fantastically written and undeniably endearing.
I was a bit surprised on the light amount of sexual content given the explicit nature of the dialogue and characters but never found it to be lacking because of it.
My only complaint which is actually more of a praise is that it was too short, I loved the pacing and the development of the story but it was so good that I want more. That said I still walked away entirely satisfied.
This story was equal parts sultry and sweet with a great dose of humor and cheeky dialogue. I was enamored from start to finish.

Damn, I like the way Holst writes and I love her stories except I wish they were longer. Mia Andersson, aka the dykemaker, is lusting after Linda Ling, lead singer of Raven Choir. She probably has no chance because Linda is more than likely straight. Then she meets Sandra Ling.

A fabulous story is built up in so few pages that take on uncommon subjects in such a way that they aren't made into an issue. You can feel Mia's concerns without her character having to explicitly say so. And the same goes for Sandra.

This is the third in the “A Tinsel and Spruce Needles Romance”. I'm a fan of this group of women in Sweden and although you could probably read this as a standalone, why would you want to?

Book received from Netgalley and NineStar Press for an honest review.

Wild Bells
This is a very well written romance about falling in love when you didn’t expect it and with someone you really didn’t expect to find happiness with.

First of all meet Mia Andersson, “…the ice queen, the never-tied-down, the cat that lands on her feet any day of the week— Mia Andersson always, always kept her cool.” Mia has been working her way through the female population of Malmö and surrounds and when the novel opens she's attending a Raven Choir concert in an attempt to seduce the lead singer, Linda Ling. Mia's plans change, however, when she runs crotch first into a pint of lager held by none other than Linda's twin sister Sandra. (The glass is at such a perfect jeans and underwear drenching height as Sandra’s in a wheelchair). The wonderful Sandra's epic first line is: “Unexpected move…Bet I got your knickers wet in record time, though.” I’m more than a touch smitten with Sandra.

They are an awesome couple and seeing the initially über-confident Mia thrown completely off her stride by the depth of her feelings for Sandra is adorable. I also really liked how Elna Holst showed Mia’s internal conflict over how to tell her friends and family that she was dating someone with a disability; knowing that’s it’s not a big deal but also not wanting to not tell them and seem like she was ashamed of Sandra. On the topic of representation, there’s an incredible sex scene and I liked seeing the pair of them clearly communicating about likes and dislikes and what they wanted.
I’ve read two books by Elna Holst and loved them both, I will be looking for more of her work!

I received an ARC through NetGalley, provided by the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
Mia Andersson is not a nice person. She is a sharp, aloof lawyer-to-be, smart, sensational-looking, and the busiest sapphic player in town. Mia Andersson takes no prisoners, tells no tales, and if you gave her your number, chances are she won’t call. But this holiday season, at age twenty-seven, wheels that are out of her control have been set in motion, and it looks like she might just get caught in the spin.

Review:
This is the third installment of the Tinsel and Spruce Needles series. This was the first one in the series that I read; as well as first book by this author. It can be read as a standalone, although, I'm slightly curious to read the others to see how they all fit together. This story is told from Mia's point of view. She was a little hard to warm up to. She was written to be this drop dead gorgeous character and that's pretty much her "thing" in life. She also always has an opinion about something. There is some humor to her, especially when she's around her best gal pal. But, the love story was a little hard to believe and go with. Again, I'm a bit interested in reading the other books in this series and trying to gather a full opinion of the series rather than just this standalone.

Mia realistically developed into a different person by the end of this book. I wish there had been some more descriptions about the events that helped to build her relationship with Sandra. But I understand that this is a short book.

This book was a super sweet little story! At times I felt like there was a little too many details packed into sentences, which while they helped create a robust story in such a short number of pages, was also a little tiring to read at times. The characters were well developed and interesting and the chemistry was really good.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher for an arc.

Wild Bells is an f/f romance with a disabled love interest that takes place over Christmas and New Year. I was so excited to read this from the cover and the description but I was underwhelmed.

This was too short the relationship was not developed enough. There would be times where a scene would cut off right when it was getting started then Mia would be talking to her family and it would go back to the scene. It was very jarring, some scenes ended abruptly then were followed by Mia repeating what happened in the scene to her friend. I love that the love interest is disabled but I'm not sure if this story is own voices and as I'm not a wheelchair user, I cannot comment on the representation.

This started out really cute then went downhill with scenes being cut and abruptly ending. I'm so disappointed with this it had so much potential. A few more rounds of editing and this book would have been amazing.

I don’t really know hat I just read. I actually turned back pages, just to see if I missed something. Some of the sentences just don’t make any sense.
For me it was rather hard to read and the characters really didn’t entertain me.

This short story might be something fun for someone else, but not for me.

3.5*

This is the third romance in the Tinsel and Spruce Needles series, but my first story by this author. While the previous novellas are alluded to in this one, it can, however, be read as a standalone.

Wild Bells is the least Christmas-y Christmas novella I’ve read this year. Sure, there’s a tree, some snow, a garland-making non-binary student whose soon to be ex-tutor is hoping to bed but it’s not what this story is about at all.

Mia, a twenty-seven-year-old lawyer-to-be, calls herself “the Dykemaker”, as in no straight woman can resist her. Except for Linda Ling. If you thought this was going to be a toaster oven romance, think again. Because it’s not Linda Mia ends up falling for, it’s her twin sister Sandra. While “Linda is all that, Sandra is… something” (I’m more or less quoting Mia here).

Sandra is everything Mia thought she didn’t want. She’s not gorgeous, she’s in a wheelchair, she wants to date Mia. Mia doesn’t do dates. Yet, in an ironic twist of her usual modus operandi, Mia finds herself unable to resist Sandra.

Watching Mia acting totally out of character, trying to fight the unexpected attraction was a lot of fun, and I wish some of these scenes had been longer, more detailed. When Mia and Sandra go on their first date (Mia’s first date ever), almost all we know is what Mia feels afterwards. I know novellas are supposed to be short, but a few more pages would have been welcome. As it is, the reader can see Mia falling (that part is believable) but not how, not why. So while I really enjoyed this story, it left me wanting more.

I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

I was given this ARC review via Net Galley and publisher for an honest review, so many thanks.
So I loved this book although was sad it was so short. Even though it was a quick read I loved it and hope there is more to the story.
Mia Anderson is a law student in her last semester and is will be the first person to tell you she is not a great person. She doesn’t do girlfriends and has not even been on a date even though she is 27.
She has a crush on a Linda Ling who is a lead singer in a group and finds out she may be straight. She goes to talk to her when she literally bumps in to Linda’s twin sister Sandra.
Now I loved the character Sandra, who is disabled and in a wheelchair due to a birth defect. . She unabashedly tells Mia that she’s been watching her watch her sister but that she’s the sister she should be dating.
I love that Mia can’t get Sandra out of her head and for some reason says yes to a date and doesn’t know what the heck to do. These two MC’s are ying and yang but somehow it works.
Again the only problem I had was it was soooo short but so hope to see more of these two from this author.
4 stars
Oh and bought the book too❤️

This story is a bit weird. Supposedly, the protagonist named Mia is a womanizer who now pursues a particular woman, Linda Ling, but she doesn't seem to pay much attention to her. Suddenly Linda's twin sister Sandra appears, who is disabled and in a wheelchair and she is very interested in Mia, much to her surprise and initial apprehension. And Mia goes from womanizer to tame in no time without many apparent reasons in my view. But maybe it was that I have not really understood the meaning of everything nor has it made much sense to me. Sometimes short stories are interesting to me, in this case not so much.

Novella length Christmas-season novel. Not for me.

Mia is a super-player who has the hots for a straight lead in a local rock band. She bumps into the woman's gay sister and starts freaking out. In a subsequent run-in, said sister suggests that they go out. They do and start to fall in love.

I was not convinced.

*I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

This was a quick and cute little romance. I liked the points of views and it was nice to see the slow burn of the romance and how the relationship bloomed over the 100 pages. I always enjoy reading a Elna Holst romance in winter time and this was no exception.

The description and cover of this romance is why I wanted to really read this one. Plus NineStar Press has been really putting out some pretty good lesbian romances. Mia is described as not a nice person who is a womanizer among other things. What she doesn't realize is something big is about to happen to her at the age of 27. I will go a bit further to say that as this short story begins, we find that Mia is absolutely hung up on catching the eye of this beautiful musician. Her gaydar is spectacular but doesn't sense that this woman is gay. She still can't get over her. Mia is admiring this attractive singer at a concert and meets someone she would never be involved with.

The one thing I really wish was different about this romance is the length. I think this would have made for a really good full length romance. I honestly didn't find Mia annoying and I didn't dislike her at all. Maybe that is because not a lot of time is spent on that aspect of her. We might get some hints by how those around her interact with her. I found her likable and I really liked how this story turned out. I just wish it was longer.

4 stars.

Confession: Getting ahold of a new Elna Holst has us as giddy as a tween catching sight of their SecretNotSoSecret crush. And we are never disappointed!

Sensational looker and lawyer-to-be, Mia Andersson is an unabashed player making her unapologetic way through the gay/bi/bi-curious/maybe gay/hint of gay women in town. She is derailed by a hot singer, Linda Ling, with her smoky hot androgynous vibe and frustrating straightness. At one of Linda’s gigs, Mia literally bumps into Sandra Ling, Linda’s wheelchair bound twin who has none of Linda’s looks or hotness – but still manages to get under Mia’s skin.

Holst’s art of writing excited butterflies-in-the-stomach and developing feelings is unparalleled. She has a unique ability of writing MCs who are physically challenged and find the totally awwww kind of swoony love. We totally loved – just reiterating: loved – Mia’s reactions, responses and her out-of-character behaviour in response to Sandra. What we loved even more was when Mia recognises and embraces her feelings. The humour in the writing also goes a long way in making the book extremely readable.

This Christmas-themed novella is a great read irrespective of season.