I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. Very fast easy read. Read it in just 2 hrs or less. If you like Hallmark type romances you will like this. Perfect for Christmas time.

This book didn't do it for me. It was slow and kind of boring. I had to push myself to read it and finish it. This my las book of 2020. It's sad I had to finish the year on a sour note.

This is a super fun read. I really enjoyed this one!

Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This checked off everything I look for in a book. Was not disappointed. Really enjoyed this book. I will read more from this author.

I enjoyed this romance story with the two main characters that were Clarissa Chalmers Simmons and Roger Clarke. And also the rest of the characters to.

Clarissa Chalmers Simmons has return home to her family with her two children after her divorce.

Roger Clarke is the estate manager for the castle. He has had a crush on Clarissa since they were young age. But with being her brother friend he thinks that it isn't proper to date her. But after indulging in an "under the mistletoe" tradition things start to happen between the to of them.

This was a fun short story. It has a few laughs that had me laughing.

I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. This is my honest unbiased opinion.

An entertaining and well written romance. Good plot and character dynamics. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and Netgalley and this is my unbiased review.

Under the Kissing Ball, is a short story romance, written from multiple perspective. It is about Clarissa and Roger. Clarissa, ends up moving in with her mother after a nasty divorce and she is not sure we’re to go from here. Roger, lives and works on Clarissa’s mothers estate and has always had feelings for Clarissa, but has kept his distance for a number of reasons. However, when they both end up under the kissing balling at a family gathering, he can’t help but swoop in and take a chance.
When I read the synapses for this story, I thought it sounded like it was going to be super cute and fun Christmas time, but I ended up not liking it. I had a problem with the writing style, it was choppy, there was some scenes that did not need to be added to move story along. There was also too much information added in the short amount of pages, this needed to be made into full length book to develop all the added components to the story or narrowed the focus of it . There was also a number of really cringe worth lines, mostly from Roger, that I really did not care for. Overall I did not like this story. I received this ebook via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Great book super cute for this time of year! I was hooked from the start, thank you so much for providing me a copy of this book to read. This is something I would love to purchase.

A sweet story of Roger and Clarissa falling in love set during Christmas, what is not to like?! Roger is Ian’s best friend, so Clarissa practically grew up with him considering Ian is her brother. What she does not know is Roger always had a crush on her. Now is his chance after Clarissa’s messy divorce, she goes back home with her two kids and start fresh. This is a novella, very easy and entertaining to read with a friends to lovers trope. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a gifted copy. This is my honest review.

This novella is an offshoot of the series Modern Masters of Their Castles series.

Clarissa returns to the familly castle a post-divorced mother of 2 small children. Her ex is a lazy man who tired to use her standing to get ahead and profit. Clarissa got smart to his ways and filed for divorced.

Roger is Clarissa and her brother, Ian's, best friend since childhood. He has harbored a crush on Clarissa forever. He was never able to "make a move" due to timing. Is now the time?

The book reads fast and the ARC I received had a few typos.

This was a pretty quick story/novella. We meet Clarissa who is starting her life over after getting out of an abusive marriage. Along with her two children and they decide to move in her brothers castle. Clarissa has always been the forbidden one, one she is not in his class and two she is his best friends sister whom he has always had feelings for. While helping her out they are finding that they cant stay away from these feelings and they are much more than they had expected and they both deserve it.

This was a fun novella with a Christmas romance set in England in modern times. It is the story of Ian's (from the Cornerstone of Love series) sister, Clarrisa. After her disastrous marriage, Clarrisa moved back to the family home, Hartley Castle with her two children. Clarrisa had always regarded Roger Clarke as a childhood friend but after getting caught under the mistletoe and sharing a kiss, she begins to see him in a different light. Roger had always had feelings for Clarrisa but his chance with her was lost when she ran off and got married. Now she is back at the castle and he sees her every day, he hopes to get his chance now. This was a really sweet childhood friend to lovers book and was perfect for a short read in one day.

3 stars. This was a quick Christmas read....it wasn’t the best book I ever read but also not the worst. The story kept my interest but I didn’t really feel a connection to any of the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

2/5 Stars

This just wasn't for me. The title, cover, and synopsis sounded great and I was interested. However, I just wasn't a fan of the book. I didn't enjoy the writing style and did not understand the couple together. I just felt like they didn't have any chemistry together. It just all fell very flat and was kind of boring. Like I said unfortunately this just wasn't the book for me.

A sweet romance that will get you in the mood for the holiday season no doubt! I loved the relationship as it was relatable and real.

I would have loved to give this book a better review. The book was decent and a quick read. I just wish it had a better character development and I feel as if the book concluded abruptly.

***I just reviewed Under The Kissing Ball by Susan Carlisle. #UnderTheKissingBall #NetGalley

Short and sweet holiday romance. The characters in this one are secondary from a previous book, but it can stand alone. Clarissa is a single mother who returns to her childhood home - which is actually a castle. Roger is the estate manager at the castle, it’s a short book but ably gets into the backstory of these characters- no instalove but respectful regard that has grown through the years. Nice and cozy read for the holidays.

Under the Kissing Ball was my first book by Susan Carlisle.

This is a short novella that is a friends to lovers story that is part of the Modern Masters of their Castles series.

It was an insta love story that had a few slow parts and had me skipping paragraphs to get to better parts.

The story sounded promising but did lack a certain fire. Some sentences weren’t complete or how people talked sounded too literal.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ebook arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm sorry, I'm was not too impressed with this novella. The writing is simply okay and I did come across a few typos and some sentences that made no sense. I read an e-arc, so they may be corrected already. This story has a quick insta-love/lust moment at the beginning, plus I felt as if I had been thrust into an ongoing story with characters I didn't know anything about. Lots of zzz moments for me, unfortunately. It's a friends to lovers theme set at Christmas.

I've never read anything by this author before, and I was underwhelmed, so I do apologise for that, but I call it as I see it. My thanks go to netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc in return for my honest opinion.

Under The Kissing Ball by Susan Carlisle
Independently Published
Genre: Romance
Release Date: October 20, 2020

Under The Kissing Bell is a bonus novella for the Modern Masters of Their Castle series by Susan Carlisle. I have not read the related books, but I am definitely looking forward to now! The other books are Cornerstone of Love and Designs on Forever.

This was such a great book. It was a quick read with lots of story! I loved the characters and their developing relationship. There was so much chemistry! There are some very steamy parts too! Also, there was a wonderful Christmas theme to the story that sucked me in!

This was a great introduction to the Modern Masters of Their Castles series and I look forward to reading the other books!

I'm so grateful to Susan Carlisle and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.