This was a festive and romantic collection of Christmas short stories that I would definitely recommend!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

Holiday Ever After collects three novellas by Jill Shalvis and each story is about reconnecting to lost love from the past at Christmas time.

Each story does a good job of setting up the characters, their history and their reconnections. All three are strong standalone stories although my favorite was the last one- Mistletoe in Paradise and I wish it had been longer so that the readers could learn more about these characters and the locations.

Holiday Ever After: An Anthology by Jill Shalvis caught my eye because I really liked the cover. It was giving off Hallmark movie cabin vibes. Also — I have had pretty okay luck with anthologies lately. Holiday Ever After is comprised of three of Shalvis’s previously released holiday novellas. There is no framing device to the book, it just contains the three different novellas, which is fine. All seem to have a theme where the love interest is someone from the main character’s past.


ONE SNOWY NIGHT
The first story in the anthology is One Snowy Night. This story follows Rory and Max. The two live in San Francisco and work in the same building. They know each other from back home in Lake Tahoe. Rory needs to get home to deliver a gift and so Max offers to drive since he’s headed out that way. Along the way there is a massive storm and the two rehash their past in a motel — among other things. Also, there is a doberman named Carl who steals every scene he is in. I would have liked this novella to be even longer — plus more context with a few of the side characters mentioned.

HOLIDAY WISHES
The second story in Holiday Ever After is Holiday Wishes. This story follows Lottie who runs a bed and breakfast that is essentially the family business. There is a joint bachelor and bachelorette party. The best man organizing the whole thing is Sean O’Riley. As it turns out, Lottie and Sean were each other’s firsts. However, Lottie moved away and Sean did not keep in touch. There’s not a whole lot of love between the two. When a storm makes it so the wedding that was scheduled has to be canceled, Sean and Lottie move into action to provide the bride and groom with a last minute wedding at the bed and breakfast. Also, Sean and Lottie reconnect and it turns out that they do still have chemistry.

MISTLETOE IN PARADISE
The final novella is Mistletoe In Paradise. This story follows Hannah and James who were childhood friends. Every year over the Christmas holidays their families would take vacation using the yacht that Hannah’s stepfather runs as a charter business. It has been years since Hannah and James connected. She is a patient advocate at a hospital. He runs an expedition type of business. It would seem they are opposites now. However, that chemistry and pull is still there. Of course, they find their way back to each other while on the yacht together.

ON A SCALE OF ONE TO BUDDY THE ELF, HOW MUCH CHRISTMAS SPIRIT DOES HOLIDAY EVER AFTER HAVE?
I would say that Holiday Ever After isn’t really bursting with Christmas spirit. If you wanted a book that would have you ready to trim the tree and wrap presents, this isn’t it. However, the three novellas are sweet and do share the time of year setting. I know I’ll be picking up more from Shalvis, but this wasn’t really my favorite.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3. I normally love Jill Shalvis’s books and I probably would have liked them a little more if they were full length books instead of novellas. I get impatient/irritated with “instant love” and instant love after they go to bed together. It was all so rushed and not believable.

One Snowy Night
Now living in San Francisco, 23-year old Max and Rory are driving through a snowstorm to get back home to Tahoe for Christmas. They were high school classmates and something happened to make her run away from home at 17 and him to be angry with her for the fallout. Max was an asshat and it was confusing that one moment he’s attracted to her then finding her barely tolerable. I also didn’t like how her family treated her then or now. Somehow it was up to her to fix things when she’s their daughter and they’re the adults. This is part of a larger series so it’s possible they both come off differently in other books with more context.
2 stars

Holiday Wishes
This was a fun quick read. Sean and Lottie lost their virginity to each other at 16. She said I love you, he freaked, her family moved and she wrote him, he never replied. Now they meet at her B&B where he’s arranged his brother’s bachelor/bachelorette party. It’s the week before Christmas and they’re snowed in and now planning an impromptu wedding. Both had great personalities and the writing was witty. This is a short novella and part of a series.
4 stars


Mistletoe in Paradise
Hannah and James’s mothers were childhood friends but lived on opposite coasts. The families spent summers together. 10 years ago her mom and stepdad split up and this is the first time Hannah and James have seen each other since his brother died 6 years ago. Admittedly I skimmed a lot but it had a nice message about not living your life with regrets. I love the name for his ship - The Therapist!
3 stars

Three great holiday reads about old friends reconnecting, dealing with some unresolved issues and starting anew!

I need you to stop what you are doing and read Holiday Ever After. It's the perfect book for the holiday season. Holiday Ever After has three short romance stories for the holiday season. Each of them has been released before but in digital format. Now it's formatted perfectly together. Each story has a special place in my heart. I won't spoil it for you. But I will let you know that you won't be disappointed. You will be in the jolly spirit after reading these short romance stories.

I do love Jill Shalvis. She’s always a go to author for love and comfort. Usually, I pick up her “beach” reads, so you know I was excited to be able to read not just one, but three holiday novellas!

This is an anthology of 3 different holiday novellas and they were all wonderful in their own right. You get “One Snowy Night”, “Holiday Wishes”, and “Mistletoe in Paradise”. I want to say my favorite was probably One Snowy Night, and it may be just because of a furry friend 😂


One Snowy Night: The audio had me cackling in the best way. The fluctuations were the funniest to me. It almost reminded me of a newscaster, “this just in, she felt his pants and he was harrrd” I couldn’t take it seriously, but I absolutely adored the story. I enjoyed a good close proximity trope, especially with an adorable pup to lighten the mood! This was sweet.

Holiday Wishes: Another laughing uncontrollably at the news anchor type fluctuations during sexual moments. Second chance is my holiday jam, and this one was just exceptionally sweet. It felt just genuine and I was rooting for them. It kind of reminded me of HIMYM with Ted and Stella’s wedding, but they aren’t the Stella and Ted.

Mistletoe in Paradise: I’m on a yacht. That’s all that matters. This was a different kind of second chance lovers, and I could dig it. When I think of the holidays, I don’t think of sun and sand, but that’s what I love about Jill Shalvis, and it definitely worked. Another forced proximity and it was really sweet.

Overall, a great trifecta to really get you in the holiday spirit. All sweet and wonderful stories that will warm the coldest heart. Thank you so much @harperaudio and @avon for the gifted copy! Holiday Ever After is out now!

If you could spend Christmas (with your fam) anywhere, where would you go?

This book had 3 fun holiday stories in it. I liked that they were shorter stories, so I was able to breeze right through them. The first 2 were older stories that I hadn't heard of, but enjoyed & the third story was newer and my favorite of the 3. Jill Shalvis' characters are real & relatable; her settings always sound beautiful & like places that I would like to visit.

Three short, sweet, emotional stories that can, surprisingly, be read as standalones or after visiting Jill Shalvis' Heartbreak Bay and Wildstone series. They're quite quick reads, the romances move quick, but if you're a fan of second chance love you'll love the quick gratification you get from these. Plus, they're all based around the Christmas season, even the sunny island romance has holiday warmth.

“One Snowy Night” by Jill Shalvis is book # 2.5 in the Heartbreaker series and features Max and Rory. These two have a past, but not quite a warm and fuzzy one. With a ton of history between them and a snowstorm keeping them from their respective family homes, the two finally address the elephant in the truck. This novella is emotionally intense and has just the right amount of smut. It's a happily ever after that feels good, but certainly makes you want to read the other novels in the series.

"Holiday Wishes" by Jill Shalvis is book #4.5 in the Heartbreaker Bay series featuring Sean and Lottie. These two are old flames, separated by distance in their youth and running into one another on what should be a weekend bachelor/bachelorette weekend. Only, like only Northern California can, it dumps insane weather on them and shuts the world around them down. Keeping Sean's brother from his wedding plans, Sean enlists Lottie to make his rustic, Christmas dreams come true and in the process, Sean makes Lottie's vacation dreams come true. This one is lust-filled, silly, and entirely cute. I really enjoyed this one the most, I could've read a full length novel of these two.

"Mistletoe In Paradise" by Jill Shavlis is book #5.5 in the Wildstone series and features longtime family friends Hannah and James. They haven't seen one another since a secret, fated fling and the loss of James' brother. This, potentially last, Christmas charter only makes Hannah think negatively, but her dad has other plans and plays matchmaker with Hannah and James. This one is very fast, but it's warm and fuzzy and made me want to read the Wildstone series. I'm sure longtime Wildstone fans will like the couples' refreshed connection.

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for an ARC of this book! I absolutely love Jill Shalvis! This is a collection of 3 smaller stories that she wrote, One Snowy Night, Holiday Wishes and Mistletoe In Paradise. I loved all 3 stories and this book only took me 2 evenings to read. If you are looking for a quick, fun, romantic holiday book this is it!

This collection of 3 previously released holiday novellas were sweet and sexy. All 3 stories were similar in that the couples had known each other as teenagers and are reunited years later and have a second chance at love. The writing style is fun and flirty and I would recommend to those who are looking for some steamy, spicy holiday reading.

These are 3 great novellas that bring you some holiday cheer with each of them. You get stories packed in with great flow and even with some drama- family and weather that all end with some HEA time and chemistry. I'm behind on Shelves series, so I don't know these characters/ side characters but you can read them as standalone. I really enjoyed these so need to go read these series. Perfect for some holiday reading!!


Thanks to Avon for this copy of this book.

Love each and every one of these stories from Jill! The cover of this anthology is gorgeous and is sure to make some new fans of Jill's work!

Absolutely loved this Holiday collection. Great couples and the stories of how they fall in love written by one of my favorite authors.

Holiday Ever After is a trilogy of novellas by author Jill Shalvis. Each story is a second chance tale for two people who meet again after years have gone by in a holiday setting. Maybe blame the weather. Perhaps blame the closeness. But always know Christmas is the real culprit. Feelings are heightened at Christmas, leaving lost souls to find each other.

I did enjoy this holiday trilogy and recommend it to those who also love HEA holiday tales.

This collection of short Christmas stories was really sweet and lovely. I quite enjoyed all of the stories in the collection. My favorite was the one in the middle. If you like Jill Shalvis, this is a really fun collection with her charming writing style.

Three charming novellas of second chance love are front and center in Holiday Ever After. While I know that these characters appear in certain series, I did not know of their past and still enjoyed these novellas. I will say that they were all definitely insta-type loves with both the hero and heroine having a definite past connection. Each story is sweet and romantic and of course a happily ever after all set around the holidays.

* A copy was kindly provided by Avon via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

My extreme excitement for getting this from the publisher through NetGalley was overshadowed only by the terrible disappointment to find that all the stories are pretty much the same and completely like most books by this author. And I don't mean that they have her unique style, that would not be bad. It's just the same mold, the exact same type of characters and even the pacing is incredibly predictable. Yes, I know it's romance. We all know they end up together in the end but still... I absolutely loved the first book I read by this author and then I just jumped into several others and ... yeah. You get it. You read one, you read them all. It's like category romance but it's a really tight category with the names changing and the plot being mildly different. If you like Hallmark movies and can watch several at a time without getting annoyed that even the mistletoe wreath is the same in all of them, you might enjoy this. Or if Jill Shalvis is new to you. It's not badly written it's just disappointingly unoriginal.

❄️🎄New Review🎄❄️

Holiday Ever After by Jill Shalvis

❄️❄️❄️❄️/5

🎄Raise your hand if you’re already planning your Winter/Christmas reads? 🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️

🎄I know we still have 3 days until Halloween, but I am a huge planner, and I’m just really pumped to tell you all about this amazing lil pack of novellas that is AVAILABLE NOW!

🎄Holiday Ever After by @jillshalvis is a bundle of 3 wonderfully Christmas-y novellas:
❄️One Snowy Night
❄️Holiday Wishes
❄️Mistletoe in Paradise

🎄I didn’t think I could be more excited for the holiday season than I already was, but man. This book proved me wrong. These novellas are packed with love, romance, Christmas cheer, and the perfect amount of wintery feelings to mentally take me out of the still incredibly hot climate down here in Florida 😂

🎄I love how Shalvis in each of these novellas was able to tell a whole story without it feeling rushed or half-baked. There’s enough detail in them to keep you fully invested and feel informed, but they’re fairly quick reads, with the plot of each story spanning a few days. Whether you prefer to spend your holidays snowed in with a loved one, on a boat soaking up rays, or holed up in a cozy BnB with all your friends, this collection is sure to have something for everyone!

🎄 If you’re like me and are already building your #christmastbr, make sure you add this one to the list because it is SO good, and perfect to read while snuggled up with a cup of hot cocoa☺️

Thank you to @netgalley and @harpervoyagerus for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!