This is a fun Christmas themed cozy novella. Mia is planning and preparing for her Christmas open house. However one very grumpy ghost has other plans for Mia and keeps interfering with Mia’s preparation. Mia has to agree look into the ghost’s death which happened years earlier. The mystery is short but well crafted it kept me guessing until the end. The characters are fun, likable and interesting. Great read anytime but especially for Christmas.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way have I been influenced by anyone.

This was my first of this series and it stands well on its own as a complete story. Mia is a powerhouse of energy and drive. I enjoyed her relationship with her grandmother and boyfriend, Trent. This is a short and light mystery that heavily features the preparations for a big holiday open house for Mia's business. Dorothy's ghost keeps talking about a deadline that she has to get the killer caught by, which provides a little surprise at the end. This was well rounded even though a novella. The ghostly elements aren't scary but provide the impetus to investigate.

Mia Malone is getting ready for a holiday party at her business, but the preparations are threatened by a demanding ghost. Mia, her friends, and her grandmother work together to meet the ghost's deadline by discovering the truth about some old scandals...while also cleaning and baking and decorating.

Mia might have bitten off more than she can chew. But she's determined to succeed with both the challenges while keeping the whole schlemozzle from harming the people she loves.

This is a low-key mystery with holiday overtones and occult focus.

I won't detail the plot other than to say Mia Malone is being haunted by a ghost imploring her to find out who her murderer was. Of course, the first problem is that Mia has no clue who the ghost is. Even after the ghost is identified, the task ahead is difficult. Let's just say that there is every indication Dorothy, as the ghost turns out to named, appears to have died peacefully in her bed. This novella seeks to answer that mystery.

Mia's search for answers, which includes digging into finances and birth records, trying to cram everything in-between running her business and preparing for the holidays and parties. Ghost Dorothy, who uses a series of pranks to get Mia full attention, tells them there is a deadline for her to know the truth about her murder. Why? MIa and others don't recall any deadlines for the afterlife but Dorothy says it is because, basically, if it isn't solved by the upcoming anniversary of her death that she'll simply, well, go poof. That gives an urgency to the search for answers although, ironically, for a Magic Kitchen Witch book, magic isn't really utilized . With the help of boyfriend Trent, who seems to come from a magical family, too, but has shunned magic to be, as he dubs it, "boring", and some investigation and sheer luck, Mia digs into the mystery. But what if the real mystery isn't what they think it is? Hmmm...

Although I understand pages are limited for a novella, I did wonder if readers unfamiliar with the series might be, well, confused by some of the events. Heck, I'm sure I've read earlier books in this series and had no clue how or why certain things were happening. For instance, why Trent's mother seemed to have contacts with those who would know about the afterlife. I also had a few unanswered questions at the end, including who gave Dorothy that deadline in the first place and the back story on Mia's cat. I obviously missed that book in the series. Thus, even while going into this knowing it was a short novella, I felt new readers might be lost at times.

That said, it was a quick, fun read. The plot moved along nicely despite the holes it left behind for me. Yet, while not thoroughly satisfying, it got me in the mood for Christmas decorations and Christmas goodies and food, lots and lots of goodies.

Thank you, #NetGalley and #Kensington+Books for the ARC.

I was so looking forward to this cozy mystery unfortunately it just fell short, literally! It was to short, the events happened to quickly and almost didn’t make sense. The characters kinda bugged me especially the boyfriend who seemed so overwhelmingly nice and perfect. There has to be something wrong with him.. like he’s a serial killer or something! This story has potential if it was longer, and more thought out in my opinion.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Mia Malone is planning an open-house extravaganza to promote her catering business as well as taking care of all the regular orders. Thankfully she has her boyfriend and her roomie to help out. There is someone else who would like to horn in on the action, Dorothy, the first ghost Mia ever saw. And Dorothy is not taking no for an answer.

She is frantic to find out who murdered her because if she does not by a certain time, she will just vanish. Gone. Nothing more. To both Mia and her fellow witch, her grandmother, the talk of murder is a puzzler. Everyone thought Dorothy died peacefully in her sleep. But Dorothy is convinced she must find the answer and she must find it now.

It is a very interesting and rather sweet way the story is resolved. Mia finds the answers for Dorothy and in the process uncovers an unexpected crime and a connection to Dorothy that was a surprise to everyone, especially the person involved. It is a quick read and a satisfying mystery. Just perfect for a cold winter’s night.

Four purrs and two paws up.

Have a Holly, Haunted Christmas is a novella in the Kitchen Witch series. This is a great story in between books 2 and 3, having Mia, Trent and Christina getting ready to host an open house to promote Mia's catering business during the town's winter festival. While decorating, Dorothy, a ghost that has visited Mia in the past, appears, requesting that Mia find out who murdered her and that Mia's grandmother knows the truth. Even though Mia and her friends have no time to spare from the open house preparations, they take the time to solve the mystery surrounding Dorothy's demise. The open house is successful, Mia acquires some new customers for her business, and Dorothy can rest easy.

Novella's tend to not appeal to me due to how short they are, but this one, as has the others written by Ms. Cahoon, successfully tells a complete engaging story in limited space. The story also adds details that will hopefully be expanded upon in the next book in the series (the release of which I will try to patiently await!)

It is very easy to get lost in the details of the story - if you've read books 1 and 2 in the series you've become invested in the characters and are anxious to read more about the developing relationships, Mia's business and the town of Magic Springs.

I recommend this novella, however I would also recommend reading the others in the series as well!

Mia Malone is planning a holiday party to showcase what her catering business can produce. However, Mia runs into a bit of a problem when the resident ghost, Dorothy, demands that Mia solve her 20 year old murder before the party starts. The only clue she has is that her grandmother knows something about it.

A fun novella for the holidays furthering the development of the characters in this newest series.

The plot of the book was such a great page turner. The plot of the book was Fantastically well written. I truly cannot wait to read another wonderful book from this author. This was a truly great book.

A wonderful book for the holidays by Lynn Cahoon: Have a Holly, Haunted Christmas!

The book's release was just in time for the upcoming holidays. I got into the holiday spirit just from reading. The story and characters was great. Lynn's books are wonderful, and I look forward to more of her works!

I liked this one more than the others in the series, which, unfortunately, I have not been a fan of. This is truly shocking to me because I love the other series written by Lynn Cahoon. There’s just something about this series that doesn’t seem as put together as the other ones; this one lacks character development. I haven’t warmed to Mia as much as I have wanted to. I did enjoy this story with trying to solve a mystery to help a spirit move on. I may read the next one based on the strength of this one.

What another wonderful cozy mystery. If you need a good mystery with no gore then this is the way to go. Great read!

This novella was a nice quick read. I liked the story and how it progressed, and although the ending was a bit rushed for me, I still enjoyed the story.

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

2.75 Hearts Honestly, I had a hard time with this story because it really shouldn’t be read as a stand alone. There are a lot of references and people that the previous books have that are mentioned. And there is no real Christmas in the book. There are comments about it but Christmas is not really celebrated.

Also I could not stand Trent, Mia’s boyfriend. He is just so condescending in my opinion.

THis story did not make me want to go back and read the others in the series. Just not all I hoped it would be.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Love this Christmas novella! This was a fun story about Mia Malone, a caterer who is refurbishing an old school to become the hub of her business. Mia is haunted by Dorothy, a well known ghost in town who is seeking her murderer. Dorothy stresses that she needs to get her business resolved soon or she will never be able to cross over. Mia is concerned about ongoing hauntings in her new building, and she is juggling trying to host an open house for her business and solve this mystery.

I really enjoyed this Kitchen Witch mystery and I am looking forward to the next one! I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a magical cozy mystery. As a bonus, I made the recipe in the back for a holiday party and it was a big hit!

This is a quick short Holiday read. Mia is preparing for her Holiday Open House but an unhappy ghost is causing mischief. She insists that Mia solve her murder. I enjoyed the setting and the characters. There is a lot Holiday cheer and food but the mystery is pretty weak. Read this for a quick Holiday read not the mystery.

This is the perfect holiday novella to keep you entertained until the next full length book is available. This is a fun series, a paranormal cozy that's light on the paranormal. There is plenty of mystery but no murder this time around, as Mia must help Dorothy ( a ghost) find out if she was murdered.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I really liked this book. I have not previously read any of the others so some of it I just had to go with. Some of it did not make sense. You really need to read the others first. It was a quick read that was written well!

Omg! I just love holiday themed cozies. Mia owns a catering/takeout business and she also lives in an old school building. This night a ghost stopped by making mia off balance and she calls Gran for help. They discover the ghosts name is Dorothy and she needs help or she will wink out of existence. This book is phenomenal. I could not put it down. It was both sweet and adorable. The twists and turns were quite clever. I would definitely recommend this book

This book was pretty interesting it's not one of my favorites but I definitely enjoyed the suspense of it there were parts that were a little slow and dragged on a bit though and I think that pulled me out of it a bit