HATE ME UNDER THE MISTLETOE by Kelly Jamieson is the first book in the Romancing the Rink series. This is the kind of holiday romance series I love to read. All focusing on a small town, Garland Grove, and a dash of hockey. Plus written by different authors, which means I’ll be adding new series to my TBR.⁠

This is a teenage crush, enemies to lovers, snowbound romance. Ryder spent a few years with Amy’s family as his billet family during the hockey season. Of course, she had a crush on him and he rejected her. Now after Amy finds out her boyfriend cheated on her, she heads to her friends’ uncle’s cabin to spend the holidays alone. Except Ryder was also offered the same cabin by another family member and they find themselves thrust together and snowbound there to deal with their feelings.⁠

Let’s just say I couldn’t read this one fast enough. It’s sexy and steamy but also fun and adorable. My perfect kind of holiday romance. And I couldn’t help but dive straight into book 2 in the series.

This book reminds me of the Wattpad stories I used to read in highschool. Easy to read, but kind of superficial.
Although the author used 1st person perspective, it still felt as if I was told the story and not going through it. The narration made me feel detached from the story and the characters.
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Story wise, there wasn't a lot happening. In a nutshell, it was syrupy sweet in parts and random spicy scenes in part. The mix felt sort of awkward to me, but some people would like it.
The characters were cartoon like, they felt stiff and robotic. I think that was due to the author telling us subtly how to feel about each character, it was more tell and less show.
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The book itself was a quick read, so that's where the 2 stars came from. I wasn't enjoying it, but I wasn't bored either.
Overall, I read better.
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*I received an ARC of this book through netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

Forced proximity and enemies to lovers are two of my favorite romance tropes. This book started out strong but lost a little steam in the middle. Overall, I liked the story.

The holidays are always the best time for some sexy fun in the snow, but even after the holidays are over we can read about other’s holiday fun to relive them. I am a big fan of Ms. Jamieson but to my understanding this series is a crossover series with different authors writing each of the stories in the series, so I’m not sure if I will have the chance to read the rest of the series. I will say that this story on its own is fun, sexy, sweet, sad, and filled with holiday magic. Amy comes from a long line of hockey royalty, but when her career and personal life take a dark turn right before the holidays she decides it’s time to hit the mountains for some alone time. Ryder is headed to a big family holiday out of time but needs some quiet time before the madness and decides to hit up the mountains for that solitude after the crazy busy year he’s had. Too bad Amy and Ryder’s friends don’t realize they have each loaned the cabin out to someone else, and now with a blizzard barreling down on them they are trapped together in the cabin. Amy has loathed Ryder since he broke her tender teenage heart and Ryder has no idea why he is so attracted to the prickly hot woman she has grown into. He is determined to make their holiday time together into something fun and exciting and soon Amy finds that the irresistible attraction she felt as a teen has only become deeper and more intense. Together they find themselves falling into the magic of the holidays and the magic of love, but Amy is too terrified of risking her heart and when Ryder leaves she stays behind. Amy has to step up in order to decide if she is willing to risk her heart in order to find the love of her life or if she’ll allow old fears to hold her back. I loved this story and seeing these two old acquaintances come back together as adults in order to find the love and passion they had begun to feel as teens had never died. Amy was a bit of a mystery in many ways, fighting so hard for what she wanted professionally, but fearing the future in her personal life, but I liked seeing Ryder pull her out of her shell and reminding her how to just be silly and have fun. It’s obvious she has spent so much of her life trying to live up to her family legacy that she has stopped enjoying her life or personal successes. She was sassy, smart-assed, sweet, and loving all at once, making her a great puzzle piece to slot in with Ryder. Ryder has become a workaholic and needs to get a life, and Amy is just the woman to give him that balance. He was fun, silly, and lovable when he was with her, but with his family he was more quiet, circumspect and seeing both sides of him was great. It was obvious that he had stopped living his life in order to just find success but that finding Amy is going to give him a reason to enjoy his success by sharing his life with the woman of his dreams. The passionate sparks these two shot off one another were there from the very first second they see one another again, and oh boy once they set hands on each other it becomes almost unbearably hot. I loved the little glimpses of the small town they traveled to and to my understanding that is where the bulk of the rest of the series takes place (little Easter eggs in this story lead into those stories). This story truly was a beautiful, sensual, fun and sweet holiday romance that warmed you up in all the right ways on a cold winter night.

I really liked this story! Their back and forth had me cracking up at times! There is definitely a lot of chemistry there but there is also a lot of heart to heart. I really liked that part of it. It wasn't all about the chemistry and just getting in bed together. Ryder is definitely this sweet man, and I really wasn't expecting him to be. I wish there had been an epilogue or something though, I wanted more!!

Cool, another hockey story from Kelly Jamieson. After meeting Josh Heller in Talk Hockey To Me, Kelly now gives us a story about his sister Amy. Amy needs some time alone. Ever since her boyfriend accidentally called her while getting a blowjob (obviously not from her), she really, really doesn’t want to be around her family at christmas time. So, when her friend offers her the use of a secluded mountain cabin, she gladly accepts.

But after a short refuge, suddenly Ryder is there at the cabin. Ryder, the boy who lived at her house years ago, while he and Josh played hockey together. Ryder, the boy where Amy had a massive crush on. The boy who turned her down and broke her heart. So, no thank you, very much.

Ryder can’t believe that little Amy has grown up. And very beautiful at that. But apparently she really hates his guts. Unfortunately for her, Ryder can’t leave just yet: they get caught in a snowstorm. Ryder isn’t used to being turned down. So, he will certainly use all of his charm to whoo Amy. Because she is smoking’ hot. And it would be a shame if they were lonely at Christmas.

Naughty and nice are certainly the keywords here. You gotta love hockey Four out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

HATE ME UNDER THE MISTLETOE is the first book in Kelly Jamieson’s “Romancing the Rink” series. This story is told from alternating perspectives, so the reader has a better understanding of what the two main characters are feeling and thinking. The book opens with Amy Heller overhearing her boyfriend in the act of cheating on her after butt-dialing her. It’s actually a double betrayal, because she also overhears him say that he secretly applied for the same job that she just did. After promptly dumping him, she retreats to a winter cabin that belongs to the family of one of her friends to decompress. Coincidentally, Ryder Long winds up heading to that same cabin to relax before the upcoming holidays as well. Amy and Ryder have a history, so it’s naturally a prickly reunion initially. Whether fate or dumb luck that brings them together again, they work through their bad history, and develop a romance.

Because HATE ME UNDER THE MISTLETOE is told from both perspectives, Kelly Jamieson gives the reader two sides to what happened (or didn’t) years ago between Amy and Ryder. Amy had a crush on Ryder, but circumstances made it so that Ryder wasn’t really in a position to take Amy up on her flirting. In fact, from his perspective, he was doing the honorable thing by rejecting her. I was originally a little worried that this story would be too much of an enemies-to-lovers story, and toxic for me to really enjoy. Happily for me, that was not at all the case. There may have been some hurt feelings from the past, but when these two get snowed in at the cabin, they open up and get to know each other better. They’ve matured over the years, and that maturity helps their attraction blossom into something beautiful. This is a good book for romance fans who enjoy the “snowed in” trope, as well as readers who like good character-driven storytelling mixed with lots of sexy zing.

HATE ME UNDER THE MISTLETOE has cozy Christmas vibes mixed with red-hot romance sizzle. Usually in stories like this, in which one character loves all things Christmas and one just isn’t feeling it, it’s the man who is the Scrooge and the woman being overflowing with Christmas giddiness. I like that Kelly Jamieson has those roles reversed – with Ryder being a softie for the holidays and Amy wanting to tune out when it comes to Christmas. Though not part of this series, an earlier book - YOU HAD ME AT HOCKEY – is about Amy’s brother Josh. I look forward to reading Kelly Jamieson’s next hockey-themed romance.

Hate Me Under the Mistletoe will keep you warm on a cold winters night. Amy Heller is a member of the famous Heller hockey family but is down on her luck with work and with men. Ryder Long is a former hockey player that knew Amy when young, and is now a super successful businessman. Let's just say that they didnt part on the best of terms in the past and now are snowed in together at a cabin - can they make nice?

I liked this one a lot- it had great characters and a snowy holiday setting and then a wonderful small town. It had a strong ending as well, and I am looking forward to going back and reading the rest of the books in the series.

I love a forced proximity snowstorm romance. Throw in a past crush, and well…Amy and Ryder’s story was just perfection!

I do love a holiday read and Hate Me Under the Mistletoe brought it to me in a great little package.
Amy Heller is scorned woman. She is a women hockey player and we know that can certainly be a boys club. Now to add insult to injury she found her longtime boyfriend is a cheater and he is trying to steal a job right out from under her nose. She may be Ms. Grinch but this heart is about to grown three sizes !! She needs to get away and regroup so her friends cabin is just the place for some R & R and solitude. What she doesn't need is her high school crush crashing her plans.
Ryder Long is a businessman, environmental engineer and a former hockey player. He is getting away for a much needed break and then he is off to spend the holidays with his family. The rustic cabin is just what he needs to get his holiday spirit grooving but the cabin holds a bit of a surprise from his past as he finds little Amy staying there but she is all grown up.
This couple is funny, sweet, sexy and have wonderful grumpy witty banter!! Get ready to get your jingle on with Amy and Ryder!
~~Michele McMullen ~

I loved this book and revisiting the Heller world! Kelly is one of my all-time favorite authors and I happily read everything she writes. If you like sports romances, or honestly, romance in general, definitely pick this one up.

Kelly's stories are always a delight to read and this one is no exception., I really enjoyed the banter between Amy and Ryder and the chemistry was great. While this story moves at a brisk pace, I felt that it had great character development, a captivating storyline, and a wonderful romance. I would have loved an epilogue following Amy’s fantastic career news, but I have hope we’ll see them again in a future book as secondary characters. Hate Me Under the Mistletoe was a wonderful romance set against the backdrop of a small-town Christmas filled with family, memories, romance, and love!

I am a big fan of Romance books and I found this one to be a very enjoyable read. I will be looking for more books from this author.

Amy wants to be alone for Christmas after realizing that her love life & career are not living up to the family brand. She takes off to a friend's secluded mountain cabin for the holidays to spend them alone. Ryder is a workaholic who hasn't spent time with his family in years. All he wants for Christmas is to spend it with his family and have a little downtime on his way there. He plans to spend the downtime in a secluded cabin in the woods. Upon arrival, he walks into a surprise in the cabin - Amy. Amy has hated Ryder since she was sixteen years old.

The two have differing opinions on the holidays; Amy thinks Ryder should shove his Christmas cheer up his butt and leave her alone. A blizzard screws up both their plans and they are now stuck in the cabin. Day drinking and games ensue and the two can no longer fight the attraction.

I could not put this book down - read the whole thing in one day! Definitely an enemies-to-lovers and holiday trope book. It was so sweet with sexy moments. It was well written and flowed so easily.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Amy Heller is having one hell of a time. Finding out about betrayal both on a professional and personal level makes being festive impossible. When a friend offers a secluded cabin in the woods to decompress and nurse her wounds, Amy jumps at the chance. Alone time with wine, books, and bubble baths, away from holiday cheer sounds perfect. Unfortunately, a miscommunication has someone else showing up at a most awkward moment. And more unfortunately, it’s the man who broke her heart at sixteen. Looks like she’ll have to deal with it, though, since a nasty storm makes it impossible for to leave.

Ryder has been focused on his business for the last few years putting his personal life and family on the backburner. Finally with his business thriving he’s set to take some down time, first at a remote cabin, then traveling to meet up with his family for Christmas. He loves spending time with his family on Christmas, they have so many lovely traditions (who doesn’t love an ugly sweater competition?!!) in a Winter Wonderland small town, but first he’s looking forward to unplugging and relaxing for a few days.

Hate Me Under the Mistletoe was so much fun! I do enjoy a good enemies-to-lovers romance and I could totally understand why Amy was less than pleased with the situation when Ryan showed up. Not only did she want to be alone without any reminder of holiday festivities, but she especially didn’t want to spend it with her teenage crush she felt humiliated her.

Ryan was a complete sweetheart and didn’t realize how his action impacted Amy. Even before they cleared things up it was hard for Amy to hold her grudge, because he was such a good guy. I loved that these two got stuck together. They needed the escape and the forced time together to sort things out. Cooking together, snowball fights and board games made for fun times that made me smile.

Amy and Ryan had major chemistry and tension, even when Amy was being prickly, and things were super steamy! Hate Me Under the Mistletoe is the perfect short, sweet, and hot romance making me yearn for my own Winter Wonderland respite with family, friends, and love!

A cute story about old firends who turned into more. This was a quick read on a rainy night. perfect to cuddle up with a cup of tea.

I never tire of reading anything Kelly Jamieson puts out, for me she is an auto-buy, must read author and I was thrilled that Amy Heller of the famed Heller family was finally getting her own story and her love interest is her teenage crush and who helped her through a time that was hard, but that ended with some insensitive remarks she wasn’t supposed to overhear and Ryder Long became persona non grata in her mind. Now years later, Amy’s life has once again been turned upside down and she’s decided Christmas alone in her friend’s cabin is the perfect way to not celebrate, the last person she expected to walk in like he owned the place was Ryder. Hate Me Under the Mistletoe is a perfect enemies to lovers story filled with revelations, twists and turns, emotion, and more.

Ryder catches Amy dyeing her hair topless and shaking her groove thing which makes her already surly attitude even worse. When she tells him she expects him to leave the next day he agrees but suddenly they are in the middle of a blizzard and trying to keep warm. The chemistry between them is evident and the air is cleared between them, they can’t seem to keep their hands, lips, and other body parts to themselves. What I really loved is Ryder didn’t judge Amy for anything going on in her life; in fact he tried to make her see that she was being harder on herself than she should and that despite feeling like she’d failed in many aspects of her life, she was successful in being a woman working in hockey. It was easy to see that Amy admired what Ryder had done in his life and appreciated that he followed a path that made him happy. I loved their long talks, the way they began to get to know each other as the adults they are now and the fact that once they talked about the past, they pretty much left it there; it wasn’t hashed out over and over.

While this story moves at a brisk place, I felt that it had great character development, a captivating storyline, and a wonderful romance. I would have loved an epilogue following Amy’s fantastic career news, but I have hope we’ll see them again in a future book as secondary characters.

Hate Me Under the Mistletoe was a wonderful romance set against the backdrop of a small town Christmas filled with family, memories, romance, and love!

Meet Me Under the Mistletoe - Kelly Jamieson

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op I am leaving this review voluntarily

Amy’s life isn’t living up to the famous Heller family brand—her love life and her career—and she just wants to be alone for Christmas. So she takes off to a friend’s secluded mountain cabin. Ho fu*king ho.

Ryder’s workaholic tendencies have made him super successful in his business, but he hasn’t spent time with family for years. That’s all he wants this Christmas, plus a little down time at a cabin in the mountains. He loves Christmas and can’t wait for the family ugly sweater contest!

This is a short book so there is only a short introduction to the characters - it quickly gets to the point. It is an enchanting holiday romance and a relatively quick read. Kelly has alternated chapters between Amy and Ryder and it flows so well you will be finished before you know it.

Rating 4/5

Ugh!

I can't believe the author ended this when she did! I sooooo what another chapter!
I was skeptical in the beginning as Amy was a bit spoiled and Ryder was a bit of a player but the longer these 2 were together the more they worked.

It was a quick read one I totally enjoyed on the chilly Saturday.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing/NetGalley Co-op for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is the first book in a new series. This is a fast read. I enjoyed Amy and Ryder. Ryder is a dream guy, kind, thoughtful, smart. Amy has some quirks and she was having a bad week. This book reminds us that family is important and this is a feel good book. 3.5 stars Would recommend