
Member Reviews

Thank you for this gifted copy of Half-Baked Holidays!
What a fun little collection of romantic comedy holiday stories! I adored every single one. I thought they we’re perfectly lengthed, well written, and kept me very entertained. My favorite story was the third one; although I loved each story for their own specific details. I specifically loved that each story continued on with some sort of food theme.

A collection of short but sweet romantic stories to get you in a festive food. Cute stories and characters.

I enjoyed this book of short stories that were holiday themed. They were quick easy reads. The characters and storylines were enjoyable. The author is great at painting a descriptive holiday feeling in each of the stories. Since they’re shorter, they character development isn’t as deep as longer reads but there’s enough to get you to root for them. Quite honestly, several of the shorts reminded me of Hallmark holiday movies! There were several times I could actually envision the writing coming to life in a Hallmark movie on my TV! This book was just what I needed to read in my downtime when trying to just find a moment of enjoyment.

This book was a collection of short stories. I enjoyed them but some left me wishing for more. They are definitely nice reads for the holidays.

This author did not hesitate to get into the thick of each of these stories, and I appreciate that. While I felt that some of them were a little bit flat as far as romance, I definitely fell in love with the cozy winter vibes. I loved the sense of family, especially in the first story. This collection was proof that there's so much going on around the holidays, and it's almost like we were transported into a Hallmark movie with each new scene.

this book is prefect for the holiday season and I loved the fifth story, the rest of them were cute but not very detailed and kinda rushed but I really liked the writing style and would recommend this to someone who likes this type of books with many characters and short stories.

I enjoyed this book, is the perfect holiday reads. Fast paced stories to put you into the mood for Christmas.
I need more!

Who does not love a good romance book around Christmas? There are 5 short instant love stories. Some work well with the story others not as much. There is so much holiday cheer. I honestly did not know that it was going to be 5 stories instead of just one long one. I do not normally tend to read short stories. I am so glad I read this one. I will be an easy reread next year around Christmas. I will most definitely be picking up more books from this author!

i think these were cute little love at first sight novellas. I think Kat could take some of these and expand them into more. But then again I am forever a sucker for her no weddings series. and you get happily every after.. and you get happily ever after :P

This book in 3 words: Cozy. Jovial. Delightful.
Half-Baked Holidays pulled me in with a cutie cover and focus on holiday romance. I love the idea of a snuggly novella collection and Kate Bastion delivers.
I think the structure of this works really well. Each story is a few chapters, pulls the reader in, and wraps with an epilogue so you know where your characters "went". I loved getting the epilogue and thought it made each of the stories last just a little longer.
Another thing I enjoyed was the representation of different cultures, races, family dynamics, holiday celebrations, etc. While they're lightly touched on, because you can't fully dive in during a novella, it's still important to have this kind of visibility. The diverse characters and views felt natural and it was enjoyable.
I do wish that some of these stories were their own books (cue the irony here).
A nice collection of quick, fluffy, rom-coms to get you in the holiday spirit. If I had to rate it 0-5, I'd probably give it a 3.5-3.8. I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought these short stories were perfect to get into the holiday spirit, though I wish each had been just a bit longer and more plot-driven! I would have loved a little more backstory before we went right into the marriage and kids stage, but perhaps that's just me! Perfect for curling up with a cup of cocoa.

Upfront: I like romance like I like snow: beautiful, pristine. I like to leave room for the imagination and less telling of what goes where.
Author Bastion's book starts off wonderful: showing (not telling) what the character wants/lacks - but it quickly crumbled into a "telling" which is not my type of book.
It was really cozy, and had all the holiday feels.
For my own taste, I'd rate it a two star, however, I know readers. And most readers would love this book and be delighted by it. I'll gladly handsell it, and that's what matters! I'm giving it four starts for appealing to romantic/holiday readers.
Thanks so much for the opportunity to review this ARC.

Half-baked Holidays by Kat Bation is a delightful collection of winter holiday tales of romance. The stories range from emotionally stirring to light-hearted told from each member of the potential couples perspectives.
Although we are only with each character for roughly 50 pages, it was so easy to identify with and route for them. The author forgoes unnecessary exposition, describing the characters and his/her motivations succinctly and successfully. The scenes are described well and create a perfect holiday atmosphere.
The stories are long enough to be interesting and get the reader invested, but are short enough to be enjoyed as a quick holiday story to get you in the mood for winter celebrations. The only downside to this story collection is that a few of the stories are so well done that I wish they were full length novels. I recommend this book to readers of romance or anyone who needs to get into the holiday spirit.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Half-Baked Holidays was perfectly what I was I was in the mood for: cute & light holidays stories!
There were 5 romantic stories all around Christmas. Not So Silent Night was the first one and it's what hooked me on the rest other than the cute title. In Silent Night, Amanda heads home for the first time in a long time to her mother's house for Christmas. She has several siblings now and some she has never met. She is also lucky enough to run into her high school crush bringing in the romantic aspect.
Each story has an epilogue so you know the direction each story would go if it was a bigger book in and of its own which I really enjoyed.
Thank you to #netgalley and #katbastion for allowing me to read this even though it was released a week ago.

These novellas will definitely put readers in a holiday mood. I'm ready to bake cookies and write Christmas cards. All stories were sweet and very fast moving with happy ever after endings.

Half-baked Holidays is a collection of 5 short romantic comedy stories. Each story covers a different couple and will help you get into the holiday mood.. This read was a great escape..

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. Cute easy read Christmas short stories. Perfect for the Christmas season.

This novel consisted of 5 short stories all centered around Christmas holidays and falling in love. I love a good holiday love story but felt that the stories were rushed. We didn't really get a chance to get to know the characters or background. It was like watching a movie from the middle and having to fill in the pieces yourself. I did enjoy the romance aspect just wished for some more fleshier background information. Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for an ARC.

This novel consisted of 5 short novellas all centered around love and Christmas time.
This first story felt like we were dropped right in the middle of something with very little background information and none of it was really clarified. We just know it’s an uncomfortable reunion of sorts with family and a second chance with past crushes. 2/5
The second story is a kind of “office relationship” type story but felt very rushed but we did get a little more background on the characters. 3/5
The third story was better. It started out with the two leads bumping heads and then going on an adventure together that brings them closer. 3/5
The fourth story is cute and was by far my favourite. One character sneaking around in a kitchen in a historical house on a mission not to get caught, the other intrigued and following the first. 4/5
The fifth story is about friends sneaking in to a billionaires New Year’s Eve party and one of them finds love and helps him heal along the way. 3/5
Most of the stories seemed very rushed and choppy even though they were supposed to be short. There wasn’t all that much plot building and they were just quick shallow feel good holiday stories. These are all whirlwind romances and overall cute quick stories to get you in the holiday mood!
*Free copy received in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved the stories, the writing, the characters, however, I hated they were short stories. I felt like everything was rushed WAY too much and would have loved all of these as full length novels so much more.