This one was a bit hard for me to review. As I’ve mentioned in other reviews, I’m not your traditional romance reader. Standard romances just aren’t my thing, but I’m a completer sucker for holiday themed rom-coms. As for short stories, well short stories tend to work better for certain genres than others. But being that I do love holiday theme romances, I was more than happy to give Kat Bastion’s Half-Baked Holidays collection a go. Well I can safely say that, at least for me, the short story is not my preferred format for these types of tales. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed each of the 5 tales. My problem is that I wanted more. Being short stories, they were just snapshots in these characters lives/romance, and while each story included an epilogue (one of more than one) to let us know how things turned out, I was left wanting to know more of the earlier parts, to get to know the characters backstories. So while not totally what I was looking for, I did enjoy the stories, and they were a fun quick distraction for me as I wait for the weekend to arrive and for the latest Hallmark holiday films to premiere. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
I’d like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an eARC of Half-Baked Holidays.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R2O0SSB426BBQQ/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/half-baked-holidays-kat-bastion/1140402978?ean=2940161049327&bvnotificationId=3be4db38-3fe4-11ec-ad0a-0e300569d22b&bvmessageType=REVIEW_APPROVED&bvrecipientDomain=gmail.com#review/190176253

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC!

If you are looking for a quick, fun romance read to get you into the holiday spirit, then consider picking this book up!

This is the first time I have read a book with a collection of romance Novellas. I whipped through it in less that 2 hours and found myself smiling the whole time. (And wanting some holiday baked goods).

I also loved that the story included a little touch of New Years to round out the holiday season feeling. Definitely a fun, light read for the holidays

This was a cute and festive holiday collection. The novellas are quick and quirky. These will definitely get you moving to the Holiday spirit. Each story features multi-cultures. These are sweet romance, insta-love, no-conflict, light-hearted stories. The stories are mostly Christmas, but one of them is about a New Years Eve party.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC of this book.

The concept of having five different Holiday stories sounded super cute to me. I stopped reading at 25% after the first story because I knew the book wasn’t for me. I could not connect to the characters in such a short amount of time. The first story also tried to introduce over eleven siblings by name, which I felt was extremely unnecessary in a story that’s already so brief. The sentences were also extremely short and choppy, so I felt like nothing flowed.

In theory, I’m always down for a cute and quirky holiday novella, but I just feel like there were too many different stories in a short book.

This was a fun collection of short holiday rom-com’s. I kept thinking as I was reading, that this would be the perfect book during the craziness of the holiday season when there’s not always as much time for a longer book. I loved how they were all so short and sweet, basically like little hallmark movies all on their own. A perfect read to get into the holiday spirit :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Kat Bastion for the ARC in exchange for my review. I will be sharing my review on my Instagram blog (Instagram.com/books_by_the_bottle) soon!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of Half-Baked Holidays in exchange for an honest review.

I love novellas and when I saw that Half-Baked Holidays was a collection of Holiday theme romance short stories I knew I had to request on NetGalley. I thought each story was short and sweet. I loved that they were stand-alones and featured a different couple in a different setting. Each story was unique and felt original.

Unfortunately, I was not the biggest fan of this writing style. The sentences were short and felt very choppy. I didn't feel connected to the writing and therefore wasn't able to get fully invested in the characters and their stories. There seemed to be any emphasis on the environment and setting. I found the descriptions took up most of the short story and therefore left what little room was remaining to have well developed characters and relationships.

Although the stories were cute, I found it hard to get invested in the relationships because they went from zero to one hundred. I understand that in short stories and novellas there needs to be a relatively quick pace when it comes to the development of the relationship. I just wish it was a build up to when the couple decided to get to together as in date and not necessarily saying that they were going to spend the rest of their lives together at the end of eight chapters. This is mostly a personal preference in terms of pacing and realistic relationship development but some might find this exciting and gravitate towards it.

If you're looking for something short and fun to read for the holidays this may be a good pick for you.

These stories were absolutely ridiculous, love simple doesn’t doesn’t happy that quickly. That said, these were such fun little stories! These all gave me the warm and fuzzies as I read them; all I wanted to do was snuggle with hot cocoa and keep reading.

So NOT a Silent Night is a cute story that gives that warm and fuzzy Christmas feeling. I would’ve liked to have seen this one as a much longer story so that I could have built up and had more time to savor the characters and relationships.

Enticing wrapper number nine really tugs at your heartstrings. I laughed, I cried, it was better than …well it was a nice holiday read. Works as a short.

Give me a Christmas break was a cute story. I wasn’t as invested in this one. I didn’t get the holiday feels. The ending was really one of two options that you imagined while reading.

Half baked holiday was ok.

Billionaire Bash New Years took a very long time for anything to happen. I would say I’m well introduced to the setting! The end was very cute. It certainly redeemed the short.

A collection of novellas sure to put you in the Christmas spirit: from a reconnection with a childhood sweetheart, to a wild and crazy costume sure to catch his notice, to a holiday vacation with the family you'd rather avoid, and more. This book has a little bit of everything.
I received an advance reader copy of this book through NetGalley. The views and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.

Oh my goodness, so fun!! Five short romantic comedies themed around the holidays; five beautiful whirlwinds that will warm your heart in the chilly seasons. I absolutely loved the style of this book and can't wait to read more by Kat Bastion. Her writing style also so perfectly captures the trains of thought of her protagonists. Lighthearted and exactly what I was looking for.

Many thanks to Kat Bastion and NetGalley for this ARC! This was the first work I've read by Kat and I cannot wait for more.

I enjoyed this book. Inside you get five fun holiday stories. Cuteness, holiday charm, humor, emotion and romance make an effervescent combination that delivers some very delightful feels. Yes, the pacing is fast, yes, everything is very instant and yes, these stories are quite short, so if those things don't appeal to you, this book will not do it for you. Myself, I enjoy a good of instalove when time is short, I require a mood boost, I just want something lighter to clean my palate or I desperately need a quick burst of intense romance to satisfy my addiction and this book fits those parameters to a T.

3.5 Cute Feels All-Around Stars
* * * 1/2
The team of Kat Bastion put together a cute grouping of tales to bring the readers into the holiday season. Each story has that Insta-Connection and then the characters were off to the races. It works basically due to the idea of a quick read.

A unique collection of Christmas stories. They are all so different, but perfect little holiday reads. It's an interesting concept of a single author compiling short stories - usually when I read a book like this, it's a group of authors.

Fun, romantic, short stories for the holiday.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

Christmas is a time for relaxing and remembering what the spirit of season is all about. Whether you are traveling, just settling down to bed, staying in the house or having your loved ones visit you to your place, small chunks of time are perfect for reading short stories.

Here’s a collection of cute and heartwarming Christmas novellas with great storytelling written by #katbastion. It’s a hidden gem in #Netgalley I’ve found which I am thrilled to devoured this book overnight.

These short stories are feel good romance. It’s fast-paced and lots of insta-love romance trope. I could not hardly put this down. It’s a delightful book to me, where I can picture these leading men and women as I escape between the pages of these Hallmark-ish movie feels in a book form.

Thank you so much @netgalley and #kastbastion for this opportunity to enjoy a good read ARC in exchange of an unbiased feedback. I am so grateful for the auto-approval privilege as well.

I love novellas just as much as I love full length novels, because sometimes you’re just in the mood for quick pick me up and Kat Bastion provides exactly that with these heartening holiday stories.

There are five charming, independent tales, each one with its own romance. Because of their short length nature, the romance is on the insta-love side and because I love Kat’s wonderful writing, I wish I’d gotten the full length version of each. Yet they’re all full of fun and holiday cheer providing warm fuzzy feelings. Perfect to get into the holiday spirit.

Half-baked holidays is a collection of novella by author Kat Bastion. They are light and heartwarming short standalone rom-com stories with happy endings.

Half-Baked Holidays was a perfect book filled with short, festive romance themed stories. Perfect Holiday Book! 5 stars!

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. This is a great quick Christmas romance anthology. Each story in this book is entertaining and steamy. It is such an enjoyable read. I definitely highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone. This ebook will be in stores on November 7, 2021 for $5.99 (USD).

Half Baked Holidays was a cute short read. I love how fast paced it was. I had never read a collection of short stories before so this was a nice change especially with how quickly it was to get through these vs. a novel. I think my favorite short story would have to be the college bake off one.

That cover is also super adorable too!

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for allowing me the chance to read and review. This was a three star rating since I wasn't able to get into all of the stories, but most were still good. A three star rating still means that the book was good.

This review will be up on my blog within a week or so.

This was a great compilation of holiday themed stories. I really enjoyed diving into one before bed or at a drs. appt. perfect for when you don’t have a lot of time to read or really get invested in a story. Perfect to pick for a book blurb or to share with your girlfriends.

I loved this collection of short, festive reads. All stand alone stories set around Christmas.
Looking forward to more from this author!