I was drawn to The Language of Love: A Flirty, Festive Anthology for its promise of holiday romance and because I’m a fan of Lee Winters’ work. This collection offers a delightful mix of festive stories set in various corners of the globe, from the vibrant streets of Jamaica to cozy fireplaces in Wales.

While I recognized a few familiar voices, like Lola Keeley and Cheyenne Blue, most of the contributors were new to me. As with any anthology, some stories resonated more than others, but the overall experience was enjoyable. Each tale provided a unique and heartwarming glimpse into different holiday traditions and romantic escapades.

Traveling the world vicariously through this collection was a pleasure, and the diverse range of settings and scenarios made for a refreshing and festive read. If you’re a fan of holiday romances and enjoy exploring new authors, this anthology is definitely worth picking up.

In a Nutshell: An anthology of lesbian romances set around Christmas. A good collection for the right reader. Unfortunately, many of these weren’t my kind of romance stories, so please take this review with a pinch of salt.

This anthology has eleven stories of Sapphic love connections written by lesbian fiction writers. I never pick up a romance anthology because the genre is a mixed bag for me. What made me opt for this book was one magic phrase in the blurb: “Curries in India.” A lesbian love story set during an Indian Christmas? The curiosity of this Indian Christian was immediately piqued!

What worked for me is the intent and the approach of the collection. The collection is diverse in terms of inclusivity as well as cultural setting, with the stories being set in Australia, England, India, Jamaica, South Africa and Germany amid other locations. Most of the stories, except one (which is about Chanukkah), are set around Christmas time. The themes are also varied, with some stories being lighthearted and other being more sombre. Authenticity of voice is not an issue at all, thanks to the background of the authors. The beautiful cover is the perfect representation of the heterogeneity of the tales.

Where the collection didn’t suit my reading palate is in the writing style and romantic content of a few of the tales. The tagline promises a ‘flirty’ anthology, so I knew there would be oodles of romance herein. But many of the tales had almost insta romances, and one even went too steamy – both of which aren’t what I enjoy reading. Moreover, there is a distinct YA flavour to quite a few tales, again something that isn’t my cup of tea. Because of the YA and insta love factor, the emotions felt somewhat superficial and light-hearted, even when the plot itself was emotionally charged.

As always, I rated the stories individually, but most of the tales ended up on the mid-range of the scale, not because the tales were bad, but because they didn’t suit my reading preferences. My favourite story was Sheryn Munir’s ‘Mask’, which not only was a touching story of closeted lesbian feelings but also had a beautifully representation of an Indian Christmas celebration. I relished the experience of seeing a Christmas tale where holiday food included delicacies like mutton cutlets, fish fry, onion salad, and rose cookies. The traditions of family carol singing and exchanging Christmas sweets with all neighbours – Christians and otherwise – also finds a mention. Indian Christians rarely get a fair representation (if at all we are represented) in fiction, even by Indian writers, so this story made me feel seen.

All in all, this isn’t a bad collection, but I wasn’t the right reader for it. If you enjoy more YA-style romances, and don’t mind insta attraction, you might like this better. I am just going hit the midway rating for this one as the lack of connect was mostly due to my romance-reading tastes.

3 stars.

My thanks to Ylva Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC of “Language of Love”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974


A wonderfully diverse and global reaching collection of holiday stories. There is something for everyone. You will cry, laugh, sigh and gasp at some of the steamy scenes. You will either reread the entire book or certain stories. All of the characters are relatable and you will find yourself falling in love along with some of the main characters. You will wish that a network would be bold enough to convert these into movies. Until that time we have this anthology which I hope becomes an annual offering.

This was a lovely holiday anthology.

I really enjoyed it and will definitely look out for a few of these authors. And pick up their work.

Not like the usual short stories I would read, seems more like YA stories, not like my usual literature writing.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ylva for this ARC; I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. This 2018 anthology is a fun collection of diverse lesbian holiday stories. They are all romances or at least have a little tiny flicker of romance in them. From an explicitness standpoint, these are mostly fade-to-black or PG when it comes to love scenes, with the notable exception of the slightly steamy "Grand Market Bliss."

I have read around 30 holiday romance books this season, and I have to say that this one is a standout from a literary perspective; other than "Love Just Is" (which was cute), the stories were all very believable from a holiday romance standpoint. Most of the authors left us with little glimpses of a beginning of a romance rather than sweeping declarations of love after a few days of holiday cheer. The prose is solid. My favorite story by far was "Mask" by Sheryn Munir, which featured a lovely, bittersweet intergenerational story of queer love. I also loved the wacky premise of "Deck the Halls with Bullets and Holly"--I can just imagine the Booktok fan teaser for that one. Think a bumbling, bookish take on a lesbian Stephanie Plum type for the protagonist.

As with any anthology of this type, there were stories that grabbed me and stories that I would have skipped had this not been an ARC. For example, while I liked the premise of "Paula Gets a Pony Ranch" and liked Paula's "butch Audrey Hepburn" love interest, I wasn't wild about the journal setup and found the passages about horses tedious. There were some notable typos in the version I read--"peel" instead of "peal," a duplicate "a" article, and "where" for "were" stood out to me, and I found those surprising given that the book was published 5 years ago. Perhaps the ARC remained as-is while the published copy has been edited by now.

I've always loved learning about holiday traditions around the world, so little peeks into summery Christmases in Jamaica and Australia, an American Hanukkah, a Scottish New Year, and snowy holidays in Wales, Germany, and so on were fun for me. I would love to read more by several of these writers, and I appreciate the ARC. This was a lovely way to ring in my 2024. Happy New Queer!

This anthology of the story is really great.

Each story bring the spirits of christmas and magic in these these days nearer to reader. The story are from romatic to erotic. It is a good alternativ to chocolate calender before xmas to count down the days.

Most of the author are well know in ylva universe.

Best way to start the Holiday reading season was with book of short stories from some of my fav sapphic authors. I'll have to read some stories from the new to me authors who joined in the fun. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you to Ylva Publishing and NetGalley for providing an eARC for an honest review.

This is an anthology of holiday themed short stories. The stories are set internationally, taking place in Australia, South Africa, India, England, Wales, Jamaica and Germany. I’m familiar with some authors like Lee Winters, Cheyenne Blue and Fiona Zedde and they didn’t disappoint. Others I was less familiar with. I enjoy reading short stories occasionally and it is one way to find new authors. But shorts can be unsatisfying because when they are really good you wish you had more time to spend with the characters. I would still recommend the book as long as you know what you are getting. The steam factor is very low as often they are having first meetings. This was first published in October 2018 and I was given a digital copy by Ylva Publishing via NetGalley. (3.5 Stars)

I enjoyed some of the stories here, although with others I struggled to connect with the characters. There was variety in some of the stories but at other times the anthology felt repetitive.

Worth every penny!

This is a fabulous collection of winter holiday themed stories with loads of humor, an abundance of strong female characters and a broad variety so if you're in the mood for intense and heavy, or more light and fluffy storylines, this anthology covers the bases well.

The stories touch on family traditions and dynamics (good and bad), love of all kinds (romantic, blood and chosen familial) and ways that others celebrate holidays in other countries and/or cultures outside of mainland North America. Several of the stories are peppered with foreign language native to the authors and/or settings of the stories which adds a whole layer of authenticity to the feel of the stories; I found the addition of those languages only enhanced my appreciation and awareness of these traditions whether they are passed down thru the family, part of a nation or region's fabric, or brought by immigrants to their next geographical home. I learned alot and greatly enjoyed the learning thru story approach.

They deliver humor, drama, highs and lows, twists and surprises, and the spirit of the holidays regardless of which one is being celebrated, how or by whom. There are great messages about hope, community and love to name a few in this book. I suggest reading them one at a time rather than cover to cover in one sitting so they can be savored, their messages can really sink in like a good meal or beverage; reading more than one in a sitting might feel jarring or overwhelming. They're the kind of stories that can be read and reread without losing any enjoyment in the repetition and worth every penny of the price of the book.

I highly recommend this anthology and the other works by the authors included in it; there is a ton of talent there with plenty more stories to tell.