Three lovely festive stories with a connection to the word "mistletoe". Each had their own unique story and cast of characters which kept me engaged and rooting for the happy ending. While they all tied up well, they left me wanting to continue with the characters and see how their stories would go. All of the stories felt like I was reading a Hallmark movie on the pages. I got an advanced audio version and thought that the narrator was a great fit. Thank you to Thomas Nelson for the advanced copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

This was a cute Christmas Compilation of 3 short stories. Each had its own charms and was a cute, quick holiday romance. Although I prefer the longer story to get to know the characters a bit more, short stories offer a quick read with no 3rd act breakup and little relationship drama. There just isn’t time for it. So if you dread the relationship troubles of longer books, these are the perfect stories to read.

This book was exactly what I was in the mood for- cute holiday stories as we get closer to Christmas 2024! Think a Hallmark movie, but a little more depth (no offense to those movies as I enjoy a fun and cute movie now and again) and in book form. I enjoyed that this book was a collection of 3 different short and cute romantic Christmas stories.

I liked all of the stories, but my favorite was the last story in the collection: Say No to Mistletoe. Probably because I related in some ways to the main character and would have loved to be an author in a different life. :P My second favorite story was Return to Mistletoe and then The Mistletoe Prince was third. Overall they were all enjoyable and none of them were bad, just a little cheesy and the romances all happened fast, but probably because these are novellas and not many pages to tell a story. Also, I want to be clear for anyone reading this book that while this was a collection of 3 romantic Christmas stories, it is not at all "spicy". I'd considered it rated G/PG on the romance level (also known as closed door) and sharing that from the get-to for anyone that picks romance reads on that basis.

I listened to this book as an audiobook rather than reading a hard copy. I like listening to books when I'm running, walking, working out, going on errands, or doing chores. All in all, I give the audiobook narration 4/5 (I especially liked the Irish narrator) and the book itself 4/5, so that is 4/5 overall!

A complimentary audiobook copy was provided by HarperCollins Christian Publishing / Thomas Nelson Fiction via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Three Christmas stories about small town love, old flames and even a prince. It’s just like stepping into Hallmark novellas.

This was one of our bookclub books this month and it was basically three novellas that reminded me of hallmark movies. They were kind of cheesy and over the top. All were quick reads and I already forgot them but they were just okay.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this.

The first and third novella were great holiday reads.

The second nearly made me DNF. There was too much evangelicalizing for me in this. I didn't feel like I had warning that it would have a religious aspect to it. It was also super long in comparison to the two I did enjoy.

What a great way to start the holiday season. One author I have come to love is Pepper Basham but I will be checking out stories by the other two authors. . Thanks for the advanced copy NetGalley and the publisher.

🎄🎄🎄🎄
This book will get you in the Christmas Spirit! This story is filled with three novellas. It is filled with love, faith and Christmas cheer.
Kathleen Fulkerbis a MUST READ author to me but the other authors were new to me. I need to check out their other books. Many thanks to the authors, HarperCollins Christian Publishing and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
#MistletoeSeason #KathleenFuller #SheliaRoberts #PepperBasham #NetGalley #HarperCollinsChristianPublishing #BookLove #Bookstagram #NewBook #ILoveBooks #BooksSetInASmallTown

Mistletoe Season features three sweet, small-town Christmas stories, each reminiscent of a Hallmark Christmas movie!

Return to Mistletoe by Kathleen Fuller - after renovating an old Irish castle, Kieran arrives back in town to celebrate his mothers seventieth birthday and reconnects with Emmy during his stay! This was a cute story with all the idyllic and welcoming charm of a close-knit community!

The Mistletoe Prince by Pepper Basham - when a prince is punished for his wrongdoings, he finds himself in small town Appalachia to discover what really matters! I found this one both too long, and unrealistic.

Say No to Mistletoe by Sheila Roberts - had a strong redemption arc as Hailey and Carwyn had met under the mistletoe in high school to disastrous results! This was easily my favourite of the three!

Although audiobook narrator Tanya Eby did a great job (accents, inflection and personality abound), I wished each story had a different narrator. Yes I understand the logistics of this is a challenge, but I didn't enjoy listening to three different stories all narrated by the same individual.

Overall, this book can replace your Christmas playlist while you set up your tree or bake cookies, since you won't miss anything if you get too distracted by your holiday tasks!

Thank you NetGalley, HarperCollins Christian Publishing and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the complimentary audio copy to read and review.

This book is actually 3 decent-sized stories about holiday romance- one about a woman who reconnects with her friend’s brother who had been living in Ireland, on about a wayward prince who connects with a woman while spending time in Appalachia, and a woman who’s always had bad luck with mistletoe kisses. I hate when short stories are too short and I can’t get invested, but these were all long enough for me to care. I could have used a little spice (these were Hallmark-movie clean), but that was clearly the intention, so I can’t count that against the authors. The only thing I’d say is that I struggled a little with some of the accents- I can’t imagine doing a vague European accent conversing with a Appalachian accent is easy, but I sometimes found the accents distracting. Overall, though, these stories brought some nice, clean holiday spirit.

This trio was such a delight! Pepper Basham is always a favorite, but I was very impressed by the stories from Sheila Roberts and Kathleen Fuller, neither of whom I've read much of. All of these light, cheerful romances will definitely get you into the holiday spirit! And if you're a fan of Pepper's Edgewood family (Postively, Penelope, Authentically, Izzy, & Loyally Luke) you'll especially adore the Mistletoe Prince, which dips it's toes back into the Appalachian side of the Edgewood family, and you're sure to love it! The audiobook was great, and I loved immersing myself in the stories as I listened. I received an advance copy of the audiobook from the publisher via NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a positive review.

What’s not to love about a collection of wholesome, heartwarming romance novellas set around Christmas? Mistletoe Season offers three delightful stories that perfectly capture the magic and charm of the holiday season. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to these tales while decorating my house—it was the ideal way to get into the festive spirit.

Each story brought its own unique charm, and while I don’t have a clear favourite, I can confidently say they were all fantastic. From the relatable characters to the cozy, feel-good plots, these novellas are perfect for anyone seeking a little romance and holiday cheer.

Tanya Eby’s narration added an extra layer of enjoyment, bringing the characters to life with warmth and engaging delivery.

This collection has left me excited to explore more from Sheila Roberts, Kathleen Fuller, and Pepper Basham in the future. Mistletoe Season is an excellent choice if you’re looking for a light, festive read (or listen).

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Christian Publishing | Thomas Nelson Fiction for gifting me the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this audiobook. These were cute holiday novellas that are sure to bring out the holiday spirit!

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Some quick, cute holiday romances. None of them blew me away but instead were sweet little romances. The narrator did a good job.

2.0 stars

Thank you NetGalley, HarperCollins Publishing, Thomas Nelson Fiction, and the authors Sheila Roberts, Kathleen Fuller, and Pepper Basham for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thoughts:

I started this audiobook in the mood for a pick-me-up of cozy romance with a festive feel. However, after finishing them I’m still yearning for it as it was not delivered in these three Christmas short stories. Instead what I got was the perfect mid-day nap read as I ended up snoozing in the middle of story two.

To sum it all up briefly, the narrator cracked me up with how poorly the accented characters were voiced, the stories felt incomplete like we were missing background information, some of the characters that were added weren’t necessary at all (some even caused plot holes), and the cliqued moments were just the usual and not even too Christmas-y (like throw us a bone at least). It is strange that a holiday read could feel so disconnected from a holiday with only little thrown-ins of christmas-y things.

There was potential, but this was just a miss for me in every aspect sadly.


Paperback/Hardcover/Audiobook/E-book:

Audiobook

Pace:

Medium

Cover thoughts:

Festive! Cute!

A fun Holiday collection of 3 stories.

Listed below ⬇️ in order of my preference:

𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠: Say No to Mistletoe
𝘼𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧: Sheila Roberts
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one was really cute I love all her mishaps with mistletoe. I loved the small town charm and the second chance romance. Out of the 3 stories this was my fav!
______
𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠: Return to Mistletoe
𝘼𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧: Kathleen Fuller
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one was good, I like the single mom angle and her cute store. I thought it just needed a little more to draw me in but that’s hard with the length of story.
______
𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠: The Mistletoe Prince
𝘼𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧: Pepper Basham
𝘼𝘽 𝙉𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was my least favorite the story was a cute concept but certain things gave me the icks. I didn’t like how some of the characters were portrayed made them come off in a negative light. Just not a fan of these tropes.

❄️💚❣️❄️💚❣️❄️💚❣️❄️💚❣️❄️💚❣️❄️

Oh man this book was not for me. I have never read anything by any of these authors, so this short story collection was my first from all of them. I hated them all. Truly, I tried to put them in order #1-3 but I just hated them all. How boring. How trite. Listen I know what Christmas books are. I know that they are usually overdone tropey overly sentimental smut, but these were over the line and not in good ways. I love Christmas. I love cheesy. I love love. I hate hate this book. Save yourself some time this holiday season and dont bother. Bah Humbug.
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

Mistletoe Season
Three Christmas Stories
Narrated by Tanya Eby

🚩 This review is based off of the audio book and most likely will have SPOILERS so be warned🚩


Story 1: Return to Mistletoe - Kathleen Fuller
(3⭐️s)

MCs: Kieran and Emmy

What I liked:
• The relationship between the FMC and her daughter
• Small town. Everyone knows everything
• Side characters
• The ending was cute.

What I didn’t like:
• The FMC ex. I hate that she never tried to get her money back and let him get away with taking it. She should’ve listened to her friends and went after him.
• I have doubts about the MMC feelings towards the FMC when they were younger. And also don’t buy it when the FMC is thinking about prom and how she didn’t mind him dancing (slow and fast songs) with other girls, especially when she’s always had a crush on him.
• I didn’t care for the narrators accent when it came to the MMC. There were parts where the MMC would speak with an Irish accent and then became American, which was kinda distracting.

Overall: This was an okay story. I liked it but it wasn’t my favorite. And it felt like an HFN ending.

Story 2: The Mistletoe Prince - Pepper Basham
(5⭐️s)

MCs: Prince Arran and Charlie

What I liked:
• Loved the MCs. They were soo cute together.
• Loved hot the MMC and FMC met
• Loved how they became friends first before anything romantic.
• Family and Friends
• The FMC is a strong, independent woman.
• I loved the ending. And even though this is a short story, I felt like this couple were each others soul mates and would last forever.

Overall: Loved this one. It was soo darn cute and It made me happy.

Story 3: Say No to Mistletoe - Sheila Roberts
(2.5⭐️s)

MCs: Hailey and Carwyn

What I liked:
• How into the FMC the MMC was
• Golden Retriever MMC
• Loved the HEA ending

What I didn’t like:
• The FMC acted, thought, and spoke like a teenager, even though she’s a grown adult.
• Went a long with everything her mother wanted, even though it made the FMC unhappy
• Her whole family treated her like a child and kinda bullied her into doing stuff that she didn’t want to do.
• FMC getting her hair done by her high school bully, knowing it was going to end up horribly, all because her family pressured her into doing it. I don’t understand why she didn’t just go to the store and buy brown hair dye. She could’ve fixed her hair the same day.

Overall: This was okay. I liked some of it but unfortunately the FMC annoyed me throughout the whole story. Thankfully I liked the MMC, hence the stars.

Happy Reading🖤

Oh and I received an ARC from NetGalley but this review is 100% all me.

I recently finished listening to Mistletoe Season, a delightful anthology featuring stories by Sheila Roberts, Kathleen Fuller, and Pepper Basham. This audiobook is the perfect companion for the holiday season, wrapping you in warmth and festive cheer.

Narration: The narrators did an exceptional job bringing each story to life. Their voices were engaging and perfectly matched the tone of the narratives, making it easy to get lost in the characters' worlds. The pacing was just right, allowing me to savor the moments without feeling rushed.

Stories: Each author brings a unique flavor to the collection. Sheila Roberts’ story is filled with heartwarming moments and a touch of humor, while Kathleen Fuller’s tale dives into the beauty of love and community during the holidays. Pepper Basham adds a sprinkle of whimsy and romance that left me smiling. The intertwining themes of love, family, and the magic of the season made for a cozy listening experience.

Themes: What I loved most was how each story captured the essence of the holidays—whether it was through the joy of giving, the importance of family, or the magic of unexpected love. It reminded me of the little things that make the season special.

Overall Experience: Listening to Mistletoe Season felt like curling up with a warm cup of cocoa by the fire. It’s a perfect audiobook for anyone looking to get into the holiday spirit. I found myself laughing, tearing up, and ultimately feeling uplifted. If you’re in need of a heartwarming escape this winter, I highly recommend giving this audiobook a listen!

This book was okay but it was so quick that it was kind of whiplashing how quickly they just randomly fall in love

Three sweet Christmas romances. Three talented authors. Three short stories that will capture your heart and celebrate the holiday season.

Story #1- Second chance love story for single-mom Emmy. Author Kathleen Fuller does a great job at capturing the “Hallmark Holiday” feel with her novella.

Story #2- This was the story that lead me to this book. I adore Pepper Basham’s royal Skylar series and had to read the next installment. It did not disappoint! I loved reading about Prince Arran and his visit to North Carolina where his sister Ellie and new brother-in-law Luke live. Little does he know that he is about to meet his own match.

Story #3- Meet Hailey Fairchild. Determined to move past her awkward high school years, but doomed to revisit them with her trip home for the holidays. To make matters worse, she keeps running into her old crush… her older brother’s best friend. Can things get more awkward and hilarious?

Thank you @netgalley for providing me the opportunity to listen and review this audiobook!