[ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review]

This collection of short stories had some hits, but more misses. And with only five stories, that isn’t a great ratio. Ali Hazelwood is a master when it comes to crafting great characters and romance in short stories/novellas so it’s no surprise that hers was the standout. The others were all lackluster in comparison. It was a good idea to have these heavy-hitter romance authors write little holiday short stories, but this really was disappointing.

4.5⭐️

Under the Mistletoe is a delightful holiday anthology that brings together a dream team of romance authors, each adding their own sprinkle of seasonal magic to this cozy collection. Whether you’re a fan of witty banter, heartfelt moments, or festive flirtation, there’s something in here for every romance reader.

Ali Hazelwood’s story was a definite highlight — charming, smart, and full of the chemistry she’s known for. Alexandria Bellefleur delivered a swoony, well-paced novella that had me smiling from start to finish. Tessa Bailey brought the heat and her signature sass, and while the dialogue was a bit over the top for me at times, I still appreciated the bold energy she brought to the mix. Olivia Dade crafted a warm, feel-good tale with her trademark depth and humor, and Alexis Daria’s vibrant storytelling added the perfect dose of sparkle and spice to round things out.

This anthology is a quick, joyful read that’s perfect for curling up with on a chilly evening. From small-town magic to mistletoe-induced kisses, Under the Mistletoe captures the heart of the holidays in five unique ways. A perfect stocking stuffer for your romance-loving heart

This was fine, but not great. Maybe I'm just not a novella person - I need more "meat" to my stories I guess.

I had a good time reading all the short stories in this collection. Ali Hazelwood's short story is my favorite. Her characters always feel natural and believable. I loved the spicy moments written in Tessa Bailey's short story, which is something I expect in her books. I also enjoyed the heartfelt moments, which made me feel like I had a safety blanket wrapped around me. Overall, I would read more by these authors.

Quick Summary: A holiday fluff and stuff collection

My Review: The Under the Mistletoe Collection is a compilation of five short stories by a number of popular authors. It is a 2024 release of Amazon Originals.

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Title: Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood

About the Book: "He’s the one who got away. She’s the one who broke his heart."

In My Own Words: A forbidden love romance between two friends who were waiting for the just right time to confess their love for each other.

My Final Say: The heart wants what it wants.

Rating: 4/5
Recommend: Yes

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Title: Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey

About the Book: "Evie wants to stay single all the way—she can’t trust anything more than friends-with-holiday-benefits. But Luke is in it for the long haul. "

In My Own Words: A "man in heat" romance that brings together a rugged farmer and a single mom, taking them from a FWB arrangement to more.

My Final Say: Strangers to lovers to partners can be the path to true love.

Rating: 3/5
Recommend: Yes

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Title: All By My Elf by Olivia Dade

About the Book: "...stranded by a blinding blizzard in the middle of nowhere, there’s nothing to do but cuddle up for warmth and play a game of Never Have I Ever..."

In My Own Words: Trapped in a hot dog of a job during a snowstorm allows for two people crushing on each other to get real.

My Final Say: A secret crush might just lead to a never have I ever experience.

Rating: 2/5
Recommend: +/-

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Title: Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur

About the Book: "When Everleigh Dangerfield’s baking disaster necessitates a call to 911, firefighter Griffin Brantley douses the flames in the kitchen, but the ones he stokes in Everleigh are an entirely different story."

In My Own Words: What do you get when a fireman and a damsel in distress hook up? Fire and chemistry.

My Final Say: A hot and hilarious ho, ho, ho romance where sparks fly all over the place - that is exactly the right answer to this special emergency.

Rating: 4/5
Recommend: Yes

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Title: Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria

About the Book: "All Evie Cruz wants for Christmas is a nap. And maybe some ornaments for her naked Christmas tree. And while she’s making a list, she wouldn’t mind unwrapping her sexy upstairs neighbor like a present."

In My Own Words: Neighbors in like share a special holiday moment in this 12 days of Xmas romance.

My Final Say: It's never too late (or too early) to take a chance on love.

Rating: 4.5/5
Recommend: Yes

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Final Comments: This was a quirky, fun, ha-ha-ho-ho collection. It's not too serious. It's fluffy and fantastic!

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Appreciation is extended to the authors, to the publisher (Amazon Original Stories), and to NetGalley. Thank you for providing access to a digital ARC of this collection. It was a pleasure to review. The holiday theme was fun and the stories were entertaining. I look forward to reading more from these featured authors.

A fantastic collection of sweet, spicy, sassy holiday fun! I love each of these writers individually, but together their stories flow even better.

This is five stories by five romance, authors that I will read anytime they publish a book. All the stories are entertaining and cute and romance filled from start to finish. They are quick stories to read that can’t keep you entertained and make you feel happy by the end.

I received a free e-copy on NetGalley to review.

This was a very well-executed collection!

The work from the authors I’ve read before felt up to their normal standard, and the work from those I haven’t made me want to check them out in the future!

Overall check these out if you see that a favorite author has written one or you eat up a Hallmark Christmas movie but wish it was a lot spicier.

Cute, short reads for cold winter nights. This is a pretty good collection from some of the top contemporary romance authors today, and it's no shock that this was a wild success. Some stories I liked better than others, but this is a cute set for a book club or if you're just looking for a light and easy read.

Cute novella collection for the holiday season. None of these really stood out to me but if I feel the need, I’ll definitely be rereading these each year around the holidays.

Merriment and Mayhem -
This was super cute! Alexandria is one of my favorite authors so I was really excited to listen to this book. I’m looking forward to listening to the other books in this collection also.

I really want to check out more books with firefighters now. 😏🥵🔥

This was narrated by Amelie Griffin and I really enjoyed her narration.

A merry little collection of holiday themed love stories written by fan favorite authors. An easy read for a fun escape.

Under the Mistletoe collection.
Holiday novellas to cheer in the season.

Cruel Winter by Ali Hazelwood
Part of the Under the Mistletoe holiday stories.
Contemporary romance novella. Best friend’s brother troupe.
Jamie Malek has known Marc Compton since the day he was born. She vows to protect the ugly little baby and be his friend forever. And she kept that vow. At least until she broke his heart. They avoid each other now. When Jamie’s father sends her to the neighbor’s house for a pan, she doesn’t expect Marc. She doesn’t expect a snowstorm or that he’d take care of her. She doesn’t expect they’d talk about their lives, dreams and misses.
A fortuitous snowstorm for the win.

Sentimental and swooning in the end. The perfect romance novella for a lunch time read.
5*

Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey
Part of the Under the Mistletoe series.
Contemporary romance novella. Steamy.
Evie Crowe is a single mother starting over in a small town. She’s found a job at the local thrift store where she can also design and sew clothes. Luke Ward has gone into the thrift shop a couple times trying on jeans that don’t fit his large frame. Evie sees him a pair to fit and walks to his house with the baby to drop them off. Luke is impressed with her caring and generous nature. Evie wants to stay single, so after Luke makes his interest clear, she offers a friends with benefits scenario.

Very steamy with little prelude. Maybe because of the limited page count. It didn’t resonate with me. The Daddy vibe is not a favorite but I liked the epilogue years later proving their relationship is happy and continuing.
3*

All by My Elf by Olivia Dade
Part of the Under the Mistletoe series.
Contemporary holiday romance novella.
Nina and Willam have agreed to promote and drive the university rehabbed Mincemeat (aka wiener) mobile for Mrs Claus Mincemeat Treats. Nina thinks William is there for her friend but he actually has a crush on Nina. When they get stuck in sudden traffic overnight because of a snowstorm, it’s the perfect time to clear up the misunderstandings and see if they can have a future together.

Lots of funny puns and two high level nerds finding romance.
3.5*

Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur
Part of the Under the Mistletoe series.
Contemporary holiday romance novella. HFN
Everleigh Dangerfield is staying her her grandmother’s house for the Christmas holiday. Trying to make cookies ends up a disaster as flames bring the Fire Department. Griffin Brantley is smitten and makes his interest clear but Everleigh doesn’t do casual. A ladder slip trying to put up holiday lights brings Griffin back to the house. More cookies and another fire and rescue takes both Griffin and Everleigh into the inevitable merriest of times.

Gotta love those fit firemen. Flirty, and fun until it gets steamy and happy.
4*

Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria
Part of the Under the Mistletoe series.
Contemporary holiday diverse romance novella.
Evie Cruz moved into a new apartment three months ago and while she’s met and liked the other building tenants, she’s also had a work deadline drawing and writing a comic book and hasn’t had any time to get to know anyone very well. Except maybe Theo Winters who lives above her and helped drag up her Christmas tree and then changed a lightbulb for her recently. The building Christmas party is after her completed story and Evie is ready to party. She has eyes only for Theo at the party where they both decide to continue the celebrations privately. Wink wink.

Enjoyable story from flirty to sexy and steamy.
4*

My two favorites were “cruel winter with you” and “only santas in the building”. But overall, I did enjoy this novella collection, it was a good winter time read!

This was such a cute compilation from all of your favorite romance authors, perfect for the holiday season!

I highly enjoyed the Ali Hazelwood (no surprise) and the Alexandria Bellefleur stories the most. They were cute and fleshed out just enough for a novella. The Tessa Bailey story was a miss for me big time with the dialogue but the Olivia Dade and Alexis Daria stories were decent. I would definitely read another compilation like this again. Maybe a Halloween one! Just a suggestion!

Thank you so much to Amazon Original Stories for gifting me this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A fun collection of holiday-themed novellas. Highly suggest if you are in the mood for a romance but don't want to commit to reading a full book. Each story is quirky and different while endearing you to the characters.

This collection of holiday novellas were an absolute treat to read and I definitely recommend them for anyone looking to get into the cozy, holiday spirit!

These are all very different and varying degrees of enjoyable.

- I enjoyed the Ali Hazelwood, she does a great job getting you connected to characters during a very short story. Loved the friend’s brother, growing up together vibes.
- I didn’t love Merry Ever After because there wasn’t much plot or character development. I wished I got to know more about the characters.
- The other 3 were cute and easy reads.

Thank you for this ARC!

The book was full of greats stories, I loved some more than the others but in general it was so good and funny and easy to read in Christmas

As a whole, this collection of holiday novellas was pretty solid - I would definitely recommend if you're looking for short, light hearted holiday reads. The highlight for me was the Ali Hazelwood contribution (everything you can expected from an Ali Hazelwood story - if it works for you, it works for you!), the Alexandria Bellefleur and Alexis Daria contributions were solid. The Tessa Bailey and Olivia Dade contributions were fine (which kills me, because I love both of them).