I was curious to read this collection but in the end I only adored Ali's novella. The other ones weren't my cup of tea.

This was a quick, fun read. I've never read anything from Ali Hazelwood, but I've wanted to. This book has convinced me to read more from her!

3.5 stars. I didn't get the audio version of this but an eBook version. I enjoyed most of the stories. Very festive and spicy. Didn't finish All By My Elf by Dade--I wasn't at all interested in the characters. Thank you to NetGalley for an digital copy.

What an absolute delight to read all of these fun holiday romances! I enjoyed them all so much! Thanks to Amazon for the ARC. These will be an absolute delight for anybody looking for a short holiday read!

I am loving this holiday novellas that have been coming out! The collections are fun, quick, spicy and swoony. I love getting to sample different authors and discovering authors that are new to me. I loved this holiday collection of short stories and I hope these are continued!

This set of Christmas short stories were so cute. Everyone of these authors drew me in. I knew I had to read it when I saw them. Each story tells the tale of a sweet and spicy Christmas romance. I would read more about each story. I loved them. These were exactly what I wanted for this holiday season. I highly recommend this one. Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Net Galley and publishers for letting me read an arc of this book in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed these short stories, especially since they're by some of my favorite romance authors. They each have a known writing pattern and each were festive and perfect for Christmas. I just really wish they weren't so short. I need more!

Cruel Winter with You: I liked how sweet this one was. Love story about best friend's little brother. They grew up together, he always loved her, they had a falling out of miscommunication, and came back together after being snowed in for Christmas. It was relatable cause they didn't feel worthy enough for each other, she doesn't deserve him. She's always a mess and fears he'll leave after awhile (I have that same fear) He's just reassuring. Sweet and to the point.

Merry Ever After: Wow this one got spicy real quick, which I wouldn't expect anything less from a Tessa Bailey book. I don't read alot of sexy farmer books but this one was fun and sweet. He wants her but doesn't push, and just waits until she's ready which is heartwarming. She's a package deal with her baby but he's all in.

All by My Elf: Not my favorite of her writing but it was still festive and fun. I do love a professor romance and this one was sweet and to the point. I know these are really short stories but I feel like this one went too fast. I wanted more, like if they get better jobs. I loved that they finally communicated their feeling though. Who doesn't like the being snowed in cliche?

Merriment and Mayhem: This one made me laugh at the chaos in the first couple chapters. She almost burns down the kitchen making cookies, and she fell off her roof to dangle on the gutters trying to hang christmas lights. She's a hot mess and all he says is nope, you're just hot. He's cocky but sweet and the whole story just made me smile non stop. Sexy firefighters for the win.

Only Santas in the Building: This was my favorite of the short stories and by someone I haven't read yet, so now I want to read more of her books. I just love the trope of he just wants to take care of her fully no matter how small that it. They both have crushes but didn't know, until the neighbors set them up at a christmas party which is great. I loved how he made her ornaments to put on her tree. He's just so sweet I almost cried reading this one.

Overall I really enjoyed these stories.

was excited to read this collection of novellas by some of my favorite romance authors. I enjoyed all of t he stories for different reasons. The are super quick and delightful reads. Here are my reviews in order of how much I enjoyed them, starting with my favorite.

Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood: Loved how these two were dancing around each other for years and it took a storm to trap them and make them be honest with one another. Hazelwood has a quick way of establishing place and tone.


Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria: I had never read Daria before, but loved Evie Cruz, graphic book artist. While I don’t think a building like this exists affordably In NY, it is a nice fantasy. I appreciated that the main characters could’ve been written as nerdy archetypes, but they were given depth in such a short story.


The next 3 are all tied. They were good, but I think they should be fuller length books, instead of these mini novellas.

All By My Elf by Olivia Dade: I love Olivia Dade and her bringing plus size heroines to the romance table! This story really needed more depth- and I say that because I want to read this story! I want to know more about Nina and William and what happened up to this point. I like that the MCs were older, but for the sake of length they acted a bit less mature and more scared than I think they would have in a longer form book. I will keep reading Dade time and again.

Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey: Ok, this one had a lot of potential but felt rushed. I love a small-town lumberjack romance. I really liked Evie’s character and story. But the way this book was paced it made little sense and made Luke seem more unhealthy than he was. Also, the first love scene came out of exactly nowhere. I would be interested in reading this longer format. If you liked this, Marianna Zappata has a great slow burn small town romance, All Rhodes Lead Here, that is similar to this one but way better development (granted its 500 pages long). Have her write a story for your next collection!

Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur: I kept hearing about this author but hadn’t yet taken Truly, Madly, Deeply off my TBR (that mistake was rectified shortly after I read this story- and holy spice! Wow! But read this excellent book with two queer/bisexual main characters.) The set up to this is brilliant with an accident prone girl constantly needing the help of a fireman. He falls first. She’s closed off dealing with grief. Very fun book but the ending was a really fast sharp turn. I could’ve used another ten pages.

I could scream I’m so excited all of these authors are together in one place! This is a must grab especially for the season, you just have to. Take my word for it.

I was so excited about this collection because it features some of my favorite romance authors and I generally know what to expect from each of their styles. Overall, some of the stories landed better with me than others. I LOVED Ali's story - the way that it was crafted and the flashbacks to establish the relationship and the connection with the two MCs. Tessa and Olivia's stories were a little bit on the cringy side for me for a number of different reasons - I think they both delivered what they could in 55-60 pages, but the story ideas were creative and didn't feel fully executed. Alexandria and Alexis both delivered fun and cute stories that I ended up enjoying.

I love these collections that Amazon puts together - they always pull in heavy hitter authors who bring creative storylines and their unique styles. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

Thank you Netgalley for an early copy of this series.

Meh. Read the first two and they were just okay. Couldn’t find it in myself to complete the series.

I wanted to like these, but I really did not enjoy them. The first one (Ali Hazelwood) was the best of the group. I appreciated how there was a back story and plot, giving the novella depth. The FMC brought it down in ranking for me because she was so annoying. MC was perfect - communicative, validating, persistent and a vegetarian!

The next two.. I wish I had nicer things to say. Straight smut and just not an enjoyable or believable story for me.

Fourth one had a good plot, love a firefighter hero king.

Last one I was just ready to get through them all at this point.

4⭐️- Cruel Winter With You
A short and sweet holiday novella! This has forced proximity, best-friends brother, and childhood friends to lovers! Honestly how Ali Hazelwood managed to fit all that

This was very cute, and honestly I wish it was a full length story. I would read 300+ pages of Jamie and Marc.

The flashback scenes worked well here- giving us just enough of a glimpse into Jamie and Marc's past so we understand the context, while also not completely taking over

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5⭐️ - Merry Ever After
This is everything you would expect from Tessa Bailey, condensed into a novella-length story. It's fast, fun and packs the heat. He's big, she's quirky, and they have instalove times 100

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3⭐️ - All By My Elf
A short christmas novella, we have our main characters driving across the country in a Wheenie-On-Wheels. This one didn't quite hit it out of the part for me, but it was delightfully weird

I didn't feel the chemistry between Nina and William, the interactions all felt too clinical to me. As is common with novella's for me, we didn't get enough of a back story- which isn't really the story's fault, as there's only so much you can do with 70 pages.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4⭐️ - Merriment and Mayhem
An extremely cute holiday novella, definitely left me wanting more! This story pulled me in right away, and Everleigh and Griffin had some fire (lol) between them

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5⭐️ - Only Santas In The Building
Last but not least, we have the final in the Under the Mistletoe novella collection! Sadly we did not go out with a bang. This one just didn't hit for me- I didn't really feel any sort of pull between Evie and Theo, and the plot about him leaving ornaments on her doorknob just didn't land as 'cute' like I think it was supposed to

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

**** I will edit the review at the finish of each of the novellas.

Cruel Winter With You - Ali Hazlewood
3 ⭐️ - this was cute, but it wasn’t anything special for me 🤷🏼‍♀️

I think you can create such a sweet, lovable world and characters in a short story, but this felt like it kind of missed the mark when it comes to that.

In my opinion, the MMC needed a whole book to develop because i feel like he kinda felt a bit creepy. 🙈

overall, it wasn’t bad - if you’re an Ali fan like I am, i would recommend reading. I just think it needed more pages and more care.

Merry Ever After - Tessa Bailey
4 ⭐️
TESSA IM BEGGING, PLEASE WRITE MORE IN FIRST PERSON. 👏🏼 👏🏼

If you’re wanting a quick, hot 🥵, smutty, no plot, good time / this is for you.

I enjoyed the characters, but there was 90% smut and 10% plot potential and it’s a novella - so you don’t get a lot of depth or growth.

BUT i had fun, if you wanna have fun read it.

Luke’s narrator 🥵

- Cruel Winter With You by Ali Hazelwood:
I feel like Ali’s stories work more in full novels instead of novellas because this is the second novella I’ve read from her and it was way too deep and less fun that what a standalone novella should be.

- Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey:
LOVE that we have an oversize MMC since we usually don’t see that in romance. Got to the point and had enough spice to make it fun. Though i could go without the cringy daddy and pussy talk.

Last year I really loved the holiday short stories collection, so I was really excited for this one! Unfortunately, half of the stories were flops this year 😬. A lot of really cringey details, and unrealistic situations. Half were 2 stars, a few were 4, so going down the middle and eating the whole thing 3 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon short stories for my ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

This collection was unfortunately a bit of a mixed bag for me. I really enjoyed the stories from Ali Hazelwood and Tessa Bailey, but although I usually enjoy the other authors, I ended up DNFing the other stories in this collection because they just weren't working for me. I'd give the collection 3 stars overall.

I had high hopes for this collection, especially since some of my favorite authors (Ali Hazelwood and Tessa Bailey) were included. Unfortunately, as a whole, these short stories left me feeling a little disappointed. My favorite part of this collection was the discovery of a few new authors in the romance genre. My two favorite stories (Merriment and Mayhem and Only Santas in the Building) were actually by new-to-me authors, so I will definitely be checking out their previous books. Overall, the heavy reliance on spice in all of these books just did not work for me in the short story format.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This is such a wonderful collection from some truly talented authors, and it’s absolutely perfect for getting into the holiday spirit. Each story brought its own charm and festive magic, making it a joy to read. It’s the kind of book that feels like curling up with a cozy blanket and a warm drink—it’s sure to leave you feeling ready for the holiday season!

This is an aggregated rating.

There were two gorgeous short stories in this compilation, which I would rate as 4⭐ I would highly recommend the Ali Hazelwood and Alexandria Bellefluer stories. These two stories were full of wonderful characters with great development and the romance aspects were well written and believable. It can be really hard to get connected to characters in a short story, but these two stories did it really well.

The other three stories were just okay.

Big thanks to NetGalley, Amazon short stories and all five authors for a copy of this book. This is my honest review.