This was a really nice collection of short stories full of christmas atmosphere.
My most anticipated story was from Ali Hazelwood, because I am big fan of her. In her story, there was past mixed with the present. Maybe this was the key to this well written story. It had depth. It had cozy winter vibes. I imagined the snow falling outside my window. Overall great one.
I heard of Tessa Bailey, but wasn't familiar with her work. This one felt a bit dissapointing.
It went from zero to one hundred way too fast. I didn't like the characters, either. They felt dull and not interesting. And there is way too many lines about how big he is. The writing was okay.
I didn't know other authors. I am glad I discovered their work.
Olivia Dade had a nice, but not the best story. I skimmed through some pages, because there was too much inner monologue. The story felt too long. It had a christmas atmosphere and one of my favourite tropes- professors in love. But, it needed a bit more action, or maybe I don't know, something more.
Alexandria Bellefleur really surprised me in a good way. Baking cookies, super hot firefighter, a bit clumsy girl, great fire fighter colleagues. Perfect things for christmas time love story.
Alexis Daria delivered a really cute story with christmas atmosphere. Fullfilled my need for something comforting and romantic. It went from zero to hundred at one place, which is not my favourite. I think if she removed few spicy parts and put more back story instead, I would have enjoyed it more.
Overall, I am really happy I got to read this collection. I discovered new authors, enjoyed 5 original and well written stories. It brought a cozy atmosphere into my heart and apartment.
My rating would be 3,5 stars for a whole collection. Different stories had different ratings.

Cruel Winter With You
This might have been a short read but it hit every spot for me. The best friend's brother wasn't ick, the movement to more was a slow burn and the the flashbacks to their denial years (at least Jamie's denial years) gave authentic feels. Marc's longing and patience made him a winning hero.
I got some stomach flutters with this one and that is a rare thing for me. I can see myself reeling out this novella for a yearly Christmas read so it wins the collection. No surprise, because I am a Hazelwood fan.

Merry Ever After
I'm not normally a huge fan of this author but this story had sweetness, a solid plot and an opposites pairing. Luke was easy to like, this mammoth farmer, awkward and shy initally. Evie was sweet but also wary as a struggling single mom. The shyness and the sweet looked very different when things got intimate. I loved the present, the jeans and the four grilled cheese sandwiches; love was shown not told and it made me feel this instalust could believably be more.
A cute epilogue sealed the deal.

All By My Elf
This one had something of a confusing start. We needed some tell before the show to understand what the heck this vehicle business was. It took a fair few pages to work out a bunch of academics in a hot dog advertising truck…could this be any more bizarre. Suffice it to say, it didn't start well but it did improve.
Nina was a confident woman and William was an introvert, along for the ride of being next to Nina. The scenes where they connected honestly were good but it was soon over as was the story.

Merriment and Mayhem
This story had all the right ingredients, a fireman, a cute heroine brought together by serendipity or fate. However, I just didn't get the feels with these two. The chemistry was on page but didn't connect with my brain or heart. The ending felt rather rushed and didn't seem authentic with some of the things the heroine had been saying previously.

Only Santas in the Building
The final book in this collection brought the swoony feels. I've not read Alexis Daria previously, but I'll definitely go back and try her books now. The FMC in this book was a newish resident of this NY apartment building and her upstairs neighbour was someone she'd craved from afar for months. They'd had a few interactions and there was a clear sizzle. The sizzle came to ahead over a party and some secret gifts.
There was a natural chemistry with these two that built into a good on-page intimacy. I got the feels from their connection and it ended this collection so well.

All by my Elf: This one...just missed the mark for me. It was cute, but something was just off. I think it might have been the mincemobile concept? (3 stars)

Merry Ever After: Ummm…this book was just a whole lot of awkward romance scenes. The wording was weird the plot was really fast. I get it for a novella but…a single mother with a newborn who is adamant she’s not going to date one minute doesn’t change her mind in the next minute. I’ve put off Tessa Bailey for a while and I think I’ll keep putting her off. (2 stars)

Cruel Winter with You: This was beyond adorable. I’d read a whole 800 page book on this storyline and characters. Such a cute friends to lovers outcome with a great golden retriever leading man. (5 stars)

Merriment and Mayhem: This was adorable. I loved the characters and the found family surrounding them. I would have read this as a whole novel! (4 stars)

Only Santas in the Building: I feel like this one just wasn't built to be a novella. It was cute but it needed more behind the story for me to really buy into the romance. (3 stars)

Overall a 3.5 star review! Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of these reads!

Cruel Winter with You-Marc and Jamie have known each other their whole lives. Marc has been interested in Jamie for years, but she’s been slower to realize her own feelings. After he lays out his heart for her and she reacts poorly, they end up snowed in together and forced to finally reconcile their feelings to decide if they’ll finally follow their hearts.

Ali Hazelwood can truly write anything, and I will eat it up every time. She manages to give you a whole backstory and developed dynamic between Marc and Jamie in such a short amount of pages. I loved getting that build up to the present day interactions. I love them so much, and I adore their relationship. I want more from them IMMEDIATELY!! Childhood friends to lovers with a sprinkle of a falling out?? GIVE ME MORE!


Merry Ever After- Evie is a single mother, and she’s new to town. Luke is the hunky farmer who comes to the thrift store where Evie works to find jeans that fit his massive tree trunks thighs. They end up having some interactions that build into a wonderful little family that makes my heart warm.

Tessa Bailey has such a distinct way of writing, so much so that I can easily her writing style pretty quickly. Merry Ever After is exactly what I’ve come to expect from her books, and I eat it up every time. There’s just something about the way she writes her MMCs that makes me blush and giggle. I adore this little story and the family that’s built inside it.


All By My Elf- William and Nina are coworkers in multiple areas, and Nina thinks William likes her friend. In reality, Nina’s friend is helping him figure out how to tell Nina he has a thing for her. They share a heated game of Never Have I Ever and end up sharing more than just the blanket they’re using to keep warm. This novella is sweet and warm and I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!

Olivia Dade is my go to for plus size romance, and this novella is no different. I only like miscommunication when it ends in steamy sex in the back of a wiener mobile.


Merriment and Mayhem- Everleigh moved into her grandma’s house to get it ready to sell after she passed away. Through a series of mishaps, Everleigh finds herself constantly being rescued by Griffin Brantley, a local fireman who believes in fate. We watch them decide whether or not they want to start anything between them, while also knowing that Everleigh is moving once her grandmother’s house is ready to be sold.

I love the range in these novellas! I love that some have characters who have known each other forever, and some have characters meeting for the first time. I love how Griffin pushed for what he wanted and how he was wiling to step back to respect Everleigh’s boundaries. I love that Everleigh is determined to do things herself and make her own choices for her own heart and well being. I love the sweet beginnings of a new relationship, and this novella delivers a great one.


Only Santas in the Building- Evie recently moved into her new apartment building, so she doesn’t have time to decorate for the holidays especially because she’s on a work deadline. When mysterious Christmas ornaments start appearing tied to her doorknob, she makes a plan to figure out which of her neighbors is making and leaving them for her to find. She also has a secret crush on her upstairs neighbor Theo, who seems to only ever see Evie at her worst. They’re all invited to a Santa themed Christmas party, and the other neighbors have a plan they want to set in motion.

I loved this novella so much! I love a tattooed man who loves to clean and make handmade ornaments for the woman he has a crush on because she doesn’t have time to decorate. It’s a short amount of time to spend with the characters, but I still feel their connection. You can feel their tension and chemistry and care for each other. I haven’t read anything else by Alexis Daria, but that is something I will be remedying so soon.

Cruel Winter with You: This was a cute romance between Jamie and her best friends brother, Marc. I think the flashback chapter felt a little bit disjointed but those are frequent in novellas where the reader doesn't get a ton of time with our characters. Also the miscommunication?! There is no way I would accept that kind of conclusion in somewhere other than a novella by a favorite author.

Merry Ever After: Steamy and sexy! The baby is definitely not a major character and mostly just creates a bit of extra tension between our two characters Evie and Luke. Also, Luke was NEVER going to find jeans that would fit him in a small town thrift store!! I did really enjoy the dual POV which wasn't something that was present in the other novellas in this collection.

All By My Elf: This was sexy and brought up a lot of great talking points which aren't as frequent in such short stories. I think some of these societal talking points were very "telling" and direct which made it slightly annoying but nothing too crazy. Dade focused a lot on the world of upper academia for adjunct professors, the teaching world as a whole, and sexism. These are of course great things to talk about but focusing so hard on them in such a short span, means you aren't spending as much time with the actual characters/plot

Merriment and Mayhem: The hot firefighter Griffin is falling hard for Everleigh, a woman who keeps having some dangerous accidents in her late grandmother's home. Everleigh is initially put off from flirting with Griffin because she doesn't do casual and she plans on returning back to her own life a few hours away after she wraps things up with her late grandmother's estate. Griffin is set on Everleigh though and sets his sights on convincing her to give him a chance.

Only Santa's in the Building: This was unfortunately my least favorite. There might have been some references to "Only Murders in the Building" that I didn't get? There just didn't seem to be much going on plot wise and I felt like we didn't learn much about anyone at all except for the main character being a great comic illustrator and grieving a family member.

All by My ElF:
The wonders of teaching folks about Christmas traditions, mixed with the horrors of driving around in a repurposed Weenie Mobile! College professors Nina and William clearly have the hots for each other and neither wants to say anything until they get snowed in the truck on a highway overnight, and all bets are off...

Merry Ever After:
Oh this is CLASSIC Tessa Bailey, male archetype: big broody blue collar man who wants his woman. In this case, giant farmer Luke pining after single mother and shopkeeper Evie! A cute simple lil story full of very thoughtful and specific Christmas gifts, a baby boy named Sonny (lol), and a strong lady who deserves the love of a man who will worship at her feet. Not as christmassy, but very sweet and spicy!

Cruel Winter with You:
Jamie’s on a mission for a copper pan, and a nice 3 mile walk through the snow brings her to her childhood best friend’s house- and the best friend’s younger brother with whom she shares a complicated (and very sweet) past! This was sweet and cozy, and I had a fun time with this- although I do think Ali may have been confused about the mental developments of toddlers (if true, Jamie was the most developed 2.5 year old in the world!)

Merriment and Mayhem:
4.5 stars because honestly, even though this was only 58 pages, it was a perfect story ARC! Everleigh Dangerfield (yes, she needs to be whole-named because what a name!!) is trouble, I mean Trouble. She can't do any of her holiday activities without the firefighters being called to rescue her, and one firefighter in particular is always there rescuing her! I loved the little vignettes of Everleigh and Griffin's misadventures, and would love to see this as a whole story! (or at least a part 2)

Only Santas in the Building:
A comic book illustrator in a new apartment has a secret (not so secret) santa leaving her ornaments everyday while she's on deadline- and a cutie in her building she's got a major crush on! This felt like it was the most holiday-y of the collection, and it was so easy to connect to Evie as our main gal!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for a chance to read these a few weeks early in exchange for an honest review!

This was a fun, spicy, fuzzy holiday feeling collection. I really loved 3/5 of the books and mostly enjoyed 2 of them. I individually reviewed and rated the novellas on Goodreads but have an average rating for the collection of about a 3.75 between the five novellas. The holidays are so crazy busy that sometimes it's hard to fit in full length books but you still want something enjoyable and fun to read and these novellas have been that! These are perfect for that season when you just want a little something fun to read but don't have much time to commit.

The highs for me were definitely Cruel Winter with You, Merriment and Mayhem, and Only Santas in the Building. But I think there's a novella for everyone in here! Thank you so much to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this collection early.

I really liked this collection of short stories - they were cute, original and spicy.

1 - Cruel Winter with You - Ali Hazelwood - This was such a cute story - a bit cliché and a little too much back story for the amount of pages (in my personal opinion) but very, very cute. I absolutely love the characters.

2 - Merry Ever After - Tessa Bailey - This wasn’t for me. The wording makes the MMC sound like a freakishly tall giant which completely threw me off. Everything seemed to move too fast and I didn’t love the baby in the mix. And I’m a bit confused about the siblings and their living arrangements: Is Luke the oldest of four, the oldest of five or does he have five siblings?

3 - All By My Elf - Olivia Dade - This was actually so cute! Short and sweet and spicy - and very limited clichés. I’d definitely wait out a winter storm in a wiener mobile as well if I could have William by my side.

4 - Merriment and Mayhem - Alexandria Bellefleur - The MCs are adorable and the story was very cute and very spicy. The ending was a little abrupt and there were a few too many accidents, but they have to meet somehow - it is a short story after all. Who wouldn’t want to be saved by a handsome firefighter?!

5 - Only Santas in the Building - Alexis Daria - This was my favourite of the short stories. I loved the neighbours to lovers trope and that the story was so unique and sweet. Both the MCs sound awesome - I think I fell in love with Theo as soon as his vampire teeth and tattoos were mentioned, and Evie seems equally hot as a quirky animator.

This collection was exactly what I needed to get in the holiday spirit. From the steamy (yet classic) best friend's brother story from Ali Hazelwood to all the swoon involved in two snowed in professors playing a little game, I loved EVERYTHING about these stories. I can't wait to read them again as soon as the holiday season hits because they bring all the heat we need.

I enjoyed Amazon's similar collection of short stories that came out around Valentines Day and was pleased to see this holiday collection. That said, I thought the authors selected for the previous one were a better roundup and also that it's extremely difficult to write a good short story -- these felt a little rushed and therefore fell flat to me. Cute way for a quick read but I think all write better novel-length books.

Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood

After all, Jamie is just a girl. Don’t forget that! ;) Traveling through flashes of their moments, Jamie’s first memory of Marc, had my choking from laughing so hard but also cute & memorable to say the least. WHY AM I CRYING TWO SECONDS LATER FROM HIS HOARD. Crossing back and forth between the timelines and watching every near miss for their relationship was gut wrenching, thanks for the chokehold.

Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey

Um did I insta fall in love with Evie? Yes. Do I regret it? No, not at all, From the moment her thoughts hit the page, I was a goner… and clearly Luke was too. A single mom who moves to a small town, working at the thrift store she lives above, encounters Luke. A man quite literally too big for “average” clothes. I would love to find out what it means to be given it good and proper. We love a man who says what he wants and means it! No games, just the straight and forward THANK YOU


All By My Elf by Olive Dade

ALLLL BY MY ELLLLLLLF. okay this pun filled road trip story is full of miscommunication so buckle up. Have you ever observed someone so much, you know them better than they know themselves? Then this is for you. A little never have I ever action from in the back of the converted wiener van.

Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur

Baking gingerbread cookies is hard, just ask Everleigh. Within 48 hours she’s already had the fire department called on her. Nothing in Everleigh’s plan goes to plan… trouble is always just around the corner. Good thing the firefighters are attractive because they’re being called over too often. Griffin on the other hand sees her trouble from a mile away and goes barreling head first into it. HOT to say the least.

Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria

Ivelisse “Evie” Cruz is a grieving comic book illustrator navigating how to handle her first Christmas since the loss of her grandmother. I love how meta this novella is, Evie talks directly to you while the story plays out. She’s hilarious and her inner thoughts are spicyyyyyy. This one made me cry… that is all.

Pub Date November 12 2024

ARC provided by Amazon Original Publisher and NetGalley. Thank you.

review posted to NetGalley & Goodreads

I knew when I requested this series that I was in for a treat, and I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed. As always, my only complaint is that these stories are not longer! Regardless, it's always impressive to me when an author can fit an entire story in less than 100 pages, especially when the story includes more explicit scenes. So glad I requested this!

Loved this anthology so much! It was perfect to get me into the Christmas spirit! Loved all the short stories so much :)

This collection of spicy holiday romances are short and sweet, yet completely satisfying by some of the genre's best and brightest. Each story delivers banter, compelling language and varying levels of steamy moments. Each focuses on a different romance trope with the only similarity being it's set in December in the lead-up to the holiday season. All of these stories are cis romances, and the lack of diversity is not lost on me. That being said, it's easy to polish this off in a few hours while curled up in front of the fireplace this winter. It's fun and definitely spicy.

I really enjoyed these books. The Ali Hazelwood was my favorite, but they all were quick reads and enjoyable. A few of them I really wish were full length books, I liked the characters SO MUCH.

Common Themes: Pining, he falls first, grand gestures, "fuck it", spice

All My Elf by Olivia Dade - 4 stars
I've been wanting to read Olivia Dade and this was my first chance. I loved it. There was so much humor in this short story. Nina was such a great character; strong, confident, smart. William was sweet. I don't typically love the shy nice guy character, but he made up for it during sex.

Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey - 1 star
I'm happy I didn't start with this because it was awful and likely would have influenced my feelings for the rest of the series. While all these stories have to pack in a lot in few pages, the other stories managed to build characters that were not only attracted to their opposite, but appreciated more of who they are (mess and all). This one, Luke instantly wanted to fuck her without knowing a thing about her and it seemed really shallow. Even as he got to know her, he had already made his decision he was in love with her just because she was hot. It was just so poorly written

Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood - 4.5 stars
For such a short story, there was so much history in this one. Out of all the stories, this one provided the most insight and layers into the characters and their motives. I loved the atmospheric feel of this one and I genuinely bought the love story. This one was great.

Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur - 4.5 stars
This was my favorite of all the stories. The meet cute was so funny and adorable and in a weird way, relatable. No, I've never needed to be rescued by a hot firefighter multiple times in a week, but I get trying to do stuff, and doing it badly. Griffin was my favorite MMC in this universe and man did he seem hot. The spice in this one was my favorite too (hand necklace YES). Overall these two were believable and I wanted more of this story.

Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria - 4 stars
This was a really solid story that didn't feel too heavy on cliches or overused tropes. The MMC was equal parts swoony hot and sweet. Evie was a creative genius and her personal backstory really helped explain a lot about her character. I liked the side characters in this story and how they worked together to get these two together. Everything about this one was just so cute.

Cruel Winter with You: This was an adorable novella from Ali Hazelwood and reminds me of why I first fell in love with her writing (before she started writing the same book over and over). Forced proximity, second chance, childhood friends to lovers -- this one really packed a lot of heart and heat into a short story. It was my favorite of the collection.

All by my Elf: The only novella in this collection to buck the "tiny woman, giant man with huge penis" trope. I enjoyed this one but thought there was too much description of the weird food truck-ish arrangement, and not enough setting up the fact that this is a workplace romance between two adjunct professors who take a random holiday job to supplement their income.

Merry Ever After: Classic Tessa Bailey. Tiny woman, giant man. He falls first and hardest. Lots of pining. Single mom + farmer. The epilogue made this one feel a little more substantive than the others.

Merriment and Mayhem: This is one of the shorter novellas in the collection and it felt that way with not a lot of build up. Bellefleur does do a great job writing chaotic heroines and I do always love a firefighter hero.

Only Santas in the Building: Probably my second favorite novella in the collection. The two MCs live in the same apartment building and harbor secret crushes on each other. He makes her adorable Christmas tree ornaments after learning that hers are stuck in storage. They find themselves under the mistletoe at the building's holiday party and things escalate from there.

Under the Mistletoe is a collection of 5 holiday novellas ❄️ Here are my mini reviews for them all:

Cruel Winter With You by Ali Hazelwood
Rating: 5 ⭐️
Are you kidding this was my favourite story in the collection and I wish we got a full length book 😭 Marc fell first and he fell so hard for Jamie (it’s a shame because I fell hard for Marc). He makes it to my top bf list with how utterly devoted he was to her 🥹 This was a super sweet story! ❤️
Tropes: best friend’s little brother, billionaire romance, childhood friends to lovers, he falls first and hard

Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey
Rating: 3.5 ⭐️
Luke has the hots for Evie, a single mum who recently moved to town. The book had me hooked when Luke was described as huge, six foot six inches of brute force, broad, filthy from farm work. Tessa say fkg less this man was YUMMY 🤤 🥵 This was fast paced and a steamy read!
Tropes: single mum, small town romance, he falls first

All By My Elf by Olivia Dade
Rating: 4 ⭐️
Nina has been pining and crushing on on William for months, but she thinks he’s into her best friend 😭 Everything changes when they get trapped together in the work van during a storm 🤭 This was a cute story and I always love a workplace romance!
Tropes: workplace romance, pining, snowed in, forced proximity

Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur
Rating: 4 ⭐️
Griffin is a hot firefighter hero who keeps saving Everleigh in different holiday mishaps. The flirting between them was adorable it was making ME blush 🤭 I enjoyed this story a lot and I loved their chemistry ❤️‍🔥
Tropes: firefighter mmc, damsel in distress situations, small town, he falls first

Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria
Rating: 3 ⭐️
Theo is sweet, helpful, and Evie’s upstairs neighbour. She’s been crushing on him ever since she moved into her apartment. This story was okay to me, I wasn’t feeling their romance but it’s a quick read with dirty Christmas puns.
Tropes: neighbours to lovers, close proximity

What a delightful collection. This is literally a dream line up, I'm such a huge fan of all of the authors. People are going to absolutely fall in love with Under the Mistletoe. Thrilled to have read an advanced copy!

Thank you so much to Amazon Publishing and NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange of am honest review!!!!

I only read three of these short stories so this review will only be about them. In a few days/ weeks I will come back and read the other two stories after finishing them.

Merry Ever After By Tessa Bailey 3.5 ⭐️

I actually really enjoyed this book even if some things bothered me. I loved the spice and the characters were great.

Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood 3.75⭐️

I don't normally rate novellas more than 3.5⭐️ because they are more often than not missing character development because there isn't enough room to write that, but I really enjoyed this one.

I read a lot of Ali Hazelwood's books and some were a disappointment and some were actually really good. I didn't expect much as it was a novella and barely 70 pages, but I actually really enjoyed it!!!
This would have been freaking amazing as a full novel. I don't really like friends to lovers anymore, but I really enjoyed how Ali wrote this trope.
Can't wait to read more from her!!!

Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur 4.5⭐️

This was sooo fucking good and I can't stop thinking about these characters!!!!
I loved absolutely everything about this book! I read maybe two of Bellefleur's books before and I have to say I really missed her writing!!!