𝑼𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒐𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

𝗖𝗿𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗔𝗹𝗶 𝗛𝗮𝘇𝗲𝗹𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱
𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮 𝗕𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘆
𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗕𝘆 𝗠𝘆 𝗘𝗹𝗳 𝗢𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗮 𝗗𝗮𝗱𝗲
𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶-𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘂𝗿
𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮

I was excited to read this along with @tandemcollectiveglobal group! I was looking forward to these short stories. They all ended up being good, some better than others. I gave Ali Hazelwood and Alexis Daria’s stories 4 ⭐️ and the rest 3⭐️

This was a fun Christmas collection and if you’re looking for some quick spicy holiday reads this is for you.

Overall I would say that these are the perfect little stories to kick off the winter holiday season. They are each quick and easy to finish in a day! I loved the collection as a whole but Ali Hazelwood & Alexandria Bellefluer's piece really stood out to me! For most of them I was left wishing there was more to read, but not necessarily wanting more, in the sense that they were lacking.

A collection of Holiday Short Stories, each one bringing the spice, while also set to bring the joy and magic.

The first 3 books in this series, I truly question who thought these would be a good addition to the collection - none of them bought the Festive vibes and were all trying to pack too much into such short stories. Cruel Winter With You was possessive and toxic. Merry Ever After’s spice made me cringe and don’t get me started on All By My Elf and the Weiner Mobile 🙄

Thank god for Merriment and Mayhem - this bought all the festive vibes, while being sexy, sweet, fun and I couldn’t resist the fireman with his whit and acts of kindness.

Thank-you NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories and the above authors for this Digital Advanced Readers Copy, in exchange for an honest review.

➳ 3.5

This was a good collection!! Not surprisingly the Ali Hazelwood story was my fav one—never knew how much i needed best-friend's-brother childhood friends to lovers romance from Ali until I got it. The one I liked the least was the Tessa Bailey one - I just don't think her writing is for me, I always find her dialogue super cringy and this wasn't an exception.

➳ Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood - 4.5 ⭐️
➳ Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey - 2 ⭐️
➳ All by My Elf by Olivia Dade - 3 ⭐️
➳ Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur - 4 ⭐️
➳ Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria - 4 ⭐️

Eternal gratitude to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC

I had really high hopes for this collection after reading the Valentine’s collection last year. But overall, I was really disappointed. The stories were so short that they felt a little rushed and incomplete. The first two were really hard for me to get through. The second one was my least favorite. The last three were better, but in my opinion they were still lacking. The character development and overall storyline was more refined in the last three stories. They just didn’t feel realistic - only one or two provided depth and backstory to make the interaction relatable - the others felt like insta-love without much basis for the relationship. .

What more could you want in a book!?! Some of my favourite authors all in one place. I absolutely devoured this collection loving every single moment.

Average rating: 3.3⭐️

Individual ranking/ratings:

1. Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood - 4⭐️
Fantastic writing and story by Ali!! The only thing that kept me from rating it 5⭐️ was the “I’m not good enough for you” trope - not a favorite of mine.

2. All by My Elf by Olivia Dade - 4⭐️
Classic Olivia Dade! Loved the background story and the “awkwardness” of the characters. Very sweet novella.

3. Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur - 3⭐️
This one was funny but ultimately kind of forgettable.

4. Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daris - 3⭐️
I feel like I would’ve enjoyed this more if it was a fully fleshed out novel instead of a novella but still a fun read!

5. Merry Ever After - 2⭐️
Tessa what was this

These were mostly a miss for me. I really, really enjoed the Ali Hazelwood short story. The others were not for me.

Love all of these authors and their holiday novella’s did not disappoint! The perfect additions to easily meet my reading goal!

Absolutely loved this! Enjoyed the stories and collection from different authors. Excited more will be reaped next year. For sure will be keeping my eye for them!

I thought that these stories were the perfect holiday treat and I loved being able to read the different vibes. I think that these stories will be my go-to for the holiday seasoning and I'd love for Amazon to continue this series next year. Make this collection a holiday tradition.

Such a fun, festive collection for the holiday season! Overall, this was a great time, but some novellas stood out above the rest:

Cruel Winter With You 5/5 stars
I’ve read everything Ali Hazelwood has published so far and I’m still yet to be disappointed. I loved that even though this is a novella, thee was so much history between Jamie and Marc that their love story felt as developed as a full length novel.

Merry Ever After 4/5 stars
I actually loved the ridiculous plot and unrealistic romance. Sometimes you just need some silly fiction, especially during the silly season. Plus most adorable baby. Also, as an Australian, it was kind of nice to read a holiday romance that isn’t set in a winter wonderland.

All By My Elf 2/5 stars
I felt so little chemistry from Nina and William. It kind of just seemed like they were stuck together so *shrugs* why not?

Merriment and Mayhem 3/5 stars
A hot (literally) meetcute with the local fireman and a string of incidents continuing to bring them together, the sparks clearly flying between Everleigh and Griffin (even if their names leave a lot to be desired).

Only Santas in the Building 4/5 stars
Love the title! And loved how thoughtful the hero is with homemade Christmas ornaments and how incredibly giving he is (both out of the bedroom and in it). The perfect balance between sweet and steamy.

‘Under The Mistletoe’ was a great start to the month of December and the Holidays! Thank you @tandemcollectiveglobal @amazonpublishing for the opportunity to read these delightful, funny and cute stories!

Each of these short stories were unique in its own way but two of my favourite were ‘Cruel Winter With You’ and ‘Only Santas In The Building’. I haven’t read other novels by the authors who wrote those two stories but I would love to!

If you’re looking for something cozy and short to read or listen to over the holidays, these are great picks!

Christmas is just around the corner, any other Holiday books I should be reading?

As much as I wanted to love this collection of short stories by these powerhouse female authors I just couldn’t get past the third story. Ali Hazelwood’s was the best of what I read, but I had way too many eye-rolling moments in the second and third story that I just couldn’t give any more of my time to it.

I generally enjoyed the Under the Mistetoe collection, but particularly loved Ali Hazelwood and Alexandria Bellefleur's novellas. The stories are all quick, holiday spirited, and have a great variety of romance. There's angst, sexiness, misunderstandings, sweet love, and of course, a lot of christmas outfits.

I really love a good holiday compilation, especially Christmas ones. Life is so busy during the holiday season, its nice to take a break and read something fun and festive! My favorite was Cruel Winter with You (big surprise)!

Meh. Not my fave. Ali Hazelwood’s story was the best and Tessa’s was the worst. I loved the Valentine’s Day novellas from last year way more and I despise Valentine’s Day!

Thank you to NetGalley for a digital ARC of Under the Mistletoe Collection.

I was so excited to get this, only to be disappointed. I know that since they are short stories they are limited, but I was unimpressed. The only one I thought was decent was Merriment and Mayhem. I'll still read from a few of the authors, but not a collection like this again.

If Olivia Dade writes it, I'll read it. This novella has a divorced, late 30s FMC who is pining for her co-worker, a fellow professor and part-time employee of a Mincemobile. There's forced-proximity while they hunker down to keep warm in the mobile during a snowstorm, unrequited feelings and commentary on how professors make so little that they have to take part-time jobs in the first place. I loved it! And of course, it has Dade's signature fat FMC and open door steam. I hope this will be part of another series for her!


I also read Alexis Daria's story, and can always count on her to have Puerto Rican rep with her main characters. The FMC is under deadline as a graphic designer and keeps running into her upstairs neighbor and crush when she says she's not looking her best. With some help from the other residents, a Christmas party put her and her crush together and kissing! under the mistletoe. It's a novella so declared feelings come out fast, and I wanted just a little bit more time because they go from kissing to sleeping together, to saying they're falling for each other and it felt too quick, but that's just my preference.

I read both of these as my final books for 2024, and I'm so glad I had the option to finish my reading goal with two of my favorite authors.

The perfect holiday romance anthology from some of today's hottest writers!!

I'm a sucker for sweet, on-theme romance during the holiday season, and the Under The Mistletoe collection was the perfect antidote to the winter blues! Every single story was well-crafted, with the perfect amount of heat.

Ali Hazelwood's "Cruel Winter With You", a forced-proximity childhood-crush-turned-love story, had me fanning myself from the heat, while Alexis Daria's "Only Santas In The Building" had me yelling "can't you see what's right in front of you?!"

My absolute fav, though, was "Merriment and Mayhem" by Alexandria Bellefleur. This one had me cackling at the absolute mayhem that our poor FMC had to endure, while also swooning over the hot firefighter MMC.

Novellas and anthologies are such a fantastic way to get introduced to new authors, and this one didn't disappoint! Will absolutely be recommending it as part of holiday reading rec lists in the future.