This collection was not my favorite. I struggled with connecting with the characters. I know that they were short stories, but I felt like it was a lot of spice without a lot of substance. My favorite story was Alexandria Bellefleur's. I enjoy her writing, and I loved that she always has bi characters in her stories.

As a whole this was very mixed. A couple were so good (Ali Hazelwood’s, especially) and a couple were horrendously bad (Tessa Bailey…what happened). Cute for the holidays but wish they were all on the same level.

Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5

As the days grow shorter and the cold winter nights set in, there’s nothing quite like cozying up with a festive romance collection to get into the holiday spirit. Under the Mistletoe collection offers readers a fun mix of heartwarming stories, each with its own unique twist on pining, second chances, and holiday magic. Some stories leave a lasting impression, while others fall a bit flat, but overall, this anthology provides a satisfying blend of sweetness, spice, and seasonal charm.

**Cruel Winter with You** by Ali Hazelwood – ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This story hits all the right notes: snowed-in setting, unrequited love, and a dash of holiday warmth. Marc, a tech millionaire, has been harboring feelings for his older sister's best friend, Jamie, since childhood. When the two are forced to spend time together during a snowstorm, sparks fly. The chemistry between them is undeniable, and the emotional depth—especially as Jamie finally admits her own feelings—is genuinely touching. The banter is sharp, the romance is swoon-worthy, and there’s a perfect blend of heart and heat that makes this a standout.

**Merry Ever After** by Tessa Bailey – ⭐⭐⭐

Tessa Bailey’s writing can be a guilty pleasure, but *Merry Ever After* didn’t quite hit the mark for me. The small-town setting, cowboy hero, and single mom trope are things I usually enjoy, but something about this one felt off. While I appreciated the soft, caretaking nature of Luke, the hero, but overall he felt a bit offl. There was potential for a lovely, tender holiday romance, but the execution veered into a bit of cringe territory at times. Still, fans of Bailey’s work will likely find something to enjoy here.

**All by My Elf** by Olivia Dade – ⭐⭐⭐

If forced proximity, quirky holiday jobs, and pining are your thing, Olivia Dade’s *All by My Elf* might be right up your alley. The plot—a couple of adjunct professors navigating a wacky holiday side gig aboard a wienermobile turned mincemeat mobile—could be described as absurd, but in the best way possible. William, the soft-hearted hero, and Nina, the brilliant but emotionally guarded heroine, share an undeniable connection. While the premise is fun, I did feel like the story could have benefitted from a longer format to really develop the relationship and flesh out some of the more comical moments. Despite that, the sweet, slow-burn romance is worth the read.

**Merriment and Mayhem** by Alexandria Bellefleur – ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This one was a fun ride from start to finish. Everleigh’s efforts to honor her late grandmother’s holiday traditions by hosting one last Christmas celebration turn into a series of hilarious disasters. From a kitchen fire to being stuck on the roof, everything that could go wrong does—until Griffin, the sexy firefighter, swoops in to save the day. The chemistry between Everleigh and Griffin is palpable, and their flirty banter is a joy to read. This story had me laughing, swooning, and wishing it was just a few pages longer. It’s one of those feel-good stories that you’ll want to revisit every holiday season.

**Only Santas in the Building** by Alexis Daria – ⭐⭐⭐.5

While *Only Santas in the Building* isn’t as explosive as some of the other stories in the collection, it still packs an emotional punch. Comic book artist Evie and her upstairs neighbor, Theo, are both secretly harboring crushes on each other. The story delves into themes of grief and healing, with a healthy dose of holiday charm. Evie and Theo’s connection is sweet, but I didn’t feel the kind of electric chemistry I was hoping for. However, the gentle pace of their relationship and the way they both navigate their personal struggles made this a heartwarming read overall.

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Overall Thoughts:

This collection offers a little something for everyone. Whether you're in the mood for a snowed-in romance, a quirky holiday job, or a firefighter swooping in to save the day, these stories provide the right mix of humor, heart, and holiday magic. While not every story hit the mark for me, the gems in this collection—*Cruel Winter with You* and *Merriment and Mayhem* in particular—are worth the price of admission. Perfect for a cozy winter evening with a cup of cocoa in hand.

I loved the Ali Hazelwood and Tessa Bailey books, but I didn't care for the others. I especially loved the audio of the Ali Hazelwood book!

After enjoying Amazon's Valentine's Day collection, I was really looking forward to the holiday-themed short stories. Unfortunately, they were a let down. The only one I enjoyed was Ali Hazelwood’s Cruel Winter – which I’d give a solid 4-star rating to. Typically, I really like Tessa Bailey, but WTF was that? It was so odd and kinda gave me the ick.

Novellas and short stories are hard. They need to have a believable HFN in the space where most full length books have hardly passed the meet cute.

I prefer them when the couple already knows each other, such as friends/coworkers/neighbors. They can skip the getting to know you and get to the romance, so it feel like more than an extended hook up. I’m fine with a HFN, as the depth of a HEA in 100 pages is nearly impossible.

Three of these short stories were already friends, and I liked those better. The other two had the meet cute dash to relationship. Also, they are only tangentially related to Christmas. They take place at christmastime. Again, the authors can’t spend a lot of time on Christmas when they only have less than 100 pages for the romance.

This got 3.6 stars rounded up to 4

These stories were a mixed bag. Loved the first and the last one but the three in the middle were a little cringe. Cute concept though and love the length.

Book 1:

Yeah that was a good one 😂

Best friends little brother? Okie dokie!
Is he gone for her literally all his life? Yep!
It was adorable honestly.

Book 2:

I mean I love the storyline! Single mother of a 5 month old baby meets huge farmer who is a gentleman?! Heck yes! I wish we weren’t throwing around “daddy” and “yes sir” so much. But that’s kind of Tessa’s thing. I wanted more background and less fucking? Idk. Overall the story was too fast but the epilogue was cute!

Book 3:

This just didn’t work for me at all?! It felt like these two never had a single conversation but just stared at each other for a few months until forced proximity intervened and then they banged inside a wiener mobile?? Okay! Also girl, get some confidence! You’re smart as hell! Any man would be lucky to have you!

Book 4:

This was the most tame story! I would love a full blown story of this hot firefighter who keeps rescuing a woman staying at her deceased grandmas house on an island off the coast of Seattle. The backstory, flirtation, all perfect! They went from zero to 100 so quick I was taken back. And girl, raw dogging it with a complete stranger who you met a total of three times?! Yeah I get that he’s hot but BABES we need to raise our standards 😂😂

Book 5:

Okay so this man has been lusting after her for months and she didn’t get the memo while she lusts after him? Okay? We once again more from zero to 100 too quickly but at least Theo is wearing a condom in this one 😂 the punchy attempts at humor were eye rolling but the neighbors were cute trying to set them up. Also falling in love after banging for a week isn’t real? Okay bye.

Overall Average: 2.8 rounded to 3

Cruel Winter With You: 3.5 Stars

As a novella, I didn’t go in expecting a ton of development (there’s only so much depth you can put in a short amount of pages). Surprisingly, there was more depth than I expected. I loved the flashbacks to the past to understand why each character is the way he/she is and why they feel the way they feel. What I didn’t enjoy was how obsessed Marc was to the point it was borderline creepy. The drawer of pictures of her that he constantly kept with him?? It’s cute that he’s always had a crush on his older sister’s best friend but he was SO into her. Looking past his obsession, it was a cute, easy read. Not super Christmassy if you’re looking for that, more just wintery with the crazy snowstorm. Personally, I wish this novella was a little bit longer because of how fast the pace was but for a novella, it was done well. I think I would have rated it higher if there were more pages to really develop the plot and the characters.

Merry Ever After: 1.5 Stars

I love Tessa Bailey. To me, she’s the queen of spice because of how she writes and develops characters while adding spice into her full-length novels. The other books I’ve read by her have been excellent…I think novellas just aren’t her thing. The idea for a plot was there but wasn’t flushed out at all. Had this been longer, Bailey could have really developed our MCs more and given more backstory to them. The story as a whole was so so so fast-paced and unrealistic, and the dialogue had me gagging 🫣 (I cannot with calling a guy ‘daddy’). If you just want holiday smut, read this. If you want a holiday novella, skip it.


All to My Elf: 2 Stars

This story confused me - for the first 10-15% give or take, I had no idea what was going on. After finally figuring out what was happening, I struggled with the rest of the novella to understand the plot (if there even was a plot). The characters felt like high-schoolers to me rather than the professors in their mid-30s they were supposed to be (playing Never Have I Ever at 35? Just no). If the characters were younger, the story would have felt more believable but instead the whole thing felt unrealistic. I feel I would have enjoyed the story more if it were longer. There simply wasn’t enough time to develop the characters, feel a connection with the characters, and care about what happens to them.

Merriment and Mayhem: 3.5 Stars

This is probably my favorite out of the Under the Mistletoe collection. The meet-cute and connection felt more authentic and real than the other novellas, and the story felt longer than 58 pages. Bellefleur accomplishes so much buildup of character and plot in such a short story. The way the novella ended allows a reader’s imagination to create the next part of Griffin’s and Everleigh’s love story - I wish this story had been a full-length book because of how cute it was. Overall, while it wasn’t super overly festive, you still feel the holiday cheer as you read and get to enjoy a sweet (and a little spicy) feel-good novella.

Only Santas in the Building: 3.5 Stars

I thought Merriment and Mayhem was going to be my favorite, but after reading Only Santas in the Building, I’m not sure which one I enjoyed more. The novella was realistic and less Hallmark Christmas (but Theo would make the perfect Hallmark boyfriend), and I loved how this one was more plot-driven and less spice/romance-driven. Evie is learning to work through her grief after losing a grandparent while trying to enjoy her first Christmas without her grandmother, which unfortunately was very relatable for me and allowed me to feel a deeper connection to our FMC. This is definitely a short story that I wish I could keep reading - I enjoyed Theo and Evie’s dynamic and would love a full-length book to see what happens with them next.

LOVED these novellas! The perfect short and sweet romances for the holiday season. Special shoutout to Ali Hazelwood’s charming writing!

This Collection had all stories set during the Christmas season.

I enjoyed Hazelwoods story a good amount -if i am not mistaken it was the longest and because of that didn’t feel like the sex happened right away- but the ear of them weren’t my favorite.
the story was a typical hazelwood story -but i enjoy those- with a misunderstanding and a coming together but it was sweet to have a couple actually like each other and be friends for most of their childhood - also it’s rare and nice to see the guy being a bit younger (2 years i think?). it was well written and just a good story overall for me, nothing special and if you have read anythig else by Hazelwood you know it right away but i didn’t mind that.

Baileys story was way too focused on the sex between the two characters and how extremely huge the man is -when did it became it a necessity for men to be larger than life in all aspects? and how could that ever be possible to feel like you are being ripped apart during sex?
the woman should have other things to think about but instead it all got very focused on this huge hunk of a guy and… this just wasn’t my kind of story (and that coming from someone liking Hazelwood who always (!) has a tiny girl and a huge guy).

Dade’s story felt very forced in lots of ways for me: trying to be funny, trying to show how great those people are apart and together, trying to make it entertaining, trying to fit in so many jokes that were unnecessary…. clearly that didn’t work for me. i don’t know if it’s the authors typical style of writing since i haven’t read her before but this wasn’t really my taste either - and not just because of the location of the sex either but did i hate that? yes! am i very picky and finicky about somethings and this one gave me a very big ick? yes!


Bellefleurs was a nice story. it was nicely written with nice characters and overall just a nice story. can’t say i will remember this for too long but still, it was a nice read and a good story that told what it needed to tell and wrapped it up nice and neat and i appreciated it for that.

Daria’s story was well done too. similarly to Belledleurs - nicely written and told and on general what i think this collection set out to do- tell a cute little holiday story. and it did just that. nothing to complain about there.


so overall?
3 stories managed to do what this collection promised - 2 stories overshot the romance aspect and forgot that they were supposed to be a holiday story and focused a bit too much on sex and not even in an entertainingly written way.

overall not a bad collection but i would recommend reading Hawzelwood, Bellefleur and Daria and skip the other two.

Overall cute and quick short reads! All were fast paced and was able to read through them all very quickly. Some will stick with me more than others. I wished some of them had more character development, but know that is hard for short stories.

Cruel Winter With You - 3.5 Stars
Merry Ever After - 2 Stars
All By My Elf - 2 Stars
Merriment And Mayhem - 4 Stars
Only Santas In The Building - 3 Stars

Cruel Winter With You - 4
What a fun little novella. Ali did a great job at helping the reader really get to know the characters and their history in such a short amount of time. There was tension and longing, and I could feel their chemistry.

- Forced proximity
- Snowed in
- Best friends brother
- Women in stem

Merry Ever After - dnf

Much too much. Skipped to the epilogue, and don’t think I was missing out on anything.

All by my Elf - 3

Definitely some funny/quirky moments in this, but also don’t recommend “recreational activities” in the back of an Oscar Meyer Weenie while stuck in traffic.

- Laugh out loud
- Secret crushes
- Communication

Merriment and Mistletoe - 4

Probably my favorite short story in this series. Firefighter saving a not burning kitchen, then being there for all the random mishaps in between. We got to organically see them run into each other and slowly fall.

- Gingerbread cookies
- Firefighters
- Damsel in distress

Only Santas in the Building - 3.5

Okay, this one was sweet. The spice wasn’t too overpowering, and Theo was so sweet! I liked that he offered to help her with problems in her apartment no questions asked, and even offered his nicer kitchen to her. The neighbors pushing them together was also sweet. Not super memorable, but overall a cute story.

- Secret Santa
- Neighbors
- Insta-Love
- Apartment building parties

I loved this! So cute. Loved all of the stories and I'm excited to go check out more work by these authors!

Omg , this was the most cutes mini novellas ever, Ali had me crawling up the walls and tessa , love it so much. The rest as well so adorable , perfect little reads for Christmas time

Overall they were a nice and cute collection of short stories cheesy and spicy, just how I like it :D However I would like to quickly rate and rank them from my fav to my least fav:
1. Cruel Winter with You ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (I would reread)
I enjoyed this one so much that I want Ali to make a full book out of it, the yearning and pinning omg
2. Merriment and Mayhem ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 (I would also reread)
I found this very funny and cute, I love the cute firefighter trope lol The spice was "chef's kiss"
3. Merry Ever After ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tessa always gets me in her epilogues 😭, although the spice felt cringe...
4. Only Santas in the Building ⭐️⭐️.75
It was cutesy, but the culmination of the attraction felt rushed (yes I know this is a short story)
5. All by my Elf ⭐️⭐️
I couldn't vibe with how oblivious the fmc was, and the wiener van 🥲

I love when Amazon does this where they put all of my favorite authors together to write cute little fun short reads. All of these had so much holiday cheer, and were really cute and sweet and their own way. Overall, I would Recommend to anyone wanting to get in the holiday spirit.

Loved this series of short stories! All authors were some of my favorites and love their work in general.Thank you for allowing me to review this ARC!

Under the Mistletoe: KU Short Stories (eARC) — 4 ⭐️

𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: Out Now!

Cruel Winter with You - 5 ⭐️
Everything Ali Hazelwood writes is pure gold, but this one is exceptionally amazing! Is it too soon to re-read it? Asking for a friend.
Spicy Chapters: 7 🌶️

Merry Ever After - 3 ⭐️
This was cute, but it wasn’t my favorite. It didn’t really keep my interest.
Spicy Chapters: 3 🌶️, 5 🌶️, Epilogue🌶️

All By My Elf - 2 ⭐️
Very cringe. Almost DNF.
Spicy Chapters: 73% 🌶️ (no chapters)

Merriment and Mayhem - 4 ⭐️
Adorable! I would recommend.
Spicy Chapters: 4 🌶️

Only Santas in the Building - 4⭐️
Adorable! I would recommend.
Spicy Chapters: 5🌶️

Thank you, NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories, for providing me an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

These were allll over the place.
Would I recommed:
Ali's - Sure! Not my fav Ali novella but enjoyed.
Tessa's- NOOO, 1/3 is just child endangerment it's so strange.
Olivia's- also no, this just made me depressed about working in academia.
Alexandria's-doesn't feel super Christmas-y but I loved it and would recommend. The spice is great.
Alexis's-ABOSULTELY YES, if you read only one let it be this one.

Thank you to Amazon Originals for the eARC!