Cruel Winter With You
I enjoyed this short story! These Amazon Originals are becoming some of my favorites. I wish we would have got more of Jaime's backstory like we did the relationship of Jaime and Marc. I enjoyed that but Jamie's was lacking. I have questions about her Mom and why Marc hates her dad. All could have been resolved with just a few extra pages. I did enjoy the plot arc of this story. The suspense of what she said to him kept me reading. I also enjoyed the winter storm. I definitely got me in the mood for a good ole Nebraska blizzard.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Merry Ever After:
This short story was not for me. I felt the characters lacked depth and the spice was just there for spice and not any kind of development. I also felt there were quite a bit of cringy moments and comments from both characters. I really wanted more story. I may have felt differently if there was more back story and not just a ton of spice. The setting also didn’t play a huge role in this one. Outside of simply mentioning that it was Christmas time, it didn’t play a role. I was really looking for more Christmas vibes. If you’re looking for straight spice, this one may be for you.

Rating: ⭐️

All by My Elf

This one took me awhile to get through. I think it was because I wasn’t swept into the story in the beginning so the plot of what was actually going on was beyond me. I did enjoy the characters and the romance. I also enjoyed Dade’s prose and writing style. I also felt this one lacked in holiday setting.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Merriment and Mayhem

I think this was my favorite one! I loved the banter, the tension leading up to the spice, the flirting, and the firefighter 😍😍. I also really enjoyed the setting of the cozy small town. I enjoyed why Everleigh was there. And I loved how she ended it. Seriously this one was my favorite. I also have never read this author before, any favorites of yours I should try?

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Only Santa’s in the Building

This one was definitely cute! I enjoyed the unique occupations of the characters and Theo 😍😍. I also enjoyed Evie’s sense of humor. I wish there would have been more with these characters. This one was my third favorite! I definitely enjoyed reading all of these novellas!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Seriously this was a hilarious good time. All of the stories had a spicy tale of attraction during Christmas Time. I enjoyed the laughs and cutesiness from each storyteller's unique perspective. Each novella gave something different each time. Some authors I've read before and some I'll be adding to my near future tbr's. Great way to introduce multiple authors in this genre.

Thanks again Tandem Collective, Amazon Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I enjoyed each novella in this collection. They were all fun and festive romance from authors I've enjoyed reading before..

Cruel Winter With You - Jamie and Marc reconnect during a snow storm a not long after a disastrous date. Childhood crush into love isn't my favorite trope, but I thought that this was a fun, light wintery romance.

Merry Ever After - Single mom, Evie, is working at a thrift shop where local farmer Luke keeps trying and failing to find clothes that fit. It was a quick, fun romance, but the holiday setting felt pretty unnecessary to the story.

All By My Elf - Nina and her crush, William, are both working a seasonal job advertising mincemeat on a repurposed weinermobile. When they get stuck in a snow storm, they reveal their feelings for one another. A fun, short romance. I appreciated all the mincemeat puns.

Merriment and Mayhem - Everleigh keeps running into holiday trouble, but that's fine, since cute fireman Griffin Brantley keeps rescuing her. I felt like this one didn't have much plot, but it was still fun.

Only Santas in the Building - Evie is a comic book illustrator on a deadline, but she still has time to appreciate the mysterious ornaments left on her door, and to crush on her cute neighbor. A quick, fun romance.

These were a super fun way to get into the holiday spirit! My overall rating is a 3.5 but let me break down my exact ratings for each:
#1- 3 stars
#2- 3.5 stars
#3- 2.5 stars
#4- 4 stars
#5- 3.5 stars

My favorite was Alexandria Bellafleur's! I felt like she really nailed building a fun relationship within the length of a quick novella and it was perfect!

Thank you to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

After last years Christmas themed Amazon Prime short stories, I knew I wanted my hands on this years Under the Mistletoe Collection. Though I did not recognize most of the authors, I was pleasantly surprised by this sweet and spicy Christmas thermoses collection of short stories. The perfect short stories to get you in the mood for Christmas and the magic it brings.

I usually love the Audible Original collections, but overall, this collection was pretty disappointing.

Cruel Winter With You by Ali Hazelwood - Five Stars
Cruel Winter With You was my favorite of the collection, an easy five stars. It takes a lot to execute childhood friends to lovers. I need to believe that the couple has been in love with each other for years, even if they didn't know it, for it to work for me.

I rooted for them the entire time. I believed the angst and the tension. I loved the dialogue and the atmosphere.

Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey - One Star
Let me preface this by saying that Tessa Bailey and I don't see eye to eye. I have read several of her books and have yet to find one I liked. I gave up on her but read this since it was part of the collection.

I found the instalove was too much and the dialogue so cringy. Bailey also loves a super tiny female lead and an impossibly big male lead. I am so tired of that and do not need a reminder every other paragraph. I promise you, my mental retention is better than that. I just found this whole story icky.

All By My Elf by Olivia Dade - 2.5 Stars
I usually like Olivia Dade, but I was disappointed with this. The first quarter was confusing. I honestly had no idea who the love interest was supposed to be. This needed more pages and fewer plot holes.

Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur 3.5 Stars
I thought this would end up another five-star read, but the ending killed it for me. The first 90% of this story was great. I loved the banter between the main characters. I loved the setup and the setting. However, I needed more time with the characters to find the ending believable. It was a bit too fast.

Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria 4 Stars
I liked this a lot more than other reviewers. I thought it was sweet, and it made me laugh. Overall, it was a good time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Cruel Winter with You
*cues up “My Best Friend’s Brother” by the Victorious cast*

I LOVE an Ali MMC that is so beyond gone for the FMC. In classic Ali fashion there was a dash of science and a whole lot of pining and not feeling worthy. Less of a Christmas novella and more of a novella set at Christmastime. Don’t you worry though, I still giggled and kicked my feet. The box of printed photos was a tad strange and serial killer-y but overall I loved Marc and Jamie!

Merry Ever After
Someone get the eye bleach!

This was horrendous, I don’t know why I keep giving Tessa a shot. She hasn’t written something I’ve actually enjoyed since the Bellinger sisters’ books. The first chapter made me hopeful and then she immediately ruined it with Luke’s backwoods Texas patriarchal filth.

I’d say never again, but I know I’ll keep giving her chances.

All by My Elf
What in the Oscar Meyer weinermobile?

This made me giggle but also what the heck was going on? It was a funny concept for a novella but was kinda ruined by the clunky “academic” dialogue that made it feel like our MCs had practically no chemistry.

Merriment and Mayhem
3.5⭐️ rounded up for Goodreads

Disaster girl meets dashing firefighter one too many times while trying to find Christmas merriment in her dead grandma’s house and they all live happily ever after. I actually loved these two MCs and all the side characters. If I could get a Captain Keegan novella stat that would be great.

Only Santas in the Building
Arguably some of the best plot and fleshing out of characters in the entire novella collection. I wish this was a full length book, there is so much more I want to know about Evie and Theo. I had to doc stars for the unrealistic epilogue though. I don’t know of a single person that would introduce the person they JUST started dating to their entire family and a family in another state (regardless of how close NJ is to NYC).

I got the biggest disappointment over three of these five short stories, and I can’t say it doesn’t matter - like, wtf Ali.
Still, please, never stop doing these collections.

Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

I wanted to love this but I was not my favorite at all. I was really hopefully but it was a bit disappointing.

Out of all these short stories there really weren’t any that stood out to me and were memorable. Majority of the time I felt myself physically and visibly cringing. These all seemed quite rushed and not in the aspect of it being all novellas, in the aspect of it probably took an hour to write and publish. Novellas can pack a punch despite their short length, but these ones just didn’t at all.

A super fun, spicy, and sometimes silly collection of holiday romance novellas. All quick to get through - a great little break from IRL holiday stress! Standout elements include the plethora of very tall, hot men, the MinceMobile, the handmade ornament gifts, and plenty of chaos.

3.5/5 for all

Cute collection of short stories!! I enjoyed them all but the second story - Merry Ever After - was underdeveloped to the point it was just erotica. I would recommend this series to anyone who wants a short quick read. I think this would be a fantastic book club pick!! They were not anything life altering, but overall enjoyable.

Thank you to the publisher for the copies for a Tandem Readalong.

Cruel Winter With You, 3/5 stars
Like Ali's writing so much, just wish this weren't a novella.

Merry Ever After, 1/5 stars
Honestly, probably should have skipped this one entirely. Tessa Bailey is only sometimes for me and I should have anticipated a novella being a bang fest.

All By My Elf, 3/5 stars
I did find the idea of a repurposed weinermobile EXTREMELY funny, I am a teenage boy apparently. But again, just too short!

Merriment and Mayhem, 2/5 stars
Interesting concept for a longer book, I think--the 911 calls were funny! But probably too high concept for a novella.

Only Santas in the Building, 4/5 stars
Probably my favorite of the collection, Alexis Daria is VERY good at the novella where you want more but it feels like a complete work.

i loved this one! what a cute, festive collection of holiday novellas! these were quick, easy reads and i had a blast reading all of them.

Fun and festive holidays novellas from some of my favorite authors. Some hit the mark while others less so but overall, quite a fun way to get into the holiday spirit!

A heartwarming holiday hug from a group of bestselling authors. You can’t go wrong with reading anything by these amazing writers. They are all at the top of their game, and it shows. This collection has the perfect blend of heart and heat. Enjoy!

This was such a fun cute read. I loved getting a taste of all the stories from some of my top authors!! I love quick reads that I can listen to while commuting to work or running errands. It made me wanna drink some eggnog and decorate Christmas trees! Spice level was great!!!

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.