Thank you to Amazon Original Stories and Brilliance Audio for the eARC.

Cruel Winter With You had the trademarked Ali Hazelwood MMC, the one that is so in love with the FMC and it’s evident to literally everyone in the world but her. That is one of the many facets of my kryptonite. I loved that Marc was basically in love with Jamie from birth and that his feelings never wavered. I listened to this one as an audiobook as well, and I loved the cadence the narrator gave to the characters. I felt their emotions while listening.

The true example of friends to lovers and I adored this story!
Jamie's best friend has a younger brother, by 2 years... she has known him since he was a baby! They always had a connection, but over the years, Marc kept a secret. He was truly and completely in love with Jamie. His sister told her once, but Jamie blew it off, ahhh puppy love, she thought. MANY years later, a snowstorm led them back together, and the forced proximity set them on fire.
The words that Marc spoke, his confession to Jamie had me gushing. It was the cutest and sweetest. The spice at the end was perfection! Cutest, fast read!

Honest review - I don't believe Ali wrote this. It's so terrible. The banter and flirting is terrible. His nickname for her is "Butt Paper"!?
The FMC was WAY too excited when the love interest turned 18 (because he was legal now and she is older than him)... gross.

I got the ick so many times for such a short story.

This was insanely good!!!! There wasn’t a single moment it felt like a short story. The relationship was so well flushed out. So believable! So good! I loved Two Can Play, but I was left wanting more! This was half the length & left me completely satisfied.

Be prepared for a man so unbelievably down bad & who’s known exactly what(who) he wants since he was 6. I am still grinning so big because of this man

Narration was incredible.

Short synopsis: Jamie gets stuck at her best friends house with her friends brother during a blizzard after going to retrieve a roasting pan.

My thoughts: What a fun little novella. I think 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.

As with all Ali Hazelwood books this has a bit of spice, but I wouldn’t say it was too overwhelming. The perfect little book to heat you up during a snowy night!

The audio on this was so fun! I thought the narrator did a great job at bringing the story to life!

Read if you love:
- Forced proximity
- Snowed in
- Best friends brother
- Women in stem

I really enjoyed this read!! It was cozy and nostalgic. I felt like it covered all the bases and didn’t leave much “unsaid”!! I loved Marc and could definitely relate to Jamie. There is technically the miscommunication trope, but *spoiler* it is resolved well!!!

Cruel Winter With You by Ali Hazelwood is a cozy yet emotionally rich holiday romance, part of Amazon's Under The Mistletoe series. All Jamie Malek wants is a roasting pan for Christmas, but borrowing one means facing Marc—the tech billionaire brother of her best friend and the man she once loved…and hurt.

Jamie, now a pediatrician, struggles with anxiety and the feeling of being unwanted—a lingering effect of her relationship with her father. Her mental health journey is beautifully depicted, and Marc’s patience and understanding provide the supportive partner dynamic I love in a romance. When a blizzard hits, leaving them snowed in together, a cozy evening by the fire turns into an opportunity to confront old feelings and regrets.

Through a game of “Truth or Drink,” Marc asks Jamie why she never gave him a chance. Her vulnerable confession—admitting her love and revealing a lost voicemail she left him after breaking his heart—makes for a heartfelt moment that’s both raw and tender.

Ali Hazelwood brought forward a meaningful romance that explores second chances, vulnerability, and the beauty of a partner who truly understands. This is a story of rekindling love amid the winter snow, and it’s perfect for readers looking for a holiday romance with depth and emotional resonance.

Rating: 4.75 out of 5

While this was a cute, festive and quick read, I didn’t fully connect with it. In the end, I did enjoy the forced proximity and friends to lovers aspect, and I was entertained.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A friends to lovers romance during a snowstorm! A rehash of how they two got there gave the romance a little depth. Short stories can be hit or miss for me, but I really felt the chemistry between the two. I can't wait to read the rest of the stories.

I'm always such a fan of listening to Vivienne LaRue. She brings such heart to anything she narrates and did a good job of ramping up the chemistry between Jamie and Marc. Such an entertaining listen.

Ali Hazelwood only needed a few chapters to make me cry. I loved this novella. The pinning, was top notch, with silly nicknames and time hops that flowed seamlessly through the story. I love novellas because they give you a chance to sample an author's work. I know I need to add more Ali to my holiday wishlist.

Thank you to Brilliance Audio and NetGalley for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was a quick and fun holiday romance! The banter and chemistry between these two was off the charts!

There was so much plot packed into this short 2 hour audiobook. I loved the childhood friends to enemies to lovers aspect the most!

The narrator Vivenne brought this characters to life in the best way!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced copy.

I am always obsessed with how Ali Hazelwood writes the yearning these men have for the FMC. Miscommunication trope is not my favorit BUT I always love how Ali goes about it. This was a fantastic novella with just enough romance, back story, character development and spice.

A perfect bite sized read for the Holidays!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced audio of this book in exchange for an honest review!

thank you netgalley, author ali hazlewood, narrator vivianne larue and brilliance publishing for this super fun novella.
there’s excellent anxiety representation, the best set up with childhood friends, a blizzard snowing them in and holiday magic. this was a delight to read and review.
so far my favorite christmas read this year.

Title: Cruel Winter with You
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Rating: 4.25⭐️

Okay I’m not one to run toward holiday themed books, but as Ali Hazelwood is one of my autobuy authors, I absolutely dropped everything when I saw that she would be writing a novella for this series!

This audiobook was seriously so adorable, and I loved the evolution of Jamie and Marc. It was so amazing that we got to see some of their past, as these flashbacks really added a depth to their story and I 👏ate 👏it👏up👏. The narrator was also so amazing!

I highly recommend checking out this novella and the rest of the Under the Mistletoe Collection when it is released on November 12th!

Read this book if you enjoy:
🎄Childhood friends to lovers
🎄Forced proximity
🎄Best friend’s brother
🎄He knows everything about her but still wants her
🎄Ham
🎄Winter novella

A huge thank you to Brilliance Publishing and NetGalley for this amazing ALC 💚

This was so fun! The banter, the chemistry, the characters, it’s such a quick read with so much development and warmth and love. I’m not usually a short story person but this was an example of a short story done perfectly. It didn’t feel rushed or like anything was missing. I binged this and just loved it

i love it!!! it was cute and fast, perfect Christmas novella. did it had famous Ali Hazelwood miscommunication trope? yeah, but you know what? i don't care, it was good, it's 70 pages long, made me giggle and laugh and feel nice

Thank you Netgalley for providing digital advanced copy in exchange for honest review.

This was a fun, he falls first, older sister's best friend, holiday romance that takes place one Christmas. With flashbacks to their past, childhood neighbors reminiscence about missed opportunities only to realize they both want a chance at a lasting love together. Cute and a bit spicy, this was great on audio and I'm excited for the rest of the Under the mistletoe short holiday stories! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

CW: if you aren't a fan of the miscommunication trope you might want to skip this one, it plays heavily into the plot

4.5
I would read anything Ali writes, even if it's her grocery list. So it goes without saying I loved this one too. I liked the narration, it was good too.
* Best friend's brother
* Age gap, she is older by 3 years 💓
* He is obsessed, as always 😅
* Doctor * tech billionaire
* Childhood crush 🥰
All tropes I love 💓
It's the predictability and comfort I always get from her books that makes me love her books so much, not to mention quirky, funny and the chemistry. But maybe the smut was too soon? It felt little weird to have it just after their confessions.

Give me a ali Hazelwood writing any day of
The week. A cute 2 hour novella brought me so much joy. Childhood friends to lovers. A short and sweet with the depth of loneliness and yearning. Plus a bit of Ali spice. Merry Christmas to me!!

The way Vivienne narrated this story was also impeccable. Loved it!

Thank you so much Ali Hazelwood, Brilliance Audio, NetGalley & Amazon Publishing for giving me the ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review. My thoughts are my own.

Wow, I mean wow guys. I knew already that Ali Hazelwood is unstoppable, and able to have an absolute chokehold on your heart in any length of book, but especially with her super power with novellas…but…WOW. This one hands down has burrowed into my soul the fastest, and will live there forever toasty and warm snuggled up next to Love on the Brain and Stuck with You. It’s beautiful, it’s raw, it’s heartfelt and oh so real. It’s endearing and revealing and will make your heart feel a lot less alone even if you are at your most alone. I read it in one sitting and cried, laughed, and cried some more, I just FELT the whole way through. I hugged my kindle when I finished because it’s been so long since I’ve felt so unbelievably seen by a book like this. It felt like someone crawled inside my brain and shone some light where it’s darkest, and filled with cobwebs and angry goblins, and offered to give that dark piece of me a hug. I have no idea how she does it, but here I am cry hugging my kindle on a Tuesday night and I am in no way ashamed to admit that to the entirety of the internet. It’s books like this that are why I am a reader. The feelings I felt every single page I read, and this feeling I have right now as I type this review. That hard to describe feeling that only other readers know the meaning of, where you feel seen and heard, and torn apart and healed at all the same time because you realize it’s not just you who felt these things? Yup, that’s the one!

Our FMC Jamie (a pediatrician) is in my opinion, impossible to not root for. She’s soft, kind, and incredibly relatable in her flaws and fears. She’s home for Christmas and gets caught in a storm with just the person she is scared to face right now, the guy whose heart she broke. It’s truly a Christmas miracle that’s collision was meant to be.

Our MMC Marc (a tech billionaire) is easy to fall for and one readers will absolutely MELT over. I know I sure did very quickly. I’ll leave his carefully crafted unveiling to Ali because I keep it spoiler free and there’s no way I could ever even pretend I could have a fraction of her timing and this man deserves her justice!

The pacing and plot had me racing to the next part and incapable of putting it down. The shifts in time and tale added so much intensity and intrigue, I wouldn’t have wanted to read it any other way. Truly, this was a perfect showcase for Ali’s timing and capacity to reveal just enough when it’s oh so right. She gave us so much tension, realistic build up while somehow giving us a really clear picture of who these complex characters are. Again, such a talent when it comes to this short story format. It in no way felt rushed, or like insta love, I truly feel like I know these characters and all I can say is, PLEASE ALI CAN I HAVE SOME MORE?

In my honest and wholehearted mind, this was an absolute smash hit, and I can’t think of a single second I didn’t love. In fact, I loved it so much I’m going to reread it right this very second even though it’s 1 am, sleep be damned! I’m not ready to let go of how this book made me feel just yet…maybe not ever!

Narration:

I really loved how much the narration brought the story to life! I read both in ebook format and in audio and gotta say that the audiobook really delivered! I really thought it added a lot of depth of emotion to the story and I can say with confidence this will be regularly relistened to title!