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!