These were so fun. Holidays can get busy with little time to spare for reading. This made it possible! Thank you!

Thank you to Amazon for the review listens.
I read the ebooks back in December, but delayed listening to the short story collection.
My opinions of the stories really didn't change all that much from the books. My favorites were still Only Santas In The Building, narrated by Ruby Corazon, and Merriment and Mayham, narrated by Amelie Griffin. I thought that Cruel Winter With You was a strong entry, and the narration by Vivienne La Rue was very well done, but I didn't connect with the characters as much as I did with Merriment and Mayhem and Only Santas In The Building.
Andi Ardnt's narration of Merrily Ever After was good, but the story was just kind of meh.
Now to discuss the elephant in the room, Tessa Bailey's story pissed me off when reading with my eyes so I really wasn't looking forward to listening to the story. Summer Morton did alright with the source material, but I still didn't like the character. Connor Crais was fine, probably the best part about the story was that you had both the MC's perspectives. But that could not make me enjoy the story.

foi fofinho.
não tem muitas vibes de natal tho.
é uma short novel entre dois melhores amigos apaixonados.
não há muito mais a acrescentar.

Complete honesty, they were too short to be enjoyable, not enough time to get to know the characters enough to enjoy the story unfortunately. I love these authors but wish I hadn’t read these because all the magic these authors write was lost with speeding through the story.

Cruel Winter with You
The best of the three I read, with the most well-developed plot. I enjoyed the best friend’s brother trope, and it struck a good balance between sweet and sexy.

Merry Ever After
I appreciated Luke’s character as a rugged, burly farmer, but unfortunately, the story didn’t offer much else that resonated with me. While I generally enjoy Tessa Bailey’s work, this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

All by My Elf
Nothing says romance quite like a rendezvous in a wiener mobile—pass.

Overall impression: unnecessary.
It felt like a quick cash grab, with the cringe factor heavily outweighing the charm. Not enough festivity, too much romping.

That said, the narration was excellent and well-executed! Kudos as well for the adorable covers and clever, pun-filled titles.

Overall, this was an enjoyable listen. The short stories were the perfect intro into my holiday reads this season. I've reviewed each separately on my grid. My line up from most like to least liked in this anthology is:

1. Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur
2. Cruel Winter With You by Ali Hazelwood
3. Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria
4. All by Elf by Olivia Dade
5. Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey

A few of these authors were new to me, and I will check out some their full-length novels. Individual reviews of each story were posted on my Instagram account as part of the Tandem Readalong.

Thank you so much @tandemcollectiveglobal @amazonpublishing for including me on the Under the Mistletoe read along! I have loved each author featured in this collection so I knew I had to be a part of it!

Sometimes you just need a bit of holiday spirit and holiday steam 🥵 Let me tell y’all that these novellas delivered. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to them while doing all the holiday decorating and wrapping.

Thank you Netgalley and Brilliance Publishing for the ALC.

A fun and cozy holiday romance anthology. The stories are a bit hit or miss, but the narration is consistently great. Perfect for the holiday season.

ALC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I will update this after I complete each story.

Cruel Winter With You
the setup…
Jamie Malek has returned home to northern Illinois spend Christmas with her father after having completing her pediatric residency in San Francisco. He’s sent her on a mission in the middle of a blizzard to borrow a copper pan from the family home of her childhood best friend (Tabitha) but it’s her younger brother Marc Compton who greets her at the door. He’s a tech billionaire who’s also home for the holidays…the one who got away because <I>she</i> sent him packing and not very nicely. Jamie really wants forgiveness and Marc just wants Jamie.

the heart of the story…
It begins with present day and then backs up to provide all the right context. Talk about the most adorable meet cute! She was 2 1/2 years old when he was born and placed in her toddler arms. It just gets better from there.

the narration…
Vivienne LaRue made this story even more delightful with her voices for Jamie & Marc and her excellent storytelling.

the bottom line…
It’s a short story but the character and story development felt like a novel experience. There was even time for a little spice. This is a great lead off for the collection with plenty of Christmas spirit and romance. Treat yourself to the audio version if you want to elevate the experience even more. 4stars

Merry Ever After
the setup…
Evie Crowe is a single mother with an infant son, trying to forge a new life in Texas. She’s working at a thrift store but has a corner for her own designs, hoping to launch her own fledgling business. In walks Luke Ward, a physically imposing man with a shy, quiet nature. He’s a farmer who struggles to find jeans that fit. She’s secretly attracted to him but isn’t interested in a relationship; he’s looking for much, much more.

the heart of the story…
It’s almost Christmas Eve and these two lonely people are destined to be together. I liked the promise of Evie and Luke who’s obviously a good man and was looking forward to a sweet romance. But it turns hot and steamy in a nanosecond and the coarseness of it was off putting and the sex talk was a turnoff.

the narration…
I loved the performances, especially Connor Crais whose voice is absolutely dreamy.

the bottom line…
Without the steamy scenes, this is a lovely romance with a wonderful little epilogue. Two great characters who you can’t help but root for to find their way to each other. 3 stars

All by My Elf
the setup…
Nina, William and Claudia are underpaid adjunct professors at Dogwood University in Newport News, Virginia. It’s the three-week holiday break and they’ve signed up as seasonal workers for Mrs. Claus’s Mincemeat Treats…driving a repurposed weinermobile that’s now got a roll of phyllo dough on top, filled with mincemeat and drizzled with caramel. And, they’re dressed as elves. It’s snowing heavily but Nina and William are still expected to make an appointment in Washington, DC and traffic is now at a standstill. She’s had a crush on him for four months but it looks like he and her best friend Claudia are in a relationship. But, they need to cuddle up to stay warm while they wait out the storm.

the heart of the story…
The start is hilarious as Nina has to deal with other drivers engaging with her at stoplights, all believing they are the first to come up with every bad joke imaginable about that car. Nina’s clever, pun-laden comebacks are also a riot. Of course, it doesn’t take long to figure out that William really has eyes for her, too. But the pivot to a much too steamy encounter took some of the shine off what is the start of a lovely romance.

the narration…
I’ve enjoyed listening to Andi Arndt’s storytelling for many years and she handled this one nicely, especially those terrible (but funny) double entendres.

the bottom line…
If you can forget about the intimate encounter in the mincemobile (it was as “distasteful” as it sounds), this was a funny, sweet holiday story with a very cute title. 3 stars

Merriment and Mayhem
the setup…
Everleigh Dangerfield is in Port Angeles this Christmas, preparing her late beloved grandmother’s house for sale. She’s determined to continue some of the holiday traditions in her honor but they’re turning out to be more like holiday disasters. First was an oven mishap while baking cookies that has the fire department showing up. Firefighter Griffin Brantley comes to her rescue and more sparks fly. When he has to show up the next day for another disaster, it’s hard to ignore there’s something smoldering between them (enough puns for you?).

the heart of the story…
Everleigh seems to be living up to her last name! While she’s definitely attracted to Griffin, she lives two hours away in Seattle and a short term fling or long distance romance isn’t something she’s interested in. The encounters are definitely hilarious and unique meet cutes. I enjoyed the story but again, the pivot to steamy is abrupt and ill timed.

the narration…
Amelie Griffin nails both Everleigh and Griffin, as well as the lightness of the story. Her performance was wonderful.

the bottom line…
This was perfect merriment and mayhem with a heavy dose of romance. I just wish the temperature on the steam could have had a lower flame. 3 stars

Only Santas in the Building
the setup…
Evie Cruz is a comic book illustrator and she’s on serious deadline despite it being almost Christmas. When she’s under the gun, everything else goes by the wayside, including decorating her NYC Upper East Side walk up. But someone in her new apartment building is leaving beautiful handmade tree ornaments hanging on her door. First a snowflake, next an origami crane and then an evergreen tree silhouette. Evie’s mind is solely focused on finishing the Starsong panels…and Theo, her handsome next door neighbor.

the heart of the story…
Evie’s so preoccupied with her deadline she misses cues from Theo until it becomes a bit too obvious to overlook. Their connection at a neighbor’s Santa-themed party was pretty cute and romantic. Of course, it cut to steamy pretty fast, which took some of the shine off the story.

the narration…
Ruby Corazon was perfectly suited as the frazzled Evie and even her voice for Theo worked. She delivered a fine performance.

the bottom line…
Most of the story involved Evie’s efforts to meet deadline which left little time to get to know Theo or for the romance to solidly connect. It’s still a cute story and just a bit too steamy for the brevity.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, TandemCollective, for the opportunity to receive an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Under The Mistletoe Collection #1-#5 was the perfect holiday audiobook compilation. Each story is seasonally set but entirely unique in reflecting each of the authors writing style. Having not read any of the authors previous work I particularly enjoyed the opportunity to be introduced to the five new authors in audiobook format in the winter season.

Below is the order in which I enjoyed them the most!

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

This was a cute collection of Christmasy romance short stories, some more festive than others. My favorites were Ali Hazelwood's friends to lovers story and Alexis Daria's short story about two neighbors realizing they each liked each other at a holiday party. No total standouts but a fun overall collection.

✨ Under the Mistletoe novella series reviews! 🎄 Some hits, some misses—here’s my take:

1️⃣ Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood (Mark & Jamie) - 3.5⭐️ Tied for my favorite! It felt complete for a novella, and I really enjoyed the narrator.
2️⃣ Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey (Luke & Evie) - <2⭐️ Too much spice, insta-love, and not enough plot. The writing and dialogue were hard to get through 😬.
3️⃣ All by My Elf by Olivia Dade (Nina & William) - 2.75⭐️ Cute moments but didn’t fully capture me.
4️⃣ Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur (Everleigh & Griffin) - 3.5⭐️ Tied for my favorite! Sweet and chaotic with great chemistry.
5️⃣ Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria (Evie & Theo) - 2.75⭐️ Fun concept, but it didn’t quite deliver the magic I was hoping for.

Overall rating 2.9
I especially liked the audiobook narrators for Cruel Winter, Merrimeny and Mayhem, and All By my Elf

This collection of novellas provides bite-sized pieces of steamy, holiday spirit to kick off the season. Overall, I had mixed feelings about the stories in this collection. It is incredibly difficult to hit the correct mix of holidays, spice and substance in such short stories and I feel like some authors succeeded at that more so than others. That being said, these were the perfect short stories to kick off the holiday season with and worked really well on audiobook while traveling or running holiday errands.

The collection was a mix of large authors I was familiar with and new authors that I have now added to my list to explore further. Overall, I enjoyed the reading experience and the books were short enough to find enjoyable even if the plot was not my favorite.

Below are my ratings for the individual stories in the Under the Mistletoe Collection:
Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood - 2 stars
Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey - 3 stars
All By My Elf by Olivia Dade - 2 stars
Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur - 3 stars
Only Santa's in the Building by Alexis Daria - 4 stars

The Ali Hazelwood novella was the best one, and I’d read a full novel about those characters. The Tessa Bailey one made me cringe, and I don’t even know how to explain what the Olivia Dade one was.

I love short stories, I love audiobooks, and I love all of these authors! Each of them shares a quick little holiday themed love story in their own way. If you love one of these authors, you'll love them all! I loved getting to listen to a story while wrapping gifts or doing chores!

The "Under the Mistletoe" collection is fun, sweet and nice and hot for the holidays. Three of these authors were new to me as I was only familiar with Tessa Bailey and Ali Hazelwood.

Overall, this collection is a 3.75 for me — rounded to 4. My favorites were "Cruel Winter With You" and "All By My Elf." "Only Santa’s in the Building" had the weakest premise and was very cringe-worthy.

Cruel Winter with You: 4.5
Merry Ever After: 3.75
All by My Elf: 4.25
Merriment and Mayhem: 3
Only Santas in the Building: 2.5

Thanks to the author, NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing/Amazon Original Stories for the advanced audio collection in exchange for my review.

This was such a fun readalong and just a perfect way to get into the holiday spirit! Under the Mistletoe was a collection of novellas by some amazing authors, Ali Hazelwood, Tessa Bailey, Olivia Dade, Alexandria Bellefleur, and Alexis Daria. The short length of the stories made them a perfect short escape from the chaos of the holidays. There was spice in all of them, some more than others so be prepared. I mixed it up and listened to some and read some the narrators did a great job bringing these stories to life. I highly recommend either method!

Cruel Winter With You by Ali Hazelwood
This was perfect! Snowed in with her best friend’s brother Jaimie has to decide if she is going to give Mark a 2nd chance. One of my favorite stories in this collection. There was depth and a backstory and I loved it!

Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey
This story of instant attraction was spicy from the beginning.

All By My Elf by Olivia Dade
This one had me laughing at the ridiculousness of the vehicle. A game of never have I ever while snowed in leads to long held feelings to be revealed.

Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur
I was immediately drawn in to this sweet and spicy book. With a small town setting, an embarrassing meet cute, and a hot fireman there is so much to love in this story!

Only Santas In the Building by Alexis Daria
Perfect story to wrap up the collection! Full of Christmas and a secret Santa leaving ornaments I loved these characters! So much kindness and love along with some spice has this story staying with me.

Most of these were completely unhinged and I’m pretty disappointed despite loving these authors’ full length novels 😕

My individual ratings/reviews:

Cruel Winter With You ⭐️⭐️ - Marc was actually so creepy asf and the wallpaper thing SENT ME and almost sent my phone at the wall across the room. Why do you have to do me like this Ali?!
Merry Ever After ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Unpopular opinion probably but Marc gave me worse cringe vibes from Ali’s story than Luke from this one… which is saying a lot about this book… but also me.
All By My Elf ⭐️⭐️ - Messing around in the back of a wiener mobile during a snowstorm… okay.. no thank you.
Merriment and Mayhem ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Arguably the only good one and definitely the best out of all five! I would have read a full length slow burn novel of this!
Only Santas in the Building ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - This one was going fine and was pretty cute then it lost a whole star for the reference to stuffing her stocking with his large candy cane and went downhill quickly.

Avg total 🟰 2.8 ⭐️s

I listened on audio and the narrators were good. It was the stories themselves (minus Alexandrias) that were 🥴🤪🫠

Thank you to the authors, Brilliance Publishing, Amazon Original Stories, NetGalley for the ebook and audiobook copies. I read as part of a Tandem Collective read along!

🎄Cruel Winter with You
This novella was so great! I wish it was a hair longer because I just loved the characters, but Ali did an amazing job with all the characters that you felt like you really understood where the characters came from and what was going on. Loved the ending!

🎄Merry Ever After
I was not a fan of this book. I felt like the characters were underdeveloped and there wasn’t a spark between Evie and Luke. They were so quick to take their clothes off and jump into bed. I wish there was a little bit more to this novella. It didn’t seem like there was any conflict either except that Luke thought Evie was married and the conflict was nonexistent.

🎄All By My Elf
I thought this book was super funny and there were some great moments. There was a bit of spice and it worked perfectly for this book. The characters were well developed for this novella!

🎄Merriment and Mayhem
I thought this was such a fun read and I totally cracked up when Everleigh had broiled the cookies instead of baking them. There were very cute details about the two characters, which made you really love the characters. The story was simple, but super sweet!

🎄Only Santas in the Building
This was an absolutely cute story and it packs a lot of story in a short novella! The writing flowed really well and there were really sweet parts to this story.

! This set of five short stories were perfect for me as I don’t read many spicy books and I was able to listen to snippets of these bestselling authors. My favorite story was Only Santa’s in the Building.