✨ 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.

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

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.

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 was interested to read a holiday book this year and this seemed like a fun choice. Under the Mistletoe was a fun quick read and perfect for this time of year. I love short stories but I’ve never read romance short stories or any of these authors before. This anthology featured some stories that I enjoyed more than others but all five were quick reads. I liked the varied characters from doctor to farmer to single Mom to firefighter and the various settings from Texas to the Seattle area. By the fifth story it was not surprising to encounter another male giant. I’m curious if these author’s novels are better than these short stories.

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.

A wonderful collection for this time of year! The stories are different enough to never get bored. The narrators are very engaging. Definitely recommend the audiobook over the ebook. I discovered this collection as a fan of Ali Hazelwood, but I stayed for the rest of the authors I wasn’t familiar with.

This was a quick, fun listen. I've never read anything from Ali Hazelwood, but I've wanted to. This book has convinced me to read more from her!

Okay so I enjoyed book 1 & 4 the most, rated them 4.5 stars! Absolutely loved them so much!!

I didn’t enjoy Tessa Baileys book 2 ⭐️

Book 1 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Absolutely adored this book!! It had everything I wanted from Christmas to the banter, the smut, the everything. Swooning, second chance, childhood friends to lovers, filled with love and laughter which is exactly what I wanted in a Christmas book!

Book 2 - ⭐️⭐️
Book 3 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book 4 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book 5 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️.✨

Cruel Winter With You:
Oh my gosh this was my favorite of the whole collection! I adored these two characters and I would have loved a whole book about them. The pining was top-tier and the angst was absolutely delicious. The prose was also very funny. I found it cute and heartfelt. Definitely recommend checking this one out if you're looking for something quick and festive!

Merry Every After:
This was too instalovey for me. These characters needed more time to develop a satisfying connection. As it was the main things we know are that Evie is a single mom and Luke is so huge he can't fit into any pants. That would have been fine if the ending was a HFN but instead the author tried to shoot for a full HEA that just wasn't believable. I will say it was dual pov and the male narrator was absolutely delightful. His narration added some tension to the story for me which was very much appreciated.

All By My Elf:
This was so cute! I absolutely loved watching two coworkers get snowed in together and be forced to face their mutual pining. It was absolutely adorable and the narrator really brought out the silliness of the predicament of the situation they were in. It can be tricky to pace a short story but since these two were already close there was just enough room for some satisfying romantic admissions and some sexy times. I had a great time with this story!

Merriment and Mayhem:
This was a cute, steamy story. I wasn't as invested in these characters as I was for some of the other stories though. If you love a fireman story this one might be for you though. The narrator pulled me into a story I was otherwise just so-so on so props to them.

Only Santa's In the Building:
This was another one that didn’t quite hit the mark for me. There were too many Christmas puns for my personal taste and once again, not enough development for a satisfying story. The pining was fun and it was very cute and steamy. If you're looking for something to get you in the holiday spirit this could definitely be a quick way to achieve that. The narrator brought the quirky main character to life so I'd definitely recommend the audio for this one.

Ali Hazelwood’s short story is the only one of any note or proper substance. Fabulous character build, full of heart, and smart as always. An excellent romance in bite size form.

The rest of the short romances had great beginnings, with excellent ideas, but devolved into an orgy-like mess. There has to be something solid to back-up the sex! And if you’re looking for 80% sex and 20% plot and otherwise all boring, then this is the collection for you. But even I, a lover of naughty, thought it was totally unbalanced. Tessa Bailey’s was so OTT that I was snorting at the horrible dirty talk, which is unfortunate because I loved the characters in the beginning.

Basically, I’d happily recommend Hazelwood’s part in this but give the rest a miss. Then go check out the other author’s full length novels instead, where they shine better.

This is such a fantastic collection of holiday romance stories by a few of my favorite authors. I enjoyed them all and especially the way they drew me in. Though they are novellas, the emotion felt like full length novels and I loved the humor mixed with charming characters and of course love.

These were cute, quick reads. Some I liked more than other but they were all 3-4 stars for me. I found a few new authors to read which is great