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167 reviews for:
Under The Mistletoe
Olivia Dade, Ali Hazelwood, Alexandria Bellefleur, Alexis Daria, Tessa Bailey
3.3 AVERAGE
167 reviews for:
Under The Mistletoe
Olivia Dade, Ali Hazelwood, Alexandria Bellefleur, Alexis Daria, Tessa Bailey
3.3 AVERAGE
Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood
Tropes: snowed in, best friend's little brother, second chance (sort of)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
AH's books are hit or miss for me, but this was actually good??? & I lol'ed a lot. Honestly surprised at how much I enjoyed this.
Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey
Tropes: small town, cowboy, single mom
Rating: ⭐⭐
All of the tropes I enjoy and a whole lot of potential, but somehow so cringe and off-putting.
All by My Elf by Olivia Dade
Tropes: coworkers, snowed in (sort of), only one wiener truck
Rating: ⭐⭐
This was weird and could have been so much better if it were longer.
Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur
Tropes: fireman, damsel in distress
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
Honestly the constant trouble Everleigh got into made me laugh, the chemistry between her and Griffin was fantastic, and this was just all around a good time! I did wish there was an epilogue or something, as this ended very abruptly but whatevs.
Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria
Tropes: neighbors, secret admirer
Rating: ⭐️⭐️.5
It was cute but I didn’t feel a connection between Evie and Theo at all
Tropes: snowed in, best friend's little brother, second chance (sort of)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
AH's books are hit or miss for me, but this was actually good??? & I lol'ed a lot. Honestly surprised at how much I enjoyed this.
Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey
Tropes: small town, cowboy, single mom
Rating: ⭐⭐
All of the tropes I enjoy and a whole lot of potential, but somehow so cringe and off-putting.
All by My Elf by Olivia Dade
Tropes: coworkers, snowed in (sort of), only one wiener truck
Rating: ⭐⭐
This was weird and could have been so much better if it were longer.
Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur
Tropes: fireman, damsel in distress
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
Honestly the constant trouble Everleigh got into made me laugh, the chemistry between her and Griffin was fantastic, and this was just all around a good time! I did wish there was an epilogue or something, as this ended very abruptly but whatevs.
Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria
Tropes: neighbors, secret admirer
Rating: ⭐️⭐️.5
It was cute but I didn’t feel a connection between Evie and Theo at all
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I loved this Spicy light hearted Holiday Short Story Collection.
High 2.5
Cruel Winter with You - high 2.75
Cruel Winter with You - high 2.75
Merry Ever After - 2.5
All by My Elf - 2.75
Merriment and Mayhem - 2.5
Only Santas in the Building - 2.5
Overall this was a really fun and steamy collection of Christmas novellas! They're all super quick reads, and I think the entire anthology would be the perfect cozy book to pick up on a lazy afternoon. This collection of novellas includes:
Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood (4.5/5 stars)
Cruel Winter is a second chance romance between childhood friends, and by far my favorite novella in this anthology. Despite being shorter in length, it was so well-rounded that it read like a full-length novel...and I easily WOULD have read a full-length novel about these achingly sweet friends.
Read if you like:
- second chance romance
- childhood friends
- forced proximity (snow storm)
- miscommunication
Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey (4/5 stars)
Merry Ever After was like an absolutely over the top Lifetime holiday movie in the very best way. You know--as in "If this happened in real life I would file a restraining order, but since it's fiction it's a *chef's kiss*". A giant rugged farmer meets a single-mom who recently moved to a small town! She makes him jeans because he is TOO BIG for regular denim pants!
Read if you like:
- farmer MMC
- single mom FMC
- small town romance
All by My Elf by Olivia Dade (3/5 stars)
All by My Elf begs the question: What if the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile was actually a phallic mincemeat roll of phyllo dough driven by hot professors dressed like elves? That sentence was a rollercoaster, right?
Read if you like:
- coworkers (adjunct professors)
- forced proximity
- mutual pining
Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur (3/5)
An accident prone woman keeps having Christmas Vacation-esque holiday mishaps that require the assistance of a very hunky firefighter. You'll want to burn your cookies more frequently...
Read if you like:
- firefighter mmc
- rescue romance
Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria (4/5)
Someone has been leaving Christmas ornaments on Evie's doorknob like a sexy crow. A Christmas themed party in her apartment building, two meddling neighbors, and some mistletoe help her discover her secret Santa.
Read if you like:
- neighbors
- miscommunication
- mutual longing
I received an advanced copy of this e-book from NetGalley and Amazon. All opinions are my own.
Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood (4.5/5 stars)
Cruel Winter is a second chance romance between childhood friends, and by far my favorite novella in this anthology. Despite being shorter in length, it was so well-rounded that it read like a full-length novel...and I easily WOULD have read a full-length novel about these achingly sweet friends.
Read if you like:
- second chance romance
- childhood friends
- forced proximity (snow storm)
- miscommunication
Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey (4/5 stars)
Merry Ever After was like an absolutely over the top Lifetime holiday movie in the very best way. You know--as in "If this happened in real life I would file a restraining order, but since it's fiction it's a *chef's kiss*". A giant rugged farmer meets a single-mom who recently moved to a small town! She makes him jeans because he is TOO BIG for regular denim pants!
Read if you like:
- farmer MMC
- single mom FMC
- small town romance
All by My Elf by Olivia Dade (3/5 stars)
All by My Elf begs the question: What if the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile was actually a phallic mincemeat roll of phyllo dough driven by hot professors dressed like elves? That sentence was a rollercoaster, right?
Read if you like:
- coworkers (adjunct professors)
- forced proximity
- mutual pining
Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur (3/5)
An accident prone woman keeps having Christmas Vacation-esque holiday mishaps that require the assistance of a very hunky firefighter. You'll want to burn your cookies more frequently...
Read if you like:
- firefighter mmc
- rescue romance
Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria (4/5)
Someone has been leaving Christmas ornaments on Evie's doorknob like a sexy crow. A Christmas themed party in her apartment building, two meddling neighbors, and some mistletoe help her discover her secret Santa.
Read if you like:
- neighbors
- miscommunication
- mutual longing
I received an advanced copy of this e-book from NetGalley and Amazon. All opinions are my own.
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oof I was excited about this one because it had a couple of my favorite romance authors and those two short stories were pretty solid. But wow the Tessa Bailey story was maybe the worst thing I’ve ever read. It progressed so fast even for a short story and they just kept repeating over and over how big the man was. I made my husband listen to it with me so I had someone to talk to about how bad and weird it was.
funny
fast-paced
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Short stories ranged from a 2.5 to 4
Average rating across all 5. Would have been higher without Tessa Bailey’s contribution.
My main takeaways: the MMC in both Ali Hazelwood and Tessa Bailey’s stories were creepy as hell and almost irredeemably so. There are far too many people willing to throw caution to the wind regarding protection with sexual partners they’ve just met. I wish that two of the stories didn’t have FMCs with the same first name. I have also learned that I cannot read romcoms where the MMC has the same first name as my son.
My main takeaways: the MMC in both Ali Hazelwood and Tessa Bailey’s stories were creepy as hell and almost irredeemably so. There are far too many people willing to throw caution to the wind regarding protection with sexual partners they’ve just met. I wish that two of the stories didn’t have FMCs with the same first name. I have also learned that I cannot read romcoms where the MMC has the same first name as my son.
lighthearted
fast-paced
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated