I'm not a huge novella fan. I like looong books with lots of character development and an intricate plot. There is one exception, however. The exception is holiday novellas. Especially the house party variety. Often at the holidays I just need a little escape for ~30 minutes or an hour, and can't spare the time or mental energy for a good thick novel. Oh yes, a Christmas anthology is *JUST* the thing. I read this one on Labor day, as I have the ARC, but I will almost certainly revisit this anthology during the height of the holiday stress. These are Novellas that can easily be revisited. The best thing about house party themed historicals is that everyone falls head over heels in less than a fortnight. It is so fun! 

A Mistletoe Kiss by Eloisa James: 

  Eloisa James is a treasure! I loved Cressie! I could not believe how ill she was treated by her father. I really wished the story was longer (I know, I know, that's ALWAYS my problem with Novellas). The story felt a bit rushed. I did enjoy the characters and loved the setting. Though I felt it was a bit rushed, It was a full story. Every necessary detail is there, and we aren't left with a bunch of loose ends. It was lovely. 

Wishing Under the Mistletoe by Christi Caldwell:

  This one has all of that particular Christi Caldwell magic! Cyrus and Isabelle deserve a second chance as adults with fully formed brains, and boy did Christi deliver. I love every single page. All Cyrus and Isabelle needed was a good conversation. They never stopped loving each other. *swoon*. Truly an excellent novella.   

Compromise Under the Mistletoe by Janna MacGregor: 

Caroline and Stephen are another couple here for a second chance. They also could absolutely resolve a lot if they had sat down and had a frank conversation with each other. They need a chance to learn to speak each other's language, and what better setting for it than a house party!? The story is lovely, the characters are excellent. I had forgotten how much I enjoy Janna MacGregor's style. I need to go catch up on her back canon. Cannot wait! 

Mischief & Mistletoe by Erica Ridley: 

I think this one might have been my favorite in the anthology. Again, Erica Ridley delivers. Louisa is a poet, Ewan is a "poet". It's a match made in heaven! Or is it? Dun Dun Duuuun. Secrets and deceptions come close to keeping this pair apart. I thoroughly appreciated Louisa. She is a pragmatic heroine. Ewan could have been a bit more honest with her. I'm not holding a grudge, he made up for it. I love this story. It kept me on my toes for sure. I did not know how Erica was going to make love triumph, but I knew she would. *melodramatic sigh*. This was a lovely note to end the anthology on. 




If you, like me, absolutely need a quick little bed time read to unwind during the holiday season, or a good launch into the Christmas spirit, grab this book and a warm mug of peppermint tea and settle in!

Mistletoe Christmas: An Anthology
Rating: 4 christmasy stars
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC given through NetGalley for review. All opinions are my own.

Mistletoe Christmas is a collection of four romance stories that take place during Christmas. Each one is written by wonderful a author who brought me happiness and winter cheer during these hot, humid Texas days.
Each story brought together two people who either never thought that they would fall in love or that they would get a second chance at finally having a HEA they had previously missed out on.
Overall I give it 4 stars. My favorite one was Compromise Under the Mistletoe by Janna MacGregor....second chance at romance with a little more angst that I enjoy so much reading in my romance stories.

Highly recommended!

This was a lovely collection of novellas by four different authors, intertwined as they all take place during the annual "Revelry" event in 1815 presented by the dying Duke of Greystoke. As is often the case with anthologies, I liked some of these more than others, I think my favourite being Erica Ridley's Mischief & Mistletoe. The flip side of that is that there's truly something for everyone! There's a bit of insta-love, if you like that. There's second chance romance. There's marriage in trouble. And there's forbidden romance. Heroes range from lovably arrogant to deliciously thoughtful, the heroines are all bold, independent women trying to make the best decisions for themselves and their families. Thoroughly enjoyable, if the tiniest bit long for me personally.

I enjoyed the fast pace of each story. I was thoroughly entertained by each story. The characters witty and charming. I really loved the romance between the couples. They were the most exciting parts to the stories. The journey in their stories was a treat to read. The collaboration of each authors story was a bonus for this book.

I read the Erica Ridley story thanks to being on her review crew and loved it. She’s so great at coming up with new characters and fresh storylines. I love Christmas anthologies and look forward to reading the whole book over Christmas when I purchase it. I know the other authors are excellent so I’m sure their stories will be great!

Mistletoe Christmas: An Anthology (ebook)
A MISTLETOE KISS by Eloisa James Lady Creesida and Lord Darcy de Reyleston - a second look romance
WISHING UNDER THE MISTLETOE by Chris Caldwell Cyrus Hill and Lady Isabelle Wilkshire - a second chance romance
COMPROMISE UNDER THE MISTLETOE by Janna MacGregor Caroline Whitmore and Lord Stephan Whitmore - a reconciliation romance
MISCHIEF AND MISTLETOE by Erica Ridley Miss Louisa Hardcourt and Ewan Reid - A self discovery romance
Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Whimsical Entertaining Romantic Happily Ever After Wonderful characters Witty Page-turner Great world building Easy-to-read Steamy

"Mistletoe Christmas" is a historical romance anthology with stories written by four authors: Eloisa James, Christi Caldwell, Janna MacGregor and Erica Ridley The stories flow seamlessly together and include the same characters throughout. This was my first time reading a historical romance anthology. Although I enjoyed the stories, the insta-love (that is required with an anthology) didn't always quite work for me. But alas, that's a "it's not you it's me" problem.

Janna MacGregor's "Compromise Under the Mistletoe" was my favorite of the bunch followed by Erica's Ridley's "Mischief and Mistletoe" Both of those were new to me authors so I'm excited to see which of their previous novels grab me next. The Christmas theme was a much lighter touch than I was expecting. I often forgot it was supposed to be a holiday party until the mistletoe was mentioned here and there,

Overall, there were definitely some standout stories but every story was enjoyably well written with delightful, charming characters. Eloisa James' Cressie was a favorite of mine. This will be the perfect curl up in front of a cozy fire book during this upcoming autumn/winter season.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange of my honest review.

Lovely anthology, the stories are interrelated, but stand alone and each a delight. Four great authors put their own touch on the stories related to the house party of the year. I enjoyed each one equally and would purchase all of them separately as I couldn’t put it down.

Mistletoe Christmas is a great Anthology with connecting Christmas stories from 4 awesome authors. They seamlessly told the story of these four couples who found love or rediscovered love during an annual Christmas Revelry.

A delightful historical holiday romance that entertains with a series of short stories that all center around a much-coveted Christmas house party. Readers will enjoy the humor, mayhem, and of course, the first blush of love as a dying man manipulates everyone around him one last time.

This wonderful collection of stories set during the most exclusive Christmas house party in the land has something for everyone. The lady who secretly plans and runs the Revelry has been labeled a drudge and unmarriageable by her selfish, dying father, the Duke. Her cousin broke off her engagement ten years earlier to pursue her own interests when she kept coming in second place to her beloved fiance's business interests. Another lady is estranged from her husband and needs his cooperation to present themselves as happily married to get her funds released. And finally, another lady is prepared to be sacrificed by her mother to marry a titled personage for prestige and security. All the ladies are very engaging, as are their approaches to their situations.

I am a big fan of Christmas anthologies.

The 4 authors who wrote these stories are very talented writers. Which makes me feel as though I should have enjoyed this collection more. At times I felt these short stories were too wordy. I wanted to fall in love with the plots as well as the characters. I enjoyed the first story most of all. But, all 4 of these authors write so well, I know that in the future I will fall in love what they create.

In the first story, Cressida, (Cressie) is emotionally abused by her father. She has worked behind the scenes to create the most wonderful house party in England for 10 years. He takes all the credit and intends for her to be denied credit even after his death. When Elias, a man who has known her all her life, realizes her situation he is appalled. And then he realizes what a treasure she is.

Isabelle and Cyrus were betrothed. He was more interested in making a fortune than he was in their relationship. She walked away. Now, ten years later, he realizes what he truly lost. Not only was Belle gone from his life, but he also lost himself.

Caroline left her husband and lived apart from him for a year. Now, in order to gain her trust fund, she and Stephen must give the appearance of being happily married. She means to make him pretend to be a happy husband. She finds there is more to marriage than what she believes to be true. Stephen is a wonderful husband and she was so busy feeling sorry for herself she never noticed. He wants to become a better man and they both want a better marriage.

Louisa and Ewan find that they have the opportunity to live lives they will love. They have both been forced into behaving in ways that are not the choices they would have made for themselves. Kindness and caring conquers all. And both of them begin to live as they were meant to live. Happiness is a wonderful gift.

I received this anthology from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review and all opinions are completely my own.

While I enjoyed more stories than others in this Christmas anthology, I still would recommend picking this up.

4 stars

Interesting read but IMO not that hilarious . The Duke comes across as selfish and intranscient even though he's coming to the end of his life. I almost expected him to make a marvellous recovery. It's one of the threads that's not finished off, perhaps there will be a summer house party?

Cressie's story is particularily good as is Louisa's

What I enjoy about an anthology is that you can dip in and out. Some of the clever authors link the stories as well.

i voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own..

Mistletoe Christmas-is about the Revelry house party at the Duke of Greystokes.
*Mistletoe kiss-Cressida and Elias find love in the most unexpected way.
*Wishing under the mistletoe-Two people from different worlds reunite, love and understanding come to be.
*Compromised under the mistletoe- Steven and Caro learn there is more to marriage then love.
*Mischief and mistletoe-Louisa and Evan are both hiding behind their poetry. Each puts up a front until they meet at the Christmas Revelry. Both find love and happiness that they didn’t expect. 5*

Let me begin by saying I enjoy all of these author's writings. I thought the first story was great but then it kind of went downhill from there for me and I had to force myself to finish the book. I will give this a three star rating just because I enjoyed the story by Eloisa James the most.

First, I love Christmas and anything Christmas, especially when romance abounds. So, Mistletoe Christmas is the perfect read for me of romance found at a house party called the Revelry. The elderly relative/neighbor of each of our heroines is an opinionated curmudgeon who thrills at controlling people. His machinations have our ladies feeling like they are struggling to survive him. As each lady learns during this year’s house party, it may be the last one, but it is not their last chance at love.

A Mistletoe Kiss is the adorable story of an emotionally abused Cressie whose father has taken advantage of her for years. He has ‘killed’ her spirit in such a way as to cause her to ‘hide’ in the background, planning her father’s entertainments at her own expense. When Elias, a friend of her cousin, begins to see her for herself, she doesn’t trust him. To make matters even worse, her father uses each of them to turn against the other. This truly is a story of trust and beginnings for love.

It is not often I am surprised by a romance, but Wishing Under the Mistletoe was a good one. Even a side character who was just mentioned was named Marley so it took me in the direction of Scrooge, but it was not just the hero, Cyrus, who learned a lesson, our sweet Isabella did, too. They were both so busy chasing their dreams, neither saw the other for who they really were and what they really meant to the other. Sweet story!

Compromise Under the Mistletoe brings Caroline to the Revelry to meet up with her estranged husband to try to convince the duke to release her funds. First, he has to be convinced they are still in love and Caro has moved back home. Stephen, her husband, never understood why she left home. He believed he showed her his love every night in their bedroom, but Caroline believes she needs more. It is sweet reading of how these two work it out with just a little bit of help from friends and servants.

Mischief & Mistletoe
Louisa’s life had been ruined by a scandal sheet years before the Revelry. Of course, the man who writes that same sheet is in attendance. His quiet nature captures Louisa’s notice. You know it is going to come out, but you hope for the best as Louisa and Ewan get to know each other and fall in love.

As romantic collection go, this is one you will want to read for the Christmas holidays. Allow me to say I was a bit disappointed that Derham did not meet his HEA in these pages. But, I loved the collection!

I love me a good Christmas Anthology and this one did not disappoint! I also liked that there was a common thread through all of the stories. My only complaint was that stories 2 and 3 were a little too similar in their plot - both are great stories and work by themselves but putting them back-to-back probably wasn't the greatest idea.

Mistletoe Kiss - Cressie was probably my favorite character through all of the stories. Her willingness to turn her back on what others wanted her to do in order to pursue something for herself showed what a strong character she was and made it easy to root for her. I knew why Elias should be interested in Cressie, but I'm not sure it was ever made clear way he was. He takes notice of her because Val says he should, but there was never that moment where you see what happened to make him want to pursue him because it was what he wanted. She was absolutely right to question his motives and wonder what happened that he finally saw her in a romantic way (or really saw her at all since he had pretty much ignored her for years).

Wishing Under the Mistletoe - This is a really clever take on Christmas Carol (specifically what happens between Scrooge and Belle). The fact that it took Cyrus seeing the play Isabelle put on to understand what a jerk he had been was a little disappointing because it would have been nice for him to come to that conclusion on his own, but it worked for the story so I really can't complain that much.

Compromise Under the Mistletoe - With this book I wondered if the Duke was trying to fix their marriage or just be a jerk and make Caroline jump through hoops to get money that was supposed to be her's anyway. Previous stories make you think jerk, but anything is possible. I liked that Stephen was willing to fight for his marriage which eventually ended up meaning supporting his wife's dreams. Their compromise at the end is what marriages should be about and it was good to see that they were both willing to support one another.

Mischief & Mistletoe - This one has a little twist involving Ewan that I didn't really see coming, but made for a good turn of events. I liked Louisa and felt for her in how she found herself in somewhat of a no-win situation. Marry the man her mother wanted to and be miserable or don't marry him and disappoint her mother. I thought her mother's change in attitude about the marriage came a little too quickly and easily, but wasn't upset with the final result. This story may have the most romantic ending between the main characters because Ewan really has to put himself out there in order to convince Louisa how he feels about her.

Mistletoe Christmas is written by multiple authors. They each wrote multiple small stories that all center around a particular Christmas party. A party that everyone wants to attend and be invited to. It's the party of the year.

Love is in air this Christmas. Follow along as stories come together. Characters lives touch each others and who may fall in love at this party that everyone wants to go to.

I found myself constantly looking forward to the next story. Who is next, did we meet this character already? How will this be worked out. Very enjoyable romance stories. You can just sit back and relax with these nice heartwarming stories. Must read to start getting into the Christmas mood.

It was nice to read different stories all connected by such good writers. I did not have a favourite as l enjoyed all. I recommend that the anthologies be read ,