Cover Image: Holiday Wishes & Mistletoe Kisses

Holiday Wishes & Mistletoe Kisses

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Member Reviews

I've read a number of books by Ullrich, and this has to rate right up there as one of my favorites, if not my fav!

The story/stories are all compelling. Chapter-wise, the book is one big continuation, but it does feature different couples throughout, in a linear sequence.

The plot/s revolve around holidays, but I wouldn't strictly class this as a holiday romance. It has all the feels, angst, steam, happy sighs, oh-no moments, and it filled my heart!

In a nutshell, I was sad to see these characters go, and that, to me, makes it a winner.

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Very cool concept of having different stories, but all of the characters from each of the stories were either friends or at least acquaintances.

I found each story to be really unique. This book had a first time meeting, a couple meeting the family for the first time, a long time married couple, and exes coming back together. It pretty much ran the gambit of love story setups! Just a clever construe.

I liked them all, but probably found myself most invested in Theo and Liv, and was least invested in Amy and Gemma. The great thing about Amy and Gemma was that their story had the most interactions with the other characters, so even their "section" didn't bore me.

Overall, a great holiday season book.

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I thought this book was a collection of novellas and then realised the stories are all tied together. It was an interesting way of structuring a collection of short novellas. The writing was engaging, the storylines were all very different and it was great seeing couples at different stages of their relationships. I particularly enjoyed the age-gap storyline. A nice collection of holiday reads.

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This was an enjoyable book full of drama and love. The plan involves couples we’re trying to work through their problems in their relationships. Listen Theo we’re run couple who were working through differences and whether they should have children or not.
I recommend this book we’re all there was to like Christmas and the drama that comes with it especially in relationships.

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This book has 4 individual stories about 4 couples. Each has a problem to solve. The problems are very interesting. This is serious stuff. The conversations between the two main characters in each story is very emotional, realistic and very moving. And all 4 stories come together and are resolved in the epilogue.
You can always rely on Ulrich to grab your heart and twist it until you are pleading for the characters to kiss and makeup. Ulrich is a master of emotional dialog.
This is a good book to read on new years eve. Everything is best at midnight.
I was given this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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If ever there was a time for drama, family chaos and most of all love it’s undoubtedly Christmas and this festive treat from M. Ullrich ticks every holiday box.
The story unfolds within four interconnected holiday events and shifts focus between different romances. I do usually find Christmas themed novels a bit cheesy but I was so glad to have my opinion completely changed by this one; all of the characters are brilliantly developed and each story can be taken independently which makes for an excellent page turner of a book.
I enjoyed the messy but cosy feeling that only that time of year brings which runs throughout the book and although Ullrich presents a sweet romance she still represents the many insecurities that can manifest throughout the year. Ullrich’s writing style hooks you instantly and I fell completely for the romances but especially the fractured relationship between Jesse and Eloise.
There is something for everyone in this joyful book and a wonderful addition to the festive season for those limited peaceful moments

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Friendship. Relationship. Family. This read had me thinking about the people we partner with and why. I also thought about why we stay or why we leave relationships and the difference between falling in love and staying in love. A fun and enjoyable read with stories and characters that do quite a bit of self-reflection which in my opinion is a good thing.

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Great book by Ullrich (yet again)! I really liked the fact that it are short stories focused around Christmas and Newyears and centered around the same group of friends so everyone appears in every story. The dynamic changes everytime since there's an established couple, a perpetual single woman and the second chance romance also makes an appearance. All characters are different, the problems are different but Ullrich manages to give each of them their own voice, weave them in and out of eachothers story and in the end all is neatly wrapped up leaving the reader with a very fullfilling read celebrating this time of year.


***Thank you Bold Stroke Books and Netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book***

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This was a fantastic group of friends, all dealing with their own relationship problems and the holidays.. In the end Ms Ulrich wrapped this book up in a little bow and gave me all the feels. Excellent read.

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NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

A wonderful romance novel with many different couples. It would make a delightful Lifetime Christmas movie. You'll be pulled into the lives of the newly coupled, experienced and star crossed lovers.

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4 stars

I'm a big fan of M.Ullrich and I've enjoyed most of her books. Holiday wishes and mistletoe kisses is another fab book by this author.
The Christmas story has drama, banter, love, and craziness over the Christmas period. You'll meet Billie, Leah, Theo, Liv, Genna, eve Eloise, and Jesse. All good friends trying to enjoy the Christmas holidays and trying to have a little happiness.
Holiday Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses is a perfect read for over the Christmas period... especially if you're trying to escape your own 'craziness'. I really did enjoy this festive story.

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ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is nice sweet anthology of Xmas stories. It differs from other short story anthologies in that this focuses on the same group of friends over four short stories, so various characters show up in each story and two characters feature in all of them.

There’s also four couples at various relationship stages, long term marriage, engagement, broken up/reuniting, and just getting together. I found most of the characters enjoyable and all of the stories had something to like, though I enjoyed some more than others (Thanksgiving and New Years Day were better than Xmas and New Years Eve).

If you like holiday romances, then you should find something here enjoy. 3.5 stars.

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It’s been a while since Ms. Ulrich had published a novel (or it felt like it for me) and since she’s one of my favourite Bold Strokes Books authors, I jumped at the opportunity to read this one.

Holiday Wishes & Mistletoe Kisses follows four couples in four different holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day. I thought this was going to be a collection of separate short stories but the arcs of each couple interconnect throughout the book and it increases the build-up for the last story. There’s an epilogue that catches up a year later with the four happy couples.

Thanksgiving: Billie and Leah. This is the first time Billie introduces a girlfriend to her parents and she wonders if inviting Leah to her family’s Thanksgiving meal is a wise move. Her family isn’t thrilled by Billie’s gender-bending wardrobe and her sexual orientation but Leah is easy to like… ​

Christmas Eve: Liv and Theo. An established married couple, these women are experiencing problems in paradise as Liv isn’t enthusiastic about Theo’s wishes to have a child. Expect a busy Christmas celebration, a bit of family drama, and mother-in-law meddling.

New Year’s Eve: April and Gemma. Two strangers looking for a casual hookup to end the year on a high realise that they might start the new year with more than they wished for. Experience a crazy party with couples drama and a hot hookup.

New Year’s Day: Jesse and Eloise. Eloise is back in town after ending her relationship with Jesse a few months back and leaving for Baltimore. Do these ladies have a second chance together? This story is built up from the start of the book and its resolution is oh so satisfying.

I really liked this book, M. Ullrich writes the butch/femme dynamic really well and all the intimate scenes are very different and varied in their level of heat (including a super hot strap on sex scene). The stories are also very diverse from established couples to no-strings, age-gap, and second chances. There’s something for everyone and, of course, it’s full of holiday wishes and celebrations. 5 stars.

ARC provided by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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I've read quite a few of this authors books, and this one is right up there. It's fun to read.

This is an anthology about 4 different couples at different stages of their relationships.
Firstly, you have Leah and Billie which is quite funny. The chemistry for these two I found to be awesome.
The second couple Theo and Liv have been together for eleven years. They seemed to love each other a lot but were having difficulties regarding kids or not.
The third couple I found really funny. The two were just starting out. They had me laughing through out.
The last couple haven't seen each other for over a year.

The book as a whole is a great read. At first it was like reading four different stories but the way the author combined and continued them was compelling. I'm not sure if I said that right. But this is a great holiday romance just with four different couples.

I would most definitely recommend this book.

Enjoy!

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A collection of short stories for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New year, I didn't love this book, the stories had way too much drama especially for such short pieces of work. I was hoping for happy life enhancing stories set at festive times with a LGBT setting. It does feature a group of friends and exploring different perspectives in that group was fun but I would have liked more cheer and less angst.

With thanks to Net galley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Who doesn’t love a good Christmas read? As usual all the good things about a Christmas book. Loved it. Well done.

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Loved this romantic holiday anthology. The first story was about Billie and Leah this was so entertaining and funny, but very romantic at the same time, both characters were well written and, so very cute together. The second story was about Liv and Theo who have been married for 11years and seemed to be having some problems in their relationship, because one partner wasn't quite ready to have a family yet. But, you could also feel how much each loved the other person. The third story was more of a introduction to a relationship just starting out. This story featured Gemma and April, both were very funny and had me laughing throughout this short story. The last story was about Jesse and Eloise who hadn't seen each other in a year, but came face to face at a Thanksgiving celebration. This story had more angst and drama in it than the previous stories, but was still really good and well written. I really enjoyed this a lot. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends and family, and can't wait for what comes next from this author.

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This is a very endearing book. It is about family and friends around the holiday season. For one couple, the woman is bringing her home to meet the family and this will tell her if it is true love or not. Another couple, one wants a baby and the other isn't sure. The third couple meet by chance and are not looking for anything long term. The last one are past lovers and seeing each other again after all these years are bringing up buried feelings.
Holiday seasons are for new beginnings for all. This book has it all.
I would recommend.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest reveiw.

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Honestly, I’ve really enjoyed every book this author has put out and this one is no different. I was a big fan of how the story played out. I liked all the characters and the dialogue. I would definitely recommend giving this one a read.

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Before getting to the review, I want to say thanks to both NetGalley and the publishers over at Bold Strokes Books for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I saw this one make it to my NetGalley shelf this morning and immediately started reading it. In Holiday Wishes & Mistletoe Kisses, we have four stories around four holidays. On Thanksgiving, we follow Billie and Leah as they go to Billie’s family home to meet the parents. On Christmas, we follow Liv and Theo as they struggle to host a holiday full of cheer despite the troubles in their marriage. On New Year’s Eve, we follow April and Gemma as they meet at a party and instantly hit it off. And for the final story, on New Year’s Day, we follow Eloise and Jesse as they try to start the New Year on the right foot despite not ending the last one on a great note. Holiday Wishes & Mistletoe Kisses comes out on November 16th and is available for preorder now.

Despite my rating, there are a lot of things this author does right as far as representation in genre fiction goes. All of the romances are f/f romances which I was surprised and happy to discover as I kept reading. I also really enjoyed how a lot of the people in the LGBTQIA+ community of this town seemed to gather together. If you’re LGBTQIA+, you know that we tend to seek each other out sometimes. I also think that it was great that this collection of romances had sex scenes. I appreciate that the author didn’t shy away from showing positive depictions of people of the same sex having sex. I feel like that alone takes this books leaps and bounds ahead of a lot of other books in the romance genre.

However, there were just as many negatives for this collection of stories as there were positives for me. I think the first thing I have to point out after praising this author’s inclusivity in the LGBTQIA+ community is the fact that it wasn’t all that inclusive for one of our letter friends. Many times throughout the novel, because we are centered around an extended group of friends who discuss their work lives, we see mentions of one of the characters’ work with creating an inclusive group at the school they work at. Except that any time it’s mentioned the author has dropped just the A from LGBTQIA. Which is a bit frustrating when you’re reading this and you are the A that’s been dropped. I know it’s still unclear for some people in LGBTQIA+ spaces whether the A stands for ‘ally’ or ‘asexual’ and I’m tired of the asexual erasure. Maybe that’s nit picking at this book. Possibly. But I could not look past the book referencing ‘LGBTQI’ groups and talking about all the positive work this character has done for inclusivity at their school and it not even being inclusive for a whole group of people who belong there. I could stand on this soap box all day. Asexuals belong in LGBT+ spaces. Period. End of sentence. Other flaws I found in this novel are less nit picking and more style problems. I felt like these were all too short for me to get a real feel of these characters and their situations. Even the last couple, despite the fact that we got small tid-bits about them throughout the other stories. As a personal aside, I also didn’t enjoy the fact that three of the four stories were established romantic relationships. I personally enjoy the angst of a will they/won’t they story. But that one really is just personal preference. I can get down with an established romantic relationship if there’s some angst in there.

Overall, this is a cute collection of stories that can put anyone into the holiday mood. There’s some spicy sex scenes for anyone who enjoys those. And there’s a lot of love and family to enjoy as well. I think there were just a couple of things that got to me personally as a reader that other people may not have any problem with.

Individual story ratings: Thanksgiving--2.5 stars. Christmas Eve/Day--2.75 stars. New Year’s Eve--2.25 stars. New Year’s Day--2.5 stars.

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