I wanted this to be more than a three star read, but when I started to do the math on what I would rate each story, I had a hard time bumping things up. It wasn't bad, and I"m sure that anyone who likes these authors will enjoy every single one. But for me, it wasn't great. The only story that really came in at a solid 4 was the one by Hazelwood. The other three were ok, and then Bailey just was a total miss. I find that Bailey has a hard time with short stories. They come across as vaguely creeper-ish and this was no exception. Mind you, some of her longer books come across that way too.

Cruel Winter with You - This was a cute story with some lovely characters. The fact that these two have been circling around each other for years makes it all the more believable even if the freak power outage is a bit convenient.

Merry Ever After - Well, I already said that this one didn't work for me. Luke was a bit less stalker than in previous short stories by Bailey, but it still gave me negative vibes the way he would go to Evie's work and then how he kind of lurked all the time.

All by My Elf - The whole premise here was cute and the characters don't do the insta love. But the hook up in the back of the truck didn't work for me. I mean, they are apparently freezing and sure body heat is good, but nope. .

Merriment and Mayhem - Fun story and Griffin seemed too good to be true and Everleigh too much of a clutz to be believed. Also the insta love was meh. I also didn't get why or how you could uproot your entire life for a person you just met.

Only Santas in the Building - My 2nd favourite in the series. Evie was likeable. Not sue how she missed all the signs, but she was just clueless enough for me to believe it. Interestingly, Theo came across a bit stalker-ish with the way he just wandered around her.

Cruel Winter with You: 4/5 stars—I love Ali Hazelwood's writing, and this one did not disappoint! As someone from Illinois who met her last November when Check & Mate was released, I loved that the MCs were from Illinois! The spice did not disappoint, and I kind of wish there was a little more. Overall, though, I enjoyed it, and I want more holiday romance from Ali!

Merry Ever After: 3.5/5 stars - This one wasn't my favorite out of the bunch, which breaks my heart because I love Tessa's writing. I enjoyed the characters until the spice started, and then...."daddy" happened. It didn't feel like it fit the story, and the fact that she's a single mom calling him daddy didn't work for me.

All by My Elf: 3/5 stars - My least favorite out of the bunch; this one didn't hold my attention, and I got tired of reading about how they were driving around with a giant phallus on top of their vehicle. I didn't connect with the characters, but it was a decent amount of spice!

Merriment and Mayhem: 4.5/5 - This one was my favorite out of the bunch; it was fun and SPICY, and I loved all the shenanigans. I'm a sucker for the kind of story where the FMC is always getting into trouble, and the MMC is there to help her out of it.

Only Santas in the Building: 4/5 - Holy cats! This one was pretty spicy, and I enjoyed the characters. I'm not sure how I felt about Theo just kinda barging into Evie's apartment, but he was hot nonetheless. It was hot and steamy, and I enjoyed the characters!

Overall, this collection is a lot of fun! I'm glad it has spice because I wanted more from it, as much as I enjoyed the meet-cute collection. If you're in the mood for a quick holiday read (or five), definitely pick up one of these!

As an overall collection, these stories are fun and bring the perfect amount of cozy Christmas vibes to the table, perfect for a light December read!

Reviews for each story separately:

Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood - 3.5 stars
This was super cute! Short and sweet with good Christmas vibes and somehow Ali Hazelwood always knows how to get me attached to the main characters very quickly. I find it can be difficult to pace novellas properly, but she paced this one perfectly, and I felt like I knew enough about the characters in a short amount of time that I really understood their story. My only real complaint here is that I am a little upset that it's not a full-blown book because I am kind of in love with these characters!!

Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey - 2 stars
The first chapter of this felt very promising to me, but I felt like it went downhill very quickly after. However, I do tend to be very picky about grumpy/sunshine dynamics, so this just may not have been for me! It seemed a bit insta-lovey to me in a way that didn't entirely make sense to me because I felt like there wasn't really a whole lot of actual plot to work with here.

All by My Elf by Olivia Dade - 2.5 stars
I felt like this really had the potential to be cute but it fell flat for me. I think this kind of fell into the novella pacing issues I mentioned earlier, so it was like a lot of unnecessary or overexplained backstory that didn't really feel necessary to understand the characters at all. The MMC in this story was absolutely a cutie, but the FMC kind of came off incredibly childish, which became even worse after she reveals that she is almost 40 years old.

Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur - 4 stars
This one was definitely my favorite of the bunch! I had never read anything by this author before, but it is safe to say after reading this that I will be diving into more of her work. I am currently in the middle of watching 9-1-1 which may be why I enjoyed this so much, but I was really giggling and kicking my feet the whole time! This was perfectly paced and felt comfortable ending without trying to tie up all the loose ends or give me some sort of an epilogue, which was actually very refreshing.

Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria - 3 stars
Loved the title of this, it made me giggle and also let you know exactly what to expect from this one. This was cute, cozy and well-paced! I have not read anything by this author, but I enjoyed her writing style so I am inclined to check out more of her stuff. However, this was the only one where I felt like I actually didn't have enough backstory to the characters to really get attached or form a connection with any of them. Genuinely think this would've been near perfect if it had an extra 10 pages.

A collection of Christmas novellas with a spicy twist, sure to keep you engaged. Best enjoyed with your favorite holiday beverage.

Ali Hazelwood’s was my favorite of the bunch! Cozy vibes during a blizzard, child hood friends to lovers! Ugh love!

I have read Tessa’s work before and it wasn’t my favorite but this was cute for the time of the year! all the cozy Christmas vibes!

All by My Elf….. chefs kiss!

Merriment and Mayhem, firefighter???? Sign me up!!! Love love love!

Only Santa’s in the Building, Evie and Theo are just so damn so cute!! I’m glad they found their way to each other!

These were adorable! Some stories were more festive than others, but all pack a very spicy punch and have fun, interesting storylines. Would be great for the fast-paced holiday season :)

Cruel Winter with You - Ali Hazwood
5⭐️ 1🌶️
- MF
- Best Friend’s Brother
- Reverse Age Gap
- Mutual Pining
- Childhood Friends to Lovers
This was so cute! I loved every minute of it. It was adorable with the perfect amount of angst. I really loved Jamie and Marc together. I love a man who is willing to wait and will do anything to prove his love. I hope that this will get expanded one day because I’m dying to know Tabitha’s reaction to their relationship.

Merry Ever After - Tessa Bailey
2⭐️1🌶️
- MF
- Single Mom
- Farmer/Designer

I usually love Tessa’s writing but this one was a bit of a miss for me. The story itself was so stinking cute. I loved Luke the gentle giant who fell head over heels for Evie and her son. Evie’s story about why she picked this town was equally absurd and adorable. I loved it.

But good lord was the dirty talk in this book god awful. 😅 If this was written by anyone else I probably would have DNF, but since it was Tessa and a novella I stuck it out. Partially out of morbid curiosity to see if it could get worse.

All By My Elf - Olivia Dade
3⭐️ 1🌶️
This was my first time reading Olivia Dade and this novella was just ok. The beginning was a little confusing and I didn’t really connect with either character. I don’t know how a novella this short could have been a slow burn but somehow it was.

I thought the concept was fun. Being snowed into a grey market Oscar Mayer mobile was certainly new. While this novella may not have been my favorite, I won’t write of Olivia Dade completely.

Merriment and Mayhem - Alexandria Bellefleur

5⭐️ 1🌶️
- MF
- Firefighter
- Accident Prone FMC

This was my first time reading Alexandria Bellefleur and it certainly won’t be my last. This is my far my favorite novella in the series. It was just so adorable and hilarious. Griffin and Everleigh had such great banter and chemistry. My only complaint is that it wasn’t longer! I want more of them!

Only Santas in the Building - Alexis Daria
4⭐️ 1🌶️
- MF
- Neighbors
- Mutual Pining
- He Falls First

This was super cute and exactly what I was hoping for in a Christmas novella. Evie and Theo were adorable together and I really enjoyed their quick journey to each other. I’ll definitely be looking up more of Alexis’ writing.

A perfect collection of steamy romantic short stories for the holidays! I loved each story and will be purchasing them when they release later this month!

Cruel Winter With You: I found this very sweet. Having known each other since they were babies, practically, one quick errand during a storm brought them together. They have history, awkward moments and sexual tension off the charts. I would enjoy reading a lengthier story but as a short story it still does the trick.

Merry Ever After: Hot and steamy! A stranger in a new town, with a baby in tow, has caught the eyes of the giant single farmer. Luke is a big man, says what means and loves working his farm. Evie has a passion for design and just wants the best for her son. The two strike up a friendship than flips quickly into a future.

All By My Elf: Short and cute, no chapters just a fun story. Colleagues traveling during the holidays in an Oscar Mayer Weiner mobile look-a-like van are stuck in traffic. Games are played, chats are had, and quickies completed.

Merriment and Mayhem: Just a little accident prone, she’s gotten to know a certain firefighter very well. Just a few incidents and these two get hot and heavy pretty fast. It’s definitely not for the squeamish, but still highly entertaining.

Only Santas in the Building: My favorite of the short stories in this collection. Both characters are creative types, have secret crushes on each other and have great sense of humor. It’s bit of a secret Santa situation with a side of sexy crush. It’s also the only story that mentions mistletoe.

I received a copy of the entire collection through NetGalley and have written these reviews voluntarily.

A great book to get you in the holiday spirit! As always with anthologies, some stories are better than others. They’re a quick read and will leave a smile on your face.

Reviewing All By My Elf by Olivia Dade.

What an absolute charmer. I am extremely here for this short story that features the sexiness of close observation and paying attention; a hero with gorgeous, flexing wrists; laughing during sex; deep and abiding nerd-love; and the world's hottest and most romantic game of Never Have I Ever.

I really enjoyed this year's improbable meet cute series and couldn't wait to dive into this collection of holiday novellas!

With stories by some of the romcom faves (Ali Hazelwood, Tessa Bailey, Olivia Dade, Alexandria Bellefleur, and Alexis Daria) what's not to love?!

These quick reads, perfect for getting into the holiday spirit, have exactly what you'd expect from these authors, just on a wee bit smaller scale. Did I want a longer form story of each of these?? Absolutely. My two favorites, by far, were Cruel Winter With You and Merriment and Mayhem, I wish there had been full length stories but you can't go wrong with the collection as a whole!


Thank you Netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for the ARC in exchange for my review!

unfortunately this holiday novella series was a total disappointment for me😔 the daddy kink and size difference in tessa bailey’s book was actually my last straw💔 i loved ali hazelwood’s novella the best but it was still weak compared to her other books. unfortunately this was not for me

Overall 3.5.
1-Yes. This is what a Christmas short story looks like! Ali Hazelwood is great at dynamic characters who mesh well together. She’s able to bring a lot of heart and emotion in a few short pages. 4 stars
2-There were…a lot of weird lines in this one. It’s my first Tessa Bailey read and it may be my last. Not sure if this is reflective of her typical books, but this was not for me. To me, it almost read like a caricature of romance novels. 2 stars
3-Still not entirely sure I understand/could explain the business venture. Other than that, a pretty standard friends-to-lovers. 3 stars
4-Very cute meet-cute. Has the small town/community vibes that are perfect in a Christmas romance. 4 stars
5-There were a few cringey lines in this, but there is self awareness in the writing of some of the Santa-related puns. The author was able to build community in a few short pages. 3.5 stars
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I love that Amazon has been doing these series of novellas! I loved the Valentine’s Day series so was very excited to hear that they were releasing a holiday series.

Ali Hazelwood is one of my favorite authors so I could not wait to read her story. Her novella was by far the best one. It had such great chemistry and tension between the characters, which is often times hard to do in a short story! Absolutely loved it. 100/10.

Unfortunately the other novellas were not as strong. I felt that the weakest was Tessa Bailey’s novella. It was too insta-love for me and there was no chemistry or even a plot line?

Overall I enjoyed reading these short stories and I think they’re perfect for the holiday season!

4.5 stars

This collection overall was better than the last Meet Cute collection (which was also good but some stories were a bit less good than others). Each story was fun and spicy and swoony. The 2 strangers-to-lovers stories were probably better suited for a longer novel just because that is a lot to put into 50-75 pages. I've read 4/5 of these authors before and their stories were very much *them* which is great. Had I not known who wrote what, I could've probably guessed easily. I'll definitely be reading the 5th author again as well as that was a very cute story.

Quick, romantic, Christmasy. Perfect way to ease into the holiday season!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I love a holiday novella. At my core I am not a holiday person, so sometimes I’m turned off by books that are very season-centric but there is something about a cute Holiday novella that I am here for. I really enjoyed this collection of Amazon Christmas season romances. I thought they were all excellent. These are some of the best romance writers in the game right now and they are doing what they do best with a splash of Holiday Magic!

Thank you #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cruel Winter With You by Ali Hazelwood
⭐️ 5
🌶️ 4
This, this right here is the Ali Hazelwood that I love. And if there’s one thing about me, I love childhood friends to lovers. 61 pages was plenty to fall in love with Marc and Jamie, past and present.

Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey
⭐️ 5
🌶️ 4
Sweet and spicy. I love to see a MMC that isn’t afraid to go after what he wants and Luke was just that. And Evie, I would have loved to know her story more, but in the span of the short novella, I knew she was deserving of a happily ever after.

All By My Elf by Olivia Dade
⭐️ 3
🌶️ 2
I think the mincemobile ruined this one for me. Such an odd premise, but can’t say it’s not creative!

Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur
⭐️ 4
🌶️ 4
Griffin and Everleigh were adorable and destined to be but I docked a star because I was so caught up thinking “ew, she was just in the lake, and wait isn’t she absolutely freezing?”

Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria
⭐️ 5
🌶️ 3
Alexis Daria, consider me your new #1 fan. I absolutely loved this novella. Evie and Theo’s story was the perfect mix of secret longing and insta-love. Perfection.




🌶️🌶️ = open door, minimal detail
🌶️🌶️🌶️ = open door, multiple scenes, not descriptive
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️= open door, multiple scenes, descriptive

This is a fun group of stories that are spicy and perfect quick Christmas reads! I discovered some new authors and read some old favorites! I think everyone should read or listen to this group of stories.

Under the Mistletoe is a collection of 5 novellas each by a different author. These novellas were festive and cozy and gave off holiday vibes without being 5 novellas taking place on Christmas. I really enjoyed that each of the storylines were unique. There were a few that I wished were longer, if only because I was enjoying myself to the point where I would’ve loved to read more of the story.

What I enjoyed most about this collection is that my favorite novella was by an author I haven’t read before, Alexis Daria. Two of my favorite authors are Tessa Bailey and Ali Hazelwood, and I’ve enjoyed Alexandria’s Bellefleur’s books as well. Alexis Daria’s novella, Only Santas in the Building, was my standout favorite and I’m excited to read more of her work.

Thanks to each of these authors and Amazon Publishing for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.