I read all of them and each was different in their way. Alexa Daria's was my favorite, with Tessa Bailey's coming in second. Overall each was okay but a good quick read.
s

This was a cute collection of Christmasy romance short stories, some more festive than others. My favorites were Ali Hazelwood's friends to lovers story and Alexis Daria's short story about two neighbors realizing they each liked each other at a holiday party. No total standouts but a fun overall collection.

most of these short novellas were cute. Some more than others. Got bogged down in all the other Christmas stories out there and didn't finish this one.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy of this collection. My opinions are my own.

First off, I have only read Tessa and Ali before although I do have several of Alexandria's books on my TBR. I loved Ali's book, but Tessa's fell flat on so many levels for me, the insta love did nothing for me, the baby plotline scared me (laying a young child down on a stranger's bed? yikes), and I didn't buy into the fact that the main male character was so big that he couldn't find jeans (he's 6'5" - it's not that tall).
However, Olivia Dade's story was cute and featured miscommunication that was solved by TALKING - which is a nice change of pace. Also Alexandria's story was super adorable and I loved the meet cutes that they kept having. But the shining star was Alexis Daria's Only Santas In the Building - super adorable and relatable with a hot mess of a female main character who draws comics for a living and constantly running into her crush when she's neck deep in drawing mode and not focused on looks. Lucky for her, because he's been hooked from the get go.
Over all, I loved all of the stories except for Tessa's.

Recommend, just skip Tessa's.

This collection of novellas makes for a cozy holiday read. Get your warm drink, curl up in front of the fireplace (real or virtual), and enjoy! Of the novellas, Ali Hazelwood's was my favorite. She manages to give us a mash-up of second chance/best friend's brother/MMC pinning that is chef's kiss. Tessa Bailey is classic Tessa Bailey, big, tall man simp simping. Olivia Dade's novella felt like a she choose a smattering of plot points from a hat and made it work in an unhinged way. I didn't enjoy Alexandria Bellefleur's novella, but I just think it wasn't my cup of tea. Alexis Daria's was the perfect ending to the collections!

When life hands you a snowstorm, it’s time to crank up the tension—and the steam! Jamie’s known Marc his whole life, but their last meeting left things…complicated. And while Marc is ready to put it all on the line, Jamie’s playing it cool. Enter: one blizzard, one cabin, and all the feelings they can no longer dodge.

The chemistry between these two? Off the charts. The banter? So fun!Watching them navigate their history and undeniable pull made this story a total page-turner. Between the pining (so much delicious pining) and the fiery steam, it’s clear Jamie and Marc were destined to be a forever kind of thing.

If you’re into forced proximity, second chances, and sizzling romance, this one’s a must-read!

Thank you NetGalley, Amazon and Ali Hazelwood for the gifted ebook ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

This short story collection is the perfect bite-sized holiday reads to get you in the festive spirit! They packed a punched for their size.

Definitely recommend to get a sample of each authors writing style, as well.

These were cute romantic fast paced books. I loved how I got to get a little taste of how each author writes to find new authors to read all of their books. I can’t wait for them to write more short stories like this

This was a great collection of fun seasonal novellas. Some were much stronger than others (and honestly that’s why it took me longer than I would’ve liked to get through them all) but over all this is a solid bunch!

✨ 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’m all for spicy romance but these just weren’t it. I felt like a couple could have potential as full length novels though.
Cruel Winter With You
Not my favorite by this author, I think the characters just needed more development. The plot wasn’t that intriguing and missed on the holiday cuteness.
Merry Ever After
I really enjoyed the big, burly MMC Luke and if this would have been a full length novel I think he would be a top book boyfriend contender. The single mom trope added interest, but again, the novella could have benefited from being a bit longer to develop the characters and connection further.
All By My Elf
Yeah, this one just did not hold my interest at all. The weinermobile was fun but not enough for a plot to be centered around.
Merriment and Mayhem
Can we have a full length novel featuring the two main characters? They were funny and cute, and I found myself smiling more instead of cringing as with the previous books in this collection.
Only Santas In The Building
The neighbors to lovers was a cute trope for this, but again, would have been ten times better if the character arcs could have been developed more in a full length novel. It was a good conclusion to the collection though.

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 are perfect for cozying up under a blanket and reading in one or two sittings.

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

This was a fun, festive read for the holidays. All had good pacing and excellent steam. I laughed out loud at all of them at one time or another. Alexandria Bellefleur and Alexis Daria are new to me authors but I will be looking for more of their work now.

A cute collection of really short christmas novellas to get into the holiday spirit! I especially enjoyed the one by Ali Hazelwood!

Very cute and sweet series of Christmas novellas to get you in the holiday spirit. I especially enjoyed the Ali hazelwood one!

Great holiday collection. Love each and every one of these authors, and though short stories, these really hit. Highly recommend adding to your holiday TBR

These Amazon Original Stories have become something I really look forward to, as it’s nice to get a little appetizer from your favorite authors while you wait for their next novel. While this collection wasn’t as strong as previous ones, there were a couple of holiday gems hidden inside.

❄️ Cruel Winter With You ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: My favorite of the collection. It’s signature Ali Hazelwood with a bit of something new.

🌲 Merry Ever After ⭐️⭐️⭐️: If you like Tessa Bailey, you’ll love this.

🌭 All By My Elf ⭐️⭐️: Loved the diversity and representation but overall this wasn’t for me.

🍪 Merriment and Mayhem ⭐️⭐️⭐️: This was fine, but it felt like there was too much going on which led to a rushed ending.

🎅🏻 Only Santas in the Building ⭐️⭐️⭐️: I really liked this one (it was 2nd place behind Cruel Winter) but the reason I docked a few stars was that I thought there was a lot that could be expanded on in a full length novel (which I would totally read)

The whole Under the Mistletoe collection is out now. Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

THANKS FOR THE CHRISTMAS PORN *wheeze*

Thank you for the @amazonbooks and @netgalley for the #gifted copy of these novellas.

Where do I even start with these books... they were ✨️ALRIGHT✨️ When I think of festive stories, I immediately am expecting warm & fuzzy feels, but we unlocked holiday horny that I didn't think I was ready for.

Enjoy my unhinged mini reviews... starting with my ✨️FAVE✨️ Merriment and Mayhem eeee

1️⃣ Merritment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur:
This one is the BEST out of the five so far... I love the chemistry between the characters, and the fated pair trope always gets me. PLUS A HOT FIREFIGHTER, are we kidding!?!

Anyways...send me your firefighter romance recs? Please.

2️⃣ Only Santa's in the Building by Alexis Daria:
Why wasn't this a full book!?!?! I loved the artistic characters and how quirky they were! This is what I was expecting. The right level of spice (for me), heartwarming moments (the homemaid ornaments *swoon*), and the fun festive setting (Santa costume party in the apartment building, yes please!)

3️⃣ Cruel Winter With You by Ali Hazelwood:
Cute! The dual timeline was fun. Love the best friends brother trope! To be honest, it was mid.

4️⃣ Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey:
I was so excited for this cute lil holiday moment from Tessa since I am OBSESSED with Fangirl Down... this was a flop. I think I needed more of the cute moments between the couple and less of their uncomfortable dirty talk. Don't hit me with the "Daddy" and not expect me to want to rip my skin off my bones from being uncomfortable.

5️⃣ All By My Elf by Olivia Dade:
I just can't get behind late thirty year old's on a hot dog bus playing Never Have I Ever, and not being able to admit that they have feelings for each other. The academia premise had promised, but it really fell apart when she put all these extremely intelligent people into a part-time job for twenty year old's. The spicy scene was as good as the plot... not.

If you're looking for some spicy short stories for the holidays, look no further! Each story in this collection can be read in one sitting or even an hour car ride!
My personal favorite of this collection was Ali Hazelwood's 'Cruel Winter With You'. Ali did a great job in a short number of pages developing the main characters' love story. Best friends brother + forced proximity = a great holiday short story.
For any reader who can't commit to a full book during the busy holiday season, reading one of these is a great option.
Disclaimer: Readers who do not like open door, spicy scenes should avoid this collection.

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

Thank you to the authors, Amazon Publishing, NetGalley for the ebook and audiobook copies. I read as part of a Tandem Collective read along!