Curl up by the fire with some of today’s hottest authors as they serve enough holiday joy and magic to melt the frostiest heart. As the temperature drops, friends and neighbors might need to turn up the heat, and even old enemies just might get a second chance.
Let it snow!
Under the Mistletoe is a stirring collection of December romances that thrill and tingle all the way. They can be read or listened to in one swoony sitting.
Title: Under the Mistletoe Amazon Original Stories
Author: Aliz Hazelwood, Tessa Bailey, Olivia Dade, Alexandria Bellefleur, Alexis Daria
Publisher: Amazon
Expected Publication Date: November 12, 2024
Review:
I've been hearing about Olivia Dade for a while. I even own one of her books (though it's second in the series so I won't read it until I read the first one). What I've heard mostly is she writes realistic female characters, which I'm always wanting to see.
The FMC in this novella, Nina, definitely fits the realistic and relatable bill. I love that she's older. And I love that she's curvy! Realistically, I do wish she was more forthcoming with her best friend, who doesn't play much more than a background character in the story. But perceptions are what they are. The MMC, William, is hard to pin down. Honestly, I didn't really see much development for him and really wanted more. While I understand this may be harder in a short story, I just didn't get any kind of vibe from him. And his side of the story was more told than shown. I think this would have worked better in dual POV.
I love the snowed in trope, though it seemed a bit unrealistic to me to be stuck on the highway and not moving for so many hours without knowing why. I don't live in an area that gets snow storms where people get abandoned so perhaps it happens? But the way the story was told didn't make me feel it was real. The author also wove in the close proximity trope, which I always love.
Overall this one was fun but not spectacular. I would definitely give other books by this author a try in the future.
The FMC in this novella, Nina, definitely fits the realistic and relatable bill. I love that she's older. And I love that she's curvy! Realistically, I do wish she was more forthcoming with her best friend, who doesn't play much more than a background character in the story. But perceptions are what they are. The MMC, William, is hard to pin down. Honestly, I didn't really see much development for him and really wanted more. While I understand this may be harder in a short story, I just didn't get any kind of vibe from him. And his side of the story was more told than shown. I think this would have worked better in dual POV.
I love the snowed in trope, though it seemed a bit unrealistic to me to be stuck on the highway and not moving for so many hours without knowing why. I don't live in an area that gets snow storms where people get abandoned so perhaps it happens? But the way the story was told didn't make me feel it was real. The author also wove in the close proximity trope, which I always love.
Overall this one was fun but not spectacular. I would definitely give other books by this author a try in the future.
3 Stars
Review:
I'm a big Tessa Bailey fan. I love her characters and their relationships and ups and down.
This novella was sweet but I felt like it went zero to sixty in 1.2 seconds without much build up.
While I enjoyed the back and forth between Evie and Luke, I kind of needed more. I'm not saying I don't believe in love or lust at first sight, but I also believe there needs to be a bit of a build up.
Tessa introduces us to Evie who is trying to put her and her son's lives back together with a clean move to a new town. And she is very adamant about not wanting to get tangled up with someone because she needs to keep her life simple. Yet she falls hard quickly for Luke, without even really truly knowing him. There's not real background. Same goes for Luke. He's attracted to Evie, I get that, but within two days he wants her to be his wife and I just didn't get the chemistry between them that made that actually happen.
Given this is a short story, I do get there is limited time to get the characters together and get to their happily ever after, but it just felt super rushed in this story and did not feel like typical Bailey for me.
I did appreciate Bailey making Evie a strong independent woman who wanted to make her own decisions. I definitely felt that from her. Luke, on the other hand, is just this big burly man who has siblings and loves his farm but that's about all we know about him. I feel like in such a small town, perhaps introducing some other characters to the story so we could learn about Luke through them would have been helpful.
I feel like this story would have been better as a full novel but overall it was fun, and had nice spice.
This novella was sweet but I felt like it went zero to sixty in 1.2 seconds without much build up.
While I enjoyed the back and forth between Evie and Luke, I kind of needed more. I'm not saying I don't believe in love or lust at first sight, but I also believe there needs to be a bit of a build up.
Tessa introduces us to Evie who is trying to put her and her son's lives back together with a clean move to a new town. And she is very adamant about not wanting to get tangled up with someone because she needs to keep her life simple. Yet she falls hard quickly for Luke, without even really truly knowing him. There's not real background. Same goes for Luke. He's attracted to Evie, I get that, but within two days he wants her to be his wife and I just didn't get the chemistry between them that made that actually happen.
Given this is a short story, I do get there is limited time to get the characters together and get to their happily ever after, but it just felt super rushed in this story and did not feel like typical Bailey for me.
I did appreciate Bailey making Evie a strong independent woman who wanted to make her own decisions. I definitely felt that from her. Luke, on the other hand, is just this big burly man who has siblings and loves his farm but that's about all we know about him. I feel like in such a small town, perhaps introducing some other characters to the story so we could learn about Luke through them would have been helpful.
I feel like this story would have been better as a full novel but overall it was fun, and had nice spice.
3 Stars
Review:
I swear Hazelwood never fails to entertain me. She could write a grocery list and I'd be utterly enthralled. But what she does best is pull all kinds of emotions out of me. Even in her short stories. This book had an absolute chokehold on my heart from the very beginning.
This has a he fell first trope to it with a bit of unrequited love then a friends to lovers aspect through forced proximity.
The story is told in present day with flashbacks important to setting up the relationship between the two main characters: Marc and Jamie. The story is focused solely on them, so you don't get much in the way of the relationships between the other characters who are introduced. You do see some of that through the main character's eyes, though. I can see how this might be hard with a short story, though, as you really need to focus on the main theme and not much else outside of that can really happen.
I love how the characters are lifelong friends. Marc knows so much more about Jamie than she even thinks he knows. He sees her and that really resonated with me. Being seen is so important, even in our times where we are not at our best. And he's so raw and open. Unafraid to be rejected and willing to fight for what he knows he wants, no matter how long it takes. He's patient and protective. Jamie, on the other hand, is blinded to how he feels and then when she knows, she constantly pulls away because she is too afraid to open herself up to love and the potential of hurt. But you know Hazelwood can't leave you with something that's not happy in the end without taking you through a struggle.
I don't know how she does it, but this author always gets into my brain and my heart and makes me love everything about the characters she writes. My one complaint is that it was a short story. I really wanted something much longer to soak in and let sit with me. It was over too fast.
This has a he fell first trope to it with a bit of unrequited love then a friends to lovers aspect through forced proximity.
The story is told in present day with flashbacks important to setting up the relationship between the two main characters: Marc and Jamie. The story is focused solely on them, so you don't get much in the way of the relationships between the other characters who are introduced. You do see some of that through the main character's eyes, though. I can see how this might be hard with a short story, though, as you really need to focus on the main theme and not much else outside of that can really happen.
I love how the characters are lifelong friends. Marc knows so much more about Jamie than she even thinks he knows. He sees her and that really resonated with me. Being seen is so important, even in our times where we are not at our best. And he's so raw and open. Unafraid to be rejected and willing to fight for what he knows he wants, no matter how long it takes. He's patient and protective. Jamie, on the other hand, is blinded to how he feels and then when she knows, she constantly pulls away because she is too afraid to open herself up to love and the potential of hurt. But you know Hazelwood can't leave you with something that's not happy in the end without taking you through a struggle.
I don't know how she does it, but this author always gets into my brain and my heart and makes me love everything about the characters she writes. My one complaint is that it was a short story. I really wanted something much longer to soak in and let sit with me. It was over too fast.
5 Stars
Review:
I have not read anything by this author before. I have to say, I really enjoyed this short story. I'm always looking for new romance authors who give great stories that flow well on the page.
Bellefleur easily established the chemistry between Griffin and Evereigh despite the short time in order to do it. I loved their meet cutes and how you could feel the pull between these two characters. They were sexy and flirty together.
I liked that Bellefleur incorporated other characters into the story who were actually developed enough to see their personalities. That is not an easy feat with such a short time frame to work with.
I will say they did fall into bed rather quickly. I do wish there was more between then prior to it happening. And I just don't believe that two people who barely know each other would not use protection and just trust one another, but maybe that's me.
Overall I enjoyed this short with it's fireman theme and all the saving that happened to create a relationship between the characters. I could definitely see this one as a longer story. I'm excited to have found a new romance author to look into!
Bellefleur easily established the chemistry between Griffin and Evereigh despite the short time in order to do it. I loved their meet cutes and how you could feel the pull between these two characters. They were sexy and flirty together.
I liked that Bellefleur incorporated other characters into the story who were actually developed enough to see their personalities. That is not an easy feat with such a short time frame to work with.
I will say they did fall into bed rather quickly. I do wish there was more between then prior to it happening. And I just don't believe that two people who barely know each other would not use protection and just trust one another, but maybe that's me.
Overall I enjoyed this short with it's fireman theme and all the saving that happened to create a relationship between the characters. I could definitely see this one as a longer story. I'm excited to have found a new romance author to look into!
4 Stars
Review:
This is my first title by Alexis Daria and I was excited to jump in and see how her writing was. I was not disappointed.
I enjoyed her pacing and her plot. Her writing was good and the story line flowed easily.
She easily developed her characters. I really liked Evie. She was fun and I liked how creative she was. Theo seemed nice but I didn't get too much of him since this was from Evie's point of view and very short. Harder to develop characters in such a short amount of time with only one POV.
The chemistry between the two characters was just ok for me. I didn't really feel it as much as I would have liked.
The side characters were nice, though we didn't get much about them other than them living in the building. I did like the relationship Daria portrayed between Evie and her sister April.
I can definitely see myself picking up more titles from this author in the future!
I enjoyed her pacing and her plot. Her writing was good and the story line flowed easily.
She easily developed her characters. I really liked Evie. She was fun and I liked how creative she was. Theo seemed nice but I didn't get too much of him since this was from Evie's point of view and very short. Harder to develop characters in such a short amount of time with only one POV.
The chemistry between the two characters was just ok for me. I didn't really feel it as much as I would have liked.
The side characters were nice, though we didn't get much about them other than them living in the building. I did like the relationship Daria portrayed between Evie and her sister April.
I can definitely see myself picking up more titles from this author in the future!
3 Stars
Authors:
Ali Hazelwood is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of
Love, Theoretically and The Love Hypothesis. She also pursued a
PhD in neuroscience. When Ali is not at work, she can be found
running, eating cake pops, or watching sci-fi movies with her three
cats (and her slightly-less-feline husband).
Tessa Bailey is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The
Au Pair Affair, Fangirl Down, Wreck the Halls, and other romance
novels featuring stubborn blue-collar men and loyal, lovable
heroines. Tessa writes with spice, spirit, swoon, and a guaranteed
happily ever after.
Olivia Dade is the national bestselling author of the stand-alone
novel Ship Wrecked and numerous romance series including
Spoiler Alert, Lovestruck Librarians, There’s Something about
Marysburg, Love Unscripted, and Harlot’s Bay.
Alexandria Bellefleur is a bestselling author of Truly, Madly,
Deeply; The Fiancée Farce; and other swoony contemporary
romances. Her debut novel, Written in the Stars, was a 2021
Lambda Literary Award winner and a 2020 winner of the Ripped
Bodice Awards for Excellence in Romantic Fiction.
Alexis Daria is the international bestselling author of Along Came
Amor, You Had Me at Hola, Take the Lead, and other romance
novels. They have received starred reviews from multiple
publications and have appeared on “Best of” lists in numerous
trade publications.
Love, Theoretically and The Love Hypothesis. She also pursued a
PhD in neuroscience. When Ali is not at work, she can be found
running, eating cake pops, or watching sci-fi movies with her three
cats (and her slightly-less-feline husband).
Tessa Bailey is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The
Au Pair Affair, Fangirl Down, Wreck the Halls, and other romance
novels featuring stubborn blue-collar men and loyal, lovable
heroines. Tessa writes with spice, spirit, swoon, and a guaranteed
happily ever after.
Olivia Dade is the national bestselling author of the stand-alone
novel Ship Wrecked and numerous romance series including
Spoiler Alert, Lovestruck Librarians, There’s Something about
Marysburg, Love Unscripted, and Harlot’s Bay.
Alexandria Bellefleur is a bestselling author of Truly, Madly,
Deeply; The Fiancée Farce; and other swoony contemporary
romances. Her debut novel, Written in the Stars, was a 2021
Lambda Literary Award winner and a 2020 winner of the Ripped
Bodice Awards for Excellence in Romantic Fiction.
Alexis Daria is the international bestselling author of Along Came
Amor, You Had Me at Hola, Take the Lead, and other romance
novels. They have received starred reviews from multiple
publications and have appeared on “Best of” lists in numerous
trade publications.
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