Christmas in Sweetbriar Cove: A Holiday Collection

Sweetbriar Cove #5,17

by Melody Grace

Celebrate the holidays in Sweetbriar Cove with this festive romance collection, containing two sizzling small-town holiday stories - perfect for fans of Tessa Bailey, Sophie Kinsella, and Lucy Score.

In HOLIDAY KISSES… Grumpy writer Dash is looking for peace and quiet on Cape Cod to finish his new script over the holidays, but he wasn’t betting on inn-keeper Ellie and the local Starbright festival to give him a jolt of festive inspiration.

In FROM THIS MOMENT… Florist Rose is nursing a broken heart for the holidays, until she teams up with local bachelor Nick to compete in the annual Sweetbriar Cove Scavenger Hunt, and discovers that romance might be the perfect holiday prize!

There’ll be plenty of kisses under the mistletoe in these feel-good romance reads!

★★★★★ Five Star Reviews for Melody ★★★★★

"Melody Grace created fascinating characters that are simply I-R-R-E-S-I-S-T-I-B-L-E ! Her stories leave you with a big smile on your face and a heart bursting with love."

“If you want to read another great feel-good summer romance then this is the book for you.”

“Melody Grace captures my heart over and over again with her amazing characters and stories of friendship, love and romance. I absolutely love small town romance, and Sweetbriar Cove is one of my absolute favorites.”

“I think this book will appeal to all romance lovers: it’s sweet, entertaining, witty and easy to read. Beautifully written, it has characters you can’t help falling in love with.”

“This is a beautifully written book and many friends and favorite residents from Sweetbriar Cove make the story a perfect read. Loved it!”

“An entertaining read, well-written, with easy to connect with characters.”

“It feels so good to be back in Sweetbriar Cove… it feels like you have been on a vacation and just returned home.”

“I read many different kinds of romance, but my favorite is small towns with lots of family and friends. Ms. Grace captures that feeling with this series over and over again making Sweetbriar Cove one of my favorites of all time.”

The Sweetbriar Cove Series:
#1 Meant to Be
#2 All for You
#3 The Only One
#4 I'm Yours
#5 Holiday Kisses
#6 No Ordinary Love
#7 Wildest Dreams
#8 This Kiss
#9 Always Be Mine
#10 Two Hearts
#11 The Story of Us
#12 Back to You
#13 One More Night
#14 Time After Time
#15 Forever Summer
#16 Simply Irresistible
#17 From this Moment

Genres: Christmas, Romance, Holiday, Ebooks, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Amazon

491 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 16, 2023

About the author

NYT bestselling author of small-town romance. A new chapter in the Sweetbriar Cove series begins with Two Hearts - July 30th!

Reviews

[Dimitra · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐✨/5 ⭐

[Diana (DomesticGoddess) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Holiday Kisses - 4 stars
Kinda cute short story. I liked the characters, but had to pause to wonder if the plot points involving the movie business were at all realistic.

From This Moment - 3 stars
As I’m writing this, I’m trying to remember the story. So, a pretty mediocre friends-to-lovers novella.

Meant to Be - 2 stars
Save the best for last? No. This one is the first in the series, a full-length novel, and definitely not the best. The author committed the deadly writing sin of repetitiveness, so shorter probably would have been better. I also couldn’t get over the H acting like a 12 year-old whiney douchebag for a good part of the book.
It was a bit confusing to read in this order, since some of the couples mentioned in the previous two stories were not together yet. Although, I think if the collection had started with this one the whole thing would have been a DNF for me.

[Joëlla Kuijpers · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Marit :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

3 vvv cute love stories🥰🌟

[Mayra · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️

Tenemos nuevamente un “estuvo… okay?”

Lo empecé a leer hace un mes demasiado emocionada de que fuera otra historia navideña sencilla. Malamente yo no sabía que eran 2 mini historias y un libro completo entonces ya desde ahí mi experiencia estaba siendo rara.

Las primeras dos historias se me hicieron lindas y justo lo que estaba buscando pero sobre todo la segunda se me hizo pesada de leer, honestamente ya ni me acuerdo mucho de que iba.

El libro si de plano se me hizo pesadísimo, se sentían muchas cosas muy repetitivas y llegó un momento en que le daban vueltas a lo mismo pero a la vez era insta love y no se, fue una experiencia rara. Además, y nuevamente esto fue mi culpa, yo esperaba que este también fuera de navidad y no entonces lo hizo más raro.

[Estefany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestamente comencé este porque primero quería leer algo rápido y navideño, y segundo porque fue una de los que bajé gracias a las ofertas de Kindle. Lo que no esperaba era que viniera con el primer libro de la serie principal, por lo que decidí dejarlo para otra oportunidad. Son muchos libros y no me gustaría comenzar a leer una serie y dejarla ahí botada. Pero las 2 historias cortas fueron super bonitas y entretenidas, la verdad me gustó más la segunda, Nick y Rose son muy lindos y tienen una química que trasciende el papel. Espero en algún momento del año adentrarme en toda la serie y ver si aparecen de nuevo.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the first two short stories and did not bother reading the full length story. It was a good light read but the characters had very little development and were straight at it from the first few pages. I would have liked to see a bit more of a plot line.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stories right here!

Loved this book so much! Melody Grace delivers great stories in this one just in time for the holidays! You will not be disappointed as she takes you on a journey of love! Grab this one as soon as possible!

[Mackenzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Essentially, this was a bundle of different stories and characters surrounding a small town at Christmas. It was sweet and had some steamy moments.

[Mariahmmm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book synopsis: A collection of two Christmas short stories and one Summertime novella, all set in Sweetbriar Cove at Cope Cod, USA. Each story had a resident + visitor relationship exploring themes of trust, respect, vulnerability, and understanding your true self.

Book review: What a fun collection of spicy holiday romances! The Christmas ones were definitely my favourites, with such a cosy atmosphere and great plots/couples/chemistry. Sweetbriar Cove sounds charming and I'm looking forward to reading more from this world!



INDIVIDUAL STORY REVIEWS

Holiday Kisses- 5 stars

"Anything was charming when you knew you could leave it behind"

Synopsis: When screen writer Dash Everett rents a secluded winter cabin at Sweetbriar Inn to overcome his writers block, Dash finds inspiration, and an electric connection, in the Inn's spitfire Ellie Lucas. But when Dash secretly makes Ellie his muse against her wishes, does this spell disaster for any chance between them?

Review: Absolutely loved this story! The chemistry was electric with a slow burn and hot romance. Their conflict and solution felt like a real experience, with Dash's very sweet grand gesture making so much sense! The town plus the festival was inviting and I'd love to spend Christmas holidays there.



From this Moment- 4 stars

"Love can make you blind, even to what’s right in front of you..."

Synopsis: After Rose's devastating breakup with her long-time crush Scott (who immediately moves on), seductive English bachelor Nick offers to help Rose get over the heartache and make Scott jealous. But with Rose and Nick teaming up for the Christmas Scavenger Hunt, and sparks flying whenever they're around each other, are they ready to admit to wanting more than a greasy pancake?

Review: Instant chemistry and fun banter made this a spicy read! I loved how Rose and Nick were thrown together, although the Scavenger Hunt felt a little unrealistic in its pacing. It was a nice change with "big city" guy Nick having lived there for a few years, settling into Sweetbriar Cove and become friends with Rose, so neither are sacrificing "home".



Meant to Be- 3 stars

"Romance books are a place to believe, where hope wins out and love is never in vain"

Synopsis: After ending her engagement two weeks before the wedding, romance author Poppy is having major writers block as she struggles with the fear that soulmates are just a childish dream. Will a reunion with her teasing childhood friend Cooper, all grown up into a rugged stud but bitter after a painful heartbreak, help both believe in the power of starting over?

Review: There was good chemistry but the conflict and resolution felt a little dry and overdone. The happy ending was cheesy and a little too unbelievable. A few little red flags popped up too, like Riley making jokes about sleeping with a minor, Aunt Jane always sexually objectifying Cooper, and Cooper's anger and controlling issues. It was nice to see future characters being set up for more books, but I'm not interested in sticking with this friend group.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holiday Kisses - Ellie runs her family's inn at Sweetbriar Cove. It's Christmas, and Dash has rented a cabin to seclude and write. He's a Hollywood writer, and he was very far behind. Somehow, he thought flying across the country to a little inn at. Christmas would be quiet. I guess he never heard of Christmas. Anyway, pretty quickly Ellie and everything about her was interrupting Dash's thoughts, and it wasn't long before she was his muse. It wasn't long before they were in a liplock and enjoying all of the town's Christmas festivities. The only problem is that Ellie didn't want to ever be a muse, so when she finds out the proverbial crap hits the fan. How can they find their way back? It involves a dumpster dive and the classic turning around of a taxi .


From This Moment- Rose has been pining after Scott for a long time. Scott finally asks her out, and they are together for an all too short time. He dumped her ten days before Christmas. Enter Nick the new to town British playboy who has a new woman every week. He and Rose really like each other as friends, and when Nick finds out about what happened, he tells her she needs a " greasy pancake." Around here, that would be called rebound or maybe get over one by getting under another. So Nick kisses Rose and sparks fly. Then, to show Scott that he means nothing, Rose and Nick pair up for the Christmas Scavenger Hunt. They also pair up for a sex scene that I was not expecting but was not all all against.
Obviously, Scott comes between them, but what brings them back together? Rose claims her prize and her self-confidence!

[Kerry Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute festive reads with all the vibes, lots of Christmas traditions that draw you into the town of Sweetbriar and all the fun characters.
Bonus this is three books in one.
Two novellas and a full length book.
The first is a sweet enemies to lovers romance with all the fun banter and wit. Hugely enjoyable and sweet ending oh and it's very much a grumpy x sunshine sub trope.
Book two is a friends to lovers romance that had a lot of humour and another adorable read with a bit of spice.
Book three I'll go back to only because I've got some arcs to read.
Melody Grace is a fantastic author who writes likeable and loveable characters.
Definitely one to read xo
Kerry Kennedy Author

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holiday Kisses - 3/5

This is kind of forgettable for me. All I remember is I think the 3rd act break up is annoying.


From This Moment - 4/5

I love the friends to lover story. The guy MC is adorable. And I like how the 3rd act breakup is much more reasonable than the first story.


From This Moment - 4.25/5

I love this book! I feel like I related to both characters at some point in the story. But I think the 3rd act breakup is not the author’s strong suit. I think the 3rd act breakup is the only thing I disliked about this book. But other than that, the rest of the book is so adorable and cozy.

[Daniel Hood · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, I totally didn’t catch that this was a short story collection when I first decided to throw this into my holiday reads. I love a good short story set, but going in I thought it was one structured novel so it sorta threw me off. Anyhow, these were fun enough stories to read but they all had the same basic premise. A struggling writer moves to a small town for peace, quiet and inspiration, when they fall in love with someone and it all gets topsy turvy. It was interesting enough the first time but repetitive after the second story.

[Diana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Le doy 1.5 como máximo, para ser un libro de casi 500 páginas, there was no plot, no character development más que en un personaje. Las primeras dos habrán sido mini historias, pero la tercera supuestamente es el primer libro de una serie y tuvo 0 plot, extendido de más, "el conflicto" que plantea ni fue conflicto, literal no hubo nada que lo justificara y se resolvió también como si nada. Aparte lo leí por la temporada, pero solo las primeras dos historias fueron Christmas-time related

[Macey Camp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hollywood star meets local innkeeper, florist ventures into unexpected relationship with a friend, and author finds out how charming her childhood “bully” can really be. I don’t really care for third person writing, but the author did really good on this book! If you love cute quick romances I highly recommend this short story collection to you. The way she so vividly describes the heart break and love was top tier.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

An acceptable light fluffy read for the holidays, but could use better editing, as there were some continuity issues and odd metaphors (How would rain-checks float a life raft? Don’t try to be cute if it makes no sense...). By the third story, I started to loathe the phrase “he claimed her mouth” because it was so overused.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of two shorter stories and one longer one. I gave up with the longer novel. They're OK as a fluffy read, but kind of nothing much to them - nothing to think about when you're not reading the book. A few too many cliches. Whilst one of the stories at a time is a change, three in one book is just too much. Probably not the right author for me.

[Barbara Deeprose · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Nice Christmas Read

Christmas themed books are not quite as good in February, for me anyway, but I still enjoyed this book. Two of the short books were set at Christmas time but not the third, which I had read before, but didn't mind reading again. Sweetbriar Cove sounds a nice place to live, wish I could visit and have some of the magic of the place rub off on me.

[Izzy Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were 4 total books in this one book and a majority of them were 5 star reads however I think it was either the 2nd or 3rd book that was not and made me lose interest however I made myself power through and ended up loving it again. I wish these would have been separated into 4 separate actual books instead of crammed together.

[Debra Czekalski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this sweet barrier Cove series. It was lighthearted. It was about break up and now you can make it when you get back together and work on forever. All three books were very good very easy reading and enjoyable and I would recommend anybody that wants a lighthearted romance series to read.

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book consists of three stories, two Christmas stories set in Sweetbriar Cove, and then a freebie of the first book in the Sweetbriar Cove series, not set during Christmas. The first two stories are a fun Christmassy read and all three stories are feel-good, easy romances, but sometimes some cliché tropes annoyed me, especially in the third part of the book.

[Ally · Rating 2 out of 5]

so I didn’t know these were short stories, but accepted that but then part 3 was a 300 page story 🤯😤 anyways, I don’t think I can do anymore hallmark type Christmas stories anymore, kinda entertaining but I got bored, and I am not a huge fan on insta love. We’ll see next year, I’ll probably pick up another hallmark theme one because you know, holiday vibes

[Tami Schafer · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this new to me author

I truly enjoyed this book starting with the two Christmas stories and ending with the first book in the series of Sweet briar cove will read the others as money allows for truly enjoyed everything about it

[Pam Zemball · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and feel good read. Christmas time is a great time of the year and to find love makes it all that more special.. not much of a mystery how the stories would end but it gives the reader some much needed downtime…

[Brittany Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute. Sweet. To the point. I did think it was interesting that both MMC’s were European, and also I didn’t notice characters from either story overlapping. Could’ve been reading so fast I missed details though. 😊

[Nancy Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cooper and Poppy

It's a second chance romance. They both have so many problems you wonder if it will straightened out and leather find the love they deserve. The town and characters are fun and feels like home.

[Bekki's Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Small town holiday romances

I love small town romances. Getting to know different members of the small town and reading their stories is always amazing. The characters are loveable and the town is picture perfect.

[Vicky Coughlan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sweetbriar Cove series was a new read for me. Two short stories plus a full length novel. They were all soooo good. The characters were very likeable and the story lines just blended seamlessly making this a very enjoyable read. I’ll definitely be looking for the other books in this series.

[Sharron Fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

You just can't stop reading

From book one you just can't stop reading,even though you know the story from page one near enough, the writing and characters get you hooked. I can't wait to read on even though I feel I know where the story is going. It's just pure joy