Santa Loves Curvy Girls

by Kelsie Stelting

Everyone knows that if you want a Christmas wish to come true, you go to Garland, Maine, and make a wish as the star is placed on top of the tree in Cider Center.

And this year, I made an impossible wish–that all of my friends and I would fall in love before the holiday was over.

The only problem? No guy at school has ever even looked my way long enough to be interested in me.

Now I’m worried this might be my first Christmas wish that won’t come true… Until I start working in Santa’s workshop. And Santa?

He’s not a pudgy, hairy old man.

He’s a hottie in a red suit with captivating blue eyes, a stunning sense of humor, and a smile that makes me melt like a snowman in March. Unfortunately, the other Garland tradition is that no one can know Santa’s true identity.

I’m falling for him, but if he tells me who he really is, he’ll break the most sacred tradition in Garland. And without knowing him, this relationship will never be more than a winter fling.

How can my wish come true when I’ll never know who Santa really is?

Genres: Christmas, Romance, Young Adult, Audiobook, Holiday Romance, Novella, Holiday

192 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 8, 2024

About the author

Kelsie Stelting is a body positive romance author who writes love stories with strong characters, deep feelings, and happy endings.

She currently lives in Colorado. You can often find her writing, spending time with family, and soaking up too much sun wherever she can find it.

Visit www.kelsiestelting.com to get a free story and sign up for her readers' group!

Reviews

[Melany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, even though its about teens. I truly gives small town, Hallmark Christmas movie vibes (and I'm 100% here for it!). Super cute, wonderful main characters, makes you feel good and wish you lived in the town.

[suonnahbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Santa loves curvy girls
-I loveee a small town
-he’s so so cute
-not this book making me want to go to this fictional christmasy town and fall in love
-loving the forced proximity in santa costume and elf gobble gobble
-SANTA BABYYYYY
-I relate so much when it comes to being a curvy girl in this world
-soo cute and cheesy
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

~ ARC Review ~
I loved this 🥹 reading about Belle and Nick really made my inner high school self happy. A sweet and innocent kind of love between Santa and his elf 😉

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's such a cute story! Hallmark vibes, but with teens! I love the plus-size girls in Kelsie's books. The setting and characters are adorable.

[Jaimes_Mystical_Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a cute Christmas novella! I loved following Belle and Nick in this sweet holiday romance. This book had me smiling from start to finish and I loved the secret identity element of the story. This is the perfect quick read for the holiday season and I look forward to reading more in this series.

Read this if you like:

📖 YA romance
📖 Secret identities
📖 Plus-size rep
📖 Small town romance
📖 Dual POV

[Kate Lampert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, cozy lil Christmas YA romance. Is it cheesy? Absolutely. Did I still love it? Absolutely.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something to know about me is I am a Hallmark Christmas movie gal to the extreme, so to read not one but three stories with those kind of vibes that features a curvy girl; I am freaking obsessed! Garland, Maine is a place of my dreams. As you can imagine, everything is Christmas themed from Mistletoe Hill to Cider Center, Scrooge’s Diner, Cocoa Corner, Jingles, The Nutcracker shop and Fall La La La La skating rink. These books were the perfect Christmas magic happily ever after’s. I love that Kelsie writes about plus sized girls who get the cute guys. Thank you, Kelsie, for writing such uplifting, body positivity books. ❤️

𝗦𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝘃𝘆 𝗚𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘀 features Nick, who is this year’s Santa at Garland Mall and Belle, who helps her mom out by being an elf, all while falling for Santa who can’t share his identity.

[Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of receiving an ARC of Santa Loves Curvy Girls. I absolutely love holiday romance books so I was honored to have had this opportunity. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Santa Loves Curvy Girls! Belle and Nick are so cute and it was so fun watching the Christmas magic of Garland bring them together. I was so happy to find that this book was written in dual pov because that’s my favorite writing style for romance books! It adds so much more depth and understanding of the characters. I really liked the element of secrecy surrounding the town of Garland’s Santa Claus. It made the ending feel so genuine. I started reading this in spooky season October but it has me excited about Christmas!

[Maddie A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know it’s only October but I’m SO honored to be an arc reader for Kelsie’s curvy girl Christmas series! The way she writes the female characters that look like me makes me feel so loved. I hardly ever read about curvy female characters. They deserve love too!
But Santa Loves Curvy Girls is a sweet sweet Christmas romantic story that made me get into the holiday spirit already! It was a fast and enjoyable read! I definitely recommend. Now I’m going to binge read the next two :)

[Lissereads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely adored this trilogy of little novellas. Kelsie has a way of telling the most beautiful heartfelt stories. They sucked me right in. These are perfect palate cleansers for this season. No spice, these are YA and I couldn’t stop reading these. Hallmark vibes, body positivity, loving yourself while finding your HEA. Guaranteed to give your heart a squeeze! Totally recommend it!! Curvy girls rule!

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute! Two teenagers - a mall Santa and one of his elves - start falling for each other, but the teenaged Santa’s identity is a secret. It was heartwarming and light. Definitely felt like a very YA novella, but adorable for the holiday season.

[Sallie Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was cute like a Hallmark holiday story.

[Nance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aaa! It's such a fun, cute and adorable book! ❤️
NL -> Het is zo’n leuk en schattig boek! ❤️
Definitely 5 stars!!

[Kylee Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a sweet perfect Christmas romance. ❤️💚❤️💚

[Brittany Zimmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Kelsie for sending me an ARC of this book! All
Opinions are my own.

Belle and Nick’s story was so cute! This was the perfect start to get myself in the mood for the holiday season. I loved the premise of a super secret Santa and his helper elf starting to like each other.

Garland sounds like such a fun town and getting to read Nick and Belle’s story was a blast!

[Belle Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, short and sweet. Lovely little YA Christmas novella. Love the creative complication for the story. Just emphasised all the Christmas feels.

[B.B. Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

📚BOOK REVIEW 📚

⭐️Goodread Rating: 4.10/5⭐️
💫My Rating: 4.5/5 💫
Round up for Goodreads


⚠️Trigger Warnings ⚠️
Reference to seasonal difficulties as a single mother, secret keeping (known & acknowledge by each character)

📝My Review📝

Still have the holiday spirit and want to keep it alive? While You could watch those Hallmark movies, I have a novel -scratch that- a series instead that would be right up your alley! Plus, reading is always better than TV. So look no further, this season’s top YA contemporary romance, The Curvy Girl Club Holiday Editions, are the novels for you! All three novels are out now, and they are a MUST read for the holidays!

This series, written by Kelsie Stelting, is the perfect book for YA Readers who are looking for high school romance with little spice. This series is body positive, clean, cutesy romantic, and fun! The new holiday editions continue these attributes as they lead you on a journey in a festive town called Garland and follow three plus size heroines in their journey of self confidence, love, and holiday fun. While these books are intertwined with each other in characters, time, and place. They can be read as a stand alone. I will be writing reviews for all three The Curvy Girl Club Holiday Editions. You will find my third and final review from this series below.

A Santa Loves Curvy Girls Review

Welcome back into the Christmas world world where you will be chuckling and feeling all the warm and fuzzy emotions from all the cheesy references. Of course, Stelting has done it again! Stelting has used her creative mind to capture the adventures of the citizens of Garland during the holiday season!

In Santa Loves Curvy Girls, a highschool quarterback has been granted the honor of becoming the town’s Santa for the season. A new Santa is chosen every year and the individual must keep the magic alive by keeping this experience a secret. This was the job that Nick (MMC) has been dreaming about for years and this year his dream came true. Arriving at his first gig, Nick is captivated by a beautiful elf who has been assigned to assist him throughout the season. All season Nick craves to be with her more and more, but there’s just one problem, she can’t know who he is. Satisfying his craving of time with her, Nick chooses to wear the Santa suit during their “off the clock” time together.

Enchanted by the twinkle in his eyes, Belle is mesmerized by this year’s Santa as she works as his right hand elf. The more she spends time with him the deeper in love she becomes. There’s just one problem though. After December will she ever get to see him again? Knowing the town’s strict rules she starts to doubt that she’ll ever know who the man is under the beard. As Santa begins to show signs of similar feelings, she becomes hopeful that he may let her in on the secret.

Will Nick let the holiday secret and tradition end with him? Can Belle forgive Santa for not revealing his secret to her if he decides to keep the secret?

Santa Loves Curvy Girls by far was my favorite out of the three novels from the holiday editions. While I enjoyed all of the novels, this one brought me the most joy. I loved the concept that every year someone different in the town became Santa, and it was a secret for everyone in the town. The community effort of creating and maintaining the Christmas spirit was enchanting and inspiring. I also appreciated that the community did not limit it to just adults being Santa. They consider the younger members of the community, which is great encouragement for the younger members to continue and maintain the community traditions. Growing up in a small community, opportunities to participate are available, but I have not seen this creative, engaging, and integrative tactic be implemented before. Because of this, some of the traditions I grew up with no longer exist which is sad to see. I think involving the younger community in such a core part of the tradition gives ownership and belonging to those members. Furthermore I loved the “being the secret Santa” feud that Nick had to confront as he became closer to Belle. While many people may not take the Santa secret seriously, Nick did, which I loved his character development due to the inner turmoil he experienced.

Stelting’s universal writing makes the storyline enjoyable as she leads the reader to the Christmas themed town. Given the month long season, the relationship building was well paced, easy to read, and realistic in regard to the ages of the characters. However, I did feel that the characters personalities were fairly similar to the characters of the first book in The Curvy Girl Club series, which did not bother me but I did immediately catch the parallels between the two novels. I would also say that it didn’t bother me as much either because the first book of the series is my favorite also. I don’t think the similarities take away from the enjoyment and theme of this book. The experiences were different enough that it helps differentiate each book to make the story unique and interesting.

Make the end of your holiday season heartwarming as you witness and experience young love and a friendly small town. Santa Loves Curvy Girls is available now! If you want the digital version as a Christmas read this year, Amazon does have it!

🤍Thanks to Kelsie Stelting for trusting me with their novel in return for my personal review

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[Christina Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

~ARC review~

I love Kelsie's writing style, so this book is top-notch for me. I love Belle's character and the honest heartbreak that she went through with Nick. I do find it kind of odd that a 16/17 year old would get picked to play Santa, but it made for a great quick read with a HEA. The letters with the bells in them was a perfect way to not tell the secret but still allow them to end up together! I feel that for a YA book, it had just enough spice in it. Kelsie is my favorite author, so I'm grateful I got to be part of the ARC team for this book!

[Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received this e-book from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Santa Loves Curvy Girls

Author: Kelsie Stelting

Book Series: Part of an interconnected Christmas Novella set

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: Plus Size FMC

Recommended For...: Young Adult readers, Romance, Christmas, Novella

Publication Date: November 8, 2024

Genre: YA Christmas Romance

Age Relevance: +13 (romance, parental death)

Explanation of CWs: There is romance and some cheeky flirting in this book. There is a mention of parental death.

If This Was a Taylor Swift Song: Christmases When You Were Mine

Publisher: Kelsie Stelting Creative LLC

Pages: 192

Synopsis: Everyone knows that if you want a Christmas wish to come true, you go to Garland, Maine, and make a wish as the star is placed on top of the tree in Cider Center. And this year, I made an impossible wish–that all of my friends and I would fall in love before the holiday was over. The only problem? No guy at school has ever even looked my way long enough to be interested in me. Now I’m worried this might be my first Christmas wish that won’t come true… Until I start working in Santa’s workshop. And Santa? He’s not a pudgy, hairy old man. He’s a hottie in a red suit with captivating blue eyes, a stunning sense of humor, and a smile that makes me melt like a snowman in March. Unfortunately, the other Garland tradition is that no one can know Santa’s true identity. I’m falling for him, but if he tells me who he really is, he’ll break the most sacred tradition in Garland. And without knowing him, this relationship will never be more than a winter fling. How can my wish come true when I’ll never know who Santa really is?

Review: I thought that this was such a sweet little novella that would be perfect around the Christmas season. The book was a very cute meat. Cute type book involving one character dress of Santa and the other as an elf, and I really like the premise of having to keep the secret of Santa but falling in love and all of that jazz. I liked the World building of this book and I thought the character development was also very well done for the short time that we had with this book.

The only thing that I can critique the book on is that sometimes the pacing was a little off and I felt like it could have been expanded, but I do like longer novels over shorter ones so that's just a personal preference.

Verdict: Perfect quick Christmas novella!

[Raven9308 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked these SEs up from the author's TT shop not having read/listened to her before, but I am always down for a holiday romance. I didnt realize they were YA but sometimes it's nice to get a refresh/break from my normal smut haha. I thought this one was cute and felt like a Hallmark movie, good for your soul, very surface level but enjoyable.

I loved the feelings you could read easily through the pages from both Nick and Belle. Belle was so insecure about herself but she couldn't believe someone would notice her and want to move things forward with her. She was a kid so her juvenile thought processing was expected, but glad she listened to her mom at the end (who I totally think is on the council!). I loved her cookie baking part of the storyline, I hope there is an epilogue from these 3 standalones in the Garland Maine series showing she got her bakery there! And I loved Sleigh Belle's as a name! I could feel her butterflies as I read this one, made me remember my crush and first boyfriend at her age, and all the magic and teenage angst that comes with it haha.

Nick was adorable and was such a good kid. I loved how much he loved Christmas, how much joy he found with being Santa. Keeping the secret was super hard on him but he did his job and brought so much happiness and kept the magic going for all the kids and their families. Loved the progression with him and Belle, the cute dates, him trying to talk to her and chickening out haha. I thought him giving the tip for her cookies to the one owner was fabulous and just made her Christmas. I loved how much he volunteers, how he is there for his mom (she better get her own HEA with Scrooge haha). I was sad he felt like he couldn't ever be himself but Belle saw that from the beginning and made him feel special and seen.

Nice little palette cleanser, reading the next one in this boxset and already adoring the FMC in that one haha. She is so spunky and I love it!

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

YA Hallmark like Christmas romance? Yes please!! High school is out for winter break and Belle has made a wish on Garland’s Christmas star to find herself a boyfriend. Nick St. James is the quarterback of the football team, but he wants to be seen for who he really is. He is surprised when he finds out he’s this years town Santa, but his identity has to be kept a secret. Belle winds up helping out as an Elf. Sparks fly between the two. But one problem.. he can’t reveal who he is to her. So what happens when Christmas is over and he isn’t Santa anymore? They go back to their lives and she has no idea who he is?

This book brought me back to what if felt like to be in high school with all the big feels that happen so quickly. This was such a sweet, feel good, body positive, fun Christmas read. All of the characters were likeable, even Scrooge! Belle and Nick, while both young, both had mature ideals – being who they really were, following dreams. These are important in these types of books, especially if they are going to be read by other teenagers.

The town was magical. I’ve always wanted to visit a town like this one at Christmastime. Please someone tell me where I can find one! Everything about this town is Christmas, and it provides the perfect feel for the book.

I think anyone who reads this book will finish it with a smile on their face!

[Tiffany Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true feel good book!

Santa Loves Curvy Girls is a YA novellas. Secret/hidden identities, sweet small town, and body positivity.

We meet Bella with her friends at the Christmas tree lighting in Garland, Maine. Where the whole town is Christmas themed. Also it is a tradition to make a wish during the lighting of the tree. She wishes for her and her friends to find love this Christmas.

Then there is Nick St. James, the star football player, the most popular guy in school. Who just wants to be himself and to be seen for who he really is and not what people think he is. He gets his chance when the secret Santa committee selects him to be Garland next Santa.

Working together Nick and Bella get to know each other and start to fall in love. The only problem is Nick has promised to keep the secret of Santa and can not tell Bella who he really is. But Bella starts to think Nick really does not want to be seen with her without the Santa suit on.

I truly loved this book. It was written so well and made me feel like I was back in high school with my first crush. This is the 2nd novella in the series. However, you can read each one as a standalone or in any order you would like.

I received an ARC copy of this book from Bookfunnel, and I’m voluntarily leaving an honest review for the author.

[Moni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review. This book is a Curvy Girl Christmas book and can be read as a standalone, though the author suggests reading this book after A Curvy Wonderland. Santa Loves Curvy Girls is told through Belle and Nick's pov and is a clean and sweet hidden identity romance.

Living in Garland, where wishes seems to come true, Belle wishes it's the year her & her friends fall in love. Similar to her, Nick wants for someone to see him for who he truly is. As they spend time working together in Santa's workshop it's easy for them to be themselves and not worry about the outside world as much. Yet, as their feelings grow stronger, they have to ask themselves how can they be together with a secret between them. The romance was one of insta love but, with the pacing and length of the story, it worked as it captures the nature of young love well. Only sweet kisses happen so it's a story appropriate to give to young readers as a gift for this holiday season.

[Isabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

funny lighthearted fast-paced
Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5

likes:
this was such a cute light-hearted set of Christmas novellas that are quick & easy reads. theyre fluff books that are good feel good reads for the holidays. the books follow a group of three best friends, starting at a scene where they make a wish on the star of a town christmas tree as part of a town tradition then splitting up as they each have their own journey to love. all three books take place over the same time span and have references and cameos of the other characters throughout.

criticisms:
they all follow the same sort of plot: forced proximity, bond, kiss once, break up, christmas magic gets them back together, happily ever after so once you've read one you can guess the whole plot of the others.

tysm to the author for arcs of the whole series

[The Half-blood Reader]

Dual pov
Sweet clean YA Christmas romance
Plus size fmc
Secret Identity
Small town obsessed with the holiday
Body positivity
Baking & cookies
Going on dates dressed as Santa
Sensitive jock x Sweet baker
They fall for each other fast
Miscommunication
Low stakes
HEA

The books follow a group of 5 friends: Belle, Carolynn, Bethany, Holly, and Sera. Unfortunately, we only see them together briefly at the beginning.

The ridiculously Christmas-oriented town is Quirky (The Secret Santa Committee of Garla), containing its own Christmas-hating Scrooge à les Gilmore Girls' Luke.

This is a wholesome and lighthearted read for fans of Hallmark holiday romance films. It's quick to go through for an easy feel-good time, the characters not containing many layers. Equally good for palette cleansing. But it's also full of low-key teen dramatics that may not be everyone's cup of tea* 🤣

It has a sort of third act breakup which I'm not a fan of.

*Thanks to her insecurities and not his behaviour

[all.book3d.up · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every year, Belle wishes on the Garland Christmas star & every year her wish comes true. This year, she decides to wish upon the star for her and her friends to find love.

Enter the local mall Santa. Belle is working as an elf, but there’s something about Santa that makes her heart swoon. Unfortunately, she’ll never know who he is because the one Garland rule is that Santa never reveals his identity.

Nick just wants someone to see him for who he truly is. He doesn’t want to be seen as the popular football star, but as a regular teenager. When he’s chosen to become the mall Santa and spends more time with Belle, he thinks he’s finally found the one.

This novella gives all the Hallmark Christmas movie vibes. It’s also a quick read, so you can get through the series of 3 books pretty fast.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a cute feel good story taking place during the Christmas season sprinkled with a little Christmas magic. When I say magic, I mean in a very loose sense.

This story is about Belle, another high school friend of Holly who lives in the Christmasy town of Garland. Belle ends up helping her mom out when one of Garland’s “elves” gets sick and needs a fill in at the mall where Santa visits with the town children. As tradition holds, this year’s Santa’s identity is hidden as has been for almost a century. The two become close and the temptation to reveal the secret is all too present. Will they maintain the secret or ruin this longtime tradition? Loved this little nugget!

As Kelsie states:
“The truth is, you don’t need a Christmas star to make the season magical—you have all the magic you need right inside you, and it’s even better when you share it with someone else.”

[Aaliyah · Rating 3 out of 5]

~Arc Review~
Tropes-
Small town
Dual pov
Football player MMC
Curvy FMC
Young Adult

I found this story to be really sweet and cozy.The Fmc Belle makes a wish that her and all her friends will fall in love before new years. She volunteers to be an elf at the local mall and that's where she meets our hero Nick (Santa). She slowly starts falling for him but he can't reveal his identity because it's against town rules. I loved the Christmas vibes throughout the story but I found some of the dialogue to be silly and slightly unrealistic for a teenager. Other than that I liked it and really enjoyed how Nick supported Belles dream to become a baker!

Thank you Kelsie for sending me this book!

[Curvy Girls Read Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Curvy Girl Christmas is a YA series of novellas, each a sweet Christmas romance based in Garland, Maine. If you're a fan of Hallmark's holidays movies, these are right up your alley.

Belle hopes she and her friends will find love this holiday season. Nick just wants to be seen as more than the football player. When he's chosen to be the town's Santa this year, the costume provides him with the anonymity he craves. Especially when the cute elf, Belle, catches his eye.

This secret identity story was probably my favorite of this trio of novellas. These two were adorable just enjoying being seen and supported by one another.

[Holly (sweetteaandgoodreads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I would like to express my gratitude to Kelsie and her team for being able to read and review these books early. I’m so excited and thankful for the opportunity.
This book made me instantly want to get my tree out, start decorating and bake cookies and we hadn’t even hit Halloween yet.
I loved the two sides and the secret identity. Nick and Belle were so sweet together, and I swooned at so much they did for each other, like the cookie cutter machine!!
I really liked being able to see the back and forth on Nick on whether to tell Belle that he was Santa. It’s just such a sweet romance and made me feel so swept up in the holiday spirit.