Under The Mistletoe: A Small Town Holiday Romance

by Tasha L. Harrison

Kairo McCullough has been crushing on Jerricka Whitaker since the first time she sat in her barber chair at Cutz & Cocktails.



But after a missed kiss, she’s convinced herself that getting with the pretty barber and single mother wasn’t worth the risk. Her and Jerricka had a good working relationship. She was the only woman in a fifty-mile radius she trusted to keep her fade tight and knew the exact shade of blonde that worked with her dark brown complexion. If she wasn’t into her like that, she could handle it and still be friends…maybe.

If there’s one thing Jerricka Whitaker could take back, like Scrooge getting a redo, it would be how she reacted when Kairo leaned in for a kiss.



So when she invites her to the Cutz n’ Cocktails Christmas party, she hopes she’ll get her wish. No more miscommunications or misunderstandings. Jerricka is ready to let her feelings be known. She’s ready to tell Kairo how much she wants her. Will some strategically placed mistletoe make her Christmas wish come true?

Genres: Romance

220 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 6, 2024

About the author

#Author of dirty talking, nasty, where-do-you-want-me-to-put-it, cinnamon roll heroes | creator of #20kin5Days | host of #Wordmakers Community


tashalharrison.com
@tashalharrison on Twitter and Instagram.

Reviews

[Olivia Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A slow-burn sapphic romance with barbershop banter, second chances, and the kind of yearning that makes you ache—in a good way.

Kairo and Jerricka? Whew. Their story isn’t just about missed kisses and Christmas parties—it’s about the quiet, complicated ways we guard our hearts, especially when the past still lingers in our everyday routines. Tasha L. Harrison writes these women with such emotional sharpness and tenderness, it almost feels like eavesdropping on something sacred.

What hit me hardest were the almosts:

The almost-confession,

The almost-kiss,

The almost letting-go.

But don’t get it twisted—this isn't a soft, meandering holiday tale. There's swagger, sharp dialogue, and a barbershop that feels like a whole ecosystem of chosen family and quiet truths. Tasha knows how to balance the sweet with the steamy, the angst with the comfort.

And that ending? The mistletoe may have been staged, but the feelings sure weren’t.

If you’re into:

Women loving women,

Small-town mess with big heart,

And slow burns that actually burn...

You’ll want this on your holiday shelf. Or your anytime shelf. Honestly, your forever shelf. 💛

[LaTosha Webber · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a sapphic story I enjoyed it. As a story about doing and chasing what makes you happy, I loved it. I just don’t understand how we got here. I think for me things would have made more sense if it was clear that while she still loved Mason she no longer wanted to be with men. She kept saying bisexual and I didn’t feel like there was room to make that interpretation that she no longer wanted to be with men, because of things expressed by the characters in the story. For me I never felt like I understood why they split and knowing it left Mason hurting, who was written to be a really great character, it took away my ability to be fully invested in and root for the mains. It is also a book set during Christmas but it was lacking in the Christmas activities department. They celebrated and exchanged gifts but it was all like parties and get togethers, which always bums me out a little. I loved the spicy in the book and the detailed and sensual descriptions but overall it isn’t a fav for me, from this author.