Merrily Ever After: A Christmas Collection for Romance Readers

Fitzpatrick Christmas #3

by Catherine Walsh, Colm Gleeson (Narrator), Roisin Rankin (Narrator)

Close your eyes and make a Christmas wish . . .

Oliver wants to give his best friend Lara the happy Christmas she deserves, and he hatches a plan - with disastrous consequences.

Zoe just hopes the season will pass without a hitch for her and her almost four-year-old - but the universe seems to have other ideas.

Hannah is determined to show her girlfriend just how much she loves her - if only she could think away from the chaos of the Fitzpatrick household.

And Sean knows it will take something pretty spectacular to sweep Colleen off her feet...

Four short stories. Four Christmas wishes. But will it all end merrily ever after for the Fitzpatrick gang this holiday season?

From bestselling kindle sensation and the queen of Christmas love stories Catherine Walsh comes a brand-new short story collection for romance readers - featuring some of her best-loved characters from Snowed In and Holiday Romance.

And if you can't get enough of Catherine Walsh, her next novel How to Write a Love Story is available for preorder now!

Readers are getting into the festive spirit with Merrily Ever After:

'Catherine Walsh never lets me down and especially not at Christmas! Merrily Ever After is exactly what I needed to get into the festive spirit and revisiting all my favourite characters!' Real Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'This morning I lingered over breakfast with Oliver and Lara, almost missed my hotel check-out time I was so engrossed in Zoe's chapters, then whiled the time away over Hannah's, and absolutely charmed by Sean's. Merrily Ever After has the signature CW banter and humor, and is just the perfect pre-end-of-year festivities treat!' Real Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'I adore Catherine Walsh's novels, and her short stories were no different! Four delightful, charming tales just in time for Christmas...I want more!' Real Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Catherine Walsh brings us back to the Fitzpatrick world and many of the side characters that filled our hearts in Holiday Romance and Snowed In...pure joy...Highly recommend' Real Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Adored this collection of festive, romantic short stories from Catherine Walsh. Super cute, hilarious and the perfect read to get you in the festive mood!' Real Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Another superb book by Catherine Walsh. Five stars for an enjoyable and charming read. It is just what you need on these cold Winter nights' Real Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'An adorable collection...Romantic, festive, and most importantly, brimming with good jokes, Merrily Ever After is the sweetest of festive treats' Real Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Genres: Christmas, Romance, Holiday, Novella, Short Stories, Contemporary, Audiobook

Audible Audio

First published November 3, 2025

About the author

I'm not on here anymore!

You can find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catwalshwri...

Reviews

[Jayme C (Brunetteslikebookstoo) · Rating 4 out of 5]

NAUGHTY OR NICE LIST 2025
For readers who like their Christmas books NICE! 🎄

Catherine Walsh-THE QUEEN of Christmas love stories is back with this all new short story collection that lets us catch up with some of her best-loved characters from the Fitzpatrick clan which we met in her holiday books “Holiday Romance” and “Snowed In”. They take place in the same universe, and both earned 5 ⭐️ from me!

Review for Holiday Romance : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Review for Snowed In: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Don’t worry if you don’t remember exactly how this large “Tinsel loving” Christmas obsessed Irish family is connected-a family tree is provided at the start of the book to help you sort it out!

4 Christmas Wishes, 4 Stories-
and 4 Google Searches for me!

Oliver (his story takes place during the events of Holiday Romance)
He has a Christmas surprise planned for his best friend but he may end up being the one surprised…
My Google Search: What exactly is a Sugar Plum?

Zoe (her story takes place two years AFTER the events in Snowed In)
An intentional single mom learns it’s okay to accept a little bit of help from friends…
My Google Search: What is an Irish “Snug”? The photos I pulled up looked SO COZY!

Hannah (her story also takes place two years AFTER the events in Snowed In)
She wants to make a grand gesture for her girlfriend Daniella but it’s hard to find privacy…
My Google Search: Why do the Irish and Brits say “Happy Christmas” instead of “Merry Christmas”?

Sean (his story takes place in 1974, before the events of Holiday Romance and Snowed In)
We get to see how the patriarch and matriarch of the Fitzpatrick clan, met and fell in love…
My Google Search: What is an Irish Red Lemonade? (I would love to try one)

I LOVE the author’s sense of humor and it was fun to see what the Fitzpatricks have been up to since meeting them in Christmas seasons past. Although you can read these short stories as stand-alones-you probably will appreciate them more if you have read the previous books.

3. 75 ⭐️ rounded up!

ALL AVAILABLE NOW if you are looking for holiday reads!

And, a new book “How to Write a Love Story” coming out on March 10, 2026! Looking forward to reading it in the New Year❣️

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you loved Catherine Walsh’s books Holiday Romance and Snowed In about the holiday antics of the Fitzpatrick family, this collection of four short holiday stories based in that world should bring a little Christmas cheer to your day!

In four six-chapter short stories, the reader gets to learn a little more about some of their favorite side characters from those two books:

Oliver: Holiday Romance and Snowed In MMCs Andrew and Christian Fitzpatrick’s eclectic cousin who wants to bring holiday cheer to his unrequited college crush and BFF Lara. This was by far my favorite of the collection and honestly deserved its own full-length book. It feels like a missed opportunity not to explore their dynamic more! It is a sweet story, though and put a big smile on my face. 4.25 ★

Zoe: Holiday Romance’s FMC Molly Kinsella’s wildly sarcastic and independent sister Zoe, a single mom to a young son by choice, discovers that sometimes you can’t do everything alone. This was my least favorite. I loved Zoe in Holiday Romance, but here the story felt weighed down by all her various mishaps and struggles, making it a little less fun to get to the happy ending. 2.5 ★

Hannah: Andrew and Christian’s little sister is home with her lovable but crazy Fitzpatrick clan and waiting for her girlfriend Rachel to arrive. Rachel has a big decision to make which could affect her future with Hannah, so Hannah wants to give her a reason to stay and goes to great lengths to get a little privacy with her too! Cue another story with various mishaps, but this one was more fun and enjoyable. 3.5 ★

Sean: After two books giving us glimpses of the Fitzpatrick patriarch and matriarch, Sean and Colleen, it was so sweet to see their origin story, and how a quiet, stoic young Sean found love with pretty, outgoing Colleen. The path there is fascinating and unexpected, but quite adorable! 3.75 ★

As short story readers know, it’s hard to flesh out a full story in a satisfying way with such necessary brevity, so I appreciate the intention even if all the stories didn’t work as well for me. Catherine Walsh is one of the funniest authors out there - even her newsletters are hilarious, so I’ll take any nibble of her writing I can get until I dig into her newest full-length novel How to Write a Love Story soon!

3.5 (rounded up to 4) ★

[Alyssa Nieves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zoe needs her own book PLEASE!!!

[Hoda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cuteeeee!!!! my favorite short story in here has to be oliver story because it was so damn funny i was literally laughing out loud 😭😭😭 and also cuteeeee like he broke into her house to decorate it and make it feel like Christmas because he knew how much she loved the Christmas vibes🥹🥹 creepy yess but hot🫦

”The thing is, I’m pretty sure I’ve been in love with her for ten years. Since the moment I saw her. Or, at the very least, since she kneed me in the groin. I just don’t think I realized it. Not at first.I thought that love was supposed to be this desperate, painful thing. It was supposed to ruin your life. Make you chase a plane down a runway. Take poison in a crypt.I never felt that way around Lara. I just knew that I wanted to be around her. And if she didn’t want me like that, then I’d take her any way I could. A friend. A confidant.”

“She is the most beautiful person on the planet, and it takes me a second to remind myself to be normal around her and not just fall at her feet.”

[sabrina (on vacation🏝️) · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨ Rating: 4⭐️
🫧 Vibes: family and christmas chaos
🎶 Song: my only wish (this year) - britney spears
📖 Favourite Quote: "Most people on this earth would be fortunate to have one person to love, and I have a whole room of them. You can’t get much luckier than that."
📚 Would I recommend? yes!
💬 tldr thoughts: comforting short stories about characters I love!

In the package:
📦 coziness
📦 sweet moments
📦 grand gestures

Plot: Four short stories. Four Christmas wishes. But will it all end merrily ever after for the Fitzpatrick gang this holiday season?

Thoughts: This was a really heartwarming novella with 4 short stories featuring characters from Snowed In and Holiday Romance. I highly recommend reading those books before diving into this one. Oliver and Lara's story was my favourite followed by Hannah's and Daniela's. These short stories are packed with banter, emotional moments and chaos!

✩⁺₊✩☽⋆ follow me on tiktok and instagram⋆☾✩⁺₊✩

[Sylvie {Semi-Hiatus}]

Adding this in my to-read list during Christmas season.

[Sarah | Kerosene.Lit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holiday Romance and Snowed In are two of my all-time favourite Christmas reads, so I absolutely had to pick up this novella collection the second it released. There are four short stories (six chapters each), and they were everything I hoped for! There’s even a family tree at the beginning, which was super helpful.

Story One: This one follows Oliver, who’s been in love with his best friend Lara for ten years. While secretly decorating her house for Christmas, you also get a super sweet glimpse into their past, and somehow this story packs in so much history, emotion, and yearning in so few pages! (heat level: 1 open-door scene, mild details)

Story Two: I really connected with this one as a mother! It’s not a romance, but instead follows Zoe— Molly’s twin sister—a single mom by choice, floundering under holiday stress while dealing with some very unfortunate events. It’s funny, heartfelt, and ends on the sweetest note with such a lovely message. (heat level: none)

Story Three: I loved having the lovable, chaotic Fitzpatrick family all together again! This one follows Hannah and her grand, romantic, festive gesture for her girlfriend, Daniela, who she hasn't seen in three weeks. Of course, things don’t go quite according to plan, but her mission lands exactly as it’s meant to. So cute and heartwarming. (heat level: kisses only)

Story Four: Ok, this one might be my favourite! It follows Sean and Colleen, the parents! Set in rural Ireland in the 1970s, Sean is hopelessly smitten and enlists the help of the grumpy Mrs. Fallon for dance lessons to impress Colleen. It was so wholesome I could cry! (heat level: kisses only)

[✦denisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

ohhh i was so excited for this one, it’s honestly embarrassing how fast i bought the ebook. i already adore holiday romance and snowed in, so my expectations were basically glowing. and it delivered. completely.

four little stories, all warm and sparkly and full of that holiday softness i crave this time of year. nothing too heavy, just the kind of comfort that feels like a dream!

so heartwarming, so cozy, so vibey. my december-loving heart is very, very happy :´)

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m so glad I read this one, it gave me little insight into people’s lives from this universe. I loved Zoe’s story 💞

[Hallie (thecommonroomshop) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up💫 It’s always good to be with the Fitzpatrick family for Christmas! It was so fun to have new content after my reread of the two original books. Catherine Walsh writes her characters with so much heart and I was in heaven with the cameos we got.

I will say these novellas didn’t necessarily have much to say, it was more just vibes. I loved reading this, but it didn’t hit me in the way that her full length books do. But overall this was such a sweet & fun time!

[Reading in Brussels · Rating 5 out of 5]

This morning I lingered over breakfast with Oliver and Lara, almost missed my hotel check-out time I was so engrossed in Zoe's chapters, then whiled the time away over Hannah's, and absolutely charmed by Sean's.

Merrily Ever After has the signature CW banter and humor, and is just the perfect pre-end-of-year festivities treat!

[Katy O. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet collection of holiday stories! I’ve read most of Walsh’s books though and honestly couldn’t remember where any of these characters came from 🫣 That means this story collection can definitely work as a standalone!

Source: Kindle Unlimited

[Jane Gakere · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catherine Walsh is the romcom queen and the Christmas romcom grandmaster. I’ve loved all her books especially The Holiday and snowed in. This was such a cozy Christmas read with four short stories & I ate them all up. It’s never really feels like Christmas season until I read a Catherine Walsh Christmas romcom

[tarnx · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5⭐️ I didn't enjoy much as I hoped but I like Sean's part tho.

[whatkelseysreading · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up💫 a cutie group of novellas because I love the Fitzgerald Christmas universe!

I would read a whole novel about Zoe - and I was worried at first! I didn’t want to read a novella about a strong, self-assured single woman (who wants to be single!) fall in love in ~50 pages! And I didn’t have to🙂‍↕️ respect to CW for her story! sometimes a girl just wants her village and that’s okay!

I really enjoyed Oliver and Sean’s stories too🥹 I mean these men were down bad and weren’t afraid to show it! The dance lessons? Cuuuuute!

Hannah’s novella was (for me) by far the weakest and I could’ve done without it🤷‍♀️ you could honestly skip it!

I can’t wait to read what Walsh writes next🫶

[Chloe]

It kind of feels like it wouldn’t be Christmas without a Cat Walsh book being the @tiredmammybookclub pick for the month, and that’s a very good thing!

Lookit, I read enough misery-laden books throughout the year (maybe I like the misery 🫖) so finishing off 12 months of good but often serious reads with something light and festive is very welcome!

Merrily Ever After is a collection of four short stories, heavy on the romance, but with lots of humour too. Some fan-fave characters from Snowed In and Holiday Romance feature here, often as side characters to the main protagonists, but it’s nice to recognise them as they pop up.

On that note; you don’t have to have read the previous books, but I do think it would help with knowing backstories etc.

This is a super quick and festive read that will undoubtedly get you in the mood for Christmas and put a smile on your face. Recommend!

[Samantha Denman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed getting a peak into the lives of characters that were in Holiday Romance and Snowed In. Zoe and Sean’s stories were my favorite! I love that Catherine Walsh kept Zoe's story true to her & didn't write something else for the sake of a "romance." It felt so REAL. And getting to know Sean more 🥹 and how he won Colleen over! 😭 so sweet! (4.5/5)

[Hayley 〰 Hayley's Next Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a perfectly charming collection of four festive short stories that’ll make any fan of Holiday Romance or Snowed In smile.

Here’s what to expect:
- Oliver’s story: A best friends-to-lovers gem with a forced proximity, one-bed situation and ten years of pent-up feelings finally coming to the surface. Oliver is pure golden retriever energy: flirty, sweet, and impossible not to love.
- Zoe’s story: A single mom just trying to survive the chaos of Christmas... until she literally gets hit by a bus. No romance here, just brilliantly funny, witty mayhem.
- Hannah’s story: The youngest Fitzpatrick sister goes all out with a heartfelt (read: chaotic) grand gesture to show her girlfriend just how much she wants her to stay in Ireland.
- Sean’s story: The Fitzpatrick patriarch himself and how he won over Mrs. Fitzpatrick in the first place.

It’s a quick, cosy read that feels like coming home to familiar characters. If you love Catherine Walsh’s warm, witty writing and the Fitzpatrick crew, this one’s a must.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories aren’t generally my jam, but I’ll read anything Catherine Walsh writes, especially if it’s Christmas!

[Sam I AMNreader · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strong, cozy collection with very lovely first and last stories in particular. Rewarding read in just 6 chapters each that have full personalities and good supporting characters. 3.6

[Julie WB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely, sweet holiday short stories set in the world of Holiday Romance and Snowed In. I loved seeing familiar faces and learning more about some of the supporting characters. I still think Zoe needs her own book as her story was really nice, it just left me a little unfulfilled for her. The first and last stories were my favorites. I love her writing and will continue to read anything she puts out.

[Taylor Doran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four Christmas short stories to read after Holiday Romance and Snowed In by Catherine Walsh, which I read several years ago and loved!
You can enjoy these short stories without reading the other books but you should definitely read them because they are excellent Christmas novels.

The first story was my absolute favorite. It was about Oliver and Lara, which are side characters in the other books. It was all from Oliver's perspective. I love the friendship banter and golden retriever energy. It's basically an epic grand gesture.

The other stories were also festive, sweet and told with Catherine's signature witty writing style. She's honestly so funny!

[prach ౨ৎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

➛4✰ Why was this the most perfect little collection of short stories of our beloved Fitzpatricks. We got Oliver, We got Zoe, We got Hannah, and we got THE ORIGIN OF COLLEEN AND SEAN. I think the first story with Oliver and Lara was my favorite, a PERFECT little friends to lovers with a few past/present chapters that perfect captured their love and their genuine adoration for one another. It was so cute and festive and perfect. I kind of wish we got a whole book of this story.

Zoe's story was so heartfelt, I loved her when we first met her and also hoped we would get a book for her bc she is so funny and instantly stole the scene whenever we first met her,

Also the last story with Sean and Colleen and effortlessly hilarious Mrs Fallon was perfection. So glad I picked this up, Catherine Walsh is the QUEEN of Christmas books and I am beyond excited for her newest release bc she is such a fantastic writer!!!

[uma 🎀 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ i loved the range these little stories had! not one of them were the same, each were unique and interesting. i liked all of them for different reasons! definitely have such cute characters, loved the friends to lovers but also the found family and the 1974 story was so cool and heartwarming! i love catherine’s storytelling and she always makes me giggle 🫶

[✨ Reading in Rays ✨]

This book was a compilation of short stories/novellas about some of the side characters in the Fitzpatrick Christmas Series. I don’t rate novellas but overall they were each a quick, cute story. I will say I much preferred her full length novels. Would I recommend it? Ehh, maybe if you like short stories. I would have been perfectly happy with the first two books.

[Lauren Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

SEAN 🥹 I need a full book about him and Colleen and bringing up the Fitzpatrick children because they have my heart 🫶🏻 forced myself not to read Holiday Romance and Snowed In this year so this was a lovely substitute ❤️ all the short stories were lush! Zoe also needs a whole book about navigating motherhood to Tiernan - I need all the god damn moves/series about everyone mentioned!!!

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you read and loved Holiday Romance and Snowed In, then you should absolutely read these little spin off novellas! All the same magic and humor and love in four little bite sized stories.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so cute🥹 I loved Sean’s story so much it was so sweet and romantic and I just really wish I had a Fitzpatrick man in my life, they were raised right💘 every story was so adorable and perfectly captured the holiday spirit:)

[sarah-jayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

i fear this was kind of boring. oliver and lara had the best story but also they were first and it all just went downhill from there.

[Vanessa (bookfairy95) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so cute! I especially loved Sean's story 🥰🥰🥰