Six brand-new, holiday-themed short stories from your favorite authors!
The Twelve Dates of Christmas – Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward
I somehow got roped into my matchmaker best friend’s holiday dating event, The Twelve Dates of Christmas. The only part I actually enjoyed was shamelessly flirting with her brother, who had a front-row seat to every disaster from behind his bar. Four-years-younger Tucker was infuriatingly hot and always off-limits. It turned out while I was looking for holiday sparks in all the wrong places, Tucker was the one lighting me up.
My Favorite Time of Year – Elizabeth O'Roark
She's all business, he's all charm – until one holiday in Paris rewrites the rules. For years, Kelsey Cabot and billionaire Hawthorne “Hawk” Boudreaux have bantered over the phone—while he secretly imagines far more than her polished photo allows. Their first in-person meeting in Paris crackles with holiday magic, but can two lives three time zones apart find a happily-ever-after?
Don't Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle – Laura Pavlov
He's the wild cowboy who just wants to have a good time. She's the type A, overachiever who has always gotten under his skin. But when they get into an argument over the last Christmas Tree on the lot—things take an unexpected turn.
A Most Divine Christmas – Monica Murphy
Lola only wanted a peek inside the Divine estate’s legendary holiday bash. Instead, she runs into Easton Divine himself—irresistibly handsome, infuriatingly charming and suddenly very interested in her. Crashing the party was easy. Escaping him? Not so much.
Elfing Around – Avery Flynn
Nothing could be worse than playing department store elf to my grinch of a boss’s Santa…at least that’s what I thought. Until a sudden blizzard makes us take shelter for the night in a tiny B&B with only one room with only one tiny twin-sized sleigh bed. That would be the worst—the absolute worst.
Bel's Christmas Wish – J. L. Beck
An invitation to Christmas with the Benedetti family promises glittering lights, lavish dinners, and traditions older than snow. But behind the gilded halls and holiday cheer lies something far colder: a legacy of betrayal, power, and blood. For Bel, the gathering is more than a holiday—it’s a chance to meet the father she never knew. Yet the Benedettis don’t give without taking. Among sparkling trees and candlelit feasts, she finds herself pulled into a game where family means empire, and love is the most dangerous gamble of all.
This Christmas, beneath the shimmer of tinsel and the weight of secrets, Bel must decide if she’ll claim a throne—or destroy it.
Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times,#1 Wall Street Journal, and USA TodayBestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles have appeared in over one hundred Bestseller lists and are currently translated in twenty-six languages. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.
Розтягну цю збірку, тому відгуки будуть не одразу(буду писати тільки авторів або ж просто автора і оцінку, без відгука):
1. Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward ⭐⭐⭐: чесно, мені не дуже сподобалась, хоча різдвяні новели я люблю. Можна закрити очі на те, що вона супер коротка, але троп «брат найкращої подруги» вже починає дратувати(в принципі, як і «найкращий друг брата»). Постійні оці «а що скаже сестра»🙄 було відчуття, що у них стосунки не жгг і Такер, а жгг/Такер/його сестра. А ще, мені не сподобалося, що оця подруга вирішила влаштувати побачення не спитавши подруги, а потім дивуватися «а чого це вона ентузіазмом не виплескує, а носа воротить».
2. Elizabeth O'Roark ⭐⭐⭐⭐
3. Laura Pavlov ⭐⭐⭐⭐
4. Monica Murphy ⭐⭐⭐ : виявляється ця книжка не закінчена, а існує далі продовження. Вибачте, але я очікувала в цій збірці на повністю закінчені новели з хепі-ендом, але тут таке. Існує ще серія про цей всесвіт. Щодо сюжету, то я не люблю людей, які просто вриваються на чужу закриту вечірку по запрошенням.
I tried. I really did but novellas...and Christmas stories are such a hit or miss for me. The main thing always is that novellas are way too short IMO.
I did manage to finish the first three stories and I really enjoyed them. You can't go wrong with Keeland/Ward and O'Roark and I was pleasantly surprised with Pavlov's story as this is my first time reading her.
And the main point is the book is free and you can never go wrong with that. Big "THANKS" to all the authors.
This was free in the authors' newsletters so I thought why not? I liked some and didn't like some. The last one is very dark so skip that one if you don't like reading about people being unalived. My favorite was 'Don't Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle by Laura Pavlov. I have never read her so I may check her other books out. One was a 'to be continued' which I was not a fan of. Overall I enjoyed the short stories though.
-"You and I? We'd be an epic mistake." "Or we just might be epic."
This was a freebie from author newsletters. I liked some better than others. Didn’t love the “to be continued” one although I totally get it from a marketing standpoint.
The last one is mob/mafia, so there violence (unaliving) and questionable consent. I’m not a mob/mafia reader so my understanding is this is very standard, just not my normal genre.
Ratings range from 2-4⭐️ for Christmas novellas. However, they’re really short so they didn’t fully satisfy.
I read it for the Elizabeth O'Roark novella first. The Keeland/Ward one was cute. There were a few good stories... some of the others were a little cringey or cliche or just wild.
I never used to like short stories (less than 100 pages) but tbh, if it gives me that Christmas/holiday spirit, I'm all for it! Here are some notes on how I felt about each one:
The Twelve Dates of Christmas – Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward This was a sweet way to start this book - small-town, bar-owner vibes w/younger* brother harboring big sister's best friend crush for a while now & finally taking the reigns. It was a bit awkward when he was a bit
I somehow got roped into my matchmaker best friend’s holiday dating event, The Twelve Dates of Christmas. The only part I actually enjoyed was shamelessly flirting with her brother, who had a front-row seat to every disaster from behind his bar. Four-years-younger Tucker was infuriatingly hot and always off-limits. It turned out while I was looking for holiday sparks in all the wrong places, Tucker was the one lighting me up.
My Favorite Time of Year – Elizabeth O'Roark
She's all business, he's all charm – until one holiday in Paris rewrites the rules. For years, Kelsey Cabot and billionaire Hawthorne “Hawk” Boudreaux have bantered over the phone—while he secretly imagines far more than her polished photo allows. Their first in-person meeting in Paris crackles with holiday magic, but can two lives three time zones apart find a happily-ever-after?
Don't Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle – Laura Pavlov
He's the wild cowboy who just wants to have a good time. She's the type A, overachiever who has always gotten under his skin. But when they get into an argument over the last Christmas Tree on the lot—things take an unexpected turn.
A Most Divine Christmas – Monica Murphy
Lola only wanted a peek inside the Divine estate’s legendary holiday bash. Instead, she runs into Easton Divine himself—irresistibly handsome, infuriatingly charming and suddenly very interested in her. Crashing the party was easy. Escaping him? Not so much.
Elfing Around – Avery Flynn
Nothing could be worse than playing department store elf to my grinch of a boss’s Santa…at least that’s what I thought. Until a sudden blizzard makes us take shelter for the night in a tiny B&B with only one room with only one tiny twin-sized sleigh bed. That would be the worst—the absolute worst.
Bel's Christmas Wish – J. L. Beck
An invitation to Christmas with the Benedetti family promises glittering lights, lavish dinners, and traditions older than snow. But behind the gilded halls and holiday cheer lies something far colder: a legacy of betrayal, power, and blood. For Bel, the gathering is more than a holiday—it’s a chance to meet the father she never knew. Yet the Benedettis don’t give without taking. Among sparkling trees and candlelit feasts, she finds herself pulled into a game where family means empire, and love is the most dangerous gamble of all.
I'm still reading this collection of short stories, so I will update as I progress
This is a collection of short stories, written by 6 different authors, but the following applies to all: ⌛short story 🫂dual POV 🎄Christmas-themed ❤️HEA
The Twelve Dates of Christmas ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for this sweet romcom with mutual pining and unspoken feelings written by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward
My favorite quote: ✍️I'll never forget the red, white, and blue bikini she wore the summer I was going into sixth grade. The top was red with white stars and the bottom was blue with stripes. I'd saluted her patriotism every time I peered out my bedroom window at the pool in our yard, though not with my hand.
What I loved:
What you need to know: 👨👩👧👦older sister's best friend 🍸bar owner (25H) x psychologist (29h) 🫠it has always been you ❄️he calls her Snow
My Favorite Time of Year ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for this sexy romcom with delicious push-and-pull written by Elizabeth O'Roark
My favorite quotes: ✍️His gaze drops from my eyes to my mouth, and down to the shirt beneath my jacket, pupils dilating as he takes in the buttons for so long that I have to check to make sure one of them hasn't popped open. "F*ck," he groans. "You had to wear it." ✍️His mouth descends, but instead of the rough kiss I'd have expected...it's soft. A test. Even though he is already hard. My lips tingle as he pulls away. "First kiss," he says, tugging my hanhd as we arrive on his floor. "That's the last respectful thing I'll do for the next hour, at least."
What I loved:
What you need to know: 🗼Paris 💰self-deprecating billionaire x altruistic philanthropy advisor (27h) 🥵mutual lusting over/pining for (for 16 f*cking months!) 💔her dad/brother died in an airplane crash, her mom was diagnosed with MS
The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward
I enjoyed this one.
My Favorite Time of Year by Elizabeth O'Roark
Omg, I absolutely loved this one! I read it super fast and loved the main characters! Kelsey and Hawk had crazy chemistry, and it was amazing!! I've already added the book their wedding will be in to my tbr! And I plan to read that series!!
Don't Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle by Laura Pavlov
Omg, I loved this novella a lot! Jonah and O'Hara banter was awesome! I laughed so much! I could definitely feel tension better two and was so happy they decided to go all in on a relationship. I really hope they get their own full-length novel someday!
A Most Divine Holiday by Monica Murphy
Oh my goodness. I need a fan! Haha! Easton Divine is Dee-Vine! Mmhmm!! I loved him, and Lola! I can't wait for them to get their full-length novel!!
Elfing Around by Avery Flynn
Sean and Paige were cute! I loved the boss x employee trope! The wickedly hot night of passion. I hope these two get their own full-length novel. If not, this was great!
Bel's Christmas Wish by J.L. Beck
I I normally don't read a lot of dark romance, but this one i actually liked. Drew was crazy in love with Maybel and would do anything, and I mean ANYTHING to protect her. I actually liked it, haha!
This was a mixed bag for me, half the stories didn’t grab me at all, I skimmed then DNF - and I almost never DNF! Three did grab me, one of those had not been edited and was jarring with the sheer number of errors, but had decent bones. Two of the later stories I really enjoyed, one stood out and lead me to pre-order the novel that is coming out related to this novella, while the other was good enough to see me seek out the novels that come before this story for the characters and place them on my TBR. So basically, as a taster to discover new authors it worked, I will look further into works by 2 of them, and if bite sized silly season romances are your thing I would say give it a go, you might find someone new to read.
it was either really bad or really good, no in between.
my favorite time of the year and elfing around where my favourites.
i dnf'd 2 of the stories (don't get your tinsel in a tangle and bel's christmas wish) because the mmc gave me the ick; jonah said "damn straight woman", immediate ew, and drew couldn't stop growling and reminding us that his partner belongs to him.
4 of the 6 books, adorable. 2 of them, were either previews to a book that doesnt come out for another year or a novella of a 7 book series that people would have no clue whats going on unless you read it. kinda disappointed, especially in "Bels Christmas Wish" because it was the opposite of a feel good christmas novella. if i wanted a dark christmas romance id read one, but this was advertised as cute and cozy.
I absolutely loved the first four of these short stories, and after a couple chapters of the final two I ended up skipping both. Of the ones that I finished, I thought that they were quick, fun, and full of holiday spice. Even though they felt like just a taste of the story, I really enjoyed them all. The characters were all likable, and I felt like the couples were all believable.
3.25 🌟. 6 Christmas novellas. I liked 4 of the 6 as two were not great. Got to try some new authors to me. Of course I liked Laura Pavlov's novella and I may read some books by the other authors. Some cute stories.
Story 1 ⭐️⭐️ Story 2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Story 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Story 4 ⭐️⭐️ Story 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Story 6 ⭐️⭐️
Multiple of these are teasers for a longer book so they feel incomplete. Others start with little to no background and feel like a later part of a series. All in all I am glad this download was free honestly.
Twelve Dates of Christmas- 3 stars, cute but not memorable
My Favorite Time of Year - 3.5 stars; wanted a longer story to enjoy the characters more
Don’t Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle - 2 stars - boring & Hallmark-y
A Most Divine Holiday - 2 stars - knocked one off star due to how annoying this is because it is not a complete story, more an 11 chapter ad for the actual book 🙄
Effing Around - 1.5 - by far my least favorite story
Bel’ Christmas Wish - DNF - I realized almost immediately that these characters had a backstory from another book. I plodded through two chapters before throwing in the towel because it was evident that a lot of history was relevant to the story. Why do writers include novellas featuring characters from a whole series in a short story collection? Without letting the reader know?
Twelve Dates of Christmas- cute, would love more from this couple! A Most Divine Christmas- not bad, liked the FMC. My Favorite Time of the Year- liked this one the most and would love more from them!
I really enjoyed this short festive reads. They were all cute stories. My favorite story was A Most Divine Christmas by Monica Murphy. The last story was more dark but it was still good! Highly recommend if you want something festive, short, and sweet.