The Twelve Loves of Christmas: An advent romance collection

by Alexandria Bellefleur, Elise Bryant, Olivia Dade

Count down to Christmas with twelve sealed holiday love stories by beloved romance authors.

The Twelve Loves of Christmas is a swoon-worthy short story collection about finding love during the most magical time of the year. Including a playful forced proximity romance featuring a woman and her older brother’s grinchy (yet unexpectedly endearing) best friend, a tender love story of two neighbors who decide to skip Christmas together, a second-chance spark reignited between exes stranded at the airport, and many more festive love stories, there’s a little holiday magic waiting for every reader.

Open one sealed story each day in the lead-up to Christmas to unwrap a season full of love, warmth, and happily-ever-afters.

Genres: Romance, Christmas, Holiday, Short Stories, Anthologies, Contemporary, Adult

384 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication September 29, 2026

About the author

Alexandria Bellefleur is a bestselling and award-winning author of swoony contemporary romance often featuring loveable grumps and the sunshine characters who bring them to their knees. A Pacific Northwesterner at heart, Alexandria has a weakness for good coffee, Pike IPA, and Voodoo Doughnuts. Her special skills include finding the best Pad Thai in every city she visits, remembering faces but not names, falling asleep in movie theaters, and keeping cool while reading smutty books in public. Her debut novel, Written in the Stars, was a 2021 Lambda Literary Award winner and a 2020 winner of The Ripped Bodice Awards for Excellence in Romantic Fiction.

Reviews

[aira]

so 12 short stories in one book, that sounds fun (I have the arc) 🤩

[Dab]

So since it’s 12 unrelated novellas, I should write 12 reviews, which means I deserve Christmas cookies.

🍪🎅🎄🎅 🍪

1. A Merry Little Christmas, Jessica Joyce

A very cute second-chance romance. They’d broken up because of the distance, but never stopped loving each other. It was sweet, and they were both perfect 🥰

🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪

2. Decking His Halls, Alexis Daria

The heroine moved into the hero’s minimalistic home and started spreading Christmas decorations all over the place, even though he told her that he didn’t like clutter. Since I hate clutter too, this was a little anxiety-inducing 😬

🍪 🍪 🍪

3. Mas, Alexandria Bellefleur

Very similar to the first one; I would’ve probably liked it more if I hadn’t just read the exact same story, so it’s a bit unfortunate, but it was still a fun read.

🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 🎄

4. Someone to Hold On To, Elise Bryant

This one was a little bland. It screams “they settled” rather than “it’s the love of their lives.”

🍪 🍪 🍪

5. Ho Ho Oh No, M.A. Wardell

I love stories that remind me that we don’t have to be perfect to deserve good things in life. Also, look at me, I accidentally read a romance written by a man and liked it—yaay!

🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪

6. Twelve Seconds to Forever, Rebecca Jenshak
Another second chance, which seems to be the theme here. It was okay, but then he said that she didn’t have to “worry her pretty little head” over something, and that’s how a star was lost, oops!

🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪

7. A Solstice Kiss, Olivia Dade

I was hoping for an international love story, but the guy the American girl spotted in a Stockholm museum, guiding a tour in perfect Swedish, turned out to be American.

Swedish boys not good enough for ya?

🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪

8. All Roads Lead Home, Joss Richard

Joss Richard, I adore your style and your heroes. I also very much hope that you will ditch the third-act breakups one day… 😭

🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪

9. Skipping Christmas, Rebekah Weatherspoon

Remember Elle’s nail tech and her delivery man from Legally Blonde? You can’t write a romance about a nail tech and a delivery man and not make me think of them 🤡🤡🤡

🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪

10. Holiday Blackout, Susan Lee

Ohh, this one was good, a second chance, with lovable characters who finally dared to be vulnerable. I love it when brooding men get their shit together and stop brooding for a sec.

🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪

11. Hope This Helps, Sarah Hogle

A momzilla, an English teacher, and a You’ve Got Mail vibe. I liked it more than I thought I would, I’d love to know what happens next 👀

🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 🎄

12. Is It New Year’s Yet?, Zakiya N. Jamal

Aaaaaand another second chance. This one was also cute, and the New Year’s countdown kiss made for a nice ending.

🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪

Overall, a heartwarming Christmas collection. The vibe of second chances is strong, but there’s enough variety to give it a unique feel. Some of the stories are very spicy, some squeaky clean. There’s queer representation, including an m/m romance and a f/m story with bisexual characters. There’s also Black, Hispanic, and Asian representation, as well as themes of living in a foreign country. The writing was consistently engaging, and every author’s style worked for me.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book and would recommend it for a cozy, uplifting Christmas read.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Edelweiss for the arc, all opinions are my own.

[Katie’s Bookshelf]

1. A Merry Little Christmas - Jessica Joyce: 4.5⭐️ A Jessica Joyce second change romance? I was sold immediately. My only complaint was that this wasn't longer

2. Decking His Halls - Alexis Daria: 3⭐️ As someone who goes absolutely crazy with Christmas decorations I thought this was fun, but I also thought the characters were a little childish

3. I'll Be Home for X-Mass - Alexandria Bellefleur: 4.5⭐️ A chance meeting in an airport on Christmas Eve, with the ex who happens to be the love of your life? Again, I wish this had been a full length story because I think there was SO much potential here

4. Someone to Hold On To - Elise Bryant: 3⭐️ This felt more like the meet-cute for a friendship than any sort of romantic relationship

5. Ho Ho Oh No - M.A. Wardell: 3⭐️ Fun but also not that memorable

6. Twelve Seconds to Forever - Rebecca Jenshak: 3⭐️This was arguably fine but the two main characters had zero chemistry. You could not convince me these two had feelings for each other let alone knew each other well

7. A Solstice Kiss - Olivia Dade: 4⭐️- This was fun! A woman asks a stranger in a Swedish museum for a Christmas kiss, in order to convince her ex- and herself- that she's spontaneous and fun. I enjoyed these two just wandering around a festive sounding Stockholm

8. All Roads Lead Home: Joss Richard: 2⭐️ A second chance meeting when a woman moves home after ten years and bumps into her childhood best friend. My issue here was that it's been ten years and these two seemed to have happily moved on with their lives- they both moved to college and lost contact after a month. A MONTH?! That's all it takes to forget your lifelong best friend and supposed soul mate?! Then they bump into each other and chat for an hour and all of a sudden... they're in love and always have been!

9. Skipping Christmas - Rebekah Weatherspoon: 3⭐️- I don't know how old these characters were supposed to be but they came across as very young

10. Holiday Blackout - Susan Lee: 4⭐️ I enjoyed this one! Two workaholics find their second chance at love when they stay late to work on Christmas Eve, only to sit out a power outage together

11. Hope This Helps - Sarah Hogle: 2⭐️ Honestly the emails back and forth were witty and cute but I just couldn't get past the absolute lack of self awareness from Audrey. The helicopter mom from hell trying to excuse her daughter's behaviour and bad grades because it "wasn't her fault". Maybe hold your child accountable instead of harassing the teachers?

12. Is It New Year’s Yet?- Zakiya N. Jamal: 3⭐️Wow second chance really is the theme of the night. I didn't like how Ben, as Win put it "wanted to have his cake and eat it too".

[Shelby Westerdahl]

These were all so cute and really well written. Pure, fluff and sweetness, exactly what I wanted for the holiday season. I always have a hard time rating short story collections because some hit better than others and they almost always end too soon, I am constantly left wanting more. That said, this one felt pretty cohesive and the vibes matched throughout the tropes? So good. Second chance romance, friends to lovers, with a little dash of brother’s best friend and best friend‘s brother. Pretty much all my favorite in one place. It is a fast read if you want something cute to get you in the holiday mood. I am a total sucker for holiday wreaths, so this was right up my alley. Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for the ARC, I really enjoyed it! Happy reading.

[Allison McKee]

3.75

I really enjoyed 6 of them, 3 were fine, and 3 were meh. Overall I enjoyed the collection and it’s nice to have a single short story to read during the busy holiday seasons. It says it’s a sweet and spicy journey but some of the spicy moments felt too graphic considering the limited storyline length. I almost wish it had kept the spice down some so that it could be an easy universal gift.


Thank you to Atria for the ARC (Giveaway Winner!!). This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

[elise | bookingthroughlife]

4.75 stars!

overall i really enjoyed this set of short christmas romances! they're super cute and short, easy to read in one sitting!

each one dropped you right into the action and put you into the holiday spirit immediately. i can totally see how this would be the perfect christmas romance advent leading up to christmas, a cute little story each day!! some of the stories had me absolutely swooning !!

my favs that i would LOVE to read more of:
a merry little christmas by jessica joyce
twelve seconds to forever by rebecca jenshak
all roads lead home by joss richard
skipping christmas by rebekah weatherspoon
holiday blackout by susan lee
hope this helps by sarah hogel

thank you so much Atria Books for the arc! this is my honest review.

[Kaitlyn]

Atria has blessed my NetGalley shelves yet again. TYSM for the e-arc!

[jenna 💘✨]

Thank you to Atria & NetGalley for the ARC!

Overall a 3 star experience for me! I was excited to read this collection of short christmas stories! I really enjoyed some, and some fell a little flat for me. But, that being said, it's a little tough to truly judge something so short! I was happy to be introduced to authors I hadn't read before & loved getting more words from authors I already love!!

1. A Merry Little Christmas by Jessica Joyce: 4.75 stars! A second chance romance by Jessica Joyce is always going to be my favorite thing to read! Jessica's ability to make you feel for two people in such a short amount of time is so special. This is practically five stars for me except for the fact that I wish it was longer! I would love more from Eleanor & Max + any chance for more words from JJ !!!

2. Decking his Halls by Alexis Daria: 3 stars! This is my first time reading anything by Alexis Daria, but definitely an introduction that will have me picking up more from her! Brothers best friend is an underrated trope in my opinion & this one was lots of fun! I liked the roommate aspect, the banter-y moments, and the spice!!!

3. I'll Be Home for X-Mas by Alexandria Bellefleur: 4 stars! Sweet, cute, and a story I'd love to see fully fleshed out! A second chance romance surrounding Frankie & Benji, who run into each other while stuck in an airport due to flight cancellations. High school sweethearts who never stopped loving each other despite the years apart!! Soso adorbs!

4. Someone to Hold On To by Elise Bryant: 2.75 stars! This one definitely has potential for a full story! Both the struggles Simone is facing with her mothers health and Henry's struggles after losing his job, make for a great foundation for these characters. However, the meet-cute felt more platonic than anything and I didn't really feel a big romantic vibe from this one!!

5. Ho Ho Oh No by M.A. Wardell: 3 stars! Super cute, a little workplace, forced proximity romance! A super easy read, a little corny at times but didn't bother me too much! (Also the name Brad Lee Levi is hilarious lmao)

6. Twelve Seconds to Forever by Rebecca Jenshak: 2.75 stars! A short second chance, best friends brother story. Quick, easy, and cute! Not the most memorable story in this collection though!

7. A Solstice Kiss by Olivia Dade: 3.75 stars!! Kissing a random stranger for a social media post to make your ex jealous? Hell yeah! This one was super cute, loved their meet cute + little date!!! The Christmas in Sweden aesthetic was also so lovely!

8. All Roads Lead Home by Joss Richard: 4 stars! I love Joss Richard's writing dearly. Similarly to Jessica Joyce, Joss' ability to make me feel connected to two characters in a short story is wonderful. An endearing childhood friends to strangers to lovers moment!!!

9. Skipping Christmas by Rebekah Weatherspoon: 3.5 stars! Really enjoyed the flirting, the banter, and the quick connection between these two!!! Micah seems like he would fit in the "down bad" man criteria if this was a full blown novel to which I say... hell yeah!

10. Holiday Blackout by Susan Lee: 4 stars! Really enjoyed this one!!! Snowed in at the workplace, a pre-existing history. Loved the sweet, gentle moments between Yoona & Ian!!! Hot little hookup too??? Sign me up!!! Definitely would have loved this if it was a full story!!

11. Hope This Helps by Sarah Hogle: 2.5 stars! Not that this was necessarily BAD, it just didn't do anything for me??? Idk I do enjoy Sarah Hogle's writing in a general sense, just wasn't feeling it with this one!

12. Is It New Year's Yet? by Zakiya N. Jamal: 2.75 stars! One more second chance to finish it all off! This one was cute & quick! I loved the queer rep!!

My favorites were from Jessica Joyce, Alexandria Bellefleur, Joss Richard and Susan Lee!!!

[Natalie]

The Twelve Loves of Christmas is an anthology of 12 Christmas novellas. The intent is to read one story per day leading up to Christmas (obviously, I didn’t do that since I read the ARC). Usually, for me, short story collections are a mixed bag; I really like some, and really dislike others. However, in this case, I really enjoyed almost all of the stories. Sarah Hogle stole the show for me, but I also really liked the stories by Jessica Joyce, Elise Bryant, Joss Richard and Alexandria Bellefleur. The stories are very diverse as well: there’s one male/male romance, a romance between a guy and a girl but both are bi, and also different stories with black, Asian, and Hispanic characters (as well as white of course). There was also a nice balance between clean and steamy stories. There’s something for everyone in this collection!

My individual ratings are below. I did rate most of the steamier stories lower than the cleaner reads. Just a personal preference for me but I felt that a lot of the steam came out of nowhere and with no buildup, since the stories were so short.

Overall this was a very fun short story collection. I had read works by 5 of the 12 authors previously but I really enjoyed some of the new authors that I read. It’s always nice to find a new author.

This will definitely be a fun collection to read at Christmas. The one story per day idea is cute.




A Merry Little Christmas (Jessica Joyce) — 4 stars

This was super cute! I wanted it to be a full-length novel for sure because the family dynamics were so fun. I loved the friendship between Naomi and Eleanor and I loved picturing the snow-covered cabin tucked away in the trees and looking like something out of a fairy tale. The romance was very cute. It’s second chance which isn’t normally my favorite but in this case it worked because they didn’t break up due to a miscommunication or misunderstanding — they were in a long distance relationship and it got to be too much for them (which is understandable as LDRs are the worst). This was a clean read, and very cute. It’s really setting a high bar for the rest of the collection.


Decking His Halls (Alexis Daria) — 3 stars

This was cute and I liked that the FMC decorated the MMCs apartment and went overboard with the decorations, but the steamy times came very quickly (which is to be expected in a novella). I would have liked to see more of a connection between them. Not clean - there were several spicy scenes.


I’ll Be Home for Ex-Mas (Alexandria Bellefleur) — 4 stars

Being snowed in at the airport is such a fun trope and this even had napcabs! I always see those in the airport but have never tried them. It was a cute second chance romance and I liked that they made the best of their situations. It was also clean.


Someone to Hold On To (Elise Bryant) — 4 stars

Not as Christmassy as some of the others, but still had plenty of festive elements. I really enjoyed the main character and the “stakeouts” she did. While short, this packed a punch and had a nice message. Very clean as well.


Ho Ho Oh No (M. A. Wardell) — 2 stars

A M/M romance between a reluctant Santa and his elf. A bit of miscommunication which I really don’t like as a trope. There was also almost no buildup to the steamy scenes. I think I’m at the point where I don’t think steam works in novellas. They’re just too short to be developed and the sex seems to come out of nowhere. Not clean - some spice.


Twelve Seconds to Forever (Rebecca Jenshak) — 3.5 stars

I’m not the biggest fan of romance stories about sports so take my review with a grain of salt. It’s a new years story about a wedding (bride is MC’s best friend) and I wished there had been more details about the winter wedding because it sounded lovely. Clean but had some language.


A Solstice Kiss (Olivia Dade) — 4 stars

This was a cute story about a woman at a crossroads. I loved the setting of Sweden at Christmastime and I want to visit that Christmas market that dates to the Middle Ages! Their connection was a bit instalovey but I didn’t really mind because they were cute together. Clean, with a few suggestive comments.


All Roads Lead Home (Joss Richard) — 4 stars

This was a cute, second-chance-friends-to-more romance about a woman returning to her hometown for the holidays for the first time in a couple of years. I liked the openness and honesty between the characters and they had a sweet connection. I loved the festiveness of the cafe and the small town as well. I haven’t read anything by this author but I’d be willing to read more.


Skipping Christmas (Rebekah Weatherspoon) — 4 stars

I’ve heard good things about this author’s writing but never read anything by her. This was a great one to start with. I loved her writing style. It was so easy to read and somehow even though this is a novella, the connection between the two never felt forced or rushed. I liked that Micah had been dating a woman with a child and when they broke up, he missed the child. I don’t think I’ve ever read that in a book before and it definitely does happen in the real world so I liked seeing it depicted in the story. I also liked that both characters were anti drama. And of course the Christmas elements! No steamy scenes but some suggestive dialogue and thoughts and one pretty heavy makeout scene.


Holiday Blackout (Susan Lee) — 3 stars

I like the “stranded in a snowstorm” trope but I didn’t love that Ian had ghosted Yoona and it wasn’t really addressed. His reasoning didn’t make much sense either. Not clean - a steamy scene.


Hope This Helps (Sarah Hogle) — 5 stars

Sarah Hogle DELIVERED. To be quite honest, she was the reason I put this anthology on my TBR to begin with. I love the main character’s interior monologue and her banter with the love interest was great. A cute backdrop of a Christmas school dance added to the festiveness. The story was quite humorous as well. I want a full length novel following these two! This one was definitely my favorite in the collection. Completely clean as well.


Is It New Year’s Yet (Zakiya N Jamal) — 3 stars

Not my favorite in the collection, but it was cute enough. I liked that the collection ended with a New Year’s Eve story. I liked the thematic NYE parties the family always threw. However, I didn’t really see the connection between the main couple. Not clean - a steamy scene.



Thank you Atria for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Heather]

I was excited to read this anthology of 12 Christmas romance short stories, since I already loved several of the authors involved. I think the best way to read the book is as intended, a different story each day leading up to the holiday. The stories are all cute, sweet and worth reading. Some did feel less developed or rushed than others, but these are short stories, so that’s not surprising.

The absolute stand out for me was the first story in the book by Jessica Joyce. I always love her beautiful writing & it was evident even in a short story. The way she sets the scene of the cabin and surrounding area was fantastic, it sounded gorgeous. I’d read a whole book on El & Max just from this short meet of them alone! The character development in only 20-30 pages was better than some full length novels.

Some of my other favorites were the stories written by Alexandria Bellefleur, which had such a fun rock star second chance premise & unique setting in an airport napcab, and Joss Richard, a sweet, return to hometown & childhood best friends story. All three of my favs were second chance romances, but other tropes like brother’s best friend and friends to lovers, were done as well. The diversity and representation was fantastic throughout the 12 stories, though it would have been nice to see a Hanukkah story included.

Thank you to Atria for providing the ARC, this is my honest review!

[SelkieReader]

I’m pretty sure I did not ask to get edged when reading this!

I loved all the stories and all the characters and they all ended too soon!!!

[Holly Schwartz]

This was fun!! Every story was written so well and highlights each authors strengths ! I haven’t read every author but I’ve read most! And it really was a good time! There’s something about the holidays that really reminds people to take a minute and reflect and it brings up a lot of memories! And each story had a little bit of that!!

Thanks to Atria for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A merry little Christmas
Obviously Jessica Joyce is my favorite. A second chance is always the best chance and she wrote the hell out of this one!

Decking his halls
CUTE! A brother’s best friend! Forced proximity! Chaotically decorating for Christmas and then confessing all the FEELINGS!

I’ll be home for Ex-MAs
I love second chances romances!!!

Someone to hold on to
Cutie little mystery, problem solving!! Very on brand for Elsie Bryant and I loved it!!!

Twelve seconds to forever
Right person wrong time is another favorite bc it’s another form of a second chance!!! And brothers best friend is always GOOD!

a solstice kiss
Strangers to lovers! To making life change and being all in straight away

All roads lead home
Cuuuuuute childhood friends to lovers!!! The one that got away! And now they’re reconnecting and making sure they never get away again!

Skipping Christmas
Delicious neighbors to lovers!! With lots of YEARNING!

Holiday blackout
Snowed in with your coworker who is also someone you’re YEARNING for!!! Another sort of second chance and it was PERFECT!

Hope this helps
I actually didn’t like any of this and that’s a bummer.

Is it new years yet
Yet another second chance ish!! And it was SO GOOD!

[Minna]

This was so stinking cute!!! Was every story good? No, BUT most of them were and I had a grand time!! The cold weather and holiday season could not come fast enough! I really loved how a good chunk of these stories were second chance romance, and it was actually so cruel that some of these weren't longer!!! I'm looking at you Alexandria Bellefleur!! I need more Benji ASAP!

This was also my first time reading anything by most of these authors, but I am now dying to pick up a full length novel for all them, but especially by Jessica Joyce, Joss Richards, Sarah Hogle, Rebecca Jenshak, and Olivia Dade. I had literal tears in my eyes for Jessica Joyce's short story, like how the hell did she do that in under 30 pages?!

I'm so excited to see how these finished copies are going to look like since it's going to be an advent calendar style!! Would def be such a cute gift for a friend!

Thank you so much to Atria for the gifted copy <3 The Twelve Loves of Christmas is out September 29th!

[Janae]

Rating: 4/5
Spice: 🌶️.5

These twelve novellas are perfect to get you in the mood for the holiday season! Some of them had a little spice and some didn’t have any at all so I feel like this would appeal to anyone who enjoys holiday romance books!

My favorite that I did not want to end and could keep reading more of were: A Merry Little Christmas by Jessica Joyce, Twelve Seconds to Forever by Rebecca Jenshak, and All Roads Lead Home by Joss Richard. I also really enjoyed Holiday Blackout by Susan Lee! Hope This Helps by Sarah Hogle had some funny banter in their emails and I would’ve loved to read more of the romance part rather than just when they meet.

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC! All opinions are my own.

[Tori Thomas]

BR: 12 Loves of Christmas
⭐️⭐️.5
ARC - Release date : Sept. 29, 2026
Thank You Netgalley For The E-ARC!

Overall Review: I honestly was disappointed in how this turned out. The cover and description made this book sound really promising, but I was let down by more than half the stories. I did find a small handful in which I enjoyed and really liked, and I will be looking to reading more from those authors. While I understand and acknowledge that this is not the completed published version of the book and there is still some editing to be done, to me there were still way too many grammar and spelling mistakes that at times would cause me to reread a sentence MULTIPLE times in order to understand what they were saying. I also found that many of the stories were written with lower literacy levels and it made me really uncomfortable to read the content at times. I was also a little disappointed that there was only ONE LGBTQ+ story in the book... I was expecting in total at least two or three.

A Merry Little Christmas - ⭐️.5 - our FMC was way too obsessed with her ex and the story was very cringey most of the time. Cute idea, but did not execute well at all. Randomly started cussing at the end too.

Decking His Halls - DNF - I did not like the story and the way it was progressing and the writing overall was very poor. I very much HATED our FMC, and she was way too into her own boobs- like commenting on them every chance she could? This story felt like a teenager discovering wattpad for the first time and writing their first ever sexual scene…

I’ll Be Home For Ex-Mas - ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - This was really cute. I really enjoyed our FMC AND MMC. There was a good handful of awkward wording (at least in my opinion).

Someone To Hold On To - ⭐️⭐️ - Ms. Earline is WILD- love her. I feel like our FMC & MMC were having the wrong kind of conversations? They didn’t feel natural to me. Very anti-climatic. On the hunt for a cookie thief but only talk about employment...

Ho Ho Oh No - DNF - I was really excited to finally read a cute lgbt christmas story, but this missed the mark… by far. Concept was cute, but I hated the way it was executed. It was awkward and cringey, and we used twink too many times close together. The literacy level was just too grossly low for me to enjoy anything about this. Also didn’t realize the main characters name until half way through. Why are we introducing a character in the beginning that isn’t going to play any type of role. Had me VERY confused.

*side note - overall : i am very much disliking how these are very short (like ~15 pages) and we are putting in chapters. Its already so short, and personally I see no reason unless we are time jumping*

Twelve Seconds to Forever - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - This slapped. I’m obsessed. Didn’t like Alex’s cocky attitude in the beginning but their story? Love. Maybe I like second chance romances …? This was also written so well, and I found it hilarious when they got cock blocked. Throughly enjoyed this one.

*second side note - overall : can we stop with the wattpad level of explain how a character looks? “she has honey blonde hair, blue eyes, freckles that dot her cheeks, etc.” like come on, there are better ways to do this*

A Solstice Kiss - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - a lot of editing & grammar mistakes (in the beginning mainly), however I did like the writing style. I like the in-depth research done on Felix’s work/schooling. Loved our characters and their story it was super cute and endearing.

All Roads Lead Home - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Childhood Best friends to Lovers? I’m sat. I have no notes. This was perfect. Both characters were so likable and relatable and I loved watching them finally admit their feelings.

Skipping Christmas - ⭐️ - It feels like the characters are teenagers. The FMC is giving the stereotypical cheeto girl from high school and the guy is giving the weirdo goth outcast boy who thinks he is all that… the only correct thing the MMC did was open the car door for her. It felt like two cringey teenagers messing around— FMC was horny the whole time and it was just extremely unappealing.

Holiday Blackout - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - a k-drama. I've never sat FASTER. It was pretty cheesy. The smut scene was just a tad cringey- it was more what MMC was saying than anything else, especially with their past that is explained and how the MMC personality is introduced to us.

Hope This Helps - ⭐️ - Breighdynn ?? Excuse me?? Mom is insufferable, has too much anxiety, and needs several therapists. Hate the email exchanges. If there is a love story in this. HARD pass. Deejay? Do you mean DJ??? Snigger? Do you mean snicker? FMC can’t even apologize for her behavior or actions? FMC & MMC randomly make up?? FMC didn’t even deserve how nice MMC was or deserved to be asked out either.

Is It New Years Yet? - ⭐️.5 - I like the honesty and vulnerability that MMC allows FMC to see/hear. I honestly didn’t care for this story. Not sure if it’s because it was the last one and I just wanted to be done with the book or that it truly didn’t hook and hold me.

[Jennifer]

I love an Advent style book, so I was excited to pick up The Twelve Loves of Christmas. With 12 chapters and a different Christmas love story in each one, this was such a fun and cozy way to get into the holiday spirit.

Some of these authors were already favorites of mine, while several were completely new to me. I really enjoyed getting to sample their writing styles and discovering a few authors I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on.

I didn’t love every single story but that’s part of the fun with an anthology like this. There really is something for everyone, with stories featuring different ages, sexualities, and races. No two stories felt the same.

Overall, this was a warm, festive and easy read that definitely gave me those cozy Christmas vibes.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this arc set to publish Sept 29th, 2026.

[carolina (semi ia)]

I’m not in a Christmas mood but I’m always in a Jessica Joyce mood. I missed reading her words 😭 Jessica’s short story left me wanting more, I wish it was a full length holiday romance 🥹 I won’t read the other stories yet, but I’ll come back to this review once I read everything to give my final thoughts.

[Jessica]

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the eARC!

An advent calendar in book form. All 12 of these stories were short and sweet. Some open door romance, some closed. I loved all of them and wish a few of them were full length novels! Perfect to countdown to the holidays. Highly recommend!

[mimi (catching up)]

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

[Jillian Wentworth]

The Twelve Loves Of Christmas is so good! Twelve stories didn’t seem like enough!
I’ll read anything Jessica Joyce writes and loved that she began the book for us!
Sarah Hogle is a rom com genius and just adored her story!

Great writing throughout and this will be a fun festive Romance book for Christmas!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Emily Rose]

I really should learn my lesson that the rapid fire speed of anthologies like these are just not believable for me. I love something cute. But I hate when it verges on not believable and many of these did. That said, I love the idea that you could read one story each night ahead of Christmas… a book lover’s advent dream! It just wasn’t my preferred type of collection of stories. It also was hard to be in the Christmas spirit when reviewing this in July! But that’s my own fault!

[Eden]

Average Rating: 3.25 stars

I adore a holiday novella collection. I love the cozy feeling of anticipating the holiday season. Because of my previous experience reading a few of the authors, I was excited about this Advent Romance Collection, and I was anticipating reading from new authors! As is typical with novella collections, some were hits, and some were misses.

I loved Olivia Dade's story about a stuck-in-life 30-something woman who convinces a docent in a Swedish museum to fake happy holiday posts with her to make her ex jealous. I also loved Rebekah Weatherspoon's story about a successful nail tech finally shooting her shot with a man in her building.

I LOATHED Sarah Hogle's story because it starts with a super annoying email thread from the FMC (a mom) to the MMC (a teacher) about her daughter's failing grade. As a teacher who gets emails like this, I hateddddd reading the exchange. The mom was obviously in the wrong and so annoying, but then the teacher started responding SO unprofessionally and I HATEDDDD it. Cruel and unusual punishment having to read that. Ugh.

As a whole, I think this collection missed the mark a little bit. It markets itself as an Advent Romance Collection counting down to Christmas, but some of the novellas were focused on New Year's instead. This is fine if you're marketing it as a "holiday romance collection," but an advent romance collection counting down to Christmas should be, dare I say, focused on Christmas. I also wondered if any of the authors knew what the other authors were writing, because the majority of the novellas are about people reconnecting with loves from their past and they started to run together.

I'll be interested to see how this book is printed since the synopsis says to "open one sealed story each day". Will they be individually packaged little novellas? I'm so intrigued!!!

"A Merry Little Christmas" by Jessica Joyce-4 stars
"Decking His Halls" by Alexis Daria-2 stars
"I'll Be Home for Ex-Mas" by Alexandria Bellefleur-2 stars
"Someone to Hold On to" by Elise Bryant-4 stars
"Ho Ho Oh No" by MA Wardell-3 stars
"Twelve Seconds to Forever" by Rebecca Jenshak-3 stars
"A Solstice Kiss" by Olivia Dade-5 stars
"All Roads Lead Home" by Joss Richard-3 stars
"Skipping Christmas" by Rebekah Weatherspoon-5 stars
"Holiday Blackout" by Susan Lee-4 stars
"Hope This Helps" by Sarah Hogle-1 star
"Is It New Year's Yet?" by Zakiya N. Jamal-3 stars

In conclusion, I really enjoyed 5 out of the 12 stories. I'm interested to see how the book will be packaged, as it's an "advent romance collection."

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an e-arc for review.

[Nicole]

5 stars because anthologies are hard to rate as a single entity and there was a little something for everyone within the 12 short stories in this collection. The lengths varied between contributions, but all had the holiday touch and their own voice. Some I enjoyed more than others, but I had fun reading regardless.

Notes I took as I read these over the course of a couple months:

Day 1 - No one fits as much emotion and full-bodied narrative into short stories/novelettes as Jessica Joyce. Favorite.

Day 2 - Alexis Daria: older brother's best friend but make it festive, short & sweet & a bit steamy! Can't go wrong.

Day 3 - a short and sweet stranded-in-the-airport reconnection between exes from Alexandria Bellefleur. Cute, heartwarming, and hopeful. It felt like it could set the stage for a full length follow-up, which I would absolutely read.

Day 4 - Elise Bryant's contribution to the collection was tender and heartwarming with a little mystery and a handsome neighbor helping stakeout the bakery stand to solve it.

Day 5 - M.A. Wardell: sweet and spicy queer romance with a classic snowed in, only one bed, forced proximity catalyst that was a delight to read.

Day 6 - Rebecca Jenshak: cute best friend’s brother second chance reunion

Day 7 - Olivia Dade: Christmas abroad in Sweden, museum meet-cute with a handsome stranger and a choice to make about the future

Day 8 - Joss Richard: super cute second-chance friends-to-lovers reuniting after years apart on Christmas Eve

Day 9 - Rebekah Weatherspoon: a sexy neighbors-to-more with an observant, thoughtful man

Day 10 - Susan Lee: steamy second chance workplace romance with a snowed-in, power outage, stick it out together forced proximity push

Day 11 - Sarah Hogle: single mom and teacher exchanging banter-filled emails regarding the daughter’s standing in class. Fun and flirty when they meet chaperoning the school’s winter dance.

Day 12 - Zakiya N. Jamal: steamy, best friend’s brother, estranged friends after a New Year’s Eve kiss the year before, reunited at the annual party for the first time since.

Thank you to Atria Books for the eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[kris]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

First off, let it be said, publishing a Christmas anthology in late September is crazy. And, since I have an arc, I had to read this even earlier in the year—well. Wait a few months after publication and actually read this around the holidays.

As a whole, I give this book 3.75/5. Novellas and short stories are hard, especially with romances, where you have a limited amount of time to sell the reader on characters and their connection. I am picky about my novellas and short stories, too, and I must say, I enjoyed this far more than I expected.

Out of the 12 stories, I dnf’ed 3—which is good for me! The other 9, though, were great. While maybe not all 9 were memorable, I thought the authors did an incredible job of cramming a lot of story into a little space. I don’t want to review the stories individually (for space and because I, inexplicably, will feel mean), but I thought that the range in the plots was good, with a nice balance of cliche and original. The authors played to the limits of the collection really well, too—most of the stories are second chance romances, which worked really well with this shorter format.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book—just during the holidays, not when it’s published in September.

[Jordyn Salinas]

2 loves of Christmas review.

Okay since this was 12 short stories I’ll rate them individually below and then as a whole for the book.

1. second chance romance with an unexpected meeting years after breaking up. This one was really cute! 4 stars
2. There was a line in this one so cringey that I cannot possibly rate it anything higher than 2 stars lmao
3. This one was another second chance with an unexpected meeting after years up but it was cute so 4 stars!
4. This one was just so….. boring lol for me anyways. I just feel like the second one of them can get away they won’t be together, a situational fling at best 😂 2 stars
5. This one had really cute moments and then got a little too corny for me but overall I liked it! 3 stars
6. This one was a cute vibe, 4 stars
7. Aw I liked this one!! It was nice to take a break from the second chance theme lol 4 stars
8. Joss Richard’s does no wrong evaaaa 5 stars
9. This one was so cute!! I loved it they live in the same building 3 stars
10. This one was entertaining and loved the trapped in a snowstorm vibe. 4 stars
11. I don’t remember this one at all right now??
12. This one was cute, I love a new years kiss moment. 3 stars

Overall I think this is a good December gift for the hallmark movie lover in your life! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a chance to read early!

[Jenna]

This is my first time reading an advent anthology and if that is something that delights you about the holiday season, especially when there’s not enough time for anything and you want to feel like you’ve “finished” a story, then the odds are good that you’ll enjoy this. I went with three stars because some of these stories were fantastic and some just didn’t soar the way I think they could have. It’s also entirely up to the reader/author harmony, which is different for everybody! I thought it was awesome being able to sample so many authors that were new to me and I really appreciated how diverse the characters, circumstances, and tropes were. However, some of the stories were sweet, some were spicy, some were just a well described meet cute, and some rushed to cover a lot of ground in few pages… it ran the gamut really, which I think contributes to the mixed feelings this collection is getting. In the same way that I think every reader will find a story they LOVE, there will also be some that they feel like they have to get through or want to skip.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

[Cassie]

Thank you to Atria Books for the ARC!

A Merry Little Christmas by Jessica Joyce was a 5 star story for me. A lovely second chance romance.

Decking His Halls by Alexis Daria was cute and a little spicy!

I’ll Be Home for Ex-Mas by Alexandria Bellefleur was a sweet second chance romance. I loved that they found each other in an airport bar. Felt very nostalgic.

Someone to Hold On To by Elise Bryant a wholesome Christmas story about the importance of community.

Ho Ho Oh No by M.A. Wardell not what I typically read honestly.

Twelve Seconds to Forever by Rebecca Jenshak a second chance romance at their best friend / sisters Christmas wedding.

A Solstice Kiss by Olivia Dade

All Roads Lead Home by Joss Richard

Skipping Christmas by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Holiday Blackout by Susan Lee

Hope This Helps by Sarah Hogle

Is It New Year’s Yet? by Zakiya N. Jamal

[Reading in Brussels]

Highlighting the ones that I rated 4 stars and more:

A Merry Little Christmas - Jessica Joyce: 5 stars
I love everything JJ writes, and this short story is perfect for a quick JJ fix. It is signature Jessica Joyce, infused with lots of feels in a few pages.

I’ll Be Home for Ex-Mas - Alexandria Bellefleur: 4 stars
I really liked this one, fun!

Twelve Seconds to Forever - Rebecca Jenshak: 4 stars
Honestly would read more! Time to go and check out this author's work.

A Solstice Kiss - Olivia Dade: 4 stars
This was absolutely adorable!

Hope This Helps - Sarah Hogle: 5 stars
I kept turning the pages hoping for more! Utterly delightful, I'd read a whole novel of this!

.. and more short stories in this compilation, I think everyone will have some really lovely ones they'll enjoy!

Thank you to Atira for the ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

[Amy]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️My review: This book is meant to be an advent calendar of romance short stories. There are twelve stories to read leading up to Christmas. The book comes out in late September.
My review is for the book as a whole. Some of the stories were cute, some romantic, some not so great.

The first one A Merry Little Christmas was a fun, second chance romance. A little too coincidental but cute.

The third one I'll Be Home for Ex-Mas was very romantic. Former lovers meet in an airport when their flights are canceled. I like this one.

Holiday Blackout about being trapped at work when the power goes out seemed a little forced.

Hope This Helps was written mostly in emails between a mom and her daughter's cranky teacher. Guess who turns out to be hot and not so cranky?

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advance digital copy to review. These opinions are my own.

[Carly]

Thank you so much to NetGalley and all authors involved for allowing me read this advent romance novella collection as an ARC. As I went through each story (I never read more than one in a day to try and give myself a more authentic advent experience) and I individually rated each as I went along. All together, for me, the stories averaged out to a rating of four out of five stars!

These stories were filled with so much magic and romantic moments between these unrelated stories. I loved the diversity in storylines and how well the authors were able to get me hooked with each individual story. I definitely recommend this book for your upcoming holiday reading. Each story took me somewhere around 30 minutes to read, which felt like a good amount to get through before heading to bed for the night. I can’t wait for everyone to experience all the holiday magic within this collection.