Hot Cocoa and Mistletoe

Only One Cozy Bed Novellas #3

by Elise Kennedy

Peri Bell planned to host the perfect Christmas at her upstate cabin until her argumentative, hulking, stupidly-handsome co-owner appears unexpectedly. A freak overnight snowstorm has them trapped in the cabin until Christmas.

Will the snow melt in time or will Peri have to spend Christmas trapped with her number-one enemy / very secret crush?

Featuring:
Enemies-to-lovers
Forced proximity
Grumpy / Sunshine
Snowed in
Stern Brunch Daddy vibes
Log cabin in the woods
Dog BFF
Christmas hijinks
Spicy scenes
"Good girl"

Genres: Christmas, Romance, Novella, Holiday, Enemies To Lovers, Contemporary, Forced Proximity

94 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 20, 2022

About the author

I write cozy, steamy, contemporary romances.
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Reviews

[rae ✿ · Rating 2 out of 5]

not as good as the first two

[Christina (stinarinareads) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.25✨
1.5🌶️

#️⃣ ~90 page novella
🌨️ Snowed in together + forced proximity
🔥 Sharing a bed for body heat
💋 One spice scene

FMC and MMC share co-ownership of a cabin home, and end up arriving there at the same time over the Christmas holidays. Before either could leave, they’re snowed in, forced to address their unresolved sexual tension.

I’ve read one other of Elise Kennedy’s holiday novellas, and I definitely preferred it over this one. The FMC here was pretty unlikeable for me, and maybe this is a petty reason, but she just felt selfish and immature. She’s expecting friends over for Christmas, but due to an extremely bad, trees down, power out, roads blocked snow situation, they can’t get there. And the FMC frames it as “they cancelled on me” and throws a fit with spittle described as flying from her mouth. It just rubbed me the wrong way.

Some bonus points for the spice scene the catered solely to the FMC’s fantasy, but still wasn’t enough to salvage my dislike of the FMC. There’s better holiday novellas out there!

[Serena Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Todas las mejores partes de Bennett eran sus cosas favoritas: un hombre obsesionado con su perro, músculos que ella necesitaba lamer, severo y gruñón pero obsesionado con hacer lo correcto y siempre cuidar de las personas en su vida.'





•Mi opinión puede contener Spoilers.
•Esta destinada a ser un descargo personal no para que alguien más lea pero si lo haces y te ofende, me disculpo porque sé lo que es que te guste un libro y otros lo critiquen.




Hot Cocoa & Mistletoe de Elise Kennedy serie Only One Cozy Bed Novellas libro 3

Argumento:

Peri Bell planeaba organizar la Navidad perfecta en su cabaña en el norte del estado hasta que su copropietario discutidor, severo, corpulento y estúpidamente guapo aparece inesperadamente. Una extraña tormenta de nieve durante la noche los tiene atrapados juntos en la cabaña hasta Navidad.

¿Se derretirá la nieve con el tiempo o Peri tendrá que pasar la Navidad atrapada con su enemigo número uno/su enamoramiento secreto?



Mi humilde opinión:

Una historia corta de navidad cálida, divertida y picante!

Peri y Bennett son copropietarios de una cabaña y días antes de navidad la nieve los obliga a compartirla, además de la cama... Él parece malhumorado y ella es todo alegría, quizás es justo lo que necesita para poner color a su monótona vida. Entre guirnaldas, la decoración de la casa de pan de jengibre, seguido de apasionados besos con chocolate caliente, juegos con más besos, un muñeco de nieve y karaoke navideño, se darán cuenta que la navidad en la compañía del otro no es tan mala y que no son tan enemigos jurados como parecían ser.

Las bromas a través de correos electrónicos al principio y los apodos me hicieron reír. Me gustaron los momentos de tensión y pasión, y por supuesto los dulces en la cabaña. Me encantaron juntos, gran pareja!

Bennett resultó ser un rollo de canela al final. Me derretí con este gigante consolando a un asustado Jax y llamarlo su mejor amigo! Me gustó que a pesar de sus miedos Peri se permitiera confiar y amarlo.

Está fue una lectura rápida que me dio todas las vibras navideñas y un divertido romance de enemigos a amantes.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peri and Bennett’s story was short and sweet (not very spicy but there’s a tiny amount of it too). I liked the banter and their dynamic. The snowed in trope is not one I often read but in this case the forced proximity wasn’t over the top and it was actually enjoyable and felt natural.

[Brittany (hauntedbycandlelight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute! A very enjoyable Christmas Eve read.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now THIS was a good holiday novella. Banter, heat, low stakes adorableness. I would have taken this as a full length novel if it was given that way but it works very well as a novella.

[Maryam Nass · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 !

This was cute AF and a great, short Christmas novella!

[Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤️💚An adorably steamy Christmas novella!💚❤️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
I can’t find anything hugely wrong with this book, I ate it up like a platter of Christmas cookies. Cute with just the right depth and the perfect length for a novella. So glad I was able to kick off my Christmas reading with a good one! 🎁

🌶️🌶️/5
This Ho ho hoe meter shouldn’t be anything too crazy but I’m gonna put a quote ⬇️ that’s just gotta be one of the hottest things I’ve ever read so WHEWWW


⚠️naughty list spoilers below⚠️


✒️Favorite Quote🖋️
“I want you to describe, in detail, what exactly you’d like me to do to you tonight. In perfect, ridiculous honesty. Because Peri,” he took a breath and, lord have mercy, his lip brushed her ear lobe with a hot puff, “Whatever it is, I bet I’ve thought about doing it to you.”


What I liked👍:
- the rivals up front but crushes secretly was so cute. He would purposely be a grump because he wanted to email her 😭 and he broke up with his girlfriend because he got more excited for Peri’s emails than seeing her!!! Come on, the whole thing was just so cute!
- Peri immediately claiming the dog Jax as her new bff 💚
- Him doing all of her party planning activities because he knows how hard she worked and he wanted to cheer her up🥹 not only that but then making it a competition was an extra fun layer!!!
- he used his Christmas wish to wish her friends to make it for the party 😭😭😭
- not putting this in the quotes but it’s still ringing in my head… she goes “don’t tell me you don’t like whipped cream or you’ll break my heart” and he goes “I could never break your heart, Peri” SCREAMING

What I didn’t like👎:
- the one itty thing I found that bugged me was, they end up sleeping in the same bed because he can’t get up the stairs with his busted foot. BUT. The next day. He goes up the stairs just fine to get Jax’s dog bed. She makes a point of saying he’s still limping around, but why was he suddenly able to do the stairs fine when he’s still hurt?

[Alejandra Guerrero · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope. this woman is insufferable. selfish, childish, and TSTL. No way I can stand her for one more page. DNF 20%

[January · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hot Cocoa and Mistletoe by Elise Kennedy
Small-Town Romance Shorts #3 aka Only One Cozy Bed
100-page Kindle Ebook story pages 5-98

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Novella, Holiday > Christmas

Featuring: Content Warning Link 🌐 Mostly Sexually Explicit Scenes - Exact Wording At the End of Review; Author's Bibliography, Emails, Timeshare, Chicago, Illinois, Cabin, Lawyer, Mix-up Trope, Dog, Wisconsin, Party Planner, Inclement Weather Trope, Close Proximity Trope Enemies-to-Lovers Trope, Author's Links, Author's Bibliography

Rating as a movie: XX for strong sexual content and language

Songs for the soundtrack: "White Christmas" by Ella Fitzgerald, "Blue Christmas" by Elvis Presley

Books and Authors mentioned: Only One Cozy Bed, an omnibus collection of 4 cozy, seasonal novellas that includes exclusive, brand-new bonus epilogues for all novellas (including Hot Cocoa & Mistletoe)!

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️🫕☕️❄️🎄

My thoughts: This was good but I was expecting more than was delivered.

Recommend to others: Yes. This was a quick series, it didn't end on a high note but it was fun overall. You could get a drink or box of chocolate and have a taste every time Chicago, Wisconsin, or the city is mentioned.

Small-Town Romance Shorts
1. Pumpkin Spice and Pour-Overs (2022)
2. Apple Cider and Subterfuge (2022)
3. Hot Cocoa and Mistletoe (2022)
4. Snowed In & Snuggle Weather (2023)
Only One Cozy Bed - Novella collection with bonus epilogues

🌐 Minor injuries, a runaway pet, an animal experiencing freezing temperatures, grieving the death of a parent (due to cancer off the page), consensual explicit sexual content, including spanking.

[adeela_books ❁ཻུ۪۪ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

TROPES:
• enemies to lovers
• forced proximity
• snowed in
• Holiday cabin they both co-own
• Christmas and winter
• spice

❄️❄️❄️

I've read all of the novellas in this series and this one is currently the last one.

I liked the enemies to lovers trope and ofc the snowed in aspect. It was a cute read. The spice was spicy, too spicy for me personally, so I ended up skipping it 😂

Overall, a quick read to pass time this holiday szn

[Kerry Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Oh my god. You are the weirdest weirdo to ever weird. ‘Tiger’? You called a hot dude hot to his face and then cataloged his hotness to him, and then acted like his little league coach.”⁣
⁣
Enemies to lovers, snowed in, only one bed, snappy banter, spanking, and a praise kink? Sign me all the way up! Add in a rustic A-frame cabin, jazzy Christmas music, twinkling lights, festive garland, a hot cocoa bar, cinnamon rolls, a snowball fight, and an adorable dog? ⁣
⁣
This was a perfect, Christmassy, spicy novella.

[cakecoffeeandbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super festive! 🎄

[sophandherbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bennett and his words...

[Ashley Schounard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun quick read. Super cute.

[McKenna R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, quick read. It was probably too spicy for me. I enjoyed the story, though. If you are interested in it but wary for that reason, the spiciness was mostly found in two scenes toward the end of the book.

I do love a classic enemies-to-lovers Christmas rom-com, though, and this delivered on that. It’s a quick novella that you could probably read in one sitting, but it took me longer than that since I didn’t have 90 minutes of uninterrupted time.

Also why is Bennett such a popular name for romances? I swear this is the third Bennett I’ve seen from a romance fiction setting in the last few days.

[Laura Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow what a great festive read.
Enemies to lovers snowed-in together over Christmas. Bennett helps cheer Peri up when her Christmas is ruined when her friends can't get to the cabin for Christmas and ending up alone with just him and Jax (the dog). She saves his life and he does all her activities in return only things heat up when the power goes out and it's not just from the fire ikyk.
What started as a Christmas for Peri to host for her and her friends with no one else to share it with ended up a Christmas miracle with her secret crush who she never ever thought she would get.

[Rora · Rating 2 out of 5]

Waste of my time is what I’m rating this book.

There weren’t even enemies to lovers at all in this book, which is a given because it’s a romance book. This trope doesn’t belong in romance because they have no real reason why they hate their love interest rather than because of their job🙄.

The girl literally claimed that he was her “worst enemy” but admits that she had a secret crush on him.

I wouldn’t called this enemies to lovers more like strangers to lovers is what more appealing than one that needs to have two people actual hate each other that they want to kill each other.

[Mikaila · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is my first ever DNF. I got to page 18 and can't make it any further. Peri is so unbelievably intolerable, immature and selfish.

SPOILERS
✨ ✨ ✨
She agrees months before that Ben can use the cabin for Christmas like he has done for the last 3 years and because she decided randomly to have her friends over for Christmas he is apparently the one who needs to leave. She also claims that he is her worst enemy but has a secret crush on him and has stalked him on socials? Idk if she knows what an enemy even is.

[Jennifer Jansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like a quick moving novella like this one. Peri and Bennett are co-owners of a cabin and end up there together in Christmas. Snowed in. Peri thinks Bennett is uptight, although hot. They get to know each other while snowed in and realize they are both crushing on each other. It's a novella so it moves quickly, but it works. I'm grateful for the bonus epilogue too. I'd love to read more of their future. I wouldn't have minded his POV more than just that bonus.

[Liz | lizzuplans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cute novella!
Peri and Bennett worked well together and it was nice to see them get together. The banter was fun, I would have loved more of that.
I “felt” the couples in the other two novellas more, but still a lovely seasonal romance read.

Also, I wish I could get Peri’s hot chocolate right now, yum!!! Without peppermint for me, but still yes please.

[Crazy4bookscruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

most adorable snowed in novella

It was so gosha dang cute and so loveable!! I wanted to curl up next to a fire with this book.
The characters were grumpy and sunshine with hearts of gold. They cared so much and were the absolute best enemies to lovers story. What a flawless transition.

[dark_romance_bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sweetest little Christmas read I didn’t realise I needed! (Including some spanking and good girl vibes! 😉)

Peri and Bennett bring all the Christmas fuzzy feels in this enemies to lovers novella. I also really want Peri’s hot cocoa bar now ☕️
This was a fluffy, seasonal break from my normal dark reads and I loved it!

[Andreea · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

This was an incredibly cute novella and perfect for the winter season and I am so sad this was so short because I wanted to spend more time with these characters - but how long can you make it using the snowed-in trope, right?

The banter was perfect, the chemistry too, the dog adorable, all the cosy Christmas vibes! And the spice was top notch!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 ⭐️
2/5 🌶️ explicit consensual sex and spanking

TW: mentions of death of a parent due to cancer (off page) and minor injuries due to accidents

Super cute and cozy snowed in Christmas novella. One bed trope done right with a dash of enemies to lovers. This is a super great read for the holidays. Great vibes.

[addison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was just so cute. I absolutely loved the plot and how it was executed! I would love to see this as a full book! I could have gone without the spanking or the smut completely but I understand that the author enjoys adding that to her books and because the rest of it was just so cute, I’m choosing to ignore it.

[What_Ash_Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super Cute Holiday Read

This was a super cute quick holiday read. I wouldn't quite call them enemies but definitely not friendly associates. A scheduling mixup occurs, a WI snowstorm ruins Peri's friendsmas, and our grumpy MMC Bennett and his adorable dog get stranded as well. Christmas magic ✨ and sexy times ensue.

[Andilion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peri and Bennett were a cute pairing to read about, but let's be honest... Jax stole the show :)
The banter through emails in the beginning was so fun to read and their relationship just got better as time went on. I love me a quick Christmas novella read and this one did not disappoint!

[Suni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a sweet and sexy short novella! The one downside I find with novellas sometimes is, wanting more! They sometimes feel like they are rushed bc they are so short, but they still have a great beginning, middle and end!

[Alissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warm fuzzies galore

Elise Kennedy is the queen of spicy warm fuzzies. I love this book just like I loved all her other ones. This one especially tugged at the heartstrings with the late father plot line. I love the banter, the spice, and the dog!