Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Under the Mistletoe by Ali Hazelwood, Tessa Bailey, Olivia Dade, Alexandria Bellefleur, Alexis Daria Narrator: Vivienne LaRue, Summer Morton, Connor Crais, Andi Arndt, Ruby Corazon, Amelie Griffin
Series: Under the Mistletoe Collection
Published by Brilliance Audio on November 12, 2024
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Length: 7 hours, 58 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible
Curl up by the fire with some of today’s hottest authors as they serve up enough holiday joy and magic to melt the frostiest heart. As the temperature drops, friends and neighbors might need to turn up the heat, and even old enemies just might get a second chance. Let it snow!
Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood
For two former childhood friends, a blustery winter storm stirs some frosty—and scorching—memories in a delightful short story by #1 New York Times bestselling author Ali Hazelwood.Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey
A single mother working in a thrift store. A gentle giant farmer who can’t find jeans that fit. When opposites attract, they find themselves making alterations in more ways than one in this smoking-hot short story by #1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey.All by My Elf by Olivia Dade
Secret crushes, spicy Christmas treats, heinous holiday traffic, and a fateful snowstorm bring good friends together in a funny, heartfelt short story by bestselling author Olivia Dade.Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur
This Christmas, a hot fireman makes a holiday rescue and sparks fly in this funny, sexy holiday short story by bestselling author Alexandria Bellefleur.Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, especially for a comic book illustrator whose late-night fantasies become real in a festive and flirty short story by bestselling author Alexis Daria.
The Under the Mistletoe Collection Series is a group of five short stories about an hour and a half to two hours in length all from different authors in the Under the Mistletoe Collection Series. I enjoyed the Valentines Day series in a similar format and was excited to try out a few new authors in this series. I liked most of the stories and there were a few authors below that I will read some of their other works because I enjoyed them.
Cruel Winter With You –  by Ale Hazelwood (Under the Mistletoe Collection Series 1) ♥♥♥♥♥
This was my favorite story out of the collection. Marc was Jamie’s best friends brother growing up. He had a huge crush on her and she always liked him but they have some history.  Trapped together in a snow story before Christmas, the reader will get some insights into their pasts and when and how everything went wrong.
This was a cute second chance friends to lovers story that I really bought into because of their history.
Narration: Vivienne LaRue did a fantastic job at capturing both Jamie and Marc’s voice and really making me care about the characters. She brought the story home for me and I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed
Merry Ever After – by Tessa Bailey (Under the Mistletoe Collection Series 2) ♥♥♥
There isn’t a lot of time in these stories but this was about a single mother and a gentle giant. It went from 0-60 in no time flat and I wish we would have had a little more set up. Evie and her baby work at the Thrift Store where Luke sometimes comes to try on pants. Only problem is he is a big guy and nothing really fits. As a gift Evie makes him a part of jeans and from there they find there is a spark between them.
I liked the idea of the story but wish we could have got a little more character and interaction time before they started jumping each other’s bones. This was the sexiest of all the shorts. We did get a cute epilogue which was nice.
Narration: I appreciate the dual narration for this.  Connor Crais was a good narrator for this and got Lukes voice really good. Summer Morton did a good job with Evie as well and kept up with Chris. The sex scenes were steamy and they did great with them.
All By My Elf by Tessa Bailey (Under the Mistletoe Collection Series 3) ♥♥♥
As adjunct professors Nina and William took up a job through the holidays selling mince pies out of a traveling mobile that looks a lot like male genitalia. This does make for some funny moments while stuck in traffic. Nina has had a crust on William since she came to the university. But hasn’t had the courage to do anything about it. Stuck in the middle of the highway in a snow storm just might be a good time for some Christmas confessions.
This was probably my least favorite story of the collection. You could tell that William had a thing for Nina and I just wanted to get it all out in the open. Then the sex scene in the mince meat mobile was way too politically correct with all the can I touch you stuff after I thought it had been made pretty clear that they both wanted to do all the touchy touchy things. Also a sex scene in something that in my head looked a lot like the Oscar Wiener Mobile was just not sexy to me.
Still Nina and William were sweet if incredible dense about telling each other how they feel. It wasn’t a bad story I just liked all the others more.
Narration: Andi Arndt is a pro narrator and brought their A game. The voices and emotions were great and they made the funny scenes even funnier than if I would have read the book.
Merriment and Mayhem By Alexandria Bellefluer (Under the Mistletoe Collection Series 4) ♥♥♥♥
Hot fireman to the rescue…um yes, please.
Everleigh Dangerfield is living up to her name and accidentally set the kitchen on fire while trying to bake some cookies. She is determined to do the things she used to with her grandmother as a way of saying goodbye to her. The only problem, some of the stuff in the house is a little old and temperamental, hence the fire. Griffen is a little smitten at first sight after showing up to assist in putting out the fire, but Everliegh is leaving soon and isn’t looking for anything.
What ensues are a few funny situational moments that involve needing to be rescued and Griffen being just the man for the job.
This was really cute, even if it was fast. I really liked the story but would have loved a small epilogue to the end as it cute off pretty fast.
Narration: Amelie Griffin captured the fun of this book. She made the situational moments funny and Everliegh’s inner dialogue a lot of fun. She even did well on Griffin’s voice making him seem a little dreamy too.
Only Santa’s in the Building  – By Alexis Daria (Under the Mistletoe Collection Series 5) ♥♥♥♥
Evie is on deadline and hasn’t had the time to decorate her Christmas Tree. When some cute handmade ornaments start showing up on her door she is on a mission to figure out who they are from to thank them. But for now she needs to focus and get all of her drawings in on time, so it would help if she could stop thinking about her sexy handyman neighbor who sometimes fixes things for her.
At the building Christmas party she might just get a chance for him to see her in something that isn’t her comfort clothing while she is on deadline. She is hoping she’ll knock his socks off but with a little help from some Mistletoe she might just get her socks knocked off too.
I thought this was a super cute and fast read. I liked Evie and her drooling over a nice guy who lives upstairs and I was pulling for her to finally make a move.
Narration: Ruby Corazon was a perfect fit for Evie’s character since this was a singe PoV. She got the slight accent right and it made the story better as Evie came to life.
Listen to a clip:Â HERE
About Andi Arndt
Andi’s relatively neutral US English accent is a product of a Minnesota childhood, New Jersey high school years, and Maryland/DC/Virginia adulthood. Firm grounding in both theatre and broadcasting led to full-time work in voice over.
About Ali Hazelwood
I’m Ali, and I write contemporary romcom novels about women in STEM and academia. I love cats, Nutella, and side ponytails. I’m also currently learning to crochet, so as you can tell I’m a super busy gal with an intense and exciting life!
About Tessa Bailey
Tessa Bailey is the New York Times Bestselling Author of the Line of Duty Series. She lives in Long Island, New York with her husband and exuberant daughter. When she isn’t writing, eating cheese, listening to true crime podcasts or reading romance, Tessa enjoys a good argument and thirty-minute recipes.
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Nice collection. Nice authors. I’m curious.
I found a few that I will check out some of their other books.
My reviews/thoughts are very similar to yours. My favorite was definitely Hazelwood’s entry.
Yes that seemed like the easiest story to buy into. Plus who wouldn’t love a guy that pined for you since high school
I pretty much agree with your thoughts on all of these! Thanks for sharing!