howlinglibraries's reviews
1803 reviews

 

This was an absolute delight. After being disappointed in the 3rd and 4th Under the Mistletoe novellas, I was nervous going into this finale, but it was such a great redemption. The main character was fully lovable, there was great chemistry between the MCs, and most of all, the short page count didn't stop it from evoking some serious reactions from me. I laughed out loud a few times and even got choked up once when Evie was reminiscing on her late grandmother. I would say this was a near tie with Cruel Winter with You for my favorite from the collection.

Best of all, I got to read this entire collection with my best friend, and that made it even better. ♥ Happy holidays, friends! 

 

I don't know what it was, but I really couldn't stand the MMC. 😩 I felt like, every time she tried to thank him for being kind, he brushed it off like it was nothing, wasn't his idea, etc., and then would instantly turn it around on her like, "Oh, YOU have a crush on ME!" and it felt so high school.

 

 

I feel like the odd one out here for sure, but I thought this was really cute. 😂 I was a little confused in the beginning, and I definitely wish it'd had more Christmas vibes, but I actually giggled out loud a couple of times over the lewd hot dog van jokes and I thought the characters were cute enough to root for. I'm such a sucker for people confessing their feelings through games (never have I ever, truth or dare, etc.), I just think it's cute and cheesy 😂

 

 

I'm gonna be honest, I was apprehensive going into this novella based on the average rating and my only other experience with a Tessa Bailey story (which I DNFed at the time), but this was really sweet. It's very sappy, insta-love Hallmark Christmas vibes for sure, but I really loved how enthusiastic Luke was about taking on Evie and Sonny as a package deal and winning her trust by taking care of her son. 

 

I really love the whole "pining since childhood/teen years" trope and I loved Jamie as a main character. It was too easy to relate to some of her internal thoughts and struggles, and I was so proud of her in the end. I'm glad this was a novella because I don't think it would have worked as well for me if it had been a full-length novel, but in this shorter length, it was great!

 

 

Honestly, I don't mind the content. Yeah, this is one of the more depraved "taboo romances" I've read for sure, but that wasn't the issue, because I knew going into it that it was horror/erotica and that there would be some super iffy elements involved. I just hated the writing and characters. It was all so absolutely nonsensical that I couldn't suspend disbelief, Lucian's character ruined the entire story, the ending was infuriating, and there were several anatomical descriptions that were wrong and pulled me out of it. I definitely don't see myself picking up anything else by this author on the romance OR horror side.

 

 

This was a cute little insta-love novella. I'm a simple woman and have always loved the "new guy scaring off the shitty ex" microtrope lol. Logan's a sweet MMC and Allison's bubbly and likeable. Not much to say, but it was fun!

 

 I absolutely loved this. This was the perfect mix of spooky, sad, and dreadful that I was looking for and Joe Hill's writing is always enjoyable. Martin is such a lovable character and I would totally read an entire novel about him if Joe Hill ever wanted to expand on this story. 👀