Review: Under the Mistletoe Collection: Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood and Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey

About the Book - Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood

For two former childhood friends, a blustery winter storm stirs some frosty—and scorching—memories in a delightfully sexy short story by #1 New York Times bestselling author Ali Hazelwood.

All newly minted pediatrician Jamie Malek wants is to borrow a roasting pan for Christmas dinner. Unfortunately, that requires her to interact with Marc—her best friend’s troublemaking brother, who’s now a tech billionaire. He’s the one who got away. She’s the one who broke his heart. Outside, a howling blizzard. Inside, a crackling fire. Suddenly, being snowbound with the man she never expected to see again might not be such a bad way to spend a winter’s night.

Ali Hazelwood’s Cruel Winter with You is part of Under the Mistletoe, a collection of sexy December romances to warm the cold winter nights. They can be read or listened to in one swoony sitting.

About the Book - 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.

Evie Crowe is starting over in a strange town with her newborn, and men are the furthest thing from her mind. If only the quiet, hulking farmer, Luke Ward, would stop coming into the thrift shop and piquing her reluctant interest. Evie wants to stay single all the way—she can’t trust anything more than friends-with-holiday-benefits. But Luke is in it for the long haul. He’s fixed on making this a Christmas Evie will remember forever. If she gives him a chance.

Tessa Bailey’s Merry Ever After is part of Under the Mistletoe, a collection of sexy December romances to warm the cold winter nights. They can be read or listened to in one swoony sitting.

With the holiday season upon us, I decided to get in the mood by reading the first two books in the Under the Mistletoe Collection.  Of the two, I much preferred Cruel Winter with You by a long shot. I found it to be entertaining. I liked Marc. He was incredibly kind and so down bad for Jamie—even though she didn’t realize it at times. However, he had said some rude things to her while they were growing up, and I would have loved to know his feelings at that moment. I don’t recall him apologizing to Jamie either. There are quite a few time jumps within the novella; however, I think they are perfectly placed and much needed.

Merry Ever After didn’t feel like a holiday novella. The plot could have taken place in any other season, and almost nothing would change. It was too fast-paced and so much unnecessary smut. I liked the tropes in this one, but I didn't like the writing and execution. Evie’s son felt almost nonexistent and there was no emotional depth.

Final Thoughts

Cruel Winter with You feels like a holiday novella with two characters being forced to communicate while snowed in. Marc and Jamie had known each other for years, and for most of his life, Marc had crushed on Jamie. The book is unfortunately slightly hurt without the POV of Marc. All and all, it’s a short and sweet holiday novella.

With Merry Ever After, I decided to give Tessa Bailey another chance after avoiding her books for years. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this one. The dialogue felt silly, and the pacing was just too fast.

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Review: Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis comes a new STEMinist rom-com in which a scientist is forced to work on a project with her nemesis—with explosive results.

Like an avenging, purple-haired Jedi bringing balance to the mansplained universe, Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project—a literal dream come true after years scraping by on the crumbs of academia—Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward.

Sure, Levi is attractive in a tall, dark, and piercing-eyes kind of way. And sure, he caught her in his powerfully corded arms like a romance novel hero when she accidentally damseled in distress on her first day in the lab. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school—archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away.

Now, her equipment is missing, the staff is ignoring her, and Bee finds her floundering career in somewhat of a pickle. Perhaps it’s her occipital cortex playing tricks on her, but Bee could swear she can see Levi softening into an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas…devouring her with those eyes. And the possibilities have all her neurons firing. But when it comes time to actually make a move and put her heart on the line, there’s only one question that matters: What will Bee Königswasser do?

Review

Love on the Brain felt like an Ali Hazelwood book in a bad way. What I mean is that most of the criticisms that I have seen regarding the author are validated within this story. The main character is a small, quirky, colorful, STEM woman who has a strong dislike for her big, dark, and moody counterpart. However, unbeknownst, he secretly likes her and is unable to voice that. And oh no, now they are forced to work together. Nothing about this story felt original. Although this story might have been written prior, the new releases are much stronger.

This one lacked depth, and unfortunately, the love story couldn’t save it. The supporting characters felt more exciting than the main characters. I didn’t care for Bee’s voice and Levi felt uninteresting. There was a real missed opportunity with withholding his POV. I think that would have given him depth.

This should not be categorized as an enemies-to-lovers. The entire tension of their romance heavily depends on several miscommunications. And neither of them are enemies.

Final Analysis

Love on the Brain might be the weakest book within Ali Hazelwood’s catalog. The main characters and their romance are quickly overshadowed by far more interesting characters. This book was plagued with awful miscommunication between the leads and the same formulaic structure that Hazelwood is often criticized for.

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Review: Below Zero by Ali Hazelwood

About the Book

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis comes a new steamy, STEMinist novella…

It will take the frosty terrain of the Arctic to show these rival scientists that their chemistry burns hot.

Mara, Sadie, and Hannah are friends first, scientists always. Though their fields of study might take them to different corners of the world, they can all agree on this universal truth: when it comes to love and science, opposites attract and rivals make you burn…

Hannah’s got a bad feeling about this. Not only has the NASA aerospace engineer found herself injured and stranded at a remote Arctic research station—but the one person willing to undertake the hazardous rescue mission is her longtime rival.

Ian has been many things to Hannah: the villain who tried to veto her expedition and ruin her career, the man who stars in her most deliciously lurid dreams…but he’s never played the hero. So why is he risking everything to be here? And why does his presence seem just as dangerous to her heart as the coming snowstorm?

Review

Below Zero was a book where I quickly fell in love with the romance. Hannah and Ian were opposite, and from their first interaction, I was sold. The easiest way to describe them is to say that Hannah is a black cat archetype, and Ian is a cinnamon roll. 

This book has several time jumps, which don’t bother me—especially since it was weaved perfectly into the story. Hannah and Ian met years ago and prior to the major event in this story, there was a misunderstanding and Hannah is quite upset with him. Hannah can’t be faulted for her reaction because, in the context of the story, it made sense. Regardless, Ian was determined to ensure that she didn’t get hurt. I was begging for more from them. Unfortunately, this is a novella. The story moves quickly. Although the Ian and Hannah shine there’s so much of their story that felt untouched. 

Final Thoughts

Below Zero has several high points for me. I giggled to myself and truly loved Hannah and Ian. The space terminology went over my head several times, however, it was easy to overlook. The only real problem I had was that the book felt like only the beginning for these characters, and there was much that could still be explored. 

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Review: Bride by Ali Hazelwood

About the Book

A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love, Theoretically and The Love Hypothesis.

Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast—again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange—again...

Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It’s clear from the way he tracks Misery’s every movement that he doesn’t trust her. If only he knew how right he was….

Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she's ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what’s hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory…alone with the wolf.

Review

Bride completely blew me away. Admittedly, when I saw so much praise for this book, I was slightly worried. I didn’t want to go in with high expectations and be disappointed. On the other hand, I also saw almost the same amount of people not being able to finish this book because they felt it was “silly.” I was conflicted. This book isn’t some groundbreaking masterpiece, but it’s my first five-star read of the year. 

I have zero complaints about this one. When I think about my experience while reading this book, all I can think about is how much fun I had and how I was utterly sucked in. 

The plot of Bride is very simple. It’s a modern-day vampire and werewolf story. Like most in this genre, the vampire (or vampyres) and werewolf don’t get along. Each of group has their own designated area in North America and doesn’t mix. They also don’t mix with humans unless necessary. Our female lead, Misery, has lived amongst humans for years. She’s never felt like she belonged with the vampyres and certainly doesn’t belong with the human. However, she’s willing to mold herself to fit. Misery was a heartbreaking character. From a young age, she’s been a pawn of her father’s, and the poor girl is just trying to find her own. The only person she truly has is her best friend ---Serene. Her best friend is the reason that she agrees to marry Lowe. 

I want to personally thank Ali Hazelwood for giving readers tiny peeps into Lowe’s mind. For all of the chapters before Misery’s POV begins, there’s a paragraph or a sentence of what he’s thinking. I am forever in debt to Ali. Lowe is a character who is powerful, dangerous, and dedicated to his pack. He also loves his little sister—Ana. What I loved about his character is that he wasn’t a typically grumpy male lead. He’s also very empathetic. 

Final Thoughts 

Bride is currently my favorite book of the year. I will proudly shout that from the skies. I enjoyed this book. Misery had such a wonderful, dry sense of humor, and I found her charming. And Lowe is also incredible in his own right. I could read a thousand books about them. Bride has a fantastic cast of supporting characters, too. Ana, Lowe’s little sister, deserves her shoutout. I mentioned earlier that I had no complaints about this book, and I’m going to change that and say that my only complaint is that there was not enough Ana.

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Review: Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

Summary

The many lives of theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway have finally caught up with her. By day, she’s an adjunct professor, toiling away at grading labs and teaching thermodynamics in the hopes of landing tenure. By other day, Elsie makes up for her non-existent paycheck by offering her services as a fake girlfriend, tapping into her expertly honed people-pleasing skills to embody whichever version of herself the client needs.

Honestly, it’s a pretty sweet gig—until her carefully constructed Elsie-verse comes crashing down. Because Jack Smith, the annoyingly attractive and arrogant older brother of her favorite client, turns out to be the cold-hearted experimental physicist who ruined her mentor’s career and undermined the reputation of theorists everywhere. And he’s the same Jack Smith who rules over the physics department at MIT, standing right between Elsie and her dream job.

Elsie is prepared for an all-out war of scholarly sabotage but…those long, penetrating looks? Not having to be anything other than her true self when she’s with him? Will falling into an experimentalist’s orbit finally tempt her to put her most guarded theories on love into practice?

Review

Out of the one other Ali Hazelwood book that I have read I can with great confidence say that this one is my favorite. And I can also with the same amount of confidence say that this book is one of my favorites of the year. I wholeheartedly enjoyed Love, Theoretically. I feel as if I’m five seconds from shouting it in the middle of the street.

Did I understand all the physicist conversations and explanations? Absolutely not. I’m not even going to pretend that my brain even processed them, they went over my head. However, that did not hinder my reading experience. I still had a great time. Ali Hazelwood has crafted an addicting love story between Jack and Elsie, and I was hooked.

Very early on readers learn that Elsie is fake dating Jack’s brother and Jack has been acting a little weird towards her every time she is around him. Elsie believes that it’s because he suspects that she’s a fraud. As the book continues, and secrets are revealed, it’s clear that her assumptions about him are wrong.

One of my favorite things about this book were the interactions between Elsie and Jack. Some of them were completely ordinary and normal things that people do in relationships, but I got so giddy because I loved seeing the progression of their relationship and how they built trust with each other. And I will say, I will happily read six hundred pages of them doing nothing but loving each other. Ali Hazelwood, give me a sequel, please? There doesn’t need to be a plot!

Another thing I really enjoyed was Elsie coming into her own. She’s been a people pleaser her entire life and it was rewarding to see her stand up for herself and start to demand to be respected.

Final Thoughts

Love, Theoretically was a book that I thoroughly enjoyed. The main character--- Elsie, was an incredible and real character who I loved deeply. The romance was one of the best that I have read this year. I loved how patient and understanding Jack was, and how he and Elsie had this one-sided hate to lovers thing going on in the beginning. And it was beautiful to watch their relationship progress. One of the biggest issues I had with this story was the ending. I felt it to be a little rushed, and I had to read the last few pages multiple times because it felt like I was missing something. All and all, I still really enjoyed this book.

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