Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood Narrator: Vivienne LaRue
Series: Under the Mistletoe #1
Published by Amazon Original Stories on 2024-11-12
Length: 73 pages
Length: 2 hours
Listening Speed: 2x
Reviewing Audiobook, Kindle from Kindle Unlimited
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2024 Audiobook Challenge
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.
Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood is the first in the Under the Mistletoe collection which features five short stories from five romance authors sure to spice up your holiday reading. This one was a great start to the collection, not really sure how it can be topped. Jamie is home for holidays, and all she wants to do is borrow a roasting pan from her neighbor down the street. However, that means interacting with Marc, her best friend’s little brother and the one who got away.
I loved this short story! Jamie just wants to get the pan and get out, but with a blizzard raging and road conditions deteriorating rapidly, Marc doesn’t let her leave so quickly. Suddenly trapped with the guy she let get away, Jamie is forced to confront her past. Told in alternating past and present tense, the story quickly unfolds: Marc with his hopeless crush, Jamie with her need to be independent but also super lonely. A small misunderstanding months earlier leaves the two at an impasse, but now will the truth win out?
I could honestly write a mini-novel about how good this one is, but I’ll leave it short and sweet so as not to spoil anything. Overall, I really enjoyed Cruel Winter with You. I loved how the author quickly made us love both Marc and Jamie, how the story unfolded, and the tension surrounding their romance. If you like second chances and enemies/friends to lovers, I highly recommend this one.
Each of the books in the Under the Mistletoe collection are available in Kindle Unlimited with audio narration. These spicy stories can be read in under two hours (less if you are listening) which makes them a perfect holiday read if you are short on time.
About Ali Hazelwood
Ali Hazelwood is a multi-published author—alas, of peer-reviewed articles about brain science, in which no one makes out and the ever after is not always happy. Originally from Italy, she lived in Germany and Japan before moving to the U.S. to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience. She recently became a professor, which absolutely terrifies her. When Ali is not at work, she can be found running, crocheting, eating cake pops, or watching sci-fi movies with her two feline overlords (and her slightly-less-feline husband).
I really loved this one also. It’s hard to write a short story which is good.
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Agree. They are either hit or miss, but she was able to give us enough details to care what happened with the characters. It made me want to read more of her work.
This one was my favourite out of the five. It was just too short!
Rolé @ Hooked By That Book recently posted…Review: Three Days to Be Ruined – by Giovanna Siniscalchi
It was my favorite of the five as well. I could have read a full length novel with them trapped at his house 😂
I loved this one too! Great review!
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