Home Sweet Holidays Collection

I love picking up these cute little holiday short story collections from Amazon. I’m not entirely sure why, because a lot of them have earned some of my lowest ratings. I assume Amazon gives the authors a strict word count, and that’s a tough box to write in. It’s often harder than delivering a fully fleshed-out short story where you can expand when needed. Some authors manage to tell a satisfying story within those limits better than others, but I still enjoy seeing what everyone comes up with. These little stories in The Home Sweet Holidays Collection are free with Kindle Unlimited and Amazon Prime (including audio) but this post contains Amazon affiliate links anyway.

Snow Place Like Home by Laura Pavlov

Narrated by Sean Masters and Abigail Reno

I’ve enjoyed Laura Pavlov’s books in the past, so I was excited for her contribution to the Home Sweet Holidays collection. Snow Place Like Home was a cute story, or at least it had the potential to be, but it just wasn’t executed well within the page limits. Honestly, another 20 pages would have helped so much.

Goldie Jacobs is home for her brother’s Christmas wedding after a bad breakup. Her brother’s best friend, Ace Bonetti, a Hollywood star, is also in town for the wedding. He’s always had a crush on Goldie, and one snowy night together sparks something more.

The problem was that I didn’t feel the chemistry because we were mostly told about it instead of seeing it develop. There just wasn’t enough space to let the relationship build on page. There were also a lot of characters for such a short story, which made everything feel even more rushed.

Narration: Sean Masters and Abigail Reno were fine here. Sean didn’t stand out the way he sometimes does, and I didn’t love her male voices.

Rating: 3 stars
Heat: 0
Narration: 4

Snow Place Like Home by Laura Pavlov

Kindle | Audible

Merry and Bright by Ali Rosen

Narrated by Barrie Kreinik and Eric Nolan

Merry and Bright by Ali Rosen was by far my favorite of the collection, and not just because it includes both Hanukkah and Christmas. This actually felt like a fully realized story that fit the length parameters. Would I have loved it as a full-length novel? Absolutely. But it was still satisfying as a short read, which I find pretty rare with these collections.

I hadn’t read Ali Rosen before, but I definitely will now. I appreciated the Jewish representation and loved seeing Hanukkah included in a mainstream holiday collection. I do wish that had been clearer on the cover. There is a mezuzah, which I only noticed after seeing someone mention it on Threads. A blue and silver color scheme could have been such a perfect, subtle nod.

Cal is a pro football player heading home for the holidays for the first time in years after being sidelined by a knee injury. Miriam owns a snack company and is heading home to her family for Hanukkah. They’re both dreading their overbearing families and strike a fake dating deal to survive the holidays.

This one was just so freaking cute. I loved that both holidays were celebrated in traditional ways, and the chemistry between them felt natural and immediate. I desperately wish it were longer.

The narration was perfect for the characters, and I really enjoyed the audio.

Rating: 4.25 stars
Heat: 0
Narration: 4

Merry and Bright by Ali Rosen

Kindle | Audible

All Wrapped Up in You by Rosie Danan

Narrated by Robert Hatchet and Andi Eloise

All Wrapped Up in You had a solid story and was well done for such a short length. My main issue was the writing style. The third-person present tense felt very distant, even more so than most third-person narratives.

Scott is an ER doctor who has a text-only relationship with his neighbor, whom he’s never seen and assumes is an elderly woman. Piper is a stand-up comedian who struggles with panic attacks. They meet when she has a panic attack before a show and Scott happens to be in the audience and helps her.

This was a cute story, but it didn’t have much holiday charm until the very end. I liked the overall concept, but the detached narrative style really didn’t work for me.

The narration was great, and the audiobook was a fun listen.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Heat: 0
Narration: 4

All Wrapped Up by Rosie Danan

Kindle | Audible

You Better Not Pout by Mia Sosa

Narrated by Andre Santana and Gisela Chipe

You Better Not Pout was my least favorite of the collection. I listened to it, went to write my review, and couldn’t remember a thing. I listened again, and it only felt vaguely familiar. That was two days ago, and I’ve already forgotten it again, so I’m relying on my notes here.

The strongest part of this story was the representation. The FMC is Brazilian-American, and the MMC is Puerto Rican. There was also LGBTQ+ representation through side characters, which I appreciated.

Juliana and Eric have broken off their engagement, but with their families getting together for Christmas, they agree to pretend they’re still together so they don’t ruin the holiday. As they’re forced into all the Christmas activities, they start remembering why they fell in love in the first place.

This one was simply too short for the story it was trying to tell. It felt rushed and very forgettable, and I had a hard time staying engaged.

The narration was enjoyable, and I especially appreciated the realistic Latin accents.

Rating: 2.75 stars
Heat: 0.5
Narration: 4

You Better Not Pout by Mia Sosa

Kindle | Audible

Each story in the Home Sweet Holidays Collection includes a note from the hero at the end, and overall, I wasn’t a fan. They felt odd and unnecessary.

What I do like about these collections is discovering new authors, Ali Rosen being the standout for me. At the same time, I wouldn’t put any author on a do-not-read list based on these stories alone. With the strict word limits Amazon imposes, these shorts aren’t always a true reflection of how an author writes when they have full creative freedom.