Merriment and Mayhem

Under The Mistletoe Collection #4

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.

When Everleigh Dangerfield’s baking disaster necessitates a call to 911, firefighter Griffin Brantley douses the flames in the kitchen, but the ones he stokes in Everleigh are an entirely different story. Unfortunately, Everleigh’s only visiting and doesn’t do casual hookups, no matter how smoldering the temptation. But Everleigh’s holiday mishaps have just begun. And Griffin is seemingly always on call. If Everleigh is game for a change of plans, he can give her the merriest Christmas of her life.

Alexandria Bellefleur’s Merriment and Mayhem is part of Under the Mistletoe, a stirring collection of December romances that thrill and tingle all the way. They can be read or listened to in one swoony sitting.

Genres: Romance, Christmas, Novella, Holiday, Audiobook, Contemporary, Short Stories

57 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 12, 2024

About the author

Alexandria Bellefleur is a bestselling and award-winning author of swoony contemporary romance often featuring loveable grumps and the sunshine characters who bring them to their knees. A Pacific Northwesterner at heart, Alexandria has a weakness for good coffee, Pike IPA, and Voodoo Doughnuts. Her special skills include finding the best Pad Thai in every city she visits, remembering faces but not names, falling asleep in movie theaters, and keeping cool while reading smutty books in public. Her debut novel, Written in the Stars, was a 2021 Lambda Literary Award winner and a 2020 winner of The Ripped Bodice Awards for Excellence in Romantic Fiction.

Reviews

[Clace · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75!

This is what I was looking for in these novellas. This was so cute and also steamy at the same time, it's very short but the banter and the chemistry comes to the two main characters so naturally and I overall enjoyed it so much!! I'm happy that after two disappointments this one was better!!
____
This looks soo cute 🤭 and a fireman romance 👀 this actually sounds good which the previous two books were lacking 😝

*Thank you to Netgalley and amazon publishing for giving me a E-Arc*

[chan ☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

liked it, but wish the hero would stop talking so much about his "holiday icing"

[rei ‧₊˚✩彡 · Rating 4 out of 5]

╰┈➤ 4 stars!

WHAT A CUTE STORY! this is the book where i’ve read more positive reviews, and all of them was true! this was indeed so much better compared to the first ones! i love how there was a build up with their relationship and not just jump right into it.

・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・

pre-read:

this is the only book in this series where there are more positive reviews, so i’m more excited to read this

[Paige 💫 · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️ 3.5 stars

Okay now this one was cute! 🤭 I’m weak for a firefighter romance and this is exactly the type of hallmark festive vibe I was searching for!

(Disclaimer — I’m likely suffering from stockholm syndrome from the first 3 books.)

[s.penkevich [mental health hiatus] · Rating 2 out of 5]

One minute you are baking Christmas cookies and the next thing you know you are sliding down a fireman pole. Happy horny holidays again, it’s time to talk about Alexandria Bellefleur’s Merriment and Mayhem. Guys, you won’t believe this but Everleigh Dangerfield’s week has been a field of danger. Luckily the local fire department sends their finest when a woman wearing sexual Elf of a Shelf socks is in need. Which apparently I need to get ahold of a pair because last time I called the fire department there was nary a flirt to be had. Alas. Anyways, this wasn’t bad. Wasn’t great either but compared to the Tessa Bailey in this series at least I wasn’t staring at the page like one of those cringe face gifs people post on politicians twitter’s when they say the quiet part out loud. So that’s a win for Bellefleur in my book. Also this was cute Christmay so, huzzah. The whole story does sound like an HR nightmare for the fire department and a possibly lease-breaking incident report for Everleigh’s landlord but some people’s potential paperwork dramas are another person’s erotic drama and you can quote me on that.

[Flo Camus · Rating 1 out of 5]

[1.1⭐] 𝙈𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙝𝙚𝙢 es una novela corta navideña escrita por Alexandria Bellefleur en el año 2024. La historia se centra en Everleigh, una mujer que no deja de meterse en problemas peligrosos, y Griffin, un bombero que, casualmente, siempre está en el lugar indicado para salvarla.


Como pueden ver, estoy en una muy mala racha de lectura. Nada de lo que he leído últimamente me ha gustado.
Les resumo la novela de manera muy rápida: una mujer muy tonta conoce a un bombero sexy, la rescata varias veces y tienen sexo. Fin. 

Ahondando más en los problemas de esta obra, puedo decir que uno de los principales radica en la protagonista. Everleigh no solo es torpe, sino que su absoluta falta de instinto de supervivencia resulta frustrante y desesperante. En el transcurso de una semana, está al borde de la tragedia tres (o incluso cuatro) veces, y en todas esas ocasiones depende de la intervención de Griffin para salir adelante. Esto ya no parece simple torpeza, sino una estupidez extrema, porque nadie puede ser tan tonta. Este recurso de la "damisela en apuros" no solo es exasperante, sino que también subestima la capacidad de la protagonista para resolver sus propios problemas, llevándola al límite de la absurdidad.
Además, me da gracia (o mejor dicho, me desespera) que Everleigh haga tanto énfasis en que no quiere nada casual, solo para, en cuanto puede, acostarse con Griffin a la primera oportunidad. Este tipo de incoherencias no solo hacen que sea difícil tomarse en serio a la protagonista, sino que también debilitan la narrativa. Si su intención era demostrar que tiene claros sus límites, la ejecución fue desastrosa porque no hace más que contradecirse. Al final, todo parece girar en torno a la atracción física, dejando cualquier posibilidad de una conexión real completamente fuera de la ecuación.

Por otro lado, la química entre los personajes es prácticamente inexistente. La trama promete una conexión romántica y emocional, pero lo único que se desarrolla es una relación física apresurada y poco creíble. En lugar de profundizar en su vínculo, el texto pierde tiempo en detalles irrelevantes, como un extenso diagnóstico médico de una lesión, que no aporta nada a la narrativa. 

El final es el golpe definitivo a una historia ya débil: después de un encuentro sexual que carece de contexto emocional, Everleigh sugiere de forma vaga que podría quedarse en la ciudad, y la historia termina abruptamente. No hay un cierre adecuado, ni siquiera un mínimo intento de resolver los conflictos o darle profundidad a los personajes.  


Aunque es una historia corta, eso no debería justificar la falta de desarrollo narrativo o la mediocridad en la construcción de los personajes. En lugar de una tierna historia navideña, 𝙈𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙝𝙚𝙢 se siente como un relato torpe y vacío, donde el romance es forzado y la narrativa es muy superficial.  
Si buscas una comedia romántica navideña para entrar en el espíritu de las fiestas, es mejor que busques en otro lugar.

[Alyssa Nieves · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was actually enjoyable! It’s a Christmas miracle! 🫶🏼

[✨Julie✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

✩ 3.8 stars ✩

What to Expect:
➼ Hot Firefighter x Hot Mess
➼ He Falls First
➼ Meet Cute
➼ Love at First Sight
➼ She’s From Out of Town
➼ Series of Unfortunate Events
➼ Thrown Together By Fate
➼ Holiday Novella

This was adorable! I thought the disaster magnet angle would be annoying, but who doesn’t love a hot firefighter hero?! 🔥 Fate seemed determined to bring them together with not one, but two disasters and the found family vibes of the town were on point. 👌🏻 I really loved how persistent and direct the MMC was. His grand gesture was too sweet!

The author managed to pack a whole lot of story into such a short novella. I was very impressed! This one is definitely worth the read! 🫶🏻

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

Pre-read: Ooh… hot fireman and a holiday baking mishap? 👀Now THIS is what I’m looking for in a holiday novella. 🔥🧯🚒🍪🎄

[cris ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

she’s clumsy, he’s a firefighter and they have sex. the end 🤷🏻‍♀️

[cherie ^_-★ (ia—will be back on 8 sep) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars ⭐️
⤷ spoiler-free review!! ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ my thoughts
this novella was cute and i wish it was longer. griffin brantley 🫦🫦🫦


pre-read 👩🏻‍🍳🍪🧑🏻‍🚒🚒🧯🔥💛🎄
i’m just here for the hot firefighter tbh 🤷🏻‍♀️🤭

[Lilyya ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

so far this is my favorite novella in the Under the Mistletoe collection 💛

[paula ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐


I wish it was longer. It's my favorite so far 😩💛

The spicy was SUPER hot let me just tell you 😮‍💨❤️‍🔥

I will definitely check out more books by the author.

[⁠*⁠♡Lilac⁠*⁠♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hot

[mimi (semi-hiatus ‘cause on vacation) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The type of sex that changes lives.

↠ 3.5 stars

Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

[Karla Martínez · Rating 3 out of 5]

QUIERO MÁS DE GRIFFIN. AHORA. GRACIAS.

[Zizi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somehow this book felt faster than the others and I think that was because so much happened in 50 pages, this was super cheesy too take that how you want to. 2.5

[rachel humphries porter · Rating 3 out of 5]

why do i keep expecting something else. this one was def cuter and less cringe but still wow i despise insta love

[Hallie Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

3🌟 cute funny quick little Christmas read!

[exploraDora · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn't a literary masterpiece, but I feel like it doesn't deserve the low rating it has.
It was short, sweet and spicy.

[Shari · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ 4
🌶️ 4
Griffin and Everleigh were adorable and destined to be but I docked a star because I was so caught up thinking “ew, she was just in the lake, and wait isn’t she absolutely freezing?”

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️= open door, multiple scenes, descriptive

[Emily Rees · Rating 1 out of 5]

This did not do it for me. I’m confused with this little series because I thought they were supposed to be very cute and Christmasy?? I feel like I’m reading rated X books and I don’t like it 😂 it goes 0 to intense smut with 0 warning and that’s just not my thing 🥹😣

[Jackie ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Might as well pad my reading goal with a couple of these short stories 🤭

[deniz · Rating 2 out of 5]

starting thiss

[Emma Griffioen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a Christmas miracale!!! This was cute, Christmasy and much better than the last two novellas in this collection.

Read my reviews for the Under the Mistletoe Collection here:
Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood - 2 stars
Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey - 1 star
All By My Elf by Olivia Dade - 1 star
Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur - 3 stars
Only Santa's in the Building by Alexis Daria - 3 stars

[Ri ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

“You think you’re real cute, don’t you?”
In the blink of an eye, his smile turned sly. “Better question is, do you think I’m cute?”

This was one of the cutest and spiciest holiday novellas, and I absolutely enjoyed it. It’s definitely my second favourite in the series because Griffin and Everleigh were adorable as a couple.

The story was really well done for being only 60 pages. We got a sweet and swoony firefighter romance with a bit of spice and wholesome small-town vibes.

[lexie · Rating 3 out of 5]

steamy steamy steamyyyy griffin sold it for me 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

[Violet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sexy firefighter/damsel in distress meet-cute.
This one felt very Hallmark movie cutesy...until the last chapter🥵🌶️ Not a huge fan of the third person pov.

3.5 stars

[kimberly ☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

quick steamy listen

[Nadia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I honestly have mixed feelings about this one. The plot itself was interesting.
But certain parts of the book was kinda..cringy??? The way the author worded some things (near the end especially) made me cringe visibly.

I can understand why some people loved it but I probably read it at the wrong time or I'm just not the type of reader who would devour these sort of books. But it was an entertaining read overall.

Note to self: Check tags and reviews before going into certain books blindly.

[Purrfect Novels · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 ⭐️

This was a no for me. Wouldn’t want to come across this type of a firefighter in real life, either.