Amazon Original Stories Anthologies: Short Romance Books that Win

UPDATED JULY 5, 2026

Should you read these? The short answer: Yes.

Will you enjoy them? Also yes.

Each collection of books features short, standalone stories by different authors. They’re fun, fast, and usually revolve around themes or cultural holidays that already speak to love, togetherness, connection, and joy.

We’ve read four collections to date (that’s 20+ titles). There’s something to enjoy in each one collection, even if they don’t all make the cut into your favorites. It’s simple and clear how to access the audio versions when you use Kindle Unlimited.

5 Very good reasons not to pass up the Amazon Original Stories anthologies

They’re not all bangers, but who cares! They’re short, sweet, fun, themed, and short. 😉

• Short & Sweet - Each book is around 100 pages, maybe 150. Their charm, fun, poignancy is near-immediate because they have to be snappy. And they are.

• Perfect for Audio - CHORES ARE TERRIBLE. But it’s less terrible to vacuum the incomprehensible amount of dog hair in this house when I’m listening to a romance novella. And Amazon Original Stories anthologies are our go-to. Three reasons: 1. They’re all around 2 hours long. 2. They’re short stories so the plot moves quickly. 3. They’re free as part of Kindle Unlimited. When you get the Kindle version, it comes with audio that you can download, too.

• New Author Discovery - You’ve got the badass babes in the romance universe: Ali Hazelwood, Tessa Bailey, and Christina Lauren. But you also have a new, low risk way to try out new authors like Kimberly Lemming (Halloween 2025 “My Boyfriends are all Monsters”), Sally Thorne (Valentine’s Day 2024 “Rosie and the Dreamboat”), and Rosie Danan (Holiday 2025 “All Wrapped Up in You”). All of these were fabulous.

• Variety - It’s an anthology so you’re going to get threads of consistency (e.g., meet-cute, Holiday theme, HEA), but each story is wildly different and each author is unique. And honestly, you can’t predict which books will rock or wreck. Just because a beloved author is writing it doesn’t mean it’s a ☆ 5.0. You can see below in our ratings that author plays little importance to the rating; it’s truly about the story.

• Low Cost - Not just money (they’re usually $1.99 USD each), but time. Investment. Emotional attachment. The answer to each one is “low cost,” not just to your wallet, but your heart, sanity, daylight hours. Pick any of these and the answer is the same. To us, that’s a huge benefit. These books don’t ask too much of you as the reader.

You can find our full reviews of each book on the site

• Rated ☆ 3.5 and above, you’ll find them on the “Contemporary Romance”, “Fantasy Romance”, or “Monster Romance” genre pages.

• Rated ☆ 3.25 and below, you’ll find it on the “Skip These Books” page.

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Amazon Original Anthologies We Have Read

(Ordered by Most Recent Release Date)

One Hot Summer Wedding ☆ 4.25

Girls Just Wanna Have Sun ☆ 2.75

Summer Stay-cation ☆ 4.0

Summer Thaw ☆ 3.75

Accidentally Yours ☆ 3.75

Second Act Romance ☆ 3.5

A Play for Love ☆ 4.0

Valentine's Slay ☆ 3.75

Snow Place Like Home ☆ 3.0

Merry and Bright ☆ 3.5

All Wrapped Up in You ☆ 4.0

You'd Better Not Pout ☆ 2.5

Hot for Slayer ☆ 3.5

Falling ☆ 3.75

Spicy Little Curses ☆ 4.25

Space Vampire ☆ 3.75

Beautiful Nightmare ☆ 3.25

My Boyfriends Are All Monsters ☆ 4.5

Cruel Winter With You ☆ 4.0

Merry Ever After ☆ 3.0

All By My Elf ☆ 3.25

Merriment and Mayhem ☆ 3.75

Only Santas in the Building ☆ 3.5

The Exception to the Rule ☆ 4.75

Worst Wingman Ever ☆ 4.5

Rose and the Dreamboat ☆ 3.75

Drop, Cover, and Hold On ☆ 3.25

With Any Luck ☆ 3.5

Royal Valentine ☆ 3.75