Orphan Liam Ryan isn’t asking for much this Christmas–just his Uncle John. And he’s counting on Father Christmas to find a way to make that happen. But when Father Christmas tosses Liam’s letter, claiming that the kid is asking the impossible, his daughter, Winter, takes over. Half-pixie, Winter, longs to do something important with her life, starting with getting a job at the Order of the … the Shadow Accords, the organization that polices the supernatural world. When she discovers Liam’s uncle works for the Order, it seems like fate.
Savaged by werewolves and bitten by a vampire, no one knows what to expect of John Ryan, but it won’t be anything good. So there’s no way he’s getting involved with his nephew…or anyone else. Worse, he’s getting a babysitter over the holidays. But when he meets irrepressible Winter, all that matters is whether she likes her guys to be naughty or nice….
The Order series is best enjoyed in order.
Reading Order:
Book #1 Bittersweet Blood
Book #2 Bittersweet Magic
Book #3 Bittersweet Darkness
Book #4 Bittersweet Christmas
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Different
Winter is half Pixie & her father is Santa, but not the one we usually see. John was a human attacked by werewolves &saved by Vampires. His nephew only Christmas wish is to see him. Winter wants to help.
Nina Croft has provided a wonderfully romantic holiday story that warms the heart while providing a thrilling adrenaline rush!
The Order is an exciting series full of brilliant characters that takes place in a vibrant world and Nina Croft brings it to life with well written words that grabs the reader’s attention and refuses to let go and this latest edition to the series is no exception. I fell in love with John Ryan and Winter, whom make a special love connection overcoming all odds and a murderous alpha. Nina has a way with adding special traits or characters to her stories that add a little something extra to her stories and really keep readers wanting more and I have to tell you the suspense in Bittersweet Christmas keeps building throughout the story which kept me on the edge of my seat while the romance sparkled with pixie dust and Father Christmas added his own touch to The Order as well and I really hope that Nina Croft intends to continue expanding the world of The Order.
3.75 stars–BITTERSWEET CHRISTMAS is instalment 3.5 in Nina Croft’s contemporary, adult THE ORDER paranormal/ fantasy romance series focusing on the men and women who work for The Order of the Shadow Accords- an organization that polices the supernaturals of the world. This is half-pixie Winter, and former human, now a vampire/werewolf John Ryan ‘s story line. BITTERSWEET CHRISTMAS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.
Told from dual third person perspectives (Winter and John) BITTERSWEET CHRISTMAS finds our heroine tasked with ‘babysitting’ the recently turned John Ryan, a man who struggles with the beast within; a vampire/werewolf hybrid whose wolf has yet to come to the surface. Hoping to gain a position within the Order, Winter offers herself up as bodyguard and protector of the one-time human cop, a position she abuses, as she battles between her heart and what she is tasked to do.
One year earlier John Ryan killed the wolf-pack alpha, and in the ensuing time a price has been placed on our hero’s head. In hiding for his own protection, and the protection of others, John has all but abandoned his fifteen year old nephew Liam, a young man he took guardianship of upon the teen’s mother’s death. A letter to Santa finds Liam Ryan asking for the return of the uncle he hasn’t seen in months-a letter that finds it way to Winter and her father who happens to be Father Christmas, among other names. What ensues is the building relationship between Winter and John Ryan, and the potential fall out when John’s whereabouts are revealed to those hunting him down as Winter ensures Liam’s Christmas wish is answered.
BITTERSWEET CHRISTMAS is a sexy paranormal Christmas tale; a quick read; a story of insta-lust with limited sex scenes due in part to the nature of a novella. The premise is sweet and edgy; the characters are colorful and spirited; the romance is intimate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text. For fans of the series, it has been approximately three years since the author last released a title in The Order series but many will recognize John Ryan from his previous involvement as well as the return of Piers Lamont, vampire and head of the Order of the Shadow Accords.