Christmas Missions Kip Sullivan, local charmer and bartender at Due South, left home 2 years ago to get away from him family and their expectations. You might remember him from Melting Into You, Shaye won him at auction. Christmas season has come and his entire extended family has descended on Stewart Island to celebrate his birthday, Christmas, and ring in the New Year. Carly Gatlin, stepsister to West and Del, has always wished for the warmth of family. She lost her mother at a young age, and when her father remarried, she gained a new mother and brothers. Her father has recently passed away and the remainder of her family on Stewart Island, she doesn’t want to be alone in LA. Christmas has always been a special holiday for Carly and her father, which makes it difficult for her now that he’s gone. Having always wished to be part of a family, Carly is thrilled to be enveloped in the folds of the Sullivan family’s boisterous chaos. As a man, with five sisters, Kip can sense that Carly is feeling lonely. When he learns of why she now doesn’t celebrate Christmas he makes it a point to make sure she accomplishes all six of her Christmas Missions, with the help of his family of course. Christmas is a magical time of year and anything can happen. Christmas With You is more of a novella. I still loved the story and Tracey continues to create well developed characters that stay with you long after the last page. I am seriously thinking of employing the Christmas Missions when I have kids of my own. I especially love the idea of the Christmas beans. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

Yummy some Due South and a sexy Santa

5

By Judesdell

At first I thought ok a novella so we will just have a mild light story with superficial glimpses into the characters that doesn't give us enough. I was wrong on all counts but one... It wasn't enough as I wanted more. As all Tracey Alvarez stories I've read to date this too hit the markers. She writes with this comfortable conversational style it's familiar and one can easily envision the scenes and get caught into the story. Not many writers can achieve this as you sometimes have to work out what exactly is the author trying to say or achieve but Ms Alvarez gets the emotion so down pat that you flow into the story and that is what to me is a reding experience where the reader gets caught into the story. Again this one "Christmas With You" has a lot of fun and humor that is balanced by some serious emotional issues or getting over loss of family at a family time of Christmas and moving on as you try to find a path to claim as your own. Carly was introduced in the previous book as a young lady who is now alone save her step-family of Del, West and their Mom who now all live in New Zealand, so she makes the move to claim a space beside them as she heals from the recent loss of her Dad, who had been her sole pilot light for most of her life. To compound the emotional battle she undergoes she has a step-brother who is not so accepting of her, a crush on a co-worker Kip, which she is trying to ignore, and all this at Christmas. Kip is the main attraction for the ladies at Due South Bar and also a co-worker of Carly, who has to circumvent around a nosy match making family who came down for the season as a surprise. His attraction to Carly is fanned to life and the dance begins. We are carried along the family events and the emotional journey and the building of an explosive romance. You will not be disappointed as the writing style is so on par with the wants of a good book and while this one was a bit shorter than the others it is a must have to get some sweet Kip and Carly. "I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own."