ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I thought Bittersweet Christmas by Nina Croft was okay.

The perfect holiday novella, it's short and sweet. And for someone who hadn't read this series yet, I was able to follow along perfectly.

I'm definitely interested in reading more from this world!

Loved this book. A perfect holiday read filled with just the right amount of spice.

This was such a treat! I loved every second of Bittersweet Christmas; from its version of Father Christmas, quirky and mischievous Winter, our sexy and brooding were-pire (yes, a werepire: a hybrid between werewolf and vampire) Ryan, to the action, suspense and holiday spirit it includes. It has it all.

John Ryan was a human working for The Order, after being attacked by werewolves and subsequently turned into a vampire by his friend, he’s been secluded in the offices as no one knows exactly what to expect of him. The volatile nature of his new powers, along with a pack of werewolves seeking revenge, forced him to stay away from his nephew. Even if he’s the only family young Liam has left, he can’t risk putting him in danger. He was broody and sexy, a bit of a jerk at times but in the end, really sweet and protective of those he cares for.

Winter is not only half-pixie and half…. whatever Father Christmas is, she’s completely determined to get a job at The Order and be independent. When she realizes she can kill two birds with one stone (getting said job and getting Liam his Christmas wish of seeing his uncle) she cajoles, pleads and finally gets her way: she will stay and babysit Ryan through the holidays. She was sassy, impertinent and lots of fun, while also kick ass and caring.

As expected when a pixie wants to get her way, things get a little out of hand, plans go awry and Ryan and Winter soon realize their attraction and chemistry are not as fightable as they thought.

With action, sexy shenanigans, funny banter, and enough snark to fill up a stadium, Bittersweet Christmas is the perfect Holiday paranormal treat.

cute Christmas read with some paranormal humor. Quick pace but still gives a good story. Liam only wants one thing for Christmas, his Uncle John.
John Ryan loves his nephew but because of certain circumstances, he feels that Liam is better off without him. When Father Christmas doesn't have time, his daughter Winter wants to help. She sets out on a tricky journey to get John and Liam reunited. Things go sideways fast. The have to outrun vengeful werewolves, handle their attraction and a little white lie to get to the HEA. Fun story with a cute quirky female lead and a sexy hero.

Great little vignette in world of The Order!

Winter may be the daughter of Father Christmas (Think Odin not Santa!) but he doesn't exactly exude enthusiasm at her pleas to go work for The Order. But he eventually cracks and makes arrangements for her to do a babysitting job for them. How hard can babysitting be?

Well when it's for a cranky, unwilling vampire it could be quite a challenge. She wants to reunite him with his lonely nephew but as a recently turned vampire John is worries he is more of monster than beloved uncle. Winter can see how desperate John's nephew is, after all how many teenagers would write to Father Christmas? john keeps tab on the boy through his friend who is looking after him, but he has 4 children of his own and you just know that the poor lad feels like an imposition.

John feels a strong pull to the lovely Winter but when the monsters from his past try to take their revenge on him for killing their Alpha, by targeting his nephew, John and Winter are in for a bumpy beginning.

I love this series and Winter was a welcome, cherry little rainbow to John's dark, self isolated little world. It was a shortie in length but it will tide me over to the next novel in the series comes out!
Great world to delve into!

Bittersweet Christmas
Discover the Order #3.5
Nina Croft
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a short and sweet Christmas novella. This is a paranormal romance with vampires, werewolves, and other supernaturals.
Winter is the daughter of Father Christmas and it is her wish to give a boy his Christmas wish. She gets assigned to Ryan as his bodyguard/ babysitter. She is suppose to watch him and keep him out of trouble during the holidays. But she has a different agenda. Ryan’s nephew Liam has asked Father Christmas to give him his family back which is his uncle Ryan.
This was such a great short story. I always enjoy reading novellas to figure out whether I want to read the whole series. I’m definitely into this series so I look forward to reading more.
Thanks NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

What an adorable and quirky (and smutty) Christmas short story! I really enjoy the order books, but if you haven’t read the series, you can probably still enjoy this short little gem.

Winter, Father Christmas’s half-pixie daughter, intercepts a letter written to him from a lonely orphan. Said orphan is related to none other than John Ryan, the order’s newest vampire-werewolf hybrid. He’s been in lock down since joining the order, so he hasn’t seen his nephew in years, but he’s somehow convinced himself that it’s for his own protection. Liam (the orphan) doesn’t see it that way, which prompts his letter.

John Ryan is still coming to grips with his newfound freakdom, and with that comes the incessant company in the form of a babysitter. Sure, it protects the innocents from him freaking out and killing everyone, but it is driving him insane. Winter ends up breaking into his room one morning to surprise him as his new self-described babysitter. These two have some serious chemistry and an adorable way about them. I’m always one for the weirdo pairings and this is definitely strange. Who would’ve thought that a werewolf-vampire would meet his match in a pixie-ish goth chick?

Obviously, this wouldn’t be a good holiday story without a happy ending, so we get one of those. We also get a nice cherry on top in the form of a Winter/Ryan romance. What’s not to like?

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.

Copy supplied for review

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Orphan Liam Ryan feels alone in the world. His mother and father is gone and the only person he has left in his life is his uncle. Liam decides to try one last effort to get his Uncle John home...a letter to Father Christmas. Unfortunately for him his Uncle John has changed in a big way...

Winter sees Liam's letter to Father Christmas and wants to make his Christmas wish come true.

Can Winter bring John home? Read and find out!

I voluntarily read an advanced review copy of this book

This book was interesting because it mixed some fairytale, with romance and action. I liked Winter because she knew what she wanted and was not afraid to do what she needed to do to get what she needed. What's funny is all of the chaos that occurs when she is in action.

Overall this was a cute easy read for the holidays.

I read this book in 2 days, it was very hard to put it down. I loved the chemistry between characters. I am hook on Nina Croft unique writing style.

Novellas are the perfect medium for Christmas themed stories: perfect to read in one sitting under a blanket on a gray day. That said, I think I would have gladly read a full length novel about Ryan and Winter and their roller-coaster week before Christmas. BITTERSWEET CHRISTMAS featured characters that got you invested quickly and kept you hooked until the end.

Winter was a great, well-developed heroine. She’s half-pixie, which makes her a bit impetuous and flighty, but she’s caring too. Yes, she screws up big time, but it fits with the character and she fights hard to make it right. I got a kick out of people telling Ryan to be careful because Winter’s dad is a really important, scary man. They’re not wrong: you don’t want to piss off Father Christmas.

There was one point in the story where I felt a conflict was resolved too quickly, but since it’s only 122 pages long, I’ll let it slide. Other than that the pacing was really satisfying. As Christmas approaches and the chapters count down the days, the action and passion heat up, culminating in a satisfying end to both. The relationship moves at a realistic pace and had a believable connection.

I’ve not read any of the other ORDER books but I wasn’t at all confused by anything in BITTERSWEET CHRISTMAS, which is impressive. If you want original characters with a good serving of holiday cheer, pick up this novella right now.

I’ve never heard of this series but I saw Nina Croft on the cover and I knew I needed to give it a go.  And she definitely didn’t disappoint! 

John Ryan is struggling with his new state of being.  A vampire-werewolf is something new and no one knows what to expect.  He’s getting a little tired of everyone hovering but he also understands why they have to.  He doesn’t even understand himself or know what to expect next so how can he expect anyone else to … then he meets Winter.  And his instant and undeniable attraction to her just complicates an already overly-complicated situation. 

Winter really wants to start over somewhere that people don’t have certain expectations about her – yes, she’s made mistakes, been a little flighty, and overly … enthusiastic sometimes but she’s older now.  And she really wants the chance to prove herself.  Babysitting Ryan may not be what she expected but if she can get him together with his nephew then maybe she can finally get her chance.  Finding him super sexy and hard to resist is definitely not the best way to do that. 

Bittersweet Christmas isn’t really a holiday read (Winter’s dad is Santa and it all starts with the letter) but it is definitely super enjoyable.  There’s the perfect amount of heat and heart and danger to meet anyone’s wants.  And now I’m super curious about what else is going on in the world that Croft has created :)

(This is the first in the series that I’ve read but it can easily be read on its own.  Croft does a great job of keeping you in the loop of anything that you might need to know.)

Rating: 4.5/5

What a delightfully different Christmas story this proved to be! For Winter, being the youngest daughter of Santa Claus comes with its own drawbacks - especially when he’s so overprotective! When Winter discovers a letter to Santa from a young orphan in which he asks to spend the festive season with his Uncle John, his guardian and only surviving member of his family, Santa just says it isn’t possible, but Winter has other ideas! Her endeavours to make this boys wish come true lead her to working for the Order of Shadow Accords, encounters with a variety of paranormal beings and meeting ‘Uncle John’ - even working with him! As she strives to grant that wish, she inadvertently causes adventures, danger, mayhem and finds love!

This is a very different paranormal festive adventure that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I admit to enjoying other books by this author and this one definitely did not disappoint. It is a short but, as the title indicates, sweet read - a lovely Christmas romance with its own unique twists!

I requested and received a copy of this novel, via NetGalley. This is my honest review after choosing to read it.

Bittersweet Christmas by Nina Croft is the story of Winter and John.
This is a Holiday Theme short story with about 122 pages.
Winter is the daughter of Father Christmas and is also half Pixie. When her father tosses Liam letter assigned where he is asking that his Uncle John be home for Christmas, she picks it up. John is in a dark place after being savaged by werewolves and bitten by a vampire. But Winter has a way about getting him to move forward.
Really loved their story...nice little holiday read!!

Liam is a 15 year old boy asking Father Christmas for his uncle John as a Christmas gift. Winter is a pixie watching after John since he is a vampire/werewolf hybrid. The chemistry between John and Winter was instant and hot. A interesting and fun holiday story.

I received an arc from netgalley and am leaving an honest review.

Winter is the daughter of father Christmas and a pixie, she plans on helping Liam get just what he wants for Christmas. John is in hiding after killing the wolf-pack alpha a year ago. John is struggling with the change, he is now half vampire/werewolf. Winter has become his protector but will she do more than just protect him? This is a fast paced read with great characters that really draws you in I really liked it! I would recommend reading the others in the series.

Just could not pass up this one especially since I have tasted the Order before this one. This is really then a holiday treat that you can eat. Little ones too do have a way to bring some together like you watch this one do. In this one see how Winter and John interact together thanks to a request. She also has a job to do with it being one that you will find intriguing once you discover what it is. Her offer is what opens the door for her. You will get through it quickly eating up every bit of it. John is unique himself too. This is one you can also read by itself.

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 Shadow Accords.The book is amazing. When I started reading I couldn't put it down I read the book is one day.Nina is magnifysent writer.I cannot wait to read more of her books.Keep up the great work.

Bittersweet Christmas by Nina Croft has family, love, a Scrooge like character and Father Christmas all rolled into one. BUT, don’t be fooled by that, it is definitely not the sweet stories that you heard as a child. Steamy, darker, and full of paranormal activities with right much foul language in this bittersweet story of one Order member’s Christmas. I thought after Father Christmas comment on the language factor it would improve but atlas it did not. Perhaps it clearly reflects the bad year that John and Liam are having.

For those who have read the series, John Ryan’s situation finally coming to a head which the outcome can’t help but be met with their approval. As far as Christmas goes, it is a part of the story mostly because of a letter to Father Christmas, aka Norse god, Odin. However, Christmas is only the vehicle in which the events unfold in this short novella. I read it in about an hour, so there is not a lot of time for complex character building or world building. If familiar with the series that wouldn’t be a problem, new readers may find it to be scare in those areas. The author states that this a fan based novella, so it should be accepted and enjoyed as such.