Christmas in Paradise

Pacific Passions #2.5

by Courtney Clark Michaels

When event planner Jessie Steel gets the opportunity to spend the Christmas period working on the tropical Pacific island of Avali, she jumps at the chance. Sure, the location is gorgeous but more than that, she needs an excuse for avoiding her own family in the wake of her cousin's engagement news.

Aspiring politician Peni Tanielu is thriving in his role as assistant to Prince Aleki's Pacific outreach program. Working with Jessie to collaborate their boss's schedules makes everything easier, so he's happy to help her with anything she needs in Avali. But a change in location leads to a change in their relationship - and the soaring temperatures aren't just for the climate anymore!

An unlucky-in-love event planner. An uptight aspiring politician. Will sharing calendars, dances and a Pacific paradise help them see that the greatest gift of all could be right in front of them?


Previously published in the Five Christmases anthology.

96 pages, Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 2022

About the author

Writer of modern, diverse fairytales with a South Pacific twist.

Reviews

[Dahné "anotherbookchick" · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book for the length of it and the island representation!

I wish there had been more of the Christmas aspect brought into it as it was minimal and the name made me think there would be more around that.

The storyline was so so but it's a novella so I never really mark a book down for that 😂

The author did a really good job at making me hate the characters we are meant to hate & I enjoyed some of the spicy/swoony lines!

If you're looking for a book by an NZ author or a book based on the Pasific Islands then give this one a go !

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing was good and it was a decent story. However, I had trouble believing the love interest. Jessie didn’t appear interested in Peni in the beginning of the book and the same goes for Peni and Jessie. They seemed like friends rooting for each other to find someone and then a couple chapters later they acted like it has always been the other person. This confused me. Win for a happily ever after

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely LOVED this book. It was the perfect Christmas read, for all the people sick of typical Hallmark-style romances. No family decorating the Christmas tree, home for the holidays, any of that. It was sweet, charming, and such a fun read. This is my first time reading anything from this author and I’m hooked!!

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 Stars

This story follows Jessie as she heads to Samoa to help organise an event in place of her pregnant business partner. Queue aspiring politician Peni, and watch the sparks fly as he shows her island life and helps her with the event.

A lovely short read and some fantastic characters are brought to life in this novella. I will definitely be looking up the other books in this series!

[Alexandria · Rating 2 out of 5]

boring

I hate to say it but i was extremely bored by this book it was short but it genuinely felt like the longest book ive ever read i honestly couldn’t even say what happened i hate giving bad reviews but it just felt hard to follow and boring.

[Mrs Moa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short sweet but spicy Christmas romance.

🏝️ forced proximity
🏝️ work place romance
🏝️ multicultural
🏝️ spice

I loved how Courtney navigated the cultural expectations on Peni when it came to his career and future wife.

I was sent a copy of this book by the author and all opinions are my own.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (12/26/2022)! 🎁