Wonder With Me

(With Me in Seattle #11.5)
Kristen Proby

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Release Date December 3, 2019

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kristen Proby comes a new story in her With Me In Seattle series…

Reed Taylor doesn’t pay much attention to the holidays—until he receives a surprise present. Four-year-old Piper is the daughter he never knew about, and with the death of her mother, is also now the roommate he never expected. He’s determined to make their first Christmas together one she’ll never forget.

Noel Thompson has gotten her share of strange requests in her career as an interior designer. The call to design a beautiful home for Christmas is more like a dream come true. And that was before she met her new employer—sexy and mysterious, he’s everything she ever hoped Santa would bring her.

As Noel showers his home with holiday spirit, Reed showers Piper with love. And the busy life he’s created for himself no longer seems nearly as important as the one Noel is helping him build with his daughter. But if he can’t convince his decorator to stay, this could be the only year he feels the true wonder of the season.

**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you'll enjoy each one as much as we do.**

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This is a short and sweet holiday novella that hits the spot at this time of year. 

Reed Taylor's early holiday gift was a four-year-old daughter, Piper he never knew about. But this work-a-holic is taking his Daddy duties seriously and wants to give her the best Christmas ever. He is honest, outspoken, and used to being in charge. He knows what he wants and is not afraid to go after it. 

And it seems that one thing he now has his eye on is his new designer, Noel Thompson. She was recommended to transform his house into a Christmas wonderland. She is just as dedicated to her work as he is and does not think she has enough hours in the day. But she cannot resist this fun and profitable project, and she is also finding it hard to resist her bossy and persistent new client. She is talented, witty, sassy, and equally strong-willed. 

Their fun and flirty banter and easy attraction grow organically but quickly due to the length of the novella. It is an easy, no angst, delightful story with an adorable kid, compatible couple, and all the wonders of Christmas. But it also makes you think about priorities and making time for things that are important. It made my heart happy to see how loving little Piper could be such a catalyst for change. 

I read most of the earlier Seattle stories but not many of the recent ones. This can be read as a total stand-alone, but there are a few cameos for fans of the series as well. 

Reed Taylor has never been a fan of the holidays, nor has he taken time outside of work to do anything except build his company. But when he learns he has a daughter only a few weeks before the holidays, he makes some big changes to bring a smile to Piper’s face during a difficult time.

Noel Thompson is especially busy during the holidays, but decorating for the holidays is one of her favorite parts of the job. A last minute job to fully decorate for Christmas has her excited to get down to business, and then she meets her client. The sexy, smooth single father is icing on the cake for this job.

I loved watching Reed as he adjusted (rather smoothly really) to having a 4 year old, and did everything in his power to make Piper’s eyes sparkle with joy rather than the sorrow they were filled with when she arrived. Noel’s excitement for her job and for doing everything in her power to make her clients happy helped ramp up the holiday spirit in this story.

This was a quick, fun holiday story with all the feels set in the With Me series world, but it stands alone completely for new readers. Because this is a novella, things move very quickly between this couple, but the speed of their relationship is paired with a quick camaraderie, chemistry, and great banter to build the connection between them.

 

With Me In Seattle Series

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Kristen was born and raised in a small resort town in her beloved Montana. In her mid-twenties, she decided to stretch her wings and move to the Pacific Northwest, where she made her home for more than a dozen years.

During that time, Kristen wrote many romance novels and joined organizations such as RWA and other small writing groups. She spent countless hours in workshops, and more mornings than she can count up before the dawn so she could write before going to work. She submitted many manuscripts to agents and editors alike, but was always told no. In the summer of 2012, the self-publishing scene was new and thriving, and Kristen had one goal: to publish just one book. It was something she longed to cross off of her bucket list.

Not only did she publish one book, she’s since published close to thirty titles, many of which have hit the USA Today, New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestsellers lists. She continues to self publish, best known for her With Me In Seattle and Boudreaux series, and is also proud to work with William Morrow, a division of HarperCollins, with the Fusion Series. 

Kristen and her husband, John, make their home in her hometown of Whitefish, Montana.