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Flight Before Christmas
They’ll have to fly faster than reindeer to rescue Santa…and save Christmas.
Other than the pleasure of etching delicate tendrils of ice on windows, there’s not much Kai Ulfsen enjoys about life under Jack Frost’s rule. But when he’s roped into serving on a strike team to kidnap Santa and destroy Christmas, Kai’s had enough. Frost must be stopped.
Human witches, the only other beings on Earth with magical powers, are his only hope. He never expected his search would lead him a woman with sky-blue eyes and hair like a river of gold.
Stella Monroe is five minutes away from closing up her tea shop for the holiday when a vision of Nordic male perfection fills the doorway. And, even more surreal, this beautiful man with silver hair, aquamarine eyes, and…pointed ears?...needs her help.
Granted, she flies the fastest broom at the Witch Olympics, but is her magic equal to a task like this? But maybe with a little luck — and a bag of pixie dust — Kai and Stella can beat the clock, beat Frost at his own game, and save the happiest holiday of the year.
Other than the pleasure of etching delicate tendrils of ice on windows, there’s not much Kai Ulfsen enjoys about life under Jack Frost’s rule. But when he’s roped into serving on a strike team to kidnap Santa and destroy Christmas, Kai’s had enough. Frost must be stopped.
Human witches, the only other beings on Earth with magical powers, are his only hope. He never expected his search would lead him a woman with sky-blue eyes and hair like a river of gold.
Stella Monroe is five minutes away from closing up her tea shop for the holiday when a vision of Nordic male perfection fills the doorway. And, even more surreal, this beautiful man with silver hair, aquamarine eyes, and…pointed ears?...needs her help.
Granted, she flies the fastest broom at the Witch Olympics, but is her magic equal to a task like this? But maybe with a little luck — and a bag of pixie dust — Kai and Stella can beat the clock, beat Frost at his own game, and save the happiest holiday of the year.
163 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 9, 2020
21 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Christine Pope
216 books1,093 followersA native of Southern California, Christine Pope has been writing stories ever since she commandeered her family’s Smith-Corona typewriter back in the sixth grade. Many reams of dead trees later, she’s happy to announce that her debut novel, Fringe Benefits,was published by Pink Petal Books on April 8, 2010. Her short fiction has appeared in Astonishing Adventures, Luna Station Quarterly, and the new journal of dark fiction, Dark Valentine. Her paranormal novella, Playing With Fire, was released on August 5, 2010.
While Fringe Benefits is a straight contemporary romance, she writes in a variety of genres, including paranormal romance, fantasy, horror, science fiction, and historical romance. She blames this on being easily distracted by bright, shiny objects, which could also account for the size of her shoe collection.
After spending many years in the magazine publishing industry, she now works as a freelance editor in addition to writing fiction. She lives with her husband and an explosively fluffy Pomeranian mix. Her house is pink, but don’t hold that against her.
While Fringe Benefits is a straight contemporary romance, she writes in a variety of genres, including paranormal romance, fantasy, horror, science fiction, and historical romance. She blames this on being easily distracted by bright, shiny objects, which could also account for the size of her shoe collection.
After spending many years in the magazine publishing industry, she now works as a freelance editor in addition to writing fiction. She lives with her husband and an explosively fluffy Pomeranian mix. Her house is pink, but don’t hold that against her.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 22, 2024
It was a quick story. It didn't start out great - the writing just seemed a bit simplistic - but as the two came together the story and dialogue got a little better. I just felt Jack, considering how powerful he was supposed to be, got beaten rather easily in the end, but hey, it's a heartwarming holiday story. Insta-love here without much basis for it (one kiss and they're both attracted to each other) - but hey, heartwarming holiday story :).
I read this as part of the Enchanted Christmas set by Pope. I started reading the second story, A Cleopatra Hill Christmas but honestly, that was confusing, talking about so many different characters (that we hadn't even met) and the story was kind of slow - spending so much detail on every little bit of what they were doing, and it was about characters I didn't know so I stopped reading. If you read the story before this one in the series, you might like the story of how those characters ended up - I hadn't, so I didn't so I didn't continue. I realized that the last two stories were the same thing - about characters in a series I hadn't read about - so I didn't continue with the collection.
This story, a Flight Before Christmas, is a stand-alone story and a nice, quick read.
I read this as part of the Enchanted Christmas set by Pope. I started reading the second story, A Cleopatra Hill Christmas but honestly, that was confusing, talking about so many different characters (that we hadn't even met) and the story was kind of slow - spending so much detail on every little bit of what they were doing, and it was about characters I didn't know so I stopped reading. If you read the story before this one in the series, you might like the story of how those characters ended up - I hadn't, so I didn't so I didn't continue. I realized that the last two stories were the same thing - about characters in a series I hadn't read about - so I didn't continue with the collection.
This story, a Flight Before Christmas, is a stand-alone story and a nice, quick read.
December 8, 2020
Of all the others that are out there, this typical Hallmark style Christmas tale is the most exciting yet. Christine Pope’s “Flight Before Christmas” takes you to the far North Pole where Santa Claus and Jack Frost live. But this year Jack Frost doesn’t want Christmas to happen so he kidnaps Santa. Kai Ulsen, a Frost Elf under Jack Frost’s rule, doesn’t agree with this plan of Jack’s and wants to stop him before it is too late. He seeks the assistance of a Salem Witch to forge forward with him to save Santa and Christmas. Are they able to accomplish this monumental task before it’s too late and Christmas does not happen? The suspense and excitement of the execution to rescue Santa Claus and Christmas is relishing to say the least. I highly recommend this short novella because it is a definite “must read”.
December 19, 2020
Who knew Jack Frost was such an evil, wicked “Grinch”? Apparently author Christine Pope did and she does a great job of making him believable in this standalone Christmas story. Kai is a Frost Elf (think Nordic hottie with pointed ears) and Stella is a witch who can fly a broom and win the witch version of the Olympics multiple years in a row. They team up to rescue Christmas after Jack Frost kidnaps Santa then they work on rescuing Santa and setting the rest of the Frost Elves free from Jack Frost’s reign of terror. It was entertaining and a sweet romantic romp with a bit of drama thrown in what with Kai and Stella being from very different worlds both geographically and socially. I also enjoyed how Pope manages to explain how Santa can deliver presents to millions of children around the world in a single night. Great, fun read in these trying times.
December 16, 2023
When Jack Frost leads a group of frost elves to capture Santa Claus, one frost elf named Kai decides he has to find someone to help him save Christmas. That's where Stella comes into play. She's a Witch who has won the broomstick race 3 years in a row. With only 2 days until the big day will they be able to rescue Santa and save Christmas in time?
This was a sweet little Christmas fantasy romance. I thought the characters of Kai and Stella were cute and likeable. The storyline was clever and enjoyable. The actual writing felt like it had something off about it so I docked a star. I think maybe it would have benefited from being written in dual 1st person POV. I'm not sure exactly what it was but, something about the way it was written kind of felt just a smidge clunky at times. I still thought the story was cute and I still really liked it.
This was a sweet little Christmas fantasy romance. I thought the characters of Kai and Stella were cute and likeable. The storyline was clever and enjoyable. The actual writing felt like it had something off about it so I docked a star. I think maybe it would have benefited from being written in dual 1st person POV. I'm not sure exactly what it was but, something about the way it was written kind of felt just a smidge clunky at times. I still thought the story was cute and I still really liked it.
December 10, 2020
Oh dear, Jack Frost has it in for Old St Nick. He's out to destroy Christmas but will he succeed?
Kai may be a Frost Giant but he has no love for Jack Forst. He is made to help in the abduction of SC but then decides he cannot be a party to destroying Christmas and sets off to find a witch capable of helping him.
Somewhere in Salem Stella is happy living with her grandmother and looking after their tea shop. Enter handsome, huge, and horribly naive Kai. He needs help but is Stella the right witch for the job.
She may be a success at the Witch Olympics but taking on Jack Frost? That may be more than she can handle.
Fab little Christmas story. Sweet, festive, and full of fun.
Kai may be a Frost Giant but he has no love for Jack Forst. He is made to help in the abduction of SC but then decides he cannot be a party to destroying Christmas and sets off to find a witch capable of helping him.
Somewhere in Salem Stella is happy living with her grandmother and looking after their tea shop. Enter handsome, huge, and horribly naive Kai. He needs help but is Stella the right witch for the job.
She may be a success at the Witch Olympics but taking on Jack Frost? That may be more than she can handle.
Fab little Christmas story. Sweet, festive, and full of fun.
December 10, 2020
Kai Ulfsen, a frost elf, is experiencing vague dissatisfaction with his life. Then Jack Frost, a demigod, kidnaps Santa Claus and his reindeer, and Kai decides he needs to do something to save Christmas for the children of the world. He enlists the help of Stella Monroe, a witch, to help. Together they overcome many obstacles as they are romantically drawn to each other. The ending is suitably happy for a Christmas story. A very pleasant story.
December 12, 2020
A good example of what it is. Short, simple, witch-meets-elf, love follows, happily ever after. Nothing too surprising. There were a couple of places where I we left feeling like the internal rules of magic didn't really seem logical, but the rule of magic are all within the control of the author, so there really can't be much of right and wrong. It was cute and left me smiling. What more can we ask this year?
December 14, 2020
4.5 stars out of 5
This book is a great holiday read, short but still able to capture my attention. While it's not like the other Christmas books by Christine that I've read, this is still a good one. It's different and unique. She caught my attention within the first handful of pages. A great holiday standalone read.
This book is a great holiday read, short but still able to capture my attention. While it's not like the other Christmas books by Christine that I've read, this is still a good one. It's different and unique. She caught my attention within the first handful of pages. A great holiday standalone read.
March 2, 2025
Brilliant
Flight Before Christmas by Christine Pope. Jack Frost had kidnapped Father Christmas and the reindeer to stop Christmas and cause misery to the world. Frost elf Kai with the help of which Stella decided that couldn’t happen and tried to rescue Father Christmas but failed. Could anything be done to rescue Christmas?
Flight Before Christmas by Christine Pope. Jack Frost had kidnapped Father Christmas and the reindeer to stop Christmas and cause misery to the world. Frost elf Kai with the help of which Stella decided that couldn’t happen and tried to rescue Father Christmas but failed. Could anything be done to rescue Christmas?
December 25, 2023
Partly understand the story though this story is part of the series. It's quite good though.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews