A Peyton Family Christmas

Southern Arcana #2.4

by Moira Rogers

Holiday Cheer, Southern Arcana Style

A free short story set after Crossroads and before Deadlock.
This story contains major spoilers for Crossroads. Read with caution!

Life has settled down for Nicole Peyton and Derek Gabriel. They've fought battles and won, but friends and family still struggle with the scars. During their first Christmas together, surrounded by the people they love most, Derek and Nick give each other the less tangible gifts that matter most--and the too tangible gifts that mean forever.

Genres: Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Urban Fantasy, Ebooks, Shapeshifters, Magic

26 pages, ebook

First published December 20, 2010

About the author

How do you make a Moira Rogers? Take a former forensic science and nursing student obsessed with paranormal romance and add a computer programmer with a passion for gritty urban fantasy. Toss in a dash of whimsy and a lot of caffeine, and enjoy with a side of chocolate by the light of the full moon.

By day, Bree and Donna are mild-mannered ladies who reside in the Deep South. At night, when their husbands and children are asleep, they combine forces to unleash the product of their fevered imaginations upon the page.

Reviews

[Jen Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great short story, featuring Nick and Derek as they settle into a life together. They celebrate Christmas with Kat, Michelle, and Luciano... as they make plans for the future. Sweet and sexy. (Is it wrong that I hope Michelle grows to love Luciano one day? I'm so fickle. I loved Aaron 5 minutes ago.)

[A.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nick ‘borrows’ the family jet to go get Kat so that she can spend Christmas with Derek; her only family.
This is set just after Kat brain friend their attackers and Andrew’s avoiding her. So she feels understandably like she killed people to save him and then lost him anyway.
Michelle is pregnant and married to Luciano who loves her enough to take on a child that isn’t his.
And Nick and Derek have big Christmas presents to exchange.

Cute happy moments…
3 stars

[Winter Girl · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

[Adricrisuruta · Rating 4 out of 5]

With things calming down, the whole Peyton-Gabriel family was able to enjoy a white Christmas together.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not going to give any details on the plot as it is a short story & I don't want to ruin it for you. I would like to point out that this story will include major spoilers for Crossroads so I would strongly recommend reading Crossroads first.

I love getting to see a glimpse of a couple after they get their happy ending and it was great to see how Derek and Nick are spending their first Christmas. The story is set not long after the ending of Crossroads so they are still trying to deal with the aftermath of previous events but they are still crazy about each other. With both of them being very family oriented they are looking forward to spending Christmas with their loved ones and it was good to see Michelle and Kat to find out how they are coping.

It's aways nice when authors offer free short stories & I often read them before buying an author's books to see if I think I'll like their writing style. However in this case I'd strongly recommend reading the previous 2 books in the series first - at least read Crossroads as this would really give away the ending of the book if you decide to go back to that one later. Moira Rogers do have other free reads on their website that don't include spoilers though so you could check those out if you want to get a taster of their writing.

I really love the Southern Arcana series and would definitely recommend giving it a try if you haven't already. A Peyton Family Christmas is a nice addition to the series and a great way of getting into the Christmas spirit

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this short story, Moira Rogers has given us a peek into the lives of some of the heroes of the Southern Arcana books. Struggling with the life-changing events of Crossroads, Nick and Derek are both happy at their fortune in finding one another and burdened by the toll it took on some of their closest family members. As they make plans for their future they work to help those around them heal and find peace.

Once again, these characters are so very well-realized and dynamic that even a story of this length is a fantastic glimpse into another world. However, I absolutely recommend starting with book 1 of this series to get the full effect of this outstanding world.

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love novellas that give readers a glimpse into characters that we grew to love in previous books. That’s exactly what A Peyton Family Christmas did. After all that Nick and Derek went through in Crossroads it was nice to see how happy and settled they had become. It was short, sweet and hot. A great Holiday treat for readers who have been following the series and just right for a late night read.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, sharp interlude between stories, Crossroads & Deadlock. It really felt like it was a real family struggling through grief and happiness at Christmas time.

If you're into this series this little short gives meaning to the characters lives.

It is being offered for free on Moira Rogers website.

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick little story that takes place shortly after Crossroads. It was great to see things more calm after the chaos of that book and the continuation of the family theme.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great anthology that takes place between Crossroads and Deadlock. It was a nice view of the family that was over all the danger and drama that happened in the second book. It was great to see them all happy.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

No conflict, just an idealistic Christmas. Boring if you ask me. And Kat is such a whiner. So she killed two guys to save the life of the man she loves, so what? Its been months. She should get over it already.

[Dannielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, short and a quick pop in with Nick and Derek.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet short story about the Peyton family at christmas.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story filled in some gaps in the storylines between books and I enjoyed it.

[Kel (Faerie-bookworm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute short.

[ReadKnitHoard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aww. *happy sigh* Nice to have a peek at how the characters are getting along.