Kissing Under the Mistletoe: A Sullivan Christmas (The Sullivans)

by Bella Andre

Hardcover, 2013

Collection

Description

Fiction. Romance. HTML: The Sullivan siblings have captivated the hearts of over a million readers worldwide, and now, New York Times bestselling author Bella Andre shares the love story that started it all... For Mary Sullivan Christmas is, and always has been, about family. And this year is no different. As she awaits the arrival of her eight children and their partners at the cottage in Lake Tahoe, she hangs the ornaments that they made for her over the years. Each decoration brings with it a tide of memories, all of which she holds dear to her heart. But when she comes across the oldest ornament, the one her beloved husband, Jack, gave her on their very first Christmas together, Mary is immediately swept back to the first days of their whirlwind romance, to the love that would be the foundation on which they built the family she is so proud to call her own. Join the Sullivans this Christmas for a story that explores the wonder of the holidays, the meaning of family and a love that transcends time. KISSING UNDER THE MISTLETOE: A Sullivan Christmas is the newest book in Bella Andre's New York Times and USA Today bestselling Sullivan series. Over a million books sold so far! Author's Note: While KISSING UNDER THE MISTLETOE can easily be read as a stand-alone story, you'll likely enjoy reading the earlier Sullivan books, too. THE SULLIVAN series: THE LOOK OF LOVE (Chase) FROM THIS MOMENT ON (Marcus) CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE (Gabe) I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU (Sophie) IF YOU WERE MINE (Zach) LET ME BE THE ONE (Ryan) COME A LITTLE BIT CLOSER (Smith) ALWAYS ON MY MIND (Lori) ONE PERFECT NIGHT (Guest starring Mia & Rafe Sullivan) THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT (Rafe, The Seattle Sullivans) KISSING UNDER THE MISTLETOE (Mary & Jack Sullivan, coming September 24, 2013) IT MUST BE YOUR LOVE (Mia Sullivan's book, The Seattle Sullivans, coming Winter 2013) REVIEWS "From the moment that I met Mary Sullivan in THE LOOK OF LOVE I knew that she was a woman that I wanted to get to know a little better. After reading about each of her children's love stories I just knew that it had to take the most extraordinary woman to raise the most kind and loving characters that I have ever come across in a contemporary romance series. KISSING UNDER THE MISTLETOE is a great addition to one of my most beloved contemporary romance series and I'm so glad that Andre has finally given us an insight to the great love story that produced eight wonderful children." â??Debbie from Keep Calm and Read Romance book blog "Such a sweet and heartwarming story!" â??Annie from Under the Covers book blog "I have loved every Sullivan book I've read, but this one just became my favorite. I so enjoyed reading Mary and Jack's story of HEA! You don't need to wait to read this one till you've read all the kids stories. Go ahead and read it as soon as you get it. Absolutely Loved It!!!" â??Jennifer, Goodreads reviewer "Each book is so remarkable and you really come to love the characters. This series is incredible. It's one of my favorites. If you haven't started them yet, you are missing out!" â??Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews "I am in love with the Sullivans. If you are looking for something SWEET and SEXY then The Sullivans companion series by Bella Andre is absolutely perfect for you. THEY ARE ALL AMAZING!" â??Reading, Eating & Dreaming Book Reviews "As the series continues, the stories keep getting better and better. We can always rely on Bella Andre to deliver a great love story. Read this book, read all of them and join the Bella Andre bandwagonâ??you won't regret it." â??Natasha Is a Book Jun… (more)

Library's rating

Rating

(29 ratings; 4.1)

Awards

Audie Award (Finalist — Romance — 2014)

User reviews

LibraryThing member kmartin802
While hanging ornaments on the Christmas tree and waiting for her children and their partners to arrive at the Tahoe cabin, Mary Sullivan relives her courtship with their father Jack. They had a whirlwind romance after a case of love at first sight. Mary had to get over her fear that Jack was using
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her to further his career before they could find happily ever after.

Jack Sullivan was an engineer who had spent 10 years developing a new product and was within sight of successfully launching it during the Christmas season but he needed something of someone to give the product some sex appeal. Mary was a very successful fashion model who was taking part in her last shoot when they ran into each other.

Mary had been used by another man who just wanted to make his product look good and was fearful of trusting Jack. But Jack's patience, persistence, and love finally won the day with her. Having read the stories of his and Mary's eight children previously, I was pleased to see where they got their character from. Each one demonstrated pieces of what we see in Jack in this story.

I loved this romance and can't wait to read about the Sullivan cousins.
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LibraryThing member thehistorychic
Read/Listened for Review (NetGalley/Audible)
Quick Holiday Review
Overall Rating: 4.25
Story Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 4.50

Audio Rating: 4.00 (Not part of the overall rating)

First Thought when Finished: Kissing Under the Mistletoe is exactly the kind of Christmas read I love: sweet, moving, and in
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this case history of a character (Mary) that I love and adore!

Story Thoughts: Kissing Under the Mistletoe was a bittersweet read that had me crying both at the beginning and the end. Fans of The Sullivans series already know what is happening in the present day but it was wonderful to get Mary and Jack's love story. In fact, I have to say it is my 2nd favorite in the series. Perhaps it was knowing what their love created already but their instant connection worked for me (that is rare). Their whirlwind romance swept me off me feet and made me swoon. This is a fantastic Christmas read and I would highly recommend it to all fans of The Sullivan series.

Audio Thoughts:

Narrated by Eva Kaminsky /Length 7 hrs and 55 mins

Eva does a great job with The Sullivan series. She has the right emotion for these really deep and moving contemporary romances. I love the extra "emotion" she adds during the "falling in love" time. She also has great timing for the humorous parts.

Final Thoughts: I recommend Kissing Under the Mistletoe to anyone who has read even just one book in The Sullivan series. Mary's story is to good to pass by.
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LibraryThing member jo2son
This is the story of Jack and Mary Sullivan, the parents of the Sullivan siblings featured in the Sullivan family series. While the plot of the story was a good one, the book felt like it dragged on with too much conversation about the same thing over and over again.
LibraryThing member arlenadean
Title: Kissing Under The Mistletoe
Author: Bella Andre
Published: Harlequin MIRA
Age Recommended: New Adult- Adult
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Genre: Contemporary, Seasonal/Holiday
Series: The Sullivans #10
Rating: 5
Review:

"Kissing Under The Mistletoe" by Bella Andre was another one of this author's series
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that was simply 'off the chart' one amazing good read. You will find that once you start reading this novel it will be hard to put down until the very end. This series was about the parents Mary and Jack Sullivan's falling in love. It is a beautiful written story where you may even shed some tears...Why was this?...Well, I will just say you must read this wonderful story to find out. We find out so much more about this couple...there dreams and their beautiful family. I loved how this author was able to bring out so much about Mary with the Christmas decorations for the family tree and those ornaments that were hand made by the children. However, when Mary talks about the first ornament that was given to her by Jack. ..we are now getting Jack and Mary's story. Wow! This was really presented so well by this author. This was one beautiful story of Jack and Mary that were simply 'perfect' for each other. This storyline was of one amazing family how they began was simply wonderful. Sometimes it is hard to read a novel when you know what has happened but this author did a good job with being able to "walk by in time with Mary as she remembered meeting Jack and falling in love with him."

"Kissing Under The Mistletoe" was beautiful, loving and oh so touching of this wonderful Sullivan Family came to be and if you would like a excellent read....I would definitely recommend this one to you.
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LibraryThing member AReCafe
Cat's staff pick for the week of 12/1/13.

Cat says: I was in the mood for a feel good holiday read, and this one, a kind of prequel to the bestselling Sullivan family series, fit the bill perfectly.
LibraryThing member TexasBookLover7
4.5 stars I love all of this series but this one really got to me. It was great to finally see Mary and Jack's truly romantic love story! It made me laugh and cry! By far one of my favorites in the series!

Publication

Oak Press (2013), 378 pages

Pages

378

ISBN

9780778316930

Language

Original language

English
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