A cozy, small-town fated mates romance set in Bear Creek.

Christmas has always been Michael North’s favorite season—fresh snow, twinkling lights, and the scent of pine through the valley. But this year, the tree farmer and bear shifter makes a wish on the first falling star of December: to find the one thing missing from his life—a mate to share it all with.

When single mom Sarah Carter turns up at North Peak Pines searching for the perfect Christmas tree, Michael knows the universe has just answered his wish. She’s everything he’s ever wanted—kind, strong, and utterly captivating. But Sarah isn’t looking for forever. Not again. Her focus is on her daughter, Emmy, and building a new life after heartbreak.

For Sarah, Bear Creek was supposed to be a fresh start—not the place she’d lose her heart again. After years of broken promises, trusting someone new feels impossible. Yet when Michael’s quiet strength and gentle warmth begin to thaw the walls she’s built, Sarah starts to wonder if love—real, lasting love—might still be waiting for her beneath the falling snow.

And when she discovers Michael’s biggest secret—that he’s a bear shifter bound to her by fate—she must decide if she’s ready to believe in Christmas magic again.

Because sometimes the greatest gifts aren’t found under the tree… but waiting in the arms of a man who was wishing for you all along.

Titles in A Bear Creek Christmas include:  The Bear’s Christmas Wish ~ The Bear’s Christmas Love ~ The Bear’s Christmas Mate ~

This story may contain language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult 18+ audience.

Title:  The Bear’s Christmas Wish
Series:  A Bear Creek Christmas #1
Author:  Harmony Raines
Published:  October 31, 2025
My Rating:  4.5 stars

I love any story that is set in either Bear Creek or Bear Bluff; these communities have become their own universe over the years.  I was so glad to see a Christmas visit with three bear shifter friends… and a shooting star that they all make a very similar wish on, to find their mates.  Be careful what you wish for, guys, they just might come true… with all the complications, complexities, and personalities that this shifter sanctuary town always provides.  Welcome to A Bear Creek Christmas!

When Michael and his friends made their wish on that falling star, he certainly didn’t expect results… so quickly.  Then his bear started acting unsettled, then she and her daughter showed up at the tree farm.  Probably no big deal, after all, he did sell Christmas trees to the residents of Bear Creek.  But he knew.  Her scent, the pull…his mate.  His family, somehow.  Now all he has to do is nothing idiotic, like charge them, claiming them to be his forever.  The last thing he needs to do is scare off his mate or her adorable little girl, not when they are the answer to a long-held wish come true.

Recently divorced, Sarah and her daughter, Emmy, have made their home with her mother in Bear Creek, at least temporarily.  They’re searching for the perfect tree, yet the man showing them around the lot seems pretty perfect himself… not that she’s interested in anything romantic, not after years of broken promises and outright lies.  But still… he is intriguing and well worth a second glance.  She has no idea of shifters or mates or forever kind of bonds… not yet, but she’s about to discover that life can indeed get complicated quite rapidly when a bear shifter finds his mate.

I had an amazing time back in Bear Creek for A Bear’s Christmas Wish by Harmony Raines.  Sarah and Michael simply fit together, like pieces of a puzzle, finally forming a complete picture.  Add Emmy (who is adorable to the max) into the mix, and you have the kind of emotions that have you closing the book with a satisfied sigh.  Their story is full of laughter and tears, regrets and hopes, and so many possibilities in the future.  It’s well-written, engaging, emotional, at times passionate, at other times tender and soft.  It’s a perfect story to start the series with, and now I need to know what happens to Michael’s friends.  You don’t have to have read all of the Bear Creek books to enjoy this one, just dive in and enjoy… and maybe discover that you’ll want to go back to the beginning of it all.

I read this title through my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

This series is part of the huge world of Bear Creek/Bear Buff. To see titles that have been reviewed here at Shifter Haven in this world, please visit our Harmony Raines page.

This title is available at Amazon (affiliate link)