Casey Tanner has her Christmas list written, prepped, and ready, but Mr. Claus isn't the intended receiver. This Christmas, she wants a fling; a no-strings attached romp for Christmas day. But the journey there is anything but a sleigh ride.

EVERY LITTLE KISS by Kim Amos is a tale of romance twisted with fears of letting someone get close to one's heart. Casey wants her five things on her Christmas list, and Abe Cameron, a sexy firefighter in White Pine, finally wants the chance to settle down. He sees Casey's list as a stepping stone, while Casey sees it as a list to be finished and thrown to the dogs. They must both decide how much they're willing to risk to get what they want.

Interestingly, EVERY LITTLE KISS features a reverse in gender roles between the would-be lovers. Of a romantic pair, it's classically the woman who wishes strongly for commitment from her lover. But Abe Cameron is our lover pushing for more.

However, Casey Tanner lacks the unique and redeeming qualities I would think worthy of pursing. In many ways, she is plain and simple; yet after their first encounter, Abe is thinking of her fondly. When he experiences a life-or-death kind of moment later, Abe becomes set on winning Casey's heart, despite his own reputation and his only brief meeting with her.

We're left wondering what Abe's extended feelings for Casey would've been had he not encountered a scary life experience, if his priorities would've stayed the same, if he would've had the same push for commitment. Is Casey, then, a romantic pursuit born not out of attraction for herself, but out of fear for his own happiness? We would think this might become a crisis for Abe, but this kind of introspection and critique of Casey is not evident. Abe's past lovers are exotic and feminine; Casey is so different from all of them that though we don't doubt Abe's feelings are sincere, we have to wish for more internal struggle within Abe over his interest in Casey. Casey has her own internal struggle over her interest in Abe, but since we don't get a matching struggle from Abe, and he very much pursues her, the conflict rests mainly on Casey getting out of her own way to snag the handsome firefighter. And this unfortunately lacks the spice the story needs to hold it firm.