Review - - A Christmas to Remember

A Christmas to Remember

By Lisa Kleypas, Lorraine Heath,

Megan Frampton, and Vivienne Lorret

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: September 26, 2017

Reviewed by Janga

  

  

The season for Christmas romances has begun, and Avon’s anthology of reissued novellas by a quartet of genre stars is one that will delight readers who prefer their Christmas tales with a historical setting.

Lisa Kleypas’s Rita-winning I Will, first published in 2001 in the anthology Wish List, leads off.  The Earl of Rochester is dying, and he has threatened to leave his unentailed fortune away from his only legitimate son, Andrew, Lord Drake, unless the young man reforms his dissolute lifestyle. Andrew, who has used that lifestyle as a weapon against his father, is forced to conceive a plan that will convince the old earl that his heir has traded riotous living for respectability and responsibility. He needs the cooperation of Miss Caroline Hargreaves, a model of rectitude, to complete his plan. Andrew promises to pay Caroline’s younger brother’s gambling debts and to free him from Andrew’s ruinous influence if she agrees to a fake courtship. Hostility yields to attraction and then love as the two spend time together. Predictable? Perhaps, but it is a joyous read nonetheless. A bluestocking heroine who saves the hero and a hero who is redeemed make this a cherished favorite for me.  This novella is part of Kleypas’s Capital Theatre series, and fans of that series will be pleased to see that Andrew’s illegitimate half-brother, Logan Scott and his wife Madeline (Because You’re Mine) make an appearance. This one is an unqualified five-star read for me.

Romance Dish regulars know that I love a good reunited lovers tale, and Lorraine Heath gives that trope an interesting twist in Deck the Halls with Love, a 2012 novella with strong links to Lord of Temptation, the second novel in Heath’s Lost Lords of Pembrook series. In that book, Alistair Wakefield, the Marquess of Chetwyn, frees his almost-bride Lady Anne Hayworth to marry her true love, Lord Tristan Easton. In the novella, Chetwyn is fighting for a second chance with Lady Meredith Hargreaves, the woman he loved before and after his betrothal to Lady Anne. But Lady Meredith’s marriage to another is to take place the day after Christmas, and Chetwyn must do the seemingly impossible—persuade Lady Meredith, who was heartbroken when he abruptly ended their promising courtship to enter a duty-bound relationship, to stop her wedding and trust her heart to him. A snowstorm provides the opportunity for a double Christmas miracle—the unlikable Chetwyn of Lord of Temptation proves his nobility and true love wins the day when Meredith exercises her gift of choice. Heath is among the best in the genre when she hits the mark, and she hits it unerringly here. I especially love all the “gifts” that add deeper meaning to this Christmas romance. I give this one 4.5 stars.

Megan Frampton’s No Groom at the Inn, part of her Dukes Behaving Badly series despite the absence of dukes, is an entertaining read with enough heart to save it from mere cleverness. Lady Sophronia Bettesford, only child of the Earl of Lunsford, was left impoverished by the death of her loving but improvident father. All she has to look forward to is a future as an unpaid servant in a cousin’s home where she will be in charge of six children and twenty-seven chickens. Mr. James Archer is a young man possessed of a fortune and in need of a faux fiancée. Committed to a life of travel, adventure, and beautiful women whose place in his life is strictly temporary, James panics when he learns of his mother’s plans for him at a holiday house party filled with marriageable maidens. He tells his mother he is deeply in love and engaged. He offers Sophronia a cottage where she and her devoted maid can live free of obnoxious relatives if she agrees to be his make-believe fiancée. What follows is a story filled with fun, lots of clever wordplay, and Frampton’s trademark humor. Sophronia is a dear, and James, although sometimes arrogant, can be forgiven much because he loves his mother and appreciates Sophronia even before he falls in love with her. The novella, originally published in 2015, didn’t quite reach the level of the novels in this series, but it was sweet and amusing. I award it four stars and five smiles. I loved the chapter prefaces!

Vivienne Lorret’s The Duke’s Christmas Wish, which first appeared in the 2015 anthology All I Want for Christmas Is a Duke, is the only one of the four novellas that I had never read. It was also my first encounter with this author, so I am not sure how it fits into her Season’s Original series, although publication info tells me that it does. It is another Christmas house party story. In this case, the house party is hosted by Northcliff Bromley, Duke of Vale, who is using it to prove the soundness of his Marriage Formula, a logical system based on the premise that money, bloodlines, and common interests are the best grounds for a successful marriage. Miss Ivy Sutherland, whom the duke notes is of “no consequence” since she is merely the daughter of a country gentleman and possessed of none of the required assets, nevertheless challenges the duke’s assumptions because he cannot ignore her intelligence, her impulsivity (a marked contrast to his careful thought), or her ability to entrench herself in his mind.  This story has an abundance of charm, and I liked it enough to add other books in the series to my wish list. It is another four-star read.

A Christmas to Remember is a rare anthology without a weak story in the bunch. I highly recommend it for historical romance readers who may have missed the novellas the first time. If you are a rereader like me, you will still find this a winning Christmas read. I think I’ve read Kleypas’s I Will every Christmas since it was first released, and I find it enchanting every time.

Review - - The Rancher's Christmas Song

The Rancher’s Christmas Song

By RaeAnne Thayne

Publisher: Harlequin Special Edition

Release Date: October 17, 2017

Reviewed by Janga

Ella Baker has always loved the Idaho ranch where she spent part of her childhood, but a near-fatal accident and her parents’ divorce ensured that she spent her post-accident life mostly in Boston. When her father is diagnosed with Parkinson’s, Ella returns to Pine Gulch, Idaho, to help him run the ranch, but her father resists the idea. He still thinks she belongs back in Boston with her mother and stepfather and the cultural opportunities city life affords. All the esteem and appreciation that Curt Baker denies Ella, he gives freely to neighboring rancher and his co-president in the cattle growers association, Beckett McKinley. It doesn’t seem fair that Beck has the respect Ella wants and the ability to raise her temperature with his rare smile.

Beck McKinley is as eager as Ella’s father to see her return to Boston. He is not at all happy that his attraction to Ella only grows each time he sees her. He was badly burned by another city girl who was unsuited for ranch life and unhappy with Beck’s lack of culture. Stephanie died four years ago, but she left him and their two-year-old twin sons a year earlier. Beck is lonely and ready to find someone to share his life, but he is convinced that a petite music teacher who knows nothing about ranch life can never be that person.

Ella, the music teacher at Pine Gulch Elementary School, agrees to direct the annual holiday-themed production at the Christmas Ranch. Her task becomes even more overwhelming when the McKinley twins, Trevor and Colter, “the bane of her existence” at school ask her to teach them a special song as a Christmas gift for their dad. Mischievous and rambunctious they may be, but Ella cannot resist the red-haired imps. She strikes a bargain with them: she will teach them a song if they teach her to ride a horse. Soon Beck becomes Ella’s riding instructor, and those carefully constructed barriers start falling.

RaeAnne Thayne’s Christmas stories have become part of my Christmas reading tradition. I know I can count on two each year, and this is the second one. (The first, Sugar Pine Trail, is one of my 2017 top favorite holiday books.) The Rancher’s Christmas Song is the sixteenth book in Thayne’s Cowboys of Cold Creek series, and more than half of them are Christmas stories. They are all small-town stories with a Western flavor and a lot of heart. This one is another that follows that delightful pattern.

I liked both Ella and Beck and enjoyed rooting for their HEA, but I thought the twins stole the story. They certainly stole my heart. I have a particular fondness for unruly small boys with excess energy, a talent for mischief, and an undeniable sweetness. The ones who gave me that fondness are no longer small boys (although they are still sweet and occasionally still mischievous), but Trevor and Colter made me smile and remember. I loved them. I also loved the Christmas feel of the book and the visit to the Christmas Ranch and the old friends linked to that place.

If you are looking for a Christmas romance that also features family, friends, and feel-good vibes, I highly recommend this book. Don’t let the #16 scare you away, The Rancher’s Christmas Song can easily be read as a standalone.

Review - - Do Not Open 'Til Christmas

Do Not Open ‘Til Christmas

By Sierra Donovan

Publisher: Kensington / Zebra

Release Date: September 26, 2017

Reviewed by Janga

  

Tall Pine, California, is a Christmas town. It has a year-round Christmas store, Snowed Inn (a Christmas-themed hotel that serves hot chocolate that may have a magical effect), a tree-lighting tradition as old as the town, and annual Santa sightings. It may be Bret Radner’s hometown, but it is a poor fit for a man who hates Christmas. Seven years ago, Bret finished up a prestigious internship with the Washington Post and was looking forward to a career as a high-powered journalist when a phone call brought him home to spend four months watching his mother die of cancer. She died shortly before Christmas. Bret remained to care for his ailing father, but he has avoided everything to do with Christmas, from lighted trees to mistletoe to church services. As a reporter for the Tall Pine Gazette, he writes articles about town council meetings and school test scores that leave him longing for more important subjects. When his editor is sent to Chicago to straighten out a problem there, Bret eagerly accepts the position of acting editor. He is less enthusiastic about his boss’s hiring a freelancer as the Gazette's newest staff writer, albeit a temporary one.

Chloe Davenport always wanted to be a writer but journalism was not what she had in mind. However, she has enjoyed her freelance work for the local paper, and she approaches her new job as a full-time reporter with optimism. That optimism is soon tempered by the reality of working with Bret, a demanding editor with the temperament of a less miserly Scrooge. The sunny-natured Chloe and Bret clash over her story ideas, many of which are connected to Christmas, and he is horrified by her lack of journalistic experience and her ignorance of AP style. Chloe feels as if she can never please him. Some days only coffee and pie and the sympathy of her roommates keep her going.

Despite their differences, Bret recognizes Chloe’s writing talent and mentors her to good effect, although in a mostly curmudgeonly fashion. Chloe learns from him, and she also learns that there is more to Bret than his dour image. These opposites do indeed attract, but for every step Bret takes toward Chloe, he retreats two. Even Chloe recognizes the problem of a relationship between her and her boss. It will take a near tragedy to resolve all their issues.

Chloe’s life and her human interest features give the reader a look at Tall Pine, its traditions and its people. There are heartwarming encounters with a wounded veteran, a lost-and-found kitten, and Chloe’s family and friends. Fans of Donovan’s earlier Evergreen Lane books will be pleased to see appearances by Mandy and Jack Wyndham (Do You Believe in Santa?) and, more briefly, by Liv and Scott Leroux (We Need a Little Christmas). Appropriately, given Bret’s reserve, his contacts are more limited.

The term “gentle romance” is a perfect description of this book. Tall Pine is an idyllic holiday setting. If it seems too slow-paced for an American town in the twenty-first century, that is also part of its charm. Bret and Chloe’s romance is strictly kisses-only, and even kisses are in short supply. My reaction was mixed. I admit that Do Not Open ‘Til Christmas has the appeal of a Thomas Kincade Christmas card, and I am enough of a sentimentalist about the holiday to be seduced by that quality. On the other hand, I like deeper character exploration than this book offers. I felt that my understanding of Bret and Chloe was too superficial to be satisfying.

If the verbal version of sugar plums is your idea of a holiday reading treat, you will likely enjoy this book. If you anticipate something spicier or more substantive, you probably want to give this one a pass.

Review - - Hope for Christmas

Hope for Christmas

By Stacy Finz

Publisher: Kensington / Lyrical Shine

Release Date: October 10, 2017

Reviewed by Janga

  

Emily McCreedy’s life is full and happier than she would have believed possible three years ago. With a two-week-old daughter, her rancher husband Clay, and her teenage stepsons, Justin and Cody, life on the domestic front is busy and rewarding. Her latest cookbook project is going well, and the Nugget, California community as well as the McCreedy family is gearing up for the Christmas holidays. Of course, Emily has not forgotten her daughter Hope who was abducted seven years ago from outside her San Francisco home, but three years of no new evidence has dimmed the flame of belief that someday Hope would be found. Then one December morning as she is preparing to take her infant daughter to town for a pediatrician’s appointment, she pulls a note from a plain envelope with no return address and reads these words: I HAVE HOPE. Is it a cruel prank? Will this Christmas make real Emily’s worst nightmare or answer her most fervent prayer?

This review is a brief one because I am avoiding even a hint of spoilers. Hope for Christmas is the tenth story in Finz’s Nugget, California series. In this novella, Finz gives her readers an emotional tale that keeps them engaged not only with Emily but also with her husband and stepsons and to a lesser degree, with her former husband and his wife. All their lives will be affected by the answers to those questions. My limited description may suggest this is not a romance, but it is. Emily and Clay’s relationship is central to the story. But it is also the story of a family and of a community.  The Nugget community is invested in the situation as well, and the warmth and charm of that community is consistent with its presentation in other stories in the series. Remarkably, Finz provides a positive conclusion without resorting to the simplistic.

I gave Hope for Christmas a four-star rating based on the perspective of a reader who had not read all the earlier books. I had no problems following the story, and I found the characters sympathetic. Later, I downloaded Finding Hope (2014), the second book in the series and the one in which readers learn the story of Hope’s kidnapping, of its effects on Emily and Drew Matthews and their marriage, and of Emily and Clay McCreedy’s love story. I think Hope for Christmas is Finz’s gift to the reader of that book. The connection this reader feels to the follow-up story is powerful, and I suspect had I read the novel first, my heart would have insisted on a five-star rating for the novella.

Review - - Going Dark

Going Dark
By Monica McCarty
Publisher: Berkley Jove
Release Date: September 5, 2017
Reviewed by PJ
  

Like Rome’s Lost Legion, a SEAL platoon goes on a mission and vanishes without a trace.
 
After walking into a trap on a covert op in Russia, the men from top secret SEAL Team Nine are presumed dead. Not knowing whom they can trust, and with war hanging in the balance, the survivors must go dark and scatter around the globe.
 
Marine ecologist Annie Henderson joins her new boyfriend on a trip to the Western Isles of Scotland to protest a hazardous offshore drilling venture. When she realizes that she may be swept up in something far more dangerous than she’d intended, there is only one man she can turn to. . . .
 
She and the mysterious but sexy dive boat captain haven’t exactly gotten off to the best start, but something about his quiet confidence makes her think that he’s the kind of man she can depend on. Because he’s gruff and guarded, she can tell Dan Warren has secrets. But she could never imagine how high the stakes are for him to keep his cover, even as he risks everything to protect her. . . .


As a newly minted PhD, Annie is overflowing with idealism and determination to save the oceans and shorelines from what she considers their most dangerous predator: oil companies and offshore drilling. It is that enthusiasm, as well as perhaps a fair dose of naiveté, that has led her to a drilling protest in Scotland in the company of her new boyfriend, a Frenchman who checks off all the cerebral, liberal, beta boxes on her list and raised a number of red flags on mine. But if Julien is her perfect match, why is their dive boat captain - who clearly is not cerebral, liberal, or beta - the one who keeps drawing her attention? And, when everything blows up in her face, why is he the only one she is certain can save her?

As part of the Navy SEAL Lost Platoon that was ambushed in Russia, the last thing Dan Warren needs is to draw attention to himself. If his cover is blown, it could put the lives of his teammates at risk and derail their search to discover who betrayed them. So why is he smack-dab in the middle of the mess Annie's landed in? Because that's what a guy does when he's honorable to his core. Now they're on the run, with killers on their trail, his cover in serious jeopardy, and, for the first time in his life, a woman who is slowly but surely carving a place for herself in his heart . 

Annie and Dan are polar opposites...or so they think. For Annie, Dan represents everything she stands against. After the death of her beloved father, an Army Ranger, she was determined to never lose her heart to a military man. Yet Dan, in all his alpha glory, seems to be the only man for her. Perhaps he's the path destined to help her rediscover the part of herself that was lost when her father died. It took me awhile to warm up to Annie. I admit, there were times when I found her incredibly annoying yet she grew on me. By the end of the book I could appreciate the journey of growth she had taken and I heartily cheered for her and Dan. 

When they first meet, Dan views Annie as a flaky, idealistic tree-hugger, blind to any view but her own. Yet, when they are forced to spend time together they begin to see neither is completely right...or wrong. They both grow as people and while they will never be in complete agreement on certain issues, they learn to open their minds and their hearts to one another. With love and compromise, they learn to listen with open minds; to accept, respect, and understand one another without compromising their own ideals. I was probably predisposed to fall for Dan after 25 happy years of marriage to a military man. It was as if McCarty had created him just for me. He's steady, sexy, honorable, capable, a natural protector...did I mention sexy? I hope we'll see more of him and Annie in future books. 

I've been a fan of Monica McCarty's writing since the publication of her first book, Highlander Untamed, ten years ago and have eagerly traipsed across the Scottish Highlands through the pages of the twenty-one historical novels that have followed. Of course, I wasn't about to be left behind when she announced last year that she was creating a new romantic suspense series featuring a contemporary "band of brothers" as she had done with the men of her historical Highland Guard. Going Dark is a promising launch to McCarty's new Lost Platoon series. It's filled with plenty of action, suspense, mystery, and, of course, romance and sizzle, all things at which McCarty excels. Seeds are sown for future stories as well as the overarching mystery of who betrayed this band of warriors. I'm all in!

Blog Tour Review - - Her Duke at Daybreak

Her Duke at Daybreak

by Wendy LaCapra

Publisher: Pronoun

Release Date: October 17, 2017

Reviewed by PJ

Infamous for his pedigree of madness and murder, the reclusive Duke of Ashbey believes he cannot feel until a mysterious woman unlocks a world of sensation in a single, shattering moment of connection. He casts a desperate bid for more.

Recent widow Alicia Stone has long been reviled as the chief impediment to a love affair that captured the nation’s imagination. Publicly, she settled for respectability’s cold comfort, but, secretly, she longs to experience what she never found with her famous husband—uninhibited passion.

When a devilish duke proposes a discreet three-night assignation, Alicia shocks herself by accepting. But will their explosive union cost them both far more than they bargained? 

I've been waiting two years for a new book from Wendy LaCapra. After being captivated by her debut trilogy, I admit both my anticipation and expectations for her new novel, Her Duke at Daybreak were pretty high. The fact that I've already read the book twice, fallen in love with these characters and their story the first go-around then even more deeply the second time clearly illustrates that I shouldn't have worried about having those expectations met.

One of the things I most enjoy about LaCapra's writing is the depth she gives her characters. Ashbey and Alicia  are vividly brought to life as complete, complex characters dealing with a multitude of emotions. These two are like opposite poles of a magnet drawn together. Ash has fully embraced the darkness of his life, feeling neither joy nor despair, simply...not feeling. He shoulders the blame for acts that were not his own,  convinced that he will only bring death and destruction to those unfortunate enough to be close to him. Yet, even knowing that, he cannot bring himself to stay away from the goodness, the light, the sheer rightness that Alicia brings into his life for three days. Their first meeting jolts him into awareness for the first time in years. Suddenly, he's feeling everything but with each encounter, the feelings grow, becoming too wonderful...too much. He yearns to keep her with him always but his past has taught him it will not last and that when it ends, Alicia will be the one to suffer. 

The yearning these two have for one another! It was impossible for me not to have a deep emotional response to it and pull for them to find a way out of their predicament and into a loving, lasting relationship with one another. 

The pace of this story flows beautifully. The love scenes (and there are many during the three days) are sensual and hot in some places while achingly tender in others but the sex never feels gratuitous. I really liked both Ash and Alicia, though by the time Ash's friends have their "let us tell you how it really is" moment with him I was ready to impart a little knowledge upon him myself...most likely with a good whack upside the head. 

I loved watching Alicia blossom into the sensual woman she had always dreamed of becoming but I especially appreciated the woman she already was. I liked her strength, her kindness, her straight-forward approach to life. She easily could have been portrayed as the bitter, abandoned wife with her late husband and his mistress  cast as the villains in this scenario. LaCapra took a different path and it made the story all the better for it. 

I'm intrigued with Ash's two childhood friends who have key roles in this book. I'm hoping they will be the heroes of the next two books in the series.  

If you enjoy complex, character driven stories with deep emotion, plenty of sizzle, and well-earned happy endings, I highly recommend Her Duke at Daybreak by Wendy LaCapra. 

Excerpt #3

He concentrated on the pressure of her lips. Hers was a perfect mouth. Soft. Inviting. Tasting of sweetness, and promise, and light. Her lips traced a path to his chest. There she paused, pressing her ear against his heart.

A small gesture. Artless and honest and painfully poignant. It was all he could do not to clasp her there.

“What do you hear?” he asked.

“Strength.”

He did not deserve this angel. If he’d been a better man, he never would have coaxed her to come. If were a good man now, he would set her free.

“I’m not good,” he said aloud.

“I know.” She rose onto her knees with a sinful smile. “That is precisely why I came.”

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Have you read any of Wendy LaCapra's books?

Do you enjoy sizzle in your historical romances?

What's the last romance you read that made you yearn?

Wendy LaCapra has been reading romance since she sneaked into the adult section at the library and discovered Victoria Holt & Jane Aiken Hodge.  From that point on, she dreamed of creating fictional worlds with richness, intrigue and passion. Her stories have placed in several contests, including the 2012 Golden Heart® and her debut series, a trilogy about three Ladies who refuse to play by society’s rules, was released by Entangled Scandalous. She lives in NYC with her husband and loves to hear from readers. For new release and sale alerts, sign up at http://bit.ly/GetWendyNews

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A SMP Christmas: Part Two - - With This Christmas Ring / The Christmas Cowboy Hero / Hope at Christmas

With This Christmas Ring

By Manda Collins

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Swerve

Release Date: October 3, 2017

Reviewed by Janga

Merry Parks has a mission. The final request of her friend Charlotte Smithson, dead of childbirth fever, was that Merry deliver Charlotte’s infant daughter into the hands of the child’s father. Friendship and honor demand that Merry honor Charlotte’s request even if doing so requires Merry to visit Wrotham House, the London home of the man she jilted. Merry may have spent the past five years working with her scholar father and out of touch with the London social scene, but she has not forgotten Alex.

Alexander Ponsonby, Viscount Wrotham, has recently returned to England, summoned home from Paris by his paternal grandmother. But the man who returns is less trusting than the one who left a year earlier. A reunion with the mother he believed had abandoned him for a lover and her second family has given him a different view of her and of his grandmother, who contributed to his mother’s flight. His new relationship with his mother has set Alex thinking about the other woman who abandoned him, wondering about her reasons, and hoping for a second chance with her. But even that hope does not prepare him for Merry to arrive on his doorstep with a baby in her arms and a question concerning the whereabouts of his cousin William on her lips.

The probability of William’s having left London to spend the holiday at the family seat in Kent provides Alex with just the excuse he needs to maintain contact with Merry. He persuades her to bring baby Lottie and her entourage and accompany him to Wrotham Keep. Even the weather cooperates; heavy snow forces Merry to remain in Kent for Christmas, to her secret relief.  Being in the place where they once celebrated their betrothal and where Merry left Alex with a ring and a note that explained nothing makes it easy to remember all they once shared. Fate may have given them the time they need to claim their second chance, but they must overcome formidable opposition to reach their HEA.

Manda Collins excels at the novella form, packing her stories with enough character development and action to maintain reader interest but restricting the focus sufficiently to give the sense of a finished work.  In this case, the reunited lovers trope helps because Merry and Alex have a history on which to build. With This Christmas Ring is a small jewel of a Christmas tale with seasonal themes of forgiveness, restoration, and love, familial and romantic.  I loved it, and if you are a reader who appreciates a historical Christmas novella that has both sweetness and sizzle, I predict you will too. The novella is part of the Lords of Anarchy series, but it can easily be read as a standalone.




The Christmas Cowboy Hero
By Donna Grant
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: October 31, 2017
Reviewed by PJ

  

Driven by guilt, grief, and a different dream, Clayton East left his family ranch to join the Navy as soon as he was old enough. Years later, only his mother's desperate call brings the former Navy SEAL home to a father in medical distress and a ranch on the verge of bankruptcy thanks to cattle rustlers and an embezzling accountant. Clayton is ready to have the book thrown at the only rustler who was caught but meeting the boy's sister and guardian, Abby Harper, then the sixteen-year-old himself has him taking a different path, accepting Brice's offer to work off his debt at the ranch after school and weekends. His hope is to convince Brice to tell him the identities of the rustlers while at the same time giving him the chance to atone for his part in the thefts. The more time Clayton spends with the Harper family, the more entwined he becomes with all of them. Especially Abby.

Abby would do anything for her brothers, including putting her dreams on hold since their mother abandoned them when she was only eighteen. Since then, Abby has devoted herself to them, doing her best to keep them clothed, fed, loved, and on the right path. When Brice's actions bring them to the East's ranch, Abby is grateful for her brother's second chance but has no idea of the impact it will have on her entire family. She is not prepared for the kindness shown them by Clayton and his parents, the heartfelt welcome into their family Christmas celebrations, nor for the spark between Clayton and herself that threatens to ignite into an inferno. As she and Clayton grow closer, the possibility of a forever love and a loving family for all of them looms on the horizon, but only if they can uncover the identities of the cattle rustlers and catch them before someone gets hurt...or worse. 

Donna Grant brings readers a feel-good story about family, love, sacrifice, and forgiveness. I fell in love with these characters and wholeheartedly embraced their journey. The story is well-paced, with plenty of action, a bit of suspense, heartwarming romance, a strong family dynamic, and a well-deserved happy ending. The mystery of the cattle rustlers is solved but there's a significant loose thread pertaining to the embezzlement of the ranch's funds which makes me wonder if this book will be part of a series. If it is, I'll happily return for any future stories.

Hope at Christmas

By Nancy Naigle

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Griffin

Release Date: October 10, 2017
Reviewed by Janga

Still reeling from her husband’s infidelity and their pending divorce, Sydney Ragsdale and her daughter RayAnne move from Atlanta to Hopewell, NC, where Sydney has inherited her grandparents’ house. RayAnne is ten, but hurt and anger over the changes in her life have given her a head start on a stormy adolescence. Volunteering at the Book Bea, a book store that still possesses the magic it held when Sydney visited it as a child, fosters needed mother-daughter bonding. It also restores Sydney’s self-confidence, helps her and RayAnne become part of the community, and instills the Christmas spirit in them.

Single father Kevin MacAlea, history teacher and baseball coach at the local high school, has an abundance of the Christmas spirit. He has found joy in being the local Santa for thirteen years. If only his twelve-year-old son, Seth, who associates the holiday with the mother who left him and his father on Christmas Eve, could share in his joy. Even amid decorations galore, Santa’s Village, and a caroling tradition that includes hot chocolate, disappointments and misunderstandings abound. But if these four people believe in themselves and each other, they may find that Hopewell holds all their hearts desire for a season--and forever.

Nancy Naigle returns readers to the charming small town where last year’s Christmas Joy was set for another sweet holiday romance. If you like your Christmas reading treats steamy and heavy on the spice, you will want to give this one a miss. But if your preference is for heartwarming with a dash of seasonal schmaltz or if Hallmark’s Christmas movies are one of your feel-good delights, you will likely enjoy this one as much as I did.

Have you read any Christmas themed romances yet?

Are there any in particular you're looking forward to?

Do you have any titles to recommend?