I didn’t get nearly enough Christmas reads in this December — actually, I barely read at all the last two months. It’s all very sad. But who says I can’t continue Christmassy books into January, am I right? I very well may be doing that! Anyway, here are two that I did get to this year – one of which I read way back in October, so I’m glad I started early on those holiday books! 😀 I will be ringing in the new year with more holiday reads so let me know how YOU are ringing in the new decade!
A Cowboy for Christmas by Sara Richardson Published by Grand Central Publishing on October 29, 2019
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Holiday, Western, Holidays, Women, Contemporary
Pages: 416
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
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In this heartwarming second-chance holiday romance, a fake engagement is this cowboy's best chance at proving his love is all real -- perfect for fans of New York Times bestselling authors Carolyn Brown, Jennifer Ryan, and Maisey Yates!When the beloved Farm Café in Topaz Falls burns to the ground, widow Darla Michaels comes up with the perfect plan to help her friends rebuild -- a Cowboy Christmas Festival complete with a sexy bachelor auction and a benefit rodeo. But to pull it off, she has to pretend to be engaged to Ty Forrester, the irresistible bull rider who keeps testing her keep-things-casual policy.A fake fiancée wasn't on Ty's Christmas list this year, but it's the only way to get his family to visit over the holidays so his NFL-star brother can draw more tourists to the festival. The engagement wouldn't be such a problem if Ty wasn't starting to have real feelings for Darla. Knowing he can't go on pretending, Ty prepares to tell his family the truth -- but then he and Darla discover a precious little Christmas surprise that just might help them embrace a whole new life together.Includes the bonus novella A Cowboy Christmas Eve by New York Times bestselling author R.C. Ryan!
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
My Thoughts:
Welcome to one of my favorite romance tropes: the fake relationship! There’s just something about the pretense and the denial and the eventual realization that yep, these feelings actually aren’t fake anymore, that always makes me smile! In A Cowboy for Christmas, we are in an adorable town in Colorado where Darla has to pretend to be engaged to Ty, a bull rider who is such a genuinely good guy. The fake engagement is part of a whole plan in order to get Ty’s famous NFL brother out to the town to be auctioned off in a bachelor auction to raise money to support their friend’s local cafe that burned down before the holidays.
I actually haven’t read any of the previous books in this Rocky Mountain Riders series and after this one, I know I need to go back to check out the backlist! There is a whole slew of characters that I really enjoyed – all friends with Darla and Ty and I assume their stories will be in the previous books so I’m pretty excited about that. Ty and Darla are also perfect for each other — Darla just needed some time to sort that out given her past and previous husband’s death. Their chemistry and attraction is evident to pretty much everyone else and I loved seeing the typical fake relationship incidents ensue.
The town was also so cute and all the holiday festivities made me smile. It’s the perfect winter book to cozy up with and I highly recommend!
Christmas from the Heart by Sheila Roberts Published by MIRA on September 24, 2019
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Holidays, Holiday
Pages: 400
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
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USA TODAY bestselling author Sheila Roberts takes readers to the charming, snowbound town of Pine River in this irresistible holiday romance.
Sometimes you need to look beyond the big picture to see what really matters
Olivia Berg’s charity, Christmas from the Heart, has helped generations of families in need in Pine River, Washington, but this year might be the end of the road. Hightower Enterprises, one of their biggest donors since way back when Olivia’s grandmother ran the charity, has been taken over by Ebenezer Scrooge the Second, aka CFO Guy Hightower, and he’s declared there will be no more money coming to Christmas from the Heart.
Guy is simply being practical. Hightower Enterprises needs to tighten its belt, and when you don’t have money to spare, you don’t have money to share. You’d think even the pushy Olivia Berg could understand that.
With charitable donations dwindling, Olivia’s Christmas budget depends on Hightower’s contribution. She’s focused her whole life on helping this small town, even putting her love life on hold to support her mission.
When Guy’s Maserati breaks down at the edge of the Cascade foothills, he’s relieved to be rescued by a pretty young woman who drives him to the nearby town of Pine River. Until he realizes his rescuer is none other than Olivia Berg. What’s a Scrooge to do? Plug his nose and eat fruitcake and hope she doesn’t learn his true identity before he can get out of town. What could go wrong?
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
My Thoughts:
While Christmas From the Heart was a cute Christmas story, it had some things that didn’t quite work for me. The biggest thing was the main character, Livi. The premise of the story is that Livi’s request for the annual donation to her nonprofit was turned down by a big Seattle company and she’s pissed off about it. The CFO who turned her down (because the company was struggling and didn’t have the funds for her nonprofit this year) just so happens to be driving through her town when his car breaks down and she helps him out. He figures out who she is and obviously does not tell her who he really is.
Livi drove me nuts. She judges everything and everyone right off the bat and anything involving money is so black and white to her. I can understand this as a flaw but when she is constantly whining to her friends about “the guy who wouldn’t donate money” to her organization when he “obviously” could just kept grating on me and honestly? She just seemed very entitled. And for someone who is supposed to be this kind hearted soul who helps those in need, it just wasn’t a good look and bothered me.
And another thing? She strung poor Morris (her ex from high school who’s still in love with her) along for ages. Not just the length of time since she’s known the guy but the fact that she does it when she clearly isn’t into him. I wasn’t about that.
All that being said! There were some good aspects! I really liked Guy! He’s multi-faceted, figures out where he went wrong with things, comes up with a plan and fixes it. I loved seeing him being beset with all these new small town things that he clearly has never done before but gamely takes things on anyway. The things surrounding Christmas in this town were really cute and I enjoyed that aspect. Honestly, I probably would’ve just enjoyed the whole thing better if Livi was a different person, ha! Anyway, while she did bother me tremendously, that doesn’t mean it’ll be the case for you – so if you’re into Christmas in a small town romances with a Scrooge-like twist, put this on your list!
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