Monday, January 16, 2012

Review: A Lawman's Christmas





A Lawman's Christmas by Linda Lael Miller
Genre: Romance, Historical Romance
Pages:249 (Galley)
Source: Netgalley

Description:

The sudden death of the town marshal leaves Blue River, Texas, without a lawman…and twenty-five-year-old Dara Rose Nolan without a husband. As winter approaches and her meager seamstress income dwindles, she has three options. Yet she won't give up her two young daughters, refuses to join the fallen women of the Bitter Gulch Saloon and can't fathom condemning herself to another loveless marriage. Unfortunately she must decide—soon—because there's a new marshal in town, and she's living under his roof. With the heart of a cowboy, Clay McKettrick plans to start a ranch and finally settle down. He isn't interested in uprooting Dara Rose and her children, but he is interested in giving her protection, friendship—and passion. And when they say "I do" to a marriage of convenience, the temporary lawman's Christmas wish is to make Dara Rose his permanent wife….

My Rating:
My Review:



Clay McKettrick arrives in Blue River ready to start stand on his own and get from under his family's shadow.  Fresh off of heartbreak, he takes a temporary job as Blue River's sheriff.  His primary goal is to build his own ranch, start a family, and strike out on his own.  However, when he arrives to Blue River he realizes that the cabin promised to him is occupied by the widow of the previous sheriff.  Clay can't help connecting with the adorable struggling family.

I completely heart this sweet Christmas story.  Dara Roses's little girls are so adorable and every time they appear in the novel they tug on my heart strings.   I loved how the story came together piece by piece.  I would have given the story an "awesome" rating but I didn't like how the story ended rather abruptly.  I was a bit disappointed because I was having such a good time.  This is a sweet romance.  There are no steamy scenes until the epilogue so no worries if you want to avoid it.  I can't say much else without giving anything away but I totally loved it.
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24 comments:

  1. The cover looks like so many for sure. It is a really really good story.

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  2. I have a soft spot in my heart for the McKettricks, I love Linda Lael Miller and her cowboys :) And the Christmas thrown in? Yes please! They are a good guilty pleasure :)

    -Jac @ For Love and Books

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  3. A real life cowboy... Now that's a great idea ;)

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  4. i loved this one too! its on my keeper shelf :)

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  5. It was a sweet story that pulled on my heart strings too! I love Miller's cowboys. I wish I could find one of my own. LOL

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  6. I've watched few Cowboy movies. I'm not quite sure why, I'm sure I'd love them.

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  7. Thanks! As you can see, I don't read many Christmas stories and I don't read many during the actual Christmas season. This one isn't overly Christmasy though.

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  8. Exactly!!! I felt the same way. It felt like an add on and it was just disappointing because I didn't care about any of that. I wanted more of the girls and family time.

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  9. Lol. I knew what you meant. It is a long ways off for sure.

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  10. Yes or if you are looking for a sweet read. The Christmas theme isn't really heavy so it didn't feel weird reading in January. But I'm backwards like that.

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  11. I've read a few but never in order and never in a way that I could connect them with each other. I'm know I'm sad and pathetic.

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  12. A Christmas story with Cowboys. Nice combination. I like books with cowboy themes, I love movies even better. They have some of the best cowboy Christmas movies on Lifetime. This sounds like a sweet dahling book. :-)

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  13. It really does sound like a sweet story and I've been so curious about Christmas stories lately too. I might have to take a closer look at this one! You've made me really curious. :) Great review!

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  14. Oh, I agree wholeheartedly with your review!
    I loved Dara Rose's girls!! And I love that they were an integral part of the story, not just add ons.

    And yeah, I didn't like the abrupt end of the story, I felt like the Epilogue's sexy times was a bit jarring because it ended the story and I wasn't ready for the story to be over and it was a bit of "oh, the story is done and I didn't put in a sexy scene."

    Other than that, I thought it was a lovely story.

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  15. Juju at Tales of Whimsy.comJanuary 26, 2012 at 2:06 PM

    Oops I mean next Christmas ;)

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  16. Juju at Tales of Whimsy.comJanuary 26, 2012 at 2:06 PM

    This sounds so cute. I need to read this one next year.

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  17. This looks like a good on to put on my Christmas reads list for 2012's Christmas season. The story sounds sweet, and I love kids that can steal a scene. Thanks for the suggestion.

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  18. Not gonna lie, I probably would've passed over this one because of the cover but I'm glad it's a good story!!

    xo,
    La Toya (La Toya, Literally.)

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  19. I enjoyed this one too! It was sweet :)

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  20. I like cowboys, I like xmas stories. They are all good and sweet :=)

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  21. This comment has been removed by the author.

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