Wish Upon a Cowboy (Cowboys of Creedence #4). By Jennie Marts.

Wish Upon a Cowboy (Cowboys of Creedence #4). By Jennie Marts. 2019. Sourcebooks Casablanca (ARC eBook).

With the Christmas holiday around the corner, the local youth hockey team to coach, and a financial mistake looming over his head, Logan Rivers hasn’t a moment to spare away from his ranching duties. But his couple of attempts at hiring a housekeeper have backfire, with the women making plays for his affections instead of preparing meals.

Enter new arrival to the small town of Creedence, Colorado, Harper Evans. She’s a down-on-her-luck widow and single mom who has come to retrieve her son, Floyd, from the boy’s grandmother. But she needs to earn some money before she can afford to take Floyd back home to Kansas by Christmas. Harper’s hard work, delicious peach cobbler and endless supply of snark charm the boots right off Logan, and his generous nature and cheesy one-liners do the same for Harper. But they agreed on a professional relationship and Harper’s plan to soon leave. Surely they can resist a little while longer.

This was my first time reading anything by Jennie Marts. I thoroughly enjoyed the banter, friendship and oh boy, the heat. "Holy hot hunk of cowboy" indeed. But Marts also delivered a story that tugs on the heartstrings and celebrates the gift of Christmas wishes. I plan to read more of this series.

384 pages

The Matchmaker’s Mistletoe Mission (Boots and Bouquets 0.5). By Jaci Burton.

The Matchmaker’s Mistletoe Mission (Boots and Bouquets 0.5). By Jaci Burton. 2019. InterMix/Berkely Publishing Group (ARC eBook).

Alice Weatherford is a L.A.-based matchmaker who loves her job and believes strongly in her approach, which doesn’t put much stock in chemistry being an important precursor for a lasting-commitment. Acting as Maid of Honor for her best friend, Alice arrives at the Bellini’s Red Moss Winery in Oklahoma one week ahead of the wedding in order to help oversee the final preparations. What she hadn’t planned on however was the blizzard that strands her with the Bellini family and their sexy neighbor, Clay Henry.

Needing a project to keep her occupied she decides to put her professional skills to use and find the perfect woman for the single rancher. She just has to ignore the chemistry sparking between her and her new client. Clay, however, is more interested in seeing where the chemistry take him and Alice and sets out to win her heart.

A fun, engaging novella with a charming hero and a promising start to a new series by Burton.

154 pages

All I Want for Christmas is a Cowboy (The Wyoming Cowboy #1). By Jessica Clare, Narrator: Abby Craden.

All I Want for Christmas is a Cowboy (The Wyoming Cowboy #1). By Jessica Clare, Narrator: Abby Craden. 2019. Tantor Audio (Unabridged audiobook, 8 hours, 3 mins).

Leading into the Christmas holiday, Eli Pickett finds only himself at the Wyoming cattle ranch he works at, as the rest of the hired hands have left on vacation. He doesn’t mind though, he’d much rather have the solitude the snow-covered sprawl provides than be a charity case.

Cassandra Horn is a long way from Manhattan, but she needs a respite from her self-involved boss and the boss’s flirty boyfriend. Her parent’s winter cabin in Wyoming should offer the perfect getaway. However, she is caught in a blizzard and crashes her car. Eli, out looking for a surly cow with a penchant for knocking down fence, comes upon an unconscious Cassandra on the verge of hypothermia. When she wakes, she finds she has amnesia and is snowed in with a cute cowboy of the strong, silent variety.

Sometimes forced proximity and amnesia plots are dark in tone, but that has never been Clare’s style. If you want a light and fun tone with your snowed-in holiday romance, this is your book.

 

288 pages

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All I Want for Halloween. By Marie Harte.

All I Want for Halloween. By Marie Harte. 2017. Sourcebooks Casablanca. ASIN: B01NC0B6RZ (Kindle).

Following a hot hookup between The Devil and Xena at a Halloween masquerade party, Satan tracks down the Warrior Princess the next day to a Seattle bakery; his mission, to get to know her better, preferably with benefits. He is Gear Blackstone, a talented creator of custom motorcycles who has been forced off his reality show, “Motorcycle Madnezz,” after an altercation with his former best friend. She is Sadie Liberato, a take no prisoners type of gal who is the co-owner of said bakery. Both are recently down and out on love, but neither want to ignore the mutual attraction burning between them. The one rule, no strings attached.

As a big fan of Marie Harte’s Just the Thing and Test Drive, I was looking forward to more of her contemporary romance titles. Unfortunately, while this was far from a horrible read, it was a disappointing one. There was some of the fun banter and sexiness that Harte does so well, but it wasn't as engaging when all of the characters were surprisingly one-dimensional and the leading man and lady seemed to bring out less enjoyable qualities in each other, like misanthropy and a rather alarming level of immaturity for a pair of thirty-somethings. When Harte can deliver strong characters healing from PTSD or realizing that their life doesn’t has to play out like their dysfunctional parent, then Gear and Sadie dole out a pretty weak story.

Right now, this is a single title, but there is sequel bait that doesn’t interest me. Oh well, back to the Donnigans, or maybe I’ll try The Veteran Movers next.

354 pages
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