This is one of the first e-books I sampled after Santa brought my first Kindle. I happen to be a sucker for cowboy stories. I enjoyed the sample and purchased the book a few months later. I've tried to make room in my schedule to read it, but it seems I always have other requests ahead of it. Now that I've read the first chapter, I really want to make time to continue this story.
AUTHOR: RaeAnne Thayne
BLURB: Christmas was tough for widow Jenna Wheeler and her four children. But even though she'd sold part of her family's land to make ends meet, she was determined to spin the holiday into the stuff of magic--no matter what it took. Now if she could only find a job....
Maybe her new landlord could oblige--gorgeous, child-averse Carson McRaven. He needed a chef, and he knew the lovely Jenna could do a bang-up job--if only she could keep her brood out of his hair. But as he found himself catapulted into the cheerful chaos of her family...not to mention Jenna's arms... he learned more about the spirit of Christmas than he'd ever dreamed.
COVER: Nice. Definitely a cover one would expect to see on a romance novel: man and woman in each other's arms, the background appropriate to the story. I'm not sure, however, which house this is supposed to be. I'm guessing Jenna's, since Carson is a bit of a Scrooge, but the first chapter led me to believe things are tight financially and that Jenna is overwhelmed. That house on the cover is rather elegant looking; not quite what one would expect from a struggling mom.
FIRST CHAPTER: This story opens with Carson McRaven coming upon the widow Wheeler's "brats" who are up to no good again. One of the three boys is walking along the rail fence on his property. It seems after the death of her husband, Jenna sold the majority of the land to Carson, but kept a small corner of it for her family to live.
The boy falls off the fence and hits his head, so Carson drives the boys up to their house, where Jenna and Carson have a tense discussion over her ability to keep her children off his land. Neither, however, can deny their secret attraction to each other.
KEEPING READING: Oh yes! This first chapter is the perfect set up for Carson and Jenna to get more involved in each other's lives. Her kids are thorns in Carson's side. Jenna is overwhelmed with caring for her family all alone and trying to start up her catering business, so she can support her brood. Her youngest child, the only girl, is still a toddler. You know by this chapter that Carson and Jenna have had this "keep your kids off my property" conversation more than once, and he's not too happy that her stupid kid got hurt and he got stuck bringing the boys home. You also get a glimpse into how one of her sons feels about Carson when he accuses him of stealing their land. Definitely a story you want to read well into the night.
Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Silhouette; Special edition (November 1, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0373249330
ISBN-13: 978-0373249336
This review first appeared at The Book Connection. I received no monetary compensation for this review.
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