TBR Challenge: A Western Winter Wonderland anthology

19th century. Three heartwarming stories full of holiday sparkle and romance!
Christmas Day Family by Cheryl St.John
Marvel Henley thought she was content until the new handsome doctor Seth Paxton and his adorable kids crashed into her life! Suddenly she began to yearn for things she had long stopped wishing for... Fallen Angel by Jenna Kernan
When Abby March is accidentally shot, she and her young boy are taken into a rugged stranger's care. Dark and mysterious, Ford Statler hides a softer side and offers much more than just a Christmas to remember...
One Magic Eve by Pam Crooks
Chet Latimer is attracted to Sonja Kaplan despite local gossip, and he finds himself asking Sonja for help with his motherless little boy. With Christmas on the horizon and magic in the air, their lives may just change...forever!  

Comment: Here we are the final TBR challenge post of the year and, as usual, for December we have a holiday read. It doesn't have to be about Christmas but is sure looks suitable. Again this year I picked an anthology that has been on my radar for quite a long time and I kept it on hold until this month purposely to this challenge.

 

Each story features a small plot centered around Christmas and the spirit of sharing and helping others. Even more important, there's love to happen as well.

Being the stories short stories obviously they have to follow some rules, namely in terms of limited time to set the pace and present a HEA. I found it interesting that all stories featured children. The problem is that, because there's not much time to develop the relationships, even in an historical context where some situations would be dealt with more politeness and behavioral rules than we have nowadays when it comes to said relationships, I felt not enough time was passing for things to be very credible. It's very difficult to fully believe that in such a short amount of time things happen with enough depth and solidity to make a relationship based on true love become real. I know it's complicated to juggle the need for limits with a believable love story development but some authors have done it! And without recurring to the lovers reunited trope, which I dislike. This doesn't happen here, all three couples fall in love after some time talking and there are sweet, cute scenes around the Christmas time but they really didn't work out completely for me.

Just a few words about each story...

 

Christmas Day Family by Cheryl St.John

This story focuses on Marvel, a spinster lady who took care of her father in his illness and now has a boarding house and recently turned down the offer of marriage by one of her father's friends. Marvel feels she doesn't have to settle just because of her age and she tells herself she likes her lonely life just fine. Things change when Seth Paxton, the new doctor, arrives in town with his children and starts living there until his own house is ready.

The relationship between them is cautious at first but then Marvel falls for his children and then for Seth himself. Marvel is suspicious of happiness after such a long time not living for herself but this cute story tells us it's never too late to be happy, to trust someone and to fulfill the dreams we might have. What I didn't like was how Marvel was seven years older than Seth. Personally, in real life nothing against it, but in romances I prefer when the opposite happens. It doesn't suit me much and often I can't put it aside. Apart from that, it was a sweet story.

 

Fallen Angel by Jenna Kernan

Abby is trying to get a Christmas tree with her son when a bounty hunter accidently shoots her while trying to hit a wanted man. Abby grew up in a sheltered life but everything changed when she believed the words of a man and left her family for him. he turned out to be a cad, only after her for her money, money that her parents never gave her anyway. She is now wary of men, especially Ford who takes up the task of caring for her until she's back on her feet. The close proximity of the hotel where they're staying makes the feelings between them hard to resist and the small boy really needs a father, but Abby wants to take care of her son and she gladly traded her good life to protect and love her son.

This story is sweet too, but the relationship between Ford and Abby happens too fast. It was more convincing how Ford and Abby's son bonded, actually. Ford is one of those "I don't deserve you" types and that gets so annoying, although believable. It was nice when things got solved and Ford realize it's better to love and cherish than to live in the past.

 

One Magic Eve by Pam Crooks

Here we meet Sonya, who works as the caretaker of pigeons for the army and the whole town believes her to be something she's not, receiving so many army men in her house and being unmarried. The man she was supposed to marry died in a an attack by an Indian but Sonya takes her job very seriously because the pigeons carrying messages help the army to protect people.

Chet Lattimer's son and a friend save a baby fox and ask Sonya for help but then the friend leaves Chet's son there and when he goes there to get him, we learn both Chet and Sonya are attracted to each other but the prejudice is keeping Chet away despite Sonya having developed stronger feelings for him and feeling very sad he doesn't try to understand her side. The best part was to see how Sonya, someone others misjudged, finally got the family she needed to love and loved them back. I think Chet was a bit too condescending but the HEA made up for that.

 

All in all, the three stories are warm tales of the redemption of Christmas and how we should let go of past issues and embrace happiness, a second chance at love or even a first attempt at being with people who could love and want you. I also liked how children had an important role in all the stories, for they were part of the reason the couples got closer and became a family at the end.

Many situations would have gained a lot with a bigger page count so certain issues could have been better developed, but in general, the goals were achieved.

I still think more could have been done, not any of them won me over completely, but all of them are slightly balanced, there isn't one, for instance, that's so much better or vice versa. They are nice, warm stories to read in this season and that's it, really.

Grade: 6/10 

TBR Challenge: Snowflakes and Stetsons anthology

The Cowboy's Christmas Miracle by Jillian Hart
Wrongly imprisoned, Caleb McGraw is finally free—but the bitterness he holds still makes him feel trapped. Until he sees the beautiful Caroline holding a little boy with eyes just like his own. Discovering his long-lost son is just the start of Caleb's Christmas miracles!
Christmas at Cahill Crossing by Carol Finch
One Christmas night, outcast Lucas Burnett finds a silver-haired angel buried in the snow. But Rosalie Greer is no pale spirit—she's a fiery, independent woman, as wild as the mustangs Lucas breeds. Can she be the one to finally thaw Lucas's frozen heart?
A Magical Gift at Christmas by Cheryl St.John
Meredith has always dreamed of a grand life but, stranded on a train in heavy snowfall with two young stowaways, she unexpectedly finds she has everything she needs with just one strong man to protect her..

Comment: I have had this book for a bit more than a year. I got it after Hilcia suggested it to me for the holidays and I immediately thought about it for this challenge. But last year I already had a book picked, so I saved this one precisely for this month's reading, as it fits the theme, holidays.

I was quite eager to read the three stories after seeing how Hilcia liked it, and I dived in right away. Sadly, I don't know if it was me or the way the stories felt like to me, but I wasn't dazzled by any of them...

The Cowboy's Christmas Miracle is a very cute story about a man who paid a price for a crime he didn't commit and when he finds out that caused problems to the women he had feelings for, he is miserable. Even more so when he discovers a child he never knew he had. The plot revolves around his helping the woman who is taking care of his son and how they come to terms with what he done and the fact they are falling in love with each other.

This was my least favorite story. I got the idea and it was interesting, redemption is always a good theme for Christmas, but I think this story sinned for it's small page count. I think a better and lengthier development would have suited the type of story much better. It's not that is badly written but I think the theme, the way the characters had so many things in their past to work out was done so fast and without the proper time to deal with their issues. My opinion. I'm glad things worked out well but the conflict because Caleb was in prison had to be taken care off differently to be better done, I think. The idea was there but for me the execution wasn't the most appealing one.

Christmas at Cahill Crossing is the story of Rose Greer an how she got to be stuck in a snow storm and was about to be buried beneath the snow when Lucas Burnett, a loner, saved her. After he saved her, she does everything she can to make him attend Christmas at Cahill Crossing instead of just being alone. He starts to like her and to be with her, so they start a relationship and despite the social differences between then«m, their feelings are stronger than anything.

I liked this story better but I admit I thought the physical intimacy started a bit too soon, considering the time they knew each other. Knowing each other from a distance doesn't count, I think. The stage was set though, for them to get closer. A snow storm and a savior are potent attractions to someone who already felt something for him, even if they had never talked before, but overall, I liked the story and the idea behind Rose's actions and feelings. She is a good heroine and perfect to do some saving too. In a way, this couple felt balanced and that helped a lot to make the story feel stronger. I'm curious about other characters as well. This wasn't perfect but I liked it more than the other.

A Magical Gift at Christmas tells the story of a US Marshall who is guarding a shipment of gold in a train and after trying to save it by leaving one of the train's carriages behind finds out a young woman and two children were left behind too without his knowledge. Now they have to work together to keep the gold saved from possible robbers and to keep the cold away. 

This was my favorite story, the main couple bonded well and worked together to reach an aim. I think this was where we better saw the character development, despite the limited page count. Jonah is serious but he isn't made of iron and by the end I believed his feelings changed and were shaped by what he felt and saw during the time he had to trust Meredith and have her help to take care of the children and to keep the bandits away. I think the author is talented to write short stories and it showed. The end was sweet and I even would have liked an epilogue, but overall, the story was well structured and stronger than the others. This was was really intriguing to read and made me eager to know more whereas the others weren't as addictive.

-> All in all, a satisfying collection of short stories, but it wasn't an amazing read. Despite one being better than the others, I still think this wasn't as powerful as I imagined. Maybe it was just my state of mind, but I didn't feel the pull other readers have talked about. Still, I plan to keep on reading Christmas anthologies that are usually well done and the ones I appreciate the best.

This had an author I've read before so I was glad I liked her story better. The other authors didn't win me over although I respect their goal with their stories here.

I have hopes next year my pick will be more exciting.

Grade: 6/10

TBR Challenge: Western Winter Wedding Bells anthology

Small town Christmas--Three big proposals
"Christmas in Red Willow" by Cheryl St. John
Chloe Hanley must save the town church. But only if she can convince reclusive carpenter Owen Reardon to help repair the broken heart of the community and open his own up again-- in time for Christmas
"The Sheriff's Housekeeper Bride" by Jenna Kernan
Running from her past and a crime she didn't commit, Eliza Flannery bumps into her future--all rugged six-foot sheriff of him Single father Trent Foerster mistakes her for his housekeeper, but there's no mistaking his desire for a mistletoe kiss from this mysterious miss....
"Wearing the Rancher's Ring" by Charlene Sands
Cooper Garnett is shot and left for dead near Double J Ranch when widow Rachel Bodine comes to his aid. Could his unexpected arrival be the best Christmas gift ever-- a second-chance family for Rachel and her little son?

Comment: This is the last challenge post of the year, but in 2014 there'll be more as I've signed up for another year. A post about this to come soon.
Anyway, this month the theme is holidays and obviously it's easier to jut pick something Christmas, being in the air all around and all that. I chose a book about Christmas exactly for that reason and it had the words in the title, otherwise it would be difficult as I don't have many of these laying around. I was convinced about this one because of Cheryl St John's name, an author Ive read and liked before, but overall I was curious to read the three stories in this anthology.

So, this being an anthology, it has different stories about a certain theme, this being marriage proposals on Christmas. I was curious to read them and most importantly, to see how each author would present a short story that could deliver everything a full length one does in a shorter amount of time.

Besides the marriage proposal at the end, these stories also had in common the little detail of their possibilities. I mean, for shorter stories having to be told with a certain amount of pages, they worked quite well and I was impressed by how the authors made an effort to write in a way to time go by so things didn't look as rushed as they were. But the three stories have potential to be bigger stories and I think all of them could be a full length book with no problems. Many authors write shorts in such a way it's difficult to see them bigger, but not these ones; these stories feel well structured and despite the rules they had to abide, they still managed to be a sort of special little Christmas' sweet.

As for the each story in particular...
"Christmas in Red Willow" by Cheryl St. John
This story was the weaker of the lot for me. I knew about the author so I expected something romantic, but I thin too much detail was paid to the surroundings instead of the romance and I thought they didn't have much chemistry. I was happy for Owen and Chloe but I wasn't eager to see them together because it looked like it wasn't the most important thing. Besides, this story is a version of the friends to lovers trope and I don't like it that much, probably my second least favorite trope in a romance, right after lover's reunited. I prefer my books to have the thrill of finding out that special person for the first time. Anyway, this story provided an interesting setting and it had its moments, but everything together felt rather too plain.


"The Sheriff's Housekeeper Bride" by Jenna Kernan
This one was my favorite, I love the situations where one of the protagonists aren't who they say and how part of the conflict comes from there. In this case, Eliza had reasons to hide her identity and the story developed with the expected situations in these cases, the not knowing about past conversations, the lack of particular skills, among other things. But the relationship between Eliza and the sheriff was funny to watch, I liked them together and the scenes with the sheriff's daughter were sweet. I also liked how Eliza had to struggle and had had troubled experiences in her past and she needed as much love as he sheriff and his daughter. I'm a sucker for stories with little children and couples that find in each other the love and acceptance they didn't had before. This story was spot on for these things and it made it my favorite.
I'll have a look at the author's other work too.

 "Wearing the Rancher's Ring" by Charlene Sands
In this story we have a very traditional theme in romances, the I don't deserve you but eventually I'll stay with you. Cooper lost his family and is looking for the man responsible. He is robbed though and later on rescued by Rachel.
Rachel is a widow left with a young son but after getting to know Cooper she starts having feelings for him. They have to overcome some obstacles, mostly emotional ones, and they get their HEA.
This is the most sensual story but still very sweet. I liked how the main couple didn't seem to care what the other thought at first but things changed. I agree with some readers it was a bit too fast and at times it looked like they just couldn't wait to be intimate, which didn't sit well with the tone of the story in my opinion. However, their reasons were exploited and reasonable enough for me. I thin they were two people waiting to be loved again and in the end the kid and the hope sealed the deal, although I think this is the story with more potential to be stronger.

Overall, I liked the three stories but each one made me feel interested for different reasons.I thin each author has done a good job, with space left to much improvement nevertheless.
On their own I don't know which grade to give, but as a set of stories featuring Christmas and hope and warm thoughts, this guarantees a few hours with a smile on your face, so... still, the bigger portion of my grade goes to story #2, very good indeed!
Grade: 7/10

Two for One

Comment: In the last two days I've finished these books by Cheryl St John.

Both are sweet stories, where love and trust conquer all, although I must say the second one is better.

In The Tenderfoot Bride, Linnea has to find a job before her baby is born but she doesn't tell her new employer that. When he finds out she thinks that's it, but considering the new feelings between them, she stays and he even helps delivering her baby girl. She still thinks she's unworthy of him, of course, but in the end she understands she's got the right to be happy.

I just melted, I really like it when things seem to be doomed but then hope and love make it all better and perfect in the end. Real Life isn't like that, so I love it in books.

In The Lawman's Bride, the same formula but I didn't like it as much as the previous one.

Sophie Hollis is a Harvey Girl (she works for the Arcade Hotel - as did Ellie from The Doctor's Wife) and she finally has an honest living after years with a con-man who forced her to do things because he had bought her from the Indians. Now she's free and working like any other girl...except she's lying about who she is. When the marshal Clay Connor threats her now peaceful existence with the talk of new Wanted posters in the jailhouse she goes there one night to steal them and avoid recognition. However a fire has started and she ends up saving the marhal's dog. After this, she simply can't avoid the marshal...or falling for him.

It was a cute, sweet story too although I din't like Sophie as much as the heroines from the previous novels.

All in all it's a nice trilogy and I'm quite happy to have read it.

Cheryl St John - The Doctor's Wife

Comment: This is a sweet story, and I love it when one of the elements of the couple is in need to be loved, to be cherished, to know when tough there's an awful past behind, love is in the future.

Just like in this book. I've discovered that Ellie's feelings aren't exagerated, or stupid, they simply are and it was very good to see their relationship developp.

I'm quite happy with this author, I'm going to keep reading books by her.