A small-town mayor’s search for a new Santa yields a handsome surprise in this heartwarming holiday romance by a New York Times bestseller.
Returning to Branding Iron, Texas, is Travis Morgan’s last resort, and the abandoned ranch he inherited isn’t much more welcoming than the prison cell where he spent the last three years doing time for a tragic accident. Completely without funds or family, … without funds or family, Travis finds celebrating Christmas is the last thing on his mind, but there’s no escaping the holiday spirit in this close-knit little town—not with Branding Iron’s longtime Santa retiring, and sweetly stubborn Mayor Maggie Delaney determined to find a replacement. When her no-nonsense façade slips to reveal the sensual, vulnerable woman beneath it, Travis realizes Maggie just might be as lonely as he is—and that this holiday season, love could be the gift that heals them both.
Praise for Janet Dailey and her Christmas novels
“The spirit of Christmas permeates this charming holiday romance.” —RT Book Reviews on Merry Christmas, Cowboy
“In what has become a delightful annual tradition, Dailey creates a lovely Christmas romance.” —RT Book Reviews on A Cowboy Under My Christmas Tree
“A definite stocking stuffer.” —Library Journal
“A surefire winner.” —Publishers Weekly
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My Kind of Christmas is book one in The Christmas Tree Ranch series by Janet Dailey.
This one was meh for me… It just didn’t work. I had some issues; mainly with Maggie aka Mayor Maggie Delaney. She’s noise. She stuck her nose into anything and everything she wanted justifying it as doing her job, but it just didn’t work. Ya, their’s going to be a parade, but it doesn’t give you the right to interfere in people’s personal lives.
Travis was ok and the author explained why he acted the way he did. I could understand him and why he didn’t want to get involved. He’d already been burned a few times.
As for the romance. I didn’t feel the love. Attraction, yes, but no love. These two have only had a handful of interactions, not even a real date between them and at one point they where getting hot and heavy. They don’t knock boots, but it was going their and I was like really you two don’t know much about each other nor have you had a date. Throughout the whole book it was Maggie interfering and no date between them, so I don’t understand how they could fall in love.
I will say the secondary characters, mainly the two men who ended up at Travis ranch where interesting and I was curious about them.
As for the writing it wasn’t horrible, but I did feel that things would happen out of nowhere.
My Kind of Christmas was not the book for me. If the blurb intrigues you, I urge you to give it a shot. Just because it did not work for me does not mean it won’t for you.
Rated: 2 Stars
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and I am voluntarily reviewing it.
This was a wonderful story that was hard to put down. Don’t start reading this late at night. The two main characters Travis and Maggie were great and Ms. Dailey gave them a good solid foundation. There was a little intrigue and suspense in this story along with the addition of two more characters that could lead to even more great stories about the Christmas Tree Ranch.
This is a solid sweet and clean Christmas story. There is a little kissing and nothing else. Also this story was written in my favorite dual POV format. Travis was an Oklahoma State Trooper who shot a suspected kidnapper but was later found guilty of involuntary manslaughter as the kidnapping was just a prank of two young girls. He served 3 years in prison. Maggie on the other hand is mayor of the town. The coming together of this two and overcoming the many hurdles they faced was totally engaging and hard to put my e-reader down. I truly loved Travis and seeing him overcoming his’ hurt and seeing his true wonderful nature come through in the end was enchanting to read.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story and highly recommend it to anyone.
I enjoyed My Kind of Christmas. It’s like having a Hallmark movie on my Kindle.
Travis is a down on his luck ex-cop who is looking to rebuild his life on the dilapidated family ranch in Branding Iron, Texas. Maggie, Branding Iron’s mayor, is looking for a volunteer to replace Santa in the town’s annual Christmas parade. When these two meet, sparks fly and soon Maggie wants more than Travis’s help with the parade.
I really enjoyed this heartfelt holiday tale. My favorite part of this book is the camaraderie between Travis, Connor, and Rush. It gives true meaning to brotherhood.
MY KIND OF CHRISTMAS by Janet Daley
Travis swearing of having a farm when one has to climb the platform to free the ice off a windmilll.. His future was here after being with highway patrol and a mishap ended with him now as an ex con, and no work. Maggie spun out in her car, hitting a post, distracting him, falling to the ground.
Neighbor, was moving, he now winds up with a couple of horses and a dog. With an added surprise of a beautiful sleigh., which had been in the parade for over twenty years. He had been playing Santa, and his two horses as reindeer. Travis now has the awful feeling he might be roped into filling the man’s spot as Santa. Finding the dog, had trapped a skunk,this was turning out to be one of the worst decisions he had made. Maggie as mayor knew how to manage people and Travis, was now first. A case of tomato juice was delivered to bath the dog in.. This was a delightful story, of two older people, attracted to one another, and how, with their busy schedules, finding time for love, Given ARC for my voluntary review and my honest opinion.
3.5 stars
Another light and sweet Christmas story from Janet Dailey. (Although, I can’t seem to find who writes “Janet Dailey” books since she’s been deceased for about 5 years. Or maybe they could be works she left behind?) This one is actually an offshoot of the A Cowboy Christmas series as it takes place in Branding Iron and some of the key players from that series pop their heads into this one. But you absolutely do not have to read that series to read this book.
I fell in love with Travis right away. There’s something about the grumbly cowboy hero that just gets to me. I guess it’s because I know there will be a heart of gold that will be uncovered eventually. I liked Maggie, too. It just took a little longer to love her. She comes across as a bit uptight and straight-laced at first. Not that that is a bad thing. But I definitely enjoyed her more once I saw her soft underbelly and realized that she is such a caring person.
Maggie and Travis have solid chemistry. I found it beyond sweet that, although they both seemed to want more, they were content with hugs and snuggles; neither willing to take it further until some issues were worked out. And although they didn’t sleep with each other, they still craved and missed being together.
This book seemed like a bit of an introduction of characters to me. Since Travis was on his family “ranch” himself and didn’t have much money or experience, he called in an old friend to help. Then they meet another guy who they hit it off with. I don’t want to give spoilers so I won’t say much more than that, but as much as I loved meeting everyone I could feel myself being “told” the story of the ranch instead of immersing myself in the atmosphere. Not through the whole book, but at certain times it definitely came across that way.
Overall, this is a lovely Christmas romance. It did it’s job of giving me all the emotions plus making me curious as to the other people who ended up on the ranch and seeing them eventually get their HEA.
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**
https://allingoodtimeblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/21/my-kind-of-christmas-book-review/
A HEARTWARMING STORY OF LOVE AND FORGIVENESS. FIVE GLOWING STARS!
I don’t usually read sweet and clean romances, but this book gave me the perfect “warm and fuzzy” break I needed this year. Janet Dailey’s true-to-life plots and characters always provide a satisfying reading experience, and this beautiful Christmas story ranks as one of her best!
Here’s a bit of the plot but no big spoilers, because nothing should spoil this gem. Travis Morgan–an ex-con and former cop–is a lonely, bitter man, barely surviving on his rundown Texas ranch. When Maggie Delaney–the lovely mayor of Branding Iron–slides off the icy road and slams her car into his gatepost, they feel an immediate attraction. But Maggie has been leery of men since her ex-fiance jilted her two weeks before their wedding, and Travis carries too much anger and hate to make room for love.
The plot revolves around Maggie’s search for a Santa for the town’s upcoming Christmas parade. She hopes to convince Hank–owner of the hardware store and Christmas tree sales lot–to play Santa, but he refuses. Although Hank is Travis’s father, they haven’t spoken in years (their backstory is very painful). When Travis decides to sell fresh-cut Christmas trees from his ranch in direct competition with Hank, the “Christmas tree war” is on! It may sound humorous, but believe me, these guys are serious.
The plot thickens when the town constable–who’s besotted with Maggie–stirs up big trouble for Travis, who could find himself right back in prison unless someone steps forward to take the blame for the nefarious deed. I’m going no further, except to say that this powerful scene stole my breath and touched my heart. It’s one of the best scenes of love and forgiveness that I’ve ever read. All I can say is, WOW!
Can Travis and Hank overcome their long history of bitter estrangement? Will Maggie open her heart to the love of a good man? And will she find a Santa for the Christmas parade? Read this magical story to find out. It’s the first book in the Christmas Tree Ranch trilogy, and I can’t wait to read Books 2 and 3. I’m hooked!
The book contains no sex scenes (just kisses and cuddling) and only a few mild swear words (no f-bombs in this sweet story). Professional editing and proofreading add to the enjoyment of this heartwarming tale. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
I can’t resist a Janet Dailey novel. This is a wonderful Christmas story with her usual cast of flawed characters who want to do the right thing. This magical tale will put a smile on your face.
This is the story of Travis, a former highway patrolman sent to prison for a tragic twist of fate. He inherited a rundown Christmas Tree Farm. Unbeknownst to him, he is in competition with his estranged father in a Christmas tree war. Maggie, the Branding Iron mayor, is determined to get father and son back together and in the process falls in love with Travis. The feeling is mutual. This is a sweet romance, complete with all the usual drama that occurs in a romance novel. I love the series. Can’t wait to read Rush’s story in book #2.
2018published, both-pov, contemporary, easy-to-read, m-f-romance, plot, read, romance
I was expecting more romance much more romance. Good plot, characters, and stories but there’s not enough romance to 5 stars.
Big fan of author.
MY KIND OF CHRISTMAS By Janet Dailey
This is the story of Travis Morgan and Maggie Delaney. He is a former Oklahoma State Highway Patrolman who ended up doing 3 years for involuntary manslaughter and she is the Mayor of Branding Iron Texas. He is trying to get his life going again after moving into his inherited ranch that had been abandoned. This really reminded me of a Hallmark movie. Sweet, but not much heat. It was a good solid story, well developed characters and I always enjoy Christmas stories.
I’m not a fan of this one. The writing itself isn’t horrible, but I felt like things would happen out of nowhere. There would be no lead up or anything. Travis was okay, and it was explained why he acted the way he did. Maggie on the other hand stuck her nose into anything she wanted to, and felt like she was justified doing it. I’m sorry, but just because there is going to be a parade doesn’t give the right to interfere in people’s personal lives. I honestly didn’t make it to the end to find out what happens. I just wasn’t invested in the story or the characters.
I voluntarliy reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.
Already wrote my review.
In true Janet Daily fashion, the characters were well formulated and interesting. The true meaning of Christmas shines through. A “Happy ever after” ending puts you in the holiday spirit.
Overall, this is a lovely Christmas romance. It has what I love in a western romance – a loner of a cowboy who’s a bit damaged and a strong woman to help heal him. To say he’s a cowboy is a bit of a stretch though, as Travis is new to ranch life, but he’s got the making of one. My Kind of Christmas is filled with family drama, Christmas spirit, and a Christmas miracle. I’m ready to read about the other two bachelors now living with Travis and see them get their own happily ever after. This is an easy to read, sweet Christmas romance with interesting characters.