Just when he thought he knew everything, love taught him the ultimate lessonJ.T. Guzman still blames Meredith Hart and her father for his brother’s death. Bitter and grieving, he left the beloved ranch vowing never to return. Now a successful NYC attorney, he’s forced to return home to protect his mother’s financial interests when his step-father dies and divides the ranch between J.T.’s mother … between J.T.’s mother and Meredith in trust for her son. Seeing Meredith again hurts more than he imagined.
Meredith has loved J.T. for as long as she can remember. As teens, he barely noticed her clumsy, youthful attempts to get his attention, except to wrongly condemn her on flimsy evidence. Now that her father is dead, she’s willing to do anything including work alongside him, if it means she can hold on to her son’s heritage. Finding forgiveness is a dream she’s also not quite willing to abandon.
Drawn back into an emotional entanglement he thought he’d left behind, J.T. discovers that, far from being the enemy, Meredith may become the woman he loves.
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Nancy Holland’s A Christmas Romance was an unexpectedly emotional holiday romance. I wasn’t sure what or how I was going to feel about JT. I was surprised how much empathy I ended up feeling. I couldn’t believe how much I liked JT and Meredith together, that I wanted to see them together.
Grab a box of Kleenex before you read this book. if you are an emotional reader like I am, you will need it as the book progresses. This book is base around a ranch and the family that lives on it. Joaquin or J.T. as he by now comes home to convince his mom and the rancher’s daughter Meredith to sell it. They are the trusties for Meredith’s young son. See her father recently passed away and her son’s father, JT’s brother, is dead. BUT neither want to sell. So it becomes a game of tug and war. Wonder who will win? This book does have things in it that are shocking and can be triggering to many people. It is well written and the characters reach out from the page and speak to me each one themselves.
Meredith, Frank and JT used to hang out as kids and were close friends once the boys Mother became housekeeper for Meredith’s father.
J.T. and Frank used to help on the ranch until JT decided to become a lawyer and went off to college. J.T. stayed away except he did come home sometimes but his visits were rare.
Mr Hart passed away and JT came home to help his Mom cope with his death. He met Franks little boy since his brother Frank had passed away several years ago.
Him and Meredith barely spoke and can hardly stand to be around each other. Can they both heal from the hurts of their past and move on to a better future, maybe one together. A really good book.
A Christmas Romance by Nancy Holland is not the typical sweet holiday story that the name seemed to imply to me. It’s a story of how heartbreak, betrayal, unforgiveness, stubbornness and misinterpretation can affect a family. It is also a story of clearing up misconceptions, forgiveness and turning stubbornness into a virtue of standing together in life and love.
I had only read Ms. Holland’s fantasy series so I was interested in what she would do with a contemporary romance story. The same style is there with characters who have glaring flaws but able to change their thinking, correct their mistakes and survive during harsh dry times of life. As a modern day story I could see this story play out exactly how it did. Sometimes there is a bad seed in the family which you never understand their actions and one who is incapable of ever seeing anyone else’s point of view. Sadly life is better without them, even if you live in grief wondering would they have changed. Best to move on. So glad this family does so.
An ARC of the book was given to me by Tule Publishing which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Don’t be misled by the cover of this book it looks like it would be a sweet romance that could give you cavities In fact it handles some fairly intense situations and totally draws you in
Meredith hasn’t had a great life she runs her fathers ranch but he never forgave her for something that happened when she was sixteen years old She fell pregnant to Frank Guzman and he was sentenced for his crime while he was in jail he was killed something his brother Joaquin(JT) is still bitter about and blames Meredith for. What no one knows is what actually happened between Meredith and Frank. No w her father has died and has left the ranch in trust for Meredith’s son Tommy and JT’s mother He will return from New York where he is a Attorney to protect his mothers interests. What he will find is that not all is what it seems and that Meredith may in fact not be the enemy and maybe Meredith who has always had a crush on JT may finally get her chance to have a relationship with him.
This was a wonderful romance between JT Guzman and Meri Hart. The reader learns that for the characters, not everything was as they had believed them to be. Meri and her son live on her family’s ranch with her son’s grandma Peg. Her father has just died and he had been in a long term relationship with Peg. Meri’s son’s father was Frank, brother to Joaquin or JT and Peg’s son. Her dad had Frank arrested because she was 16 when she had gotten pregnant and Frank was an adult. Frank went to prison and was killed shortly in a fight. This was 7 years ago and the last time Mari saw JT. He blamed her and her father for his brother’s death. The will left the ranch and everything in trust for her son Tommy with her and Peg as trustees and drawing an annuity.
JT is a lawyer in NYC and wants to go back ASAP. His mother needs him to stay and the ranch needs him to stay and help. Meri is running it with her dads ranch hands. There is a potential for loss in the ranch and JT thinks they should sell it. JT has trouble being civil to Meri and she is still in love with him. She finally shares with him the true story about what happened between her and Frank and he realizes he is way off the mark, holding this grudge against her all these years. He begins to see her in a different light and realizes there is strong chemistry between them. He had used to feel differently about her until she turned up pregnant with his nephew. He also begins spending time with Tommy and they build a relationship.
I really enjoyed all the character interactions and the way the characters changed and grew during the story. The various family connections were really interesting to read about. Another 5 star Christmas story.
Wonderful book! Terrific read! It is a must read for Christmas story lovers with a complex story of many layers and a second chance possibility. There are inner demons to uncover to complete the steps to wholeness in a relationship. Touching and captivating.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
3.5
This is my first book by Nancy Holland.
What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Standalone
HEA
I look forward to reading more from this author.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC from Tule Publishing.
This book was very hard for me to get into,I couldn’t connect with the characters especially the male characters.I found them very harsh and stubborn in their ways.The author wrote a very good storyline ,it just wasn’t for me though.
3.5 stars
There is a lot going on in this story. Not in a way that makes things confusing, not at all. But there are some pretty heavy issues discussed and, even after things come to light, there are more layers beneath it all. So, I feel I have to do my due diligence to give you all a trigger warning. This story deals with assault and the stigma of assault.
This is a new to me author and it really struck me how much care she takes with her characters. I don’t know how else to explain the nuance of emotion she gives during dialogue. It’s not burdensome, but it is packed tight. I really appreciated feeling the author cared about her characters as much as she wants her readers to care.
Joaquin was not always my favorite person. Not so much because he wants to sell the ranch, I understand his need to protect his mother. But when his mom talks about staying on the ranch I don’t feel he really listens. He has a plan that he thinks is best and therefore it must be best, right? He doesn’t ask in depth questions of Meredith and the reasons she has for wanting to keep the ranch, her plans for the future of the ranch, etc. Even after they become closer, he doesn’t ask these questions. He’s a bit single minded that way. His heart is definitely in the right place, but he’s oblivious.
Meredith can come across as brusque, but she’s been dealt a lot of blows throughout her life. She’s stronger for them, but it also makes her as skittish as a cat. Luckily, Joaquin helps settle that skittishness just as much as he brings it out. He helps her to see that she’s wanted and a worthy person.
This is one of those books where you can see what the huge conflict will be from a mile away, so it’s no surprise when it happens. How it’s dealt with is the fun of these types of stories. This was a good, solid read and I’m sure I’ll seek out more from this author in the future.
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**
Meredith’s had a hard life, treated harshly by her father. Blamed for something she didn’t do and losing JT the one she loved when she was 16. Years later raising her young son Meredith is afraid to trust in JT or any man. Especially when he wants her to sell it and move his mother back where he lives. Miscommunications and secrets have a way of finally coming to light. I spent a lot of time frustrated at JT. I swear that man is stubborn and hates to be wrong. Hard to see what’s right there in front of you without opening your eyes and heart to the truth. Will they give each other a chance? Overall a pretty good read. I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC from Tule Publishing.
what a wonderful story Ms. Holland has written. Meredith has been running her fathers ranch and upon his death she finds out he left it in trust for her son Tommy. Meredith never married and got pregnant when she was 16by Frank Guzman and her father never forgave her. The man who did that to her was put in jail and later was killed in a fight. Meri never told anyone the whole story and Frank’s brother believed it was her fault his brother died. He comes to the ranch after her father dies to talk his mother who had a relationship with the father, to move to New York where he has his law firm. Seems cut and dried except there are feeling from the past that slowly seep into his bloodstream . Attracted to each other Meri finally tells him what really happened when she was 16. Not the end of this wonderful story you have to read it to appreciate this author’s wonderful way with words. loved it.