A Lone Star Christmas

Another wonderful book based in Last Stand, Texas. This one is about Det Sean Hightower and Elena de la Cova. Talk about opposites we have them here. But as you know opposites do seem to draw themselves together and these two are like fire and matches. They are explosive. This book is one of my favorite in this series because it shows a different side of a lawman that many might consider the “norm”. As I read this book I kept saying yes, high five and you go now. I am so happy that author Justine Davis decided to go a different route with her characters. Wished more authors would, since so many of us are different in real life ourselves.

A beautifully written, complex and passionate story. Two people who have been through great tragedy and heartbreak will find love and acceptance with each other and a future that is beautifully bright.

Sean Highwater is an intelligent man. He is one of Last Stand’s detectives and a man who thrives on solving puzzles whether they be for policework, fun or just life in general. Sean has always had a thoughtful way of thinking and not a big fan of social situations. Childhood bullies have made him wary and cautious. Because of this, Sean has led a rather lonely life. With the exception of his family, the rare individuals that truly understand him, Sean is decidedly content. As for a significant other? For the last decade there has only been one woman to hold his attention. Elena de la Cova. To Sean she is Last Stand royalty. A beautiful, elegant woman who carries herself with a regal air. Elena is not pretentious or snobbish. She is a widow with a ten-year-old son.

Over the course of the book, Sean and Elena will find themselves in each other’s company more often then not. Sean will eventually learn that Elena, while elegant, beautiful and what he describes as regal, is most definitely attainable for a quiet introvert such as himself.

I won’t go into details but I will say I enjoyed Sean and Elena’s story very much and named it as one of my favorite holiday reads. I definitely recommend this book, which while part of a series, can be read as a standalone. In fact, I am looking forward to reading about the other Highwater siblings.

This is my honest and unbiased review. Thank you for taking the time to read it.

I received this arc in exchange for an honest review. I love this series by Justine Davis. This is book 3 and each book is about a different couple. In addition each book extends the background story about what happened to the missing brother, Kane. In this book we learn more about the other Last Stand lawman, Sean. He is the puzzle solver in the family. He had a tough time growing up as he was different than other kids, he was a geek. We learn that Sean has always had a crush on Elena, whose family owns the restaurant Valencia. She was the one who ran out of the restaurant after the Highwater father was hit by a car and subsequently died, in her arms. He has made a point of avoiding her as it feels uncomfortable to him to see her after she tried to save his dad.

The story opens when Sean comes upon a boy being bullied and he intercedes. He recognized himself in the victim. It turns out his mom is Elena. She is a widow whose Husband was killed in the war. Her son is like Sean, a video game fanatic who disappears into himself leading people to see him as a geek. Sean offers to teach self defense, Elena tries to pay him and ends up having him over for dinner as a thank you. She lives with her mother, a now retired high school teacher. Their family is originally from Mexico and observes a lot of their county’s culture. They include Sean in the celebrations. Both Sean and Elena have hesitation over a relationship due to their pasts. They eventually give into their feelings.

This is a great story with a HEA. It is wonderful how Elena and Sean each overcome some of their personal fears and include her son Marcos in their plans. The characters are all very likable and the plot is quite compelling. The Christmas setting adds to the romance of the story. I look very forward to 2020 and the remaining stories.

It is finally time for Sean Highwater to have his chance at love. But given how his mind puzzles out everything, finding love might not be easy for him.

Elena de la Cova’s family has been a part of Last Chance’s society and history from the beginning of the town’s founding. She has a young son who is the light of her life. Her husband was in the service and died in the line of duty when her son was fairly young. She moved back to Last Chance to live with her mother and rebuild her life.

Sean Highwater has never liked bullies and when he sees a group of pre-teen boys heading to pick on a very small for his age boy, he decides to teach them a lesson. It turns out the boy is Elena de la Cova’s son. And this starts Sean and Elena’s twisted path to love everlasting.

Sean is afraid to admit that he likes Elena since she is a few years older than him. Elena is hung up on the fact that Sean is younger than her to admit to her attraction to him. Slowly, these two wonderful characters find their way to admitting to the fact that they love each other.

I did receive a copy of this book in advance from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Detective Sean Highwater mind has always worked a little different but luckily he had a mentor who taught how to channel that mind which allowed him to excel at what he does. Now he gets the chance to mentor a boy Marcos just like he was The only problem is that the boys mother is Elena de la Cova a woman who is not only from one of the founding families of the area but also a woman he has always idolised. These two people both have preconception about the other but as a bond grows between them will they be able to let go of them and form a relationship that will last You will have to read to see

4.5
I always enjoy revisiting Last Stand.

What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Sean
Part of a series: Texas Justice
Standalone
HEA

I look forward to reading the next book in this series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC from Tule Publishing.

A Lone Star Christmas by Justine Davis
A Christmas in Last Stand brings unexpected gifts to two very different people…
Detective Sean Highwater may be one of the famous Highwaters, but he has always felt a half-step off because of the way his agile mind works. Only learning to focus has enabled him to not just survive, but thrive.
Elena de la Cova is from a respected and highly regarded founding family, brought up with rather stringent expectations, but right now she is a widow trying to raise a son she doesn’t understand.
If Last Stand had royalty, in Sean’s book it would be elegant Elena. He’s willing to help her son as he had been helped, but being that close to Elena scares him to death since he’s been in awe of her for years. Elena is impressed both with the way Sean gets through to her son, and with his appreciation for the Christmas customs of her culture as much as his own.
Their perceptions of each other shift, but will the passion that strikes between them be enough to overcome their perceptions of themselves?
This is Elena de la Cova and Sean Highwater’s story.
“My mother loves me,” Marcos said, with certainty.
“Then you’ll get through this.
“Bring him on in,” Sage said. “Somebody who knows him saw what happened and told his mom, and she’s already here.”
Detective Sean Highwater sat tapping his finger restlessly on the steering wheel of his unmarked police unit as he watched the people in the park. He’d been restless all day. It must have been Thanksgiving that had thrown him off. It had been so late this year, just two days before the end of the month, that he was still mentally trying to catch up now on the day after. And they were already looking at the Corbyns’ tree-trimming open house—the unofficial start of the Christmas season in Last Stand—tomorrow.
He’d never liked the changing date of that holiday anyway. It offended his sense of logic, of rhythm, of pattern and progression. Most other holidays were regular, predictable, never moving from their dates. He had to deal with enough randomness—as in that of the human race—in his work, he didn’t like having to deal with it on the calendar, too.
Be thankful They don’t change everything else the way They did with Washington’s birthday. If They’ll mess with George Washington just to get a long weekend, They’ll do anything.
A Lone Star Christmas by Justine Davis is a 4 star book.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Justine’s Books with Tule:
Whiskey River Rescue
Whiskey River Series
Whiskey River Runaway
Whiskey River Series
Whiskey River Rockstar
Whiskey River Series
The Lone Star Lawman
Texas Justice
Lone Star Nights
Texas Justice
A Lone Star Christmas
Texas Justice

He is a famous detective whose mind works in quirky, problem solving ways. She is a single mother of a son whose mind works like his. They have a sad history over the death of his father and he views her as royalty of Last Stand and untouchable for him.
In this engaging and endearing story, they join forces to help her son navigate the world and under the surface is a love they ultimately cannot deny for long.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.