You won’t want to miss this powerfully emotional cowboy romance by New York Times bestselling author Maisey Yates! It’s Christmas in Gold Valley, and this wounded widower is about to get another shot at love… Grant Dodge didn’t expect to find a woman sleeping in an abandoned cabin on his family ranch. Or to find her so intriguing. Unlike every other woman in town, McKenna Tate doesn’t know … Tate doesn’t know Grant’s a widower. There’s no pity in the looks she gives him. McKenna wants him, and Grant has forgotten what it’s like to feel like a man. A no-strings fling for Christmas might be the kind of holiday cheer Grant needs…
With only a suitcase to her name, McKenna came to Gold Valley to confront her birth father. She didn’t plan to work at the Dodge ranch or fall for the gorgeous cowboy who keeps his heart roped off. But there’s no denying the way their broken pieces fit together. Hope brought her to Gold Valley–but will it be the gift that could finally heal Grant, and McKenna’s own wounded heart?
Also includes a bonus Gold Valley novella, Snowed in with the Cowboy!
And don’t miss the newest Western romance from Maisey Yates, The Last Christmas Cowboy!
Read the entire Gold Valley series:
1. Smooth-Talking Cowboy
2. Untamed Cowboy
3. Good Time Cowboy
4. A Tall, Dark Cowboy Christmas
5. Unbroken Cowboy
6. Cowboy to the Core
7. Lone Wolf Cowboy
8. Cowboy Christmas Redemption
9. The Bad Boy of Redemption Ranch
10. The Hero of Hope Springs
11. The Last Christmas Cowboy
more
Grant Dodge didn’t expect to find the woman he found sleeping in an abandoned cabin on his family ranch to be so intriguing. Grant has forgotten what it’s like to feel like a man and McKenna wants him, she doesn’t pity him for his being a widower. McKenna came to Gold Valley to confront her birth father and she had no plan to work at the Dodge ranch or fall for the gorgeous cowboy who keeps his heart roped off.
This cowboy romance is one powerfully emotional romance that captures readers by the heart and refuses to let go. Strong, convincing characters make it easy for readers to become completely caught up in their lives and all the intense emotions that flows from the pages. The romance seems to be doomed from the way these two fight against the magnetic and sizzling chemistry that flows between these two and readers can practically feel that energy.
This wounded couple’s journey to happily ever after is a steady paced, suspenseful and heart felt read. Readers can expect tears and smiles as well as a whole range of emotions to be felt throughout this romance because the author brings these characters to brilliant life and the small town and loyal family adds a heartwarming counter balance to all the tragedy that fills this couple’s past in this poignant heart tugging, holiday romance.
A Tall, Dark Cowboy Christmas gives us a lovely Christmas feel from the ranch Grant lives on, to the town, and all it’s people.
I had fun with my first Maisey Yates novel. A Tall, Dark Cowboy Christmas is book four in the Gold Valley series, but it can read as a stand alone. I didn’t feel lost or like I was missing things. The author did a great job blending the previous characters and couples into the story, that they felt like they belonged, and it was ok that I hadn’t read about them before.
In A Tall, Dark Cowboy Christmas we get one grumpy Cowboy and a women who is looking for family. These two damaged souls had me crying, laughing, and hoping for the best for both of them. It’s a touching heartwarming romance.
McKenna has had a tough life being abandoned to foster care and finding herself homeless. She’s come to Gold Valley to find her family, but she knows that they may not accept her. Grant married his childhood sweetheart who was dying of cancer. He knew she would be gone one day, but even 8 years after the loss he’s morning and not living. Both of these two pulled at my heart. It was hard not to fall for them and hope that they could get their lives together and maybe find something more along the way.
The romance had some bumps along the way; especially with them both dealing with emotional baggage and that they have both learned to keep people at a distance. But, I had a delightful time with their romance and watching them both find what they needed.
A Tall, Dark Cowboy Christmas was a sweet and delightful read. I had a wonderful time and plan on reading more in the Gold Valley series.
Rated: 4 Stars
I loved Grant Dodge’s story. Deep, three-dimensional characters, a charming cast of characters, and wonderful happily ever after.
Grant and McKenna experienced loss from different perspectives. What I found compelling was how they handled it. Not having anyone to ground and support her, McKenna tried growing a hard shell to insulate herself from hurt, yet subconsciously held out a sliver hope with each new interaction. Grant was surrounded by supportive family and a well-intentioned community, yet chose to isolate himself emotionally. Grant’s surly, gruff manner was a thin shield against McKenna’s sarcastically sunny disposition and created a completely believable romance I enjoyed immensely! Overall, I think this was a sweetly moving romance. Rediscovering one’s self and going after what the heart desires most..I couldn’t ask for a better read!
Thanks to Aly’s review, I’m glad I gave this one a whirl. I enjoyed it!
A Tall, Dark Cowboy Christmas by Maisey Yates is a heart-warming holiday Western Romance that will hold your interest from the first page until the very last. A second chance romance that will warm your heart all through the holidays. This is a five-star read.
This was a nice addition to Maisey Yates’ Gold Valley series. Grant is a widower working on his families ranch. He drinks too much trying to forget his wife’s death from cancer and the town’s overwhelming pity. One day he finds McKenna squatting on his families property. She’s down on her luck (major understatement) and is trying to reconnect with a family she just learned about. There’s a slow burn between the two of them as they both try and get their lives together. This was the perfect feel good holiday romance.
“A Tall, Dark Cowboy Christmas” by Maisey Yates is the story of Grant Dodge and McKenna Tate.
Grant is a widower and, while his brothers may want him to move on and be happy, Grant won’t let himself. He believes he is only a good man if he keeps the memory of his wife alive within him.
McKenna comes to Gold Valley to connect with her father—a man she didn’t know existed until she found a copy of her birth certificate. After being in foster care since she was two, she wants to be part of a family, to put down roots.
Grant and McKenna are broken, both having gone through tough times and struggles that ultimately have made them who they are. Their chemistry burns hot and both have intentions to keep their attraction physical. We all know what happens to best intentions!
“A Tall, Dark Cowboy Christmas” is filled with so much depth and emotion. It also has a surprise twist about Grant that will endear him to you even more.
Ms. Yates has created characters that will stick with you long after the last page is read. She is one of my top five favorite authors and has been since her very first book.
4 1/2 STARS!
Christmas comes to Gold Valley! With the next book in her beloved series, Maisey Yates brings us the brother’s story we’ve all been waiting for. We knew he lost his wife, and we knew he seemed to still be spending his life pining away, but we were missing lots of the back story! Grant Dodge is a real joy to get to know, and McKenna is just the spitfire he needs to bring him back to life. Really enjoyed their story!
Widower Grant Dodge never expected to find a woman sleeping in an old cabin on his family’s ranch, but when he does he’s intrigued by her. He doesn’t get the opportunity to interact with someone that doesn’t know his past and who only sees him as a former husband anymore, and he has to admit, he really likes the lack of pity in her eyes!
Down on her luck McKenna Tate has come to Gold Valley to contact the man she discovered is her birth father, but she’s not so sure what kind of reception she’s going to receive. Along the way, she stumbles into the middle of a family filled with kindness, and a man that attracts her attention, as well as awakens her libido. She’s not sure what Grant’s story is, but she’d like to mix things up with him a bit while she’s around!
I felt a need for a good holiday book–one filled with romance and snowflakes and warm Christmas wishes–and A Tall, Dark Cowboy Christmas by Maisey Yates delivered! Grant and McKenna’s friends-to-lovers story brought tears to my eyes and still left me believing in the magic of Christmas.
I’m so happy Grant finally gets his HEA. He would hate to hear me say this, but I’ve just felt so bad for him every time he’s popped up in the previous books. And poor, broken McKenna was the perfect woman to give him his second chance.
Grant became a husband, and then a widower, at such a young age in a pretty small town. That has led to looks of pity and concern for almost half of his life. Out-of-towner McKenna has no idea why Grant is such a prickly cactus so she’s sassy and sarcastic with him from the start. That’s a refreshing change for Grant and, against his own wishes, he responds to that spunk.
McKenna has had quite a hard-knock life. She isn’t Miss Susie Sunshine, but she also hasn’t let it totally destroy her outlook on life. As much as she hates how her hopes always seem to be dashed, she can’t help still holding out for that hope of a better tomorrow. She’s more like Cynical Cindy, middle name Hope.
Regardless that both McKenna and Grant are shaking in their boots to have a “real” relationship that may fall apart, they can’t seem to stay away from each other. Even when their words tend to hurt one another. Most of the time those words are said in total innocence since they’ve kept certain aspects of their pasts under cover from one another, but still. Yet, as I said, they still find their way back with together over and over.
This story also introduced the Dalton family a bit more than the bits and pieces we’ve heard of them previously. Since I’m sure they’ll be part of Jamie’s story, it was nice getting to know them a little more. And I can’t help but swoon over the thought of smoke jumping cowboys…yes, please!
McKenna and Grant will surely break your heart, but they also patch each other’s hearts up and give each other a future to look forward to.
https://allingoodtimeblog.wordpress.com/2018/10/12/a-tall-dark-cowboy-christmas-book-review/
A heartbreakingly beautiful, deeply emotional, wonderful story of hope and love, a story that not only had me in tears at the 5% mark but kept me at the roll-a-coaster of feelings throughout the unputdownable tale.
I mean, it wasn’t a surprise to me that Grant Dodge’s story would bring me to tears, or that it would be a wild ride through some deep emotional waters. Also, I expected the lady to finally catch his eye to be something spectacular and nothing short of amazing. And then walks in McKenna Tate, and yes, she is a spectacular and amazing woman, she is strong, she is fierce, she is an independent woman who knows what she wants. And she is as broken inside as Grant is. Yes, the tears are still coming as I write this because I do not know if I have ever loved book characters as much as I love Grant and McKenna. I have read thousands of books, yet these two just walked right into my heart like no one else, and I wanted them to find peace, trust, love, home, family, and all the happiness that they deserve.
While no one had ever claimed McKenna as their family or loved her, Grant had loved greatly, been loved deeply yet lost it to all to cancer. Their stories are the opposite yet the same. There is that golden line that goes through both of their stories, that need to be loved, learning to trust those feelings, and daring to take the risk even with the possibility of losing it all.
McKenna and Grant’s tale is a delicate and delightful love story, it is as fragile as it fierce, as ardent as it is alluring, and it does take a bit of the magic of the season to bring them the full circle back to the old, abandoned cabin again.
What brought McKenna into the town of Gold Valley is the search of belonging, an attempt to find her father and a family to belong to. That secondary storyline is no less touching as the romance developing between her and Grant, as turbulent, and much in need of a Christmas miracle as well.
Allround a poignant, passionate, and moving story. A captivating tale of love, family, and hope set to play out during the most special time of the year.
~ Five Spoons!
With Christmas trees popping up at stores around town and the Hallmark Channel promoting their Christmas movie lineup, I couldn’t say no to a holiday-themed new release. Yes, I know it’s not even Halloween yet. What can I say? I’m susceptible to holiday cheer.
A Tall, Dark Cowboy Christmas is the fourth installment in Maisey Yates’s western romance series titled Gold Valley. I read it out of order as a standlone with no issue. It features a lonely heroine looking towards a hopeful future and a cowboy hero who can’t move on from his past. The complexity of these characters, especially the male lead, was impressive with realistic attitudes towards the issues they each were dealing with. With themes related to abandonment, grief, and giving life and love a second chance, this was an emotional and engaging reading experience.
Maisey Yates is a new-to-me author and to say I am excited to finally discover her is quite the understatement. I am 100% in sync with her writing style. Super sweet and sexy with an unexpected amount of character development. Who knew I liked cowboy romances? I like hers at least. Check it out!
A Tall, Dark Cowboy Christmas was a good 4 star read.
Grant is a widower and hasn’t been able to move forward after his wife’s death. When he discovers McKenna sleeping in a cabin on his families property he wasn’t sure what to think. He ends up offering her some help.
McKenna came to town to see her birth father, with no money she ended up finding an abandoned cabin, where she ends up meeting Grant. She isn’t sure how to approach her birth father and is a little uneasy about it.
McKenna ends up working for Grants brother on the ranch. We discover that these two have a lot of things in common. They both have things from their past they are trying to move forward from. My heart really went out to McKenna and her struggles, all she wanted was to be a part of a family. When Grant met McKenna there was something about her that pulled him in, he was feeling things that he hasn’t felt in a long time.
When these two connect we get some very hot and steamy scenes. I loved the story but at times it seemed to drag on a little bit. These two had such a great connection and chemistry. I was happy to read their story and see them finally find the happiness they both deserved. If your looking for a great read that tugs at the heart strings 1-click and get started today. This is my first read from Maisey Yates and I look forward to reading more from her.
Alpha Book Club
I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. Reviewed by MAustin from Alpha Book Club
I found this to be a very good read. This holiday romance provides two emotionally wounded people a shot at love. I liked McKenna and Grant and truly felt for them do to the suffering and heartbreak that they had endured. That being said, I would have preferred a bit less of the constant rehashing of their troubles. For me this really toned down the joy and warmth of what should have been a sweet story of love healing past hurts. Still I recommend the book because it is an enjoyable, emotional read. This is my voluntary and totally honest review.
A TALL, DARK COWBOY CHRISTMAS (A Gold Valley Novel #4) by Maisey Yates is a contemporary holiday romance. This is an addition to the Gold Valley series and does have many characters crossing over from previous books in the series. The H/h romance can be read as a standalone, but I feel some of the backstory and character interactions are better understood if you have read this series in order.
McKenna Tate was given away by her mother and put into foster care at the age of two. At age eighteen, she received paperwork that could lead her to her birth father, a famous rodeo cowboy and his family in Gold Valley. After eight years of having no one to care about her, with only a suitcase to her name, she ends up in Gold Valley broke and sleeping in an abandoned cabin. She has to figure out a way to approach her father because all she has ever dreamed of is belonging to a family and having someone care about her.
Grant Dodge has been existing, but not living for the last eight years since his wife died. He hates the pity in all of the townspeople’s eyes, but he cannot leave his responsibilities at his family’s dude ranch. He is shocked when he finds a woman sleeping in the abandoned cabin on the ranch’s property. His brother hires McKenna and there is something about her prickly and tough exterior that begins to break through Grant’s protective shell. They agree to a no-strings attached fling.
McKenna wants the Christmas miracle of a family that cares for her and just maybe a man who loves her, too because she stills believes in hope. Grant believes he has no more emotion left for a new relationship, but he also does not want to give up McKenna. Can these two find what they want and need in each other or will their pasts overshadow their future?
I loved McKenna and her never ending hope, but she also would not be taken advantage of or walked all over. Grant was a great foil to her with his loss of hope. All of the family and friends made the story feel realistic because of their own situations going on around the H/h. The sex scenes were explicit, hot and appropriate to the story. I did have a problem with how many times the author returned to McKenna’s and Grant’s backstories. There was a continual repeat of the same internal angst and it got to be a bit repetitive and I felt unnecessary. The unexpected love, hope and letting go of the past are what made this an enjoyable holiday read.
Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.
This book is funny, and sweet and all the things a good romance book should be. I really enjoyed it!
A Tall, Dark Cowboy Christmas was a wonderful holiday romance with a delightful setting.
Grant Dodge has been widowed for eight years, but that hasn’t stopped the pitying glances he gets from Gold Valley’s residents. When he finds a woman sleeping in an abandoned cabin on his family’s ranch, he unexpectedly finds himself drawn to her. McKenna Tate came to Gold Valley to find the father she never knew, hoping to become part of a family. She didn’t expect to end up on the Dodge ranch or to find herself falling for Grant. With Christmas rapidly approaching, McKenna and Grant find themselves falling hard, but will their newfound love be enough to overcome their pasts?
Grant’s past is a tragic tale, he married his high school sweetheart at eighteen knowing she was dying of cancer. He had six years with her before she passed which was eight years before the start of this book. Grant has never regretted marrying Lindsay as he truly did love her, but he has always hated that their romance was turned into a tragic love story. In the years since he was widowed, Grant has all but stopped living and he needs to drink in order to sleep at night. My one complaint about this book (and the previous ones where Grant was featured) is that everyone jokes about his drinking problem. In my mind that’s just not something you joke about and I wish that it had been handled differently.
McKenna grew up in the foster care system after her mother gave her up when McKenna was two. The one thing in life McKenna has always wanted is family and someone who will just love her for who she is. As a result of being shuffled around her whole life with people who never really wanted her, McKenna developed a bit of a hard shell. She questions the motives of people who want to be kind to her, but she’s also willing to take that help as she knows she needs it. I liked the snarky attitude McKenna developed due to her situation.
Grant and McKenna’s relationship starts out as one that is supposed to be a physical only one. The pair’s chemistry is amazing and the sex scenes are quite steamy. There was one thing related to their physical relationship about Grant that surprised me, (view spoiler), but after hearing the reasoning behind it, it made sense. Obviously the physical only thing doesn’t last long as they both catch feelings although they have different ideas on how to handle them. There is a bit of drama when one of them confronts the other over the direction of their relationship, but in the end I was happy with the way it was handled.
The side characters are one of the best aspects of these books in my opinion. For the most part the side characters in the series are made up of past couples or future ones. I love getting to see couples after they’ve found their happily ever after which the author shows in spades here. Most of the characters in the books are part of various ranching families which means we get to see characters return quite a bit while the series is focused on that family’s arc.
Holiday romances are some of my favorites and A Tall, Dark Cowboy Christmas was no exception. I highly recommend this series as well as the Copper Ridge series by the author if you’re looking for charming, small-town romances.
Good story about two emotionally wounded people. Grant finds McKenna sleeping in an abandoned cabin on the family property. Both he and McKenna have had rough pasts that have affected the way they deal with other people.
Grant is a bit of a loner, even in his own family. He lost his mother when he was young and dealt with the pain by taking it out on other people. He was an obnoxious bully until he met Lindsay, who was assigned to tutor him. Her belief in him helped him change. They fell in love and married right out of high school, even though Lindsay’s cancer had returned. For years, Grant was a caregiver rather than a husband. Eight years after her death, he is still grieving, but also frustrated. Everyone in town, including the women, always treats him as “that poor widower,” and Grant is sick of the pitying looks, but he doesn’t know how to move on either. When he meets McKenna, something about her gets to him, but he isn’t sure what to do about it.
McKenna has had a rough life. Her mother gave her up when she was two, and she ended up in the foster system. She moved from home to home, never connecting with anyone. All she wants is a family of her own. When she left the system at the age of eighteen, one of the things she received was her birth certificate. Several years later, she tracked down her birth father and has arrived in Gold Valley to see him. Thanks to a run of bad luck, McKenna ends up homeless and finds herself sleeping in an abandoned cabin on a local ranch.
The first meeting between Grant and McKenna isn’t very pleasant. He’s not happy to find a squatter on the property, but he’s not going to kick her out either. There’s something about her that draws him, so he takes her to his brother and sister-in-law, who give her a job and a place to live. Grant is assigned to show her the ropes around the ranch. There are sparks of attraction between them from the start. Because she doesn’t know about his past, McKenna treats Grant like the hot cowboy he is, and he isn’t quite sure how to deal with that. Grant has a surprising secret that affects how he handles his attraction to McKenna. Eventually, those sparks that fly between them burst into flame. Neither Grant nor McKenna claims to be interested in a relationship, so no-strings sex is their agreed-upon solution.
Of course, that doesn’t last. I liked seeing the way that they were able to share their pasts, hard though it was. Grant held out the longest because he liked that McKenna didn’t know. She didn’t give him those pitying looks, just the ones that said she wanted him. However, he can’t deny that she reaches him in a way that no one else does. I liked how he supported her when it came to her desire to connect with her family. McKenna is upfront about her life and what she wants from it. Even though she has no confidence that it will happen, she still allows herself to hope. I liked watching her with Grant. She constantly reminds him that life isn’t fair and that you do the best you can. I liked that she finally dared to tell him her feelings, and ached at the way he pulled away. One of my favorite things about McKenna is that she stands up for her own needs and wants. She lets him know that she deserves more and won’t settle for less. It took a while for what she told him to sink in, plus additional input from his brother, Wyatt, but eventually, Grant saw the light. I like their big moment at the end, especially Grant’s exposure of his vulnerability. I loved McKenna’s reaction and seeing them come together as they are. The epilogue was terrific.
I also ached for McKenna in her search for family. All she wanted was someone that would love her. I liked her conversation with her brother, Gabe, and the hope that it gave her. Her first visit with her father was emotional. Both McKenna and I had high hopes, and I felt her pain at the way the visit ended. I loved how she stood up to him. Fortunately, he did redeem himself in the end.