“Nicole Helm writes my favorite cowboys.” —New York Times Bestselling Author MAISEY YATESThree former Navy SEALs Injured in the line of duty Desperate for a new beginning… Searching for a place to call their own.Single mom and Revival Ranch’s on-site therapist Monica Finley has dedicated her life to helping brave servicemen and women, but former Navy SEAL Gabe Cortez is the one man whose shell … and women, but former Navy SEAL Gabe Cortez is the one man whose shell she just can’t crack. Yet with the holidays fast approaching, she may finally have a plan. In a bid to get Gabe to open up, she’ll ask for as much help as possible—cutting down the Christmas tree, stringing lights, the whole nine yards.
Who could possibly be a Grinch with so much holiday cheer in the air?
Gabe has always hated Christmas—the holiday never fails to remind him just how alone he truly is. But the more time he spends with Monica and her young son, the more he finds himself drawn to their cozy little family…and the more he begins to realize his long-suppressed Christmas dreams may finally be coming true.
Navy SEAL Cowboys Series:
Cowboy SEAL Homecoming (Book 1)
Cowboy SEAL Redemption (Book 2)
Cowboy SEAL Christmas (Book 3)
What People Are Saying About Nicole Helm:
“Brings to life the simple beauty of a Montana ranch while highlighting the healing power of love.”—Publishers Weekly for Cowboy SEAL Homecoming
“[A] sweet romance with wonderfully complex characters…this is a perfect story for cozying up to a fire.”—RT Book Reviews for True-Blue Cowboy Christmas, 4 Stars
“A wonderful romance.”—USA Today Happy Ever After for Cowboy SEAL Homecoming
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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Avid Reader –
M/F Romance
This is Gabe and Monica’s story. I have enjoyed each of the stories and was really looking forward to this one.
Monica is the therapist on the ranch. She moved with her young son and now is hoping to help other soldiers with their traumas. She has been successful at helping two of the three initial men, but Gabe is kind of an enigma for her. Figuring him out is somewhat of a challenge.
Gabe is a tough SEAL. He knows that what he and his buddies are doing is important, but he also knows that he is hiding something. Love isn’t in the cards for him and hasn’t been since he was a young boy. While he is happy for his friends, he can’t help but feel a little jealous that they were able to overcome their issues.
This book was a lot of talking. While Gabe and Monica did have some chemistry, it wasn’t as strong as the chemistry between the other two couples. I did enjoy the friendships that were developed in this book. I felt that the women, especially, were able to really get to know each other.
Overall, while this is a sweet story, it was less about the romance than it could have been. I think it would have been better had there been more romance and less about their pasts. But you also needed to know where they had come from and what they wanted.
Ruthie –
This is the third book in the series, but the first I have read – I wanted a Christmas in summer fix, and this was perfect! I think that I would have understood some of the intensity of the men and their mission to set up the Revival ranch, but it was still an excellent story.
Gabe may have been with his friends when their SEAL careers ended, but he is not suffering from the PTSD that they are. He has plenty of other ghosts in his past though, so when resident therapist Monica talks to him, he can only clam up. He can’t help but be attracted to her, but that is irrelevant, and he also is forming a good relationship with her young son. But his past has him unable or unwilling to accept the attraction or the potential.
Monica has had to restart her life after her husband died. Her plans to help veterans at Revival ranch are taking a hit because she just cannot get into Gabe’s head – and doesn’t want to admit to wanting to get into his clothes. Having her son around is useful as a chaperone!
I really enjoyed the head games that these two play, the intensity with which they consider every step, and the risks they are unwilling to consider due to past pain. And how, deep down, they recognise the attraction and the potential for love, even if it is utterly unacceptable. I love it when an author gets inside someone’s head yet manages not to make it a long-winded inner monologue – a difficult skill, but definitely worked well here for me.
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Cowboy SEAL Christmas (Navy SEAL Cowboys #3) by Nicole Helm to read and review.
Loved this book. I laughed and cried. Gabe was so frustrating at times you wanted to shake some sense into him. He had a lot of issues from his childhood that he needed to overcome but didn’t realize it. Monica has been a therapist and mom for so long that she forgot what it was like to just be Monica the woman. They are both stubborn. Will they be able to help each other or will Gabe see her as trying to be a friend as just another way of being a shrink?
I was given a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. And, this will be an honest review…
I tried, I tried very hard to like this book. I got to Chapter 11 and I just kept asking myself if this story was ever going to go anywhere. I thought that Chapter 12 might be different, but it was just more of the same – Gabe being a total ASS to everyone and Monica overthinking everything. I found myself having to reread paragraphs several times to try and follow along but I ended up just trying to get to the end. By the time I got to the epilogue, I was just glad that it was over.
To the author, I am so sorry! I never intend to trash the blood, sweat and tears that you’ve poured into your work, but this is my honest opinion.
I have read multiple books from this author in particular, and I can’t figure out why I disliked it so much compared to her other works. Except that I found it very wordy and could’ve been half the length that it was.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and I am voluntarily reviewing it.
What a wonderful conclusion to a great series. Gabe finally got his HEA and with the wonderful Monica. We were finally given his tragic backstory and wow what a painful one it was. It was wonderful to see him working through and overcoming such tragedy. Monica for her part never gave up on him once she realize she loved him.
This book was written in my favorite dual POV. It really helps me to understand the characters’ actions so much better. I loved how Ms. Helm also tied up the series in the epilogue. Oh how I wished for more with possible vets coming and getting their HEAs but she gave us really so much more. I will have to re-read this series from start to finish now; back-to-back reading. The characters are delightful and feel like friends. I hate to say good-bye to them but look forward to more stories from Ms. Helm.
I highly recommend this book (really the entire series) if you love military romances.
I thought this was a lovely, heart-warming, (and heart-rending) Christmas story. I enjoyed it very much. Monica and Gabe were great together and all the other characters just added so much to the whole story.
I recommend having a box of tissues handy.
Although the 3rd book in this series, it was the first I have read….and the first by this author…..but it won’t be the last.
I received an advance copy of this book via the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, via NetGalley. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias.
Cowboy SEAL Christmas was a very charming, sweet romance that reminds you what Christmas is all about.
Monica is a caring mother, who is working at a ranch to help other people cope with their fears. Gabe is the one man, who reminded her that in the process of working her job and providing for his son, she forgot how to love again.
At the beginning of the book, I found two mistakes and I hoped this wouldn’t be a book full of it. Thankfully, it wasn’t and since this is also an ARC, these mistakes will probably be deleted and corrected.
What did bother me was how in the first couple chapters everytime Gabe and Monica talked, he said something like ”Is this a shrink talk?”. It sounded to me like Gabe couldn’t have a normal conversation with her without thinking of her as a shrink even if she asked little things. It repeated several times until they got a little closer and Gabe opened up more.
My first book by this author but I think it won’t be the last. I loved how she took the time to describe the relationship between Monica and Gabe and even Gabe and Colin. It’s a perfect Christmas standalone novel which I recommend reading in front of the fireplace while drinking hot chocolate (or other hot beverage and a radiator if there’s no other option) ;).
4 stars from me.
ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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I had not previously read any books in the Navy SEAL Cowboy series, but I think I may need to go pick them up ASAP. The men and women of Revival Ranch are a close-knit group of friends that have become family. But Gabe Cortez holds himself apart emotionally. He has never really let anyone get close, and he doesn’t plan on letting the first one to do so be the ranch’s therapist Monica Finley.
Monica and Gabe’s relationship was incredibly emotional. Both had to let go of things in their past in order to open their hearts. But it isn’t easy, and there is Monica’s son, Colin, to factor into any relationship equation as well. I really enjoyed how Gabe opened up to Colin and became a part of his life – long before he actually opened up to Monica.
I’m not always a fan of the “snowed in and we fell in love” scene, but these two were in love long before they got snowed in. Nature just forced to the face it – and it didn’t go exactly as nature planned. But that’s how life is, and this is a romance that wasn’t all happy sunshine. There were some not-so-happy moments that really gave the characters depth.
I know this happened over the holidays and all, but it seemed like the ranch wasn’t doing what it was built to do. There were no guests or patients, and the only people you really got to see were the staff members (which I’m assuming were couples from the previous books). While they were great characters and a good driving force to help push these two reluctant lovers together, I wonder how and when they manage to help service members when no one seems to be there for it.
*I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of this book*
A very difficult topic that needs to be opened up more about. PTSD is dealt with differently but is important to get help with and family and friends also need to understand it as well. A well written perfectly paced story pulling you in from the start. Gabe had to deal with family problems growing up so as an adult he has closed himself off until Monica finds a way to get him to open up.
Revival Ranch is a place where Vets go to heal both physically and emotionally. This is the third book in the series but, it can be read as a standalone. It is Gabe and Monica’s story. Monica is a therapist who lost her husband and is raising her son. Since her husband died in an accident that could have been prevented she is extremely protective of her son. Gabe and three of his friends were in an explosion which ended their careers and took one of their friends lives. Both Jack and Alex have fell in love and now he feels like even more of an outsider. On the outside Gabe seems okay but, on the inside he is still fighting his childhood demons and the last thing he wants or needs is a therapist. Opposites attract but, can they trust each other enough to share their inner demons and find a love that will last a lifetime. This is an emotional story about friendship, trust, relationships and love. I would definitely recommend it.
To be honest, I really wasn’t prepared to love Gabe so much. Don’t get me wrong, I really liked him in the other stories in this series. But I fell in love with him, and I fell hard. That man had me frustrated, angry, sad, and I shed far too many tears in the reading of this book.
Before I get too much further I should say, I don’t feel you have to read the other books to fully engage with this one. This ragtag group of former Navy SEALs and strong women and odd animals is such a joy, I don’t know why you wouldn’t go and read Cowboy SEAL Homecoming and Cowboy SEAL Redemption, though.
Although Monica has been in the other stories quite a bit, her role in those stories was much more as a therapist so we didn’t get to see exactly what makes her tick. I enjoyed seeing things from her POV. Not only as a woman and a therapist, but also as a mom, a widow, a military brat, etc. Monica has worn many hats throughout her life, and they all shaped the way she interacts with others. She’s usually a very warm and caring person. For some reason, her defenses tend to go up when she’s around Gabe and she turns the therapist part of her brain on full blast.
Gabe has issues with therapists and wants nothing to do with Monica’s professional side. Since that’s almost all she tends to show him when they’re together, they seem like oil and water. Gabe can’t help but push Monica’s buttons, and she can’t help but zing him right back. If it wasn’t so fun to watch, it would be exhausting! But the more the two of them are thrown together, the harder time they have ignoring the chemistry they have. Since Monica’s son, Collin, is enamored with Gabe (and truly, vice versa) they seem to find themselves together more and more.
Gabe, quite frankly, has a heartbreaking story. They way it comes out in fits and starts throughout this book really helped me, as the reader, to feel those emotions. The tiny moments he would let his walls down and show his vulnerability had me bawling my eyes out. One minute I’d be feeling warm-fuzzies because of his chemistry with Monica, the next I would feel like I got gut punched because of Gabe’s inability to see how lovable he really is.
There are so many other things I love about this story. So many little nuances that really built such a lovely and amazing picture in my mind. I think this may be my favorite Nicole Helm book so far. It was full of so many feels!
**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/2018/09/03/cowboy-seal-christmas-book-review/
What can I say I picked up this book because I love Christmas and the blurb really drew me in what I didn’t know was this was book 3 until I was about to start reading which made me a bit apprehensive they was no need to worry this book can certainly be read as a stand-alone, so a win win for me a new author and a great read and I will be going back to read the previous books in this series plus any other books I can find from the very talented Nicole Helm.
Cowboy SEAL Christmas is a Christmas tale that will draw you in and it will tug on your heartstrings, it’s a story you won’t be able to put down and you will be routing for a HEA because let’s be honest what’s not to love when you put three former Navy Seals injured in the line of duty on a Revival Ranch with three woman who can bring out the love they are all hiding and once you add in a single mum and her adorable little boy who is crying out for a man figure in his life and you get some pretty much near perfect romance stories. Great characters, sizzling chemistry and friends that are more like family this book has it all. Looking forward to reading more from this author.
Cowboy SEAL Christmas is the third and final book in the Navy SEAL Cowboys series and quite possibly the best of the three books. Gabe wants nothing to do with talking to therapist Monica Finley. He doesn’t suffer from the affects of PTSD like his buddies do so what’s the point? It’s obvious to Monica at least that he does have some deep dark secrets though so she comes up with a holiday plan. Pulling him into the holiday festivities won’t be easy but Monica is determined. Who can stay grumpy while cutting down a Christmas tree? The author did a great job crafting a story that made it easy to see Gabe’s walls coming down and his heart opening as the season spins on. You don’t want to miss this great holiday story!
Gabe and Monica are both warriors. They just are fighting different battles. Gabe is haunted by physical and mental demons. Dogged by the tragedies of a past he couldn’t control and the pain he can’t forget. Monica is the complete opposite. She always wears a smile, but hides the pain in her soul. Joined by a common cause these two wounded warriors are about to learn the power of love. Cowboy Seal Christmas finds power in the tragedies and courage from the pain. Helm guides us through the storm as she points us toward the rainbow. Emotion is the life force behind this heartwarming read.
I’ve been waiting for Gabe’s story. Loved the interplay between he and Monica in the first two books. Experiencing the conclusion of their journey was well worth the wait. The epilogue was the perfect wrap up for The Cowboy Seals.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC received via NetGalley
4 star review of Cowboy SEAL Christmas (Navy SEAL Cowboys #3) by Nicole Helm
Nicole Helm is a new author to me and when I signed up for this book I had no idea that it was the third book in the series.
Not having read the previous books in this series I was a little anxious going in that I would not be able to fully enjoy Cowboy SEAL Christmas. However, this was not the case.
There was romance, angst, heartbreak and issues of trust but throughout it all I was get invested in the story line as it unfolded.
The story was well written and the characters likeable and easy to relate too. I found myself hoping that Gabe could put is lack of trust aside to see what Monica and her son Colin could offer that would ease his loneliness.
Both Gabe and Monica have had a tough life but through it all they have become stronger than either of them realise. When they finally give in to their feelings and decided to go for it, I cheered.
The obvious “brotherhood” Gabe and his friends Alex and Jack had just
Can the magic of the Christmas season bring together two lost souls, emotionally drained from the loss of loved ones, each determined to survive but not really living and enjoying life?
I received a copy of this book through the publisher via Netgalley.
Cowboy SEAL Christmas is the third book in author Nicole Helm’s Navy SEAL Cowboys series. This is Gabe’s story, the last of the injured SEALs who became involved in setting up a rehabilitation ranch for injured military personnel in Montana. Gabe Cortez is the fun one of the group, always charming and pleasing. But finally his baggage catches up with him and his good moods are fewer and his broody bad moods happen more often. It takes getting together with the resident therapist on the ranch, Monica Finley to change Gabe’s life. Gabe really dislikes therapists which is quite a stumbling block for both of them. As more and more of Gabe’s story of his life before joining the Navy comes out we understand why therapists are not high on Gabe’s list.
This was an emotional read which the author presented in such a way that I was entranced by the dynamics of Monica and Gabe’s relationship. The story was well paced and the author’s ability to make her characters come to life greatly enhanced my reading enjoyment. Kudos to Nicole Helm on giving her readers such an entertaining story.
Having read the other two books in this series, it felt like I waited forever to read an early copy of Gabe and Monica’s story. The other two books were phenomenal, so I anticipated this story would be amazing, and this author exceeded my expectations! I knew Gabe and Monica’s story would be epic, but wow! What really makes this book are the subtleties, nuances and undercurrents, and Helm got it absolutely, perfectly right with these two.
Gabe, Jack and Alex are retired SEALs who go to Alex’s ranch in Montana to heal from their career ending injuries, as well as start the Revival Ranch for other brothers in arms in need of healing. Gabe doesn’t seem to have the same PTSD issues as Alex and Jack, but he was deeply wounded before he ever joined the military, and either way, he has no use for a therapist of any kind. Monica has grieved the loss of her Air Force husband and spends all her time being a single mother and therapist to soldiers returning from active duty. So much so that she has no idea who she is apart from those two identities. Despite the sparks that fly between them, Monica won’t have a relationship with someone who could be a potential client, and a shrink is the last person Gabe would get close to.
Gabe hides behind a wall of charm and easy-going smiles, something he’s spent a long time perfecting. His past has taught him that good things never last and those you care about will always abandon you. For Gabe, hope is a terrifying thing, when it’s something he’s gone most of his life without, then it finds a way to sneak through a chink in his painstakingly crafted armor, and Monica causes Gabe to hope. Monica has been doing her own hiding behind the shield of therapist and mother, but she and Gabe both see greater depths in the other, if they can only survive letting down their guard, facing their fear and being authentic.
This is one of those books that immediately drags you in and fills you up, investing you fully, heart and soul, so you lap up every word, thought and emotion like a person in the desert who finds an oasis. It charms, it captivates, it tickles the funny bone, it overwhelms the heart and feeds the soul. I was nowhere near ready to let go of these characters at the last page and wish the series would continue because I’m desperate for more. This book (as well as the others in the series) is one I’ll return to again and again, especially when my heart is feeling a little parched. With a little humor, a little heat and a big pile of heart, you’ll truly be missing out if you don’t read this uplifting, heartwarming, phenomenal book!
This book is the third and last of the stories in the Navy SEAL Cowboys and for me, the best one of the three.
Three Navy SEAL friends , who fought together, and suffered together, but above all, have been brothers by choice.
We saw Alex and Jack overcome many physical, psychological and emotional obstacles, while building Revival Ranch. A haven for other military men needing a safe place where they can heal. Both Jack and Alex are now not only thriving, but have found strong women whom they love and now are planning a future with them.
The last of the trio is Gabe. A man whose issues were not due to the horrors of war, but due to his childhood. A childhood that has him believing he’s not lovable.
Monica Finley is the ranch’s on site therapist. A widow with a young boy. She and Gabe always seem at odds, but the attraction is there.
Will they succumb to the attraction and if they do, will it be a fling or true love?
In addition to an engaging plot, and complex characters, the author deals with not only the psychological, and emotional issues the brave men and women suffer when they return from war, but also those suffered in childhood and how they can affect an individual as an adult.
Kudos to the author for the courage to write about it.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley. The opinions expressed are solely my own.