The Perfect Holiday Read!It’s a long way from New York to Idaho…but could they have found a home at last?Dani Capelli has never truly belonged anywhere. And from her earliest days as a foster child in Queens, she would have been lost if it weren’t for her love of animals. Until high school, when she fell hard for the wrong boy, and found herself pregnant—and married—by graduation. Two daughters … pregnant—and married—by graduation. Two daughters later, Dani realized her mistake and filed for divorce, and with the help of scholarships and loans—and a lot of macaroni and cheese dinners—she enrolled in vet school. Things were finally looking up…until her ex-husband became her late husband, in the most notorious way possible.
Now Dani and her daughters need an out-of-town pass more than ever. So when the retiring Haven Point veterinarian offers her a chance to settle in the small Idaho town and take over his practice, she jumps at it. But adjusting to the charming mountain community isn’t easy; thirteen-year-old Silver begins acting out while six-year-old Mia is growing too attached to Haven Point and everything in it, especially their next-door-neighbor, Deputy Sheriff Ruben Morales. And Dani can’t blame her. Ruben is everything she’s secretly wanted—and everything she can’t bear to risk loving…and losing.
As the holidays draw near, their shared concern for Dani’s daughters brings them closer together, giving Ruben the chance to show this big-city woman just how magical Christmas in Haven Point can be…and that the promise of a home at last is very real in the most wondrous season of the year…
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A heartwarming, feelgood, sweet and adorable romance story set during the holidays that induced many smiles.
The Christmas season is part of the story yet set at the background, so it didn’t bother me to read holiday romance this early in the year. The romance story is filled with love and adoration with no physical lovemaking on the pages of the book. And yes, the book is part of a series but easily to be read as a stand-alone story.
The characters are engaging and easy to like and relate to. Dani Capelli hasn’t had an easy life, but she has made the most of it, accomplished great things in her life, and as a smalltown vet, she has been able to build a life to her daughters that many in her situation couldn’t have. Dani can come off as a little distant, even prickly at times, hiding her past that she feels ashamed of, choices she had made in the past better not shared with the people in Haven Point to spare herself and her daughters from the judgment and blame.
Dani’s daughters are delightful, a sweet bit of sunshine six years old and on the verge of a teenage angst thirteen years old, who gets into trouble bringing the deputy sheriff on their doorsteps.
Deputy sheriff Ruben is a solid man, a kind and generous neighbor, who has had his admiring eye on Dani ever since she moved into the town. The chemistry and attraction between Dani and Ruben is a tangible force, like a live wire in between them, yet Dani’s past press her to keep Ruben at the arm’s length, even when the whole Capelli family falls for him head over the heels.
The story is warmhearted and endearing, with the dash of teenage angst and the difficulties and temptations youth get into while trying to fit in and make friends in a new town. The story is well written, with a natural flow and charm that you can count on Ms. Thayne’s books.
A great, entertaining and uplifting kickoff for the holiday readings this year
~ Four Spoons
I voluntarily offered to review this book with no obligations and my opinions are honest
The characters + storytelling were very captivating
This was such a cute story.
Dani finished w/ veterinary school + is hoping for a new start.
She moves w/ her two daughters to Haven Point.
She is hoping to buy the practice when the doctor retires.
Ruben is the next door neighbor.
He is intrigued by Dani.
Will Dani + Ruben give this relationship a chance ?
The girls are just so adorable.
It has all the ingredients that you need for an awesome book!
This is a wonderful small town contemporary romance set in the quaint town of Haven Point, Idaho. It is book nine in the Haven Point series but it is easily read standalone. Dani Capelli is a strong determined female character that has come to Haven Point for two reasons. First to complete her veterinarian internship and secondly to give herself and her two daughters a fresh start. She desperate to put their past behind them and keep it quiet. If she were looking for a man Deputy Ruben Morales would be just the type she would be searching for but a man is not in her immediate future and she needs to keep the good deputy at arms length. That’s easier said than done when the magic of Haven Point and the season start to cause all the walls she built up around her to slowly crumble. Will the past rip away any chance of a happy future for this family?
The story, writing, and characters make this a book not to be missed. I highly recommend it.
RaeAnne weaves the magical web of secrets, pain, laughter, children, family, falling in love, and Christmas as only she can do. Haven Point is the perfect place to spend a few snowy hours and get into the Christmas Spirit. RaeAnne reminds me that Christmas truly is a season of wonder. She is one of my happy places.
Newly graduated veterinarian Dani Capelli is great with animals, but leary of people. As a child, she was thrown into the foster system. Her teen marriage to the wrong boy gifted her with two beautiful daughters and a sense of shame that she’d given them a criminal for a father.
When Haven Point’s veterinarian Dr. Morales offers her a job and a chance to buy his practice, Dani moves her family to the small Idaho town, knowing this is the life she wants for herself and her daughters. Things were finally looking up…until her ex-husband became her late husband, in the most notorious way possible.
Now Dani’s afraid to make friends, afraid the town will judge her on her ex’s terrible crime. And her thirteen-year-old daughter Silver has begun to act out all her own pain and anger.
Deputy Sheriff Ruben Morales has had his eyes on Dani ever since she moved to town. He’s attracted by this independent, secretive woman even though he’s not sure of why a big city woman would settle in a small town.
When Silver gets into trouble and Ruben catches her, he decides to help Silver atone for her acts. Watching Ruben interact with her daughters Dani knows this gorgeous deputy is everything she’s secretly wanted—and everything she can’t bear to risk loving…and losing.
RaeAnne weaves the magical web of secrets, pain, laughter, children, family, falling in love, and Christmas as only she can do. Haven Point is the perfect place to spend a few snowy hours and get into the Christmas Spirit. RaeAnne reminds me that Christmas truly is a season of wonder. She is one of my happy places.