Prodigal daughter, infamous flirt and fiery-haired champion barrel racer Tucker McTavish blazes back home to Marietta with both a secret, and a personal challenge. She will keep a low profile at her twin sister’s Christmas wedding. Which means no whiskey. No kissing. No scandals. No fun. What she needs is a miracle, so it’s too bad when she visits the legendary Miracle Lake to plead for inner … strength: a tall, dark, and handsome bad boy is waiting with a challenge of his own.
Extreme sports guide Laird Hunter doesn’t do boring. And he thought he didn’t have secrets. He thrives in carving his own trail through tight and dangerous spots, but when he finds out his entire life has been built on a lie, he heads to Marietta for answers. But when he meets the redhead with the killer smile, laughing eyes and body with more curves than a mountain road, he finds himself asking a whole new set of questions.
Will these two daredevils – with more than a few secrets between them – find the one person from whom they don’t need to hide ?
The Wilder Brothers series
Book 1: Seducing the Bachelor
Book 2: Want Me, Cowboy
Book 3: The Christmas Challenge
more
HEARTWARMING HOLIDAY ADDITION TO THE SERIES!!!
Title: The Christmas Challenge
Series: The Wilder Brothers
Author: Sinclair Jayne
Designation: Book 3 of Series, Full-Length, Standalone, No Cliffhanger, Contemporary Holiday Romance #cowgirl #familysaga
My Rating: Three Entertaining Stars****
*Although each book of the series features a different couple finding love and can certainly be read as a standalone, there is an underlying interconnected family conflict with recurring characters running throughout the series and for that reason, I highly recommend reading the books sequentially to avoid spoilers and maximize your reading experience. In other words, don’t read them out of order like I did; it kinda spoiled the fun. lol…
The Christmas Challenge by Sinclair Jade is a good book but my least favorite of the collection. Jayne is a relatively new author for me, having discovered her work only a few weeks ago when Kane, the fourth release in The Wilder Brothers Series was featured as free in a Bookbub promotion. There’s nothing I enjoy more than a rugged cowboy with lots of sexy swagger, so I snatched it up and was so impressed by Jayne’s work that I raced back to purchase the other three books of the series. I truly loved the first two, but The Christmas Challenge didn’t really float my boat. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the book, because I did, but I just didn’t love it. Different strokes for different folks, and all that. Technically, there’s nothing wrong with the book, other than a few minor errors missed in the final edit process, but I didn’t connect with the story, which was probably due to my disconnect with the two protagonists, Laird Hunter(Anderson) and Tucker McTavish. And even more disappointing, I didn’t feel a connection between Laird and Tucker. Contemporary romance is almost always character-driven, meaning the entire storyline/plot revolves around and primarily fueled by the characters, particularly the hero and heroine. Without likable, relatable, interesting, and engaging protagonists with a believable, perceptible connection, the story lacks the necessary element to transform a good read into a great read. And this is where The Christmas Challenge fell short for me personally. I’ll admit, after discovering Tucker McTavish would be the heroine, I was somewhat hesitant, because I genuinely disliked Tucker when she was introduced in Book 2 as the spoiled, self-absorbed twin of Tanner McTavish. But in the interest of fairness, I always try to be openminded, since this is the author’s vision for her story and not mine. With skillful development, any character can transform from villain to hero, but there just wasn’t enough personal growth to redeem Tucker, at least not for me. Personally, I thought it was too little, too late. Also, the ending felt abrupt and rushed, and the entire story felt unfinished and incomplete. Although there was a somewhat tenuous peace established between the McTavish sisters, we never really found out whether Tucker and Laird stayed in Marietta and moved to Colt’s with Luke and Tanner, or left the area to continue their careers. We never found out what happened to Tanner and Tucker’s mother and why she left, who bought the Triple T ranch, and there was no actual reconciliation with the twins’ father. There was no real closure for the reader, and I was so very disappointed. This story had so much potential, but it was all just glossed over for a quick, not-so-tidy ending. And FYI, there’s no clarity given in the fourth book, which features the youngest Wilder brother, Kane, because as I stated earlier, I read it first. I even went back and reread it to be sure I didn’t miss anything. I’m not sure if there’ll be a fifth book, but I sure hope so since there are still so many unanswered questions. But let’s talk details.
The Christmas Challenge is a captivating, fast-paced, easy to follow, full-length, standalone, contemporary western romance brimming with delicious drama, heartbreaking angst, undeniable attraction, steamy passion, and sweet, soul-healing love. Sigh… So dreamy! The entire story takes place in the Marietta, Montana world which also serves as the backdrop for several series by Tule Publishing. Marietta is your typical western small town where secrets are hard to keep, gossip runs rampant, the rodeo is their favorite sport, and everyone knows everyone, including the details of their personal life and all their dirty laundry. Sounds like my kind of town! lol… The narrative was beautifully written in the third person with clearly discernible his and her perspectives. The dialogue was smart, snappy, raw, emotional, natural, and flowed effortlessly. I loved the premise, world, and conflict Jayne created for this story, and I especially enjoyed the small town environment and sense of community, but it’s the cast of recurring characters that drives this entire series.
Laird Hunter is a ruggedly handsome, almost thirty-year-old adrenaline junkie, adventure guide, and extreme sportsman with a stoic persona who seems to be suffering from a neverending case of wanderlust – until now. His world implodes 6 months earlier when he learns his entire life has been a lie after his dying mother confessed he’d been adopted at birth from a hospital in Marietta, Montana where she’d been working as a nurse, and that he’d had a brother, a fraternal twin, but she didn’t know the other baby’s name or if he’d survived. After an extremely painful breakup with his girlfriend, discovering he may have a family has left him both confused and hopeful. Tucker McTavish is a self-absorbed, manipulative, fiery-haired rodeo princess, champion barrel racer, notorious flirt, selfish sister, and spoiled prodigal daughter who was considered the beautiful twin and has lived the entire 27 years of her life thinking only of herself. Sadly, it takes a scandal with a married movie director, the downward spiral of her rodeo career, losing her agent, manager, and the man she loved but rejected for Tucker to re-evaluate her life. Tucker and Laird make quite an unusual pair, but nothing’s ever easy for a Wilder brother, so you know there’s a huge obstacle to overcome for Laird and Tucker to find their happy ending -and man oh man, it’s a real doozy! At first, Laird and Tucker seem to be complete opposites but actually have more in common than either initially realizes. Their attraction is immediate, but both are determined to ignore it, and for very valid reasons, bringing yet another slow burn aspect to the story, which I always enjoy. And this one is even more of a slow simmer than the others since our wild and promiscuous Tucker challenges herself to stay out of trouble until after Tanner’s wedding and even makes a vow of celibacy. Talk about a recipe for disaster! lol… It’s always so much fun watching two protagonists dance around each other, trying to avoid the inevitable, especially when it’s believable, and Sinclair Jayne is the queen of slow burn, always making the push/pull of a blossoming romance feel realistic.
No spoilers from me but I will say this… A handsome adrenaline junkie with secrets searching for answers-check! A beautiful, determined rodeo princess seeking forgiveness and redemption-check! A serendipitous meeting-check! A double Christmas Eve wedding-check! Secrets, family drama, angst, heartbreak, humor, and a wonderful cast of characters-check! An unexpected love that will unite two lost, lonely souls, and maybe even a Christmas miracle-you bet! That and a whole lot more!
So, did like this book? Yes, but again, not my favorite! Would I recommend it? Probably, but only for adult readers. Will I read this author again? Absolutely! And finally, was I entertained? Completely! Great entertainment and an awesome read!