by Shelli Stevens
Blurb:
Rosa
Mercado is looking for something more serious with her love life, which is why
she hits the brakes on the sexy cowboy who walks into her dad’s restaurant and
hits on her.
Calvin Marshall had Rosa lined up in his sights to be his next conquest. Until she makes it clear she’s looking for Mr. Right, not Mr. Right Now. Commitment isn’t exactly his favorite word.
But
when they’re forced to stay at Misty Meadows Ranch together over Christmas, it
becomes clear that there’s more at stake than just one of them inheriting the
ranch by New Year’s Eve. The magic of the season will blur the line between
love and hate, and challenge everything they both thought they wanted.
Themes: Erotica,
Holiday
Rating: 3.5 stars
Heat Rating: 
Review:
I just love a good erotic holiday story—throw in
some serious family drama and some unexpected emotions and you have the perfect
cocktail for a cold winter night. I have
enjoyed many of Ms. Stevens’s works in the past, including a few series, so when
I had the chance to read this holiday story I figured it was a no-brainer. The story kicked off pretty quickly with our
H/H meeting in a fun meet-cute and then finding themselves thrown together into
an intense situation, but once the emotions and heat get turned, up the rest of
the story just falls into place. I
enjoyed this story a lot, even though the plot-line seems to wrap up way too
quickly in the end and there were some threads to the overall story that could
have used a bit more page time to develop. The heat between Cal and Rosa was
evident and as they embrace that, they both begin to understand that there
might be more than just lust between them.
Cal is determined that the feelings he is developing for her won’t
influence the future in a negative way for her, willing to sacrifice his dreams
for her, showing that he is a true gentleman cowboy, and making me truly love
him. Rosa is a bit of a scared bunny
through most of the story, refusing to truly accept the chance at love that has
come her way, until it is almost too late.
I liked both Cal and Rosa in the end and the supporting
characters were just fun enough that I would have liked to get to know them
more through their interactions with the H/H.
I cannot say I was overwhelmed by the story in any particular way, but
it was a solid story with a lot of heart and some heat and of course in the end
there was a fun HEA and some laughs to bring the holiday theme out of the
darker moments that lead to the ending.
I am wondering if I might have been a bit more invested had I read the
rest of the Marshall series first, but that will have to come next year, and I can
say I have no regrets at all to adding this holiday novella to the ending of my
2018 reading list.
*ebook provided by publisher (via
netgalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.
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