Mini-Review: Christmas Lights and Cowboy Nights (Marshall Ranch Series Book #3)

Christmas Lights and Cowboy Nights (Marshall Ranch Series Book #3)

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.