Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
How could this be happening? Everly has always know something was a little off with her family’s capital investment business, but a Ponzi scheme? Seeing her parents’ faces on the news was too much and now there are new vans parked outside her building. When her fight or flight instinct kicks in, Everly knows she needs to get out of town fast. With no clothes (and no plan), she starts driving north…until she finds herself in Evergreen Lake – the scene of her favorite Christmas memories. Now the question is if she can hide away here without her identity hitting the headlines…and without running into the only guy she’s ever loved and who broke her heart a decade ago.
Journalist turned bestselling author Marissa Stapley is the genius behind the pen name Julia McKay – a holiday romcom powerhouse. Stapley is known for her acclaimed work under her own name, such as Lucky, and has also received wide recognition for her romcom work both under her own name and otherwise in partnership with Usma Jalaluddin and with pen names of Julia McKay and Maggie Knox. Christmas at the Ranch is about missed connection, misunderstanding, and learning how to never miss the opportunities in front of you. McKay will transport you to the Canadian forest and have you rooting for Everly to find happiness and love again.
I give Christmas at the Ranch 5 out of 5 stars. I am a sucker for a good small-town or cowboy romance, and McKay found a way to bring readers both on these pages. The narrative around the family drama both before and after the news of the Ponzi scheme feels real and makes you consider how the unwitting families of criminals like Bernie Madoff or, more recently where I’m from, Brant Frost IV, deal with their infamous relatives’ reputation and any guilt they may carry because of it. I also really appreciated the author including a beautiful career arc for Everly. Utilizing her own journalism experience, McKay pulls aside the curtain and allows readers to see why community and local papers along with their larger regional and national competitors are struggling to stay afloat. I love the way the characters and businesses had to learn to pivot and rethink their futures to find the path forward.
I was excited to be offered the opportunity to read this fantastic holiday romcom prior to its release. This was the perfect book to start putting me in the Christmas mood as I begin to pull together our lists of holiday gift ideas and best holiday books for ReadWithLindsey.com. If you love small-town or cowboy romance like I do, this is definitely the book for you! I would also recommend this to readers who enjoy novels by Tessa Bailey, Sophie Sullivan, Sophie Cousens, or Lynn Painter. The witty dialogue and interpersonal relationship will hook you in the first few pages!
Christmas at the Ranch will release this coming Tuesday September 23rd. You can pre-order your copy today on our Bookshop.org page!
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What I’m Reading
- Current print book: A Sea Glass Christmas, Davis Bunn
- Current audio book: The Professor, Charlotte Bronte
- Book I’m most looking forward to: Fire Season, Phillip Connors
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