Book Review: A Tall, Dark, Cowboy Christmas | Maisey Yates

Happy Sunday and happy December! I am on my branching out tour right now and I read a Christmas romance book that is firmly in the romance category (none of those romance thrillers or romance mysteries I’ve tested the waters with). This book was charming and adorable! A fun Christmas read for those looking for a little getaway from life to the Get out of Dodge ranch for a few days.

About the Book

It’s Christmas in Gold Valley, and this wounded widower is about to get another shot at love…

Grant Dodge didn’t expect to find a woman sleeping in an abandoned cabin on his family ranch. Or to find her so intriguing. Unlike every other woman in town, McKenna Tate doesn’t know Grant’s a widower. There’s no pity in the looks she gives him. McKenna wants him, and Grant has forgotten what it’s like to feel like a man. A no-strings fling for Christmas might be the kind of holiday cheer Grant needs…

With only a suitcase to her name, McKenna came to Gold Valley to confront her birth father. She didn’t plan to work at the Dodge ranch or fall for the gorgeous cowboy who keeps his heart roped off. But there’s no denying the way their broken pieces fit together. Hope brought her to Gold Valley—but will it be the gift that could finally heal Grant, and McKenna’s own wounded heart?

Reflection

This is the fourth in Maisey Yates’ Gold Valley books, and though I haven’t read the others, it seems that each tells the story of a local cowboy finding love. This can absolutely be read as a standalone, the story of Grant and McKenna is completely contained in this book. And we get a bit of a teaser of who book 5 will cover, and it is definitely one I’ll want to read!

McKenna Tate is a character that it is hard not to admire. She’s had a tough life, and though she acknowledges how painful it has been, she never really acts like a victim. McKenna is a survivor—she keeps moving forward, despite a life filled with setbacks. So when she arrives in Gold Valley, it’s hard not to hope that this is the place she finally finds a sense of belonging.

Grant is really his own worst enemy. He married young to a woman named Lindsey who changed him. He’d been mean before—a bully. He took out his pain on others. Lindsey gave Grant the chance to realize he can be a better person. But Lindsey was also dying, and their marriage was more one of healing than one of passion or love. Grant now feels unsure how to take what he learned from Lindsey and start giving back to others. In a way, Grant became satisfied being the caregiver, but he doesn’t really know how to let himself be cared for too.

And finally, there is the plot around McKenna and her birth father. Hank is a somewhat mysterious figure for a lot of the book. A legend in the Rodeo world. McKenna hopes that he might want her, if only he knew she exists. And finding the courage to meet him is a really fun plot to this novel.

And finally, all of our stories will come together at Christmas. You’ll find yourself happy and delighted to see that Christmas may allow us to truly open our hearts to others, and maybe that is what happens for this rough and tumble family. Happy holidays and happy reading!

Thank you to the team at Harlequin for my copy to review.