COWBOY BOOTS FOR CHRISTMAS -- a summary and opinion

Let me start out by saying... how yummy is this cover? Pretty delectable, yes??

 

Publication Date: October 7, 2014



Synopsis:

'Tis the season for...
Feasting
Frolicking
And...Feuding?

All he wants for Christmas is peace and quiet...
After two tours in Afghanistan, retired Army sniper Finn O'Donnell believes his new ranch outside the sleepy little town of Burnt Boot, Texas, is the perfect place for an undisturbed holiday season. But before he can settle in, an old friend shows up looking for protection and a place where nobody knows her name.

But that's going to take a miracle...
Callie Brewster must relocate to protect her young nephew, Martin, and the only person she trusts is her old Army friend, Finn. Burnt Boot seems like the perfect place to be anonymous, but it turns out a small town with big drama is no place to hide...

 

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He's been on the ranch for two days, just him and his dog, and suddenly he adds a woman (who happens to have been his spotter and best friend overseas) and a kid (her nephew).

 

By the end of the day, the crew adds a kitten, and by the next, they add another dog and a parrot. Before Christmas rolls around (...just a few weeks later), their brood grows by 3 more kids and a grandma figure.

 

--side note, I love-love that Callie and Finn are sniper/spotter, and their dogs are Shotgun and Pistol.

 

Callie ends up at Finn's ranch when her nephew, who she's legal guardian of, witnesses a murder and is to stand trial. To keep him safe, he and she are put under a witness protection of sorts, and end up staying with Finn.

 

Callie and Finn jump right back into things, their personalities meshing as perfectly as they did when they were teammates, and therefore, the best of friends. At times, though, the touching seems far too friendly. I understand that while they were best friends, they both harbored feelings for one another and didnt (couldn't) act on them. But it feels like they went from 0 to 60 in 2 seconds flat. Regardless, though...

 

I liked when Finn stated, "We’re all starting over here, but we’ll be okay, Callie, I promise." They are all starting over. The problem with this scenario, though, is that Martin and Callie are moving in until when the trial is through...at least that's the plan. With all the touching and endearments and cuddling on the couch, the book goes from long lost friends to long lost lovers before the reader blinks.

 

I love how Finn's dog is a super protective pooch -- dogs just have that uncanning ability it just know when their human needs help. When Callie has her PTSD nightmares, Shotgun alerts Finn then stays by her side.

'Shotgun cold-nosed Finn right on the cheek and his eyes snapped open. Slowly, his eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he could see the hackles on Shotgun’s back standing straight up. A low growl came from Pistol over beside the fireplace, and Angel’s eyes were trained on the window. A slight bump against the outside wall brought Finn to a sitting position.

He tiptoed across the room, peeked through the blinds, and saw a big raccoon making his way down the steps. “Just a coon, boy, and no, I will not let you out to chase him.”

Then he saw Callie slide down into the corner and roll up in a ball. He jammed his legs into a pair of flannel lounging pants, his bare feet down into cold boots, and his arms into the work jacket hanging on the bedpost. When he reached Callie, he sat down, pulled her into his lap, and wrapped his arms tightly around her.

Heart pounded against heart. Snow whirled around in a kaleidoscope of patterns under the dim moonlight. Words weren’t necessary. Finn knew exactly why Callie was on the porch at three o’clock in the morning.

Shotgun made two passes through the yard, nose to the ground, before he gave up and came back to rest his head in Callie’s lap. She pulled one hand free of the blanket and scratched his ears.'

I do have to say... Between all the darlin's and whatnot, I read the entire story (the dialogue anyway) in a heavy southern accent... It made it a fun read, but not a serious read. Also, most Christmas books tend to be novellas. While this one is a full-length, often times it read like a novella, making the book feel super long and drawn out.

One of the parts I was a bit miffed about was when Callie thinks, 'Love meant trusting with the whole heart. Callie didn't know if she or Finn could ever do that with their past history'. Now, my problem with this line is in their line of work, in the avenue in which they knew eachother and worked with one another, they had to have the most trust between two people. They had to rely on one another and work together. How could they not have trust with the whole of their hearts? And because I'm an overanalyzer like that... it made the story lose credibility (sad face...).
 

COWBOY BOOTS FOR CHRISTMAS is a super cute Christmas romance, even if it is slightly (or really...) unrealistic.

...I do, however, want to see more of them and am waiting for Sawyer's story.

Preorder now for your Kindle or Nook.