True Blue Cowboy Christmas by Nicole Helm
This was a really cute Christmas romance with a contemporary western feel. There was just enough holiday in the story without going too overboard with the Christmas cheer - which is what I really like. There was a good chunk of backstory that missed having not read the previous books in the series, so I felt like I was missing something important (turns out I was). I'm not sure if I would recommend this as a true stand-alone. All the missing pieces come out in the end, but I think it had too much of an impact without knowing more of the backstory.
Thack was a grump, a really big grump. His over-protective stance to his little girl was a bit much, but it made sense given his history. Here's where backstory would have been nice. Summer really over-reacts to this and jumps to a lot of conclusions. But this somehow manages to bring them together.
The middle part of the story seems to be a series of misunderstandings and stepping on toes, but there were some really cute parts that I really enjoyed, especially the ones that revolved around getting ready for the holidays. Summer and the little girl are quite the pair and I loved seeing them together.
The ending went quite a bit overboard. It lost me while at the same time explained a lot about Summer's reaction to things. But a little too over the top with the suspenseful part for me to get completely on board with.
*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*
