A Stone Creek Christmas by Linda Lael Miller

Linda Lael Miller is my guilty pleasure. Sure I read other romances, but I don't seem to enjoy them nearly as much as I do hers. And since this one combined a Miller romance with Christmas, well it definitely "tis the season."

Olivia is a veterinarian in the small town of Stone Creek. Her brother, Brad, once a famous magician is now building a shelter that she'll be the head of. He's brought in Tanner Quinn to build it too. Tanner is a good guy, but flighty. After the death of his wife he sent his daughter to boarding schools with high security to try to keep her safe, and has moved around quite a bit, never staying in the same place year after year. So when he develops an attraction to Olivia, it pulls at him a little bit. Nevermind the fact that she thinks she can talk to animals and may be just a little strange in his opinion.

Olivia was pretty tame for a heroine of the book. Sure she had her thing with animals but it is downplayed so I kind of wonder why it was mentioned at all unless it was just to make the dog, Ginger, a more interesting character. I kind of would have liked to see more about it. Tanner was a pretty believable character though. His desperation between wanting to keep his daughter safe yet still wanting to make her happy was a conflict that I think a lot of parents would have and could relate to. And the daughter was cute, although she definitely acted older than her age. The only real problem I have with the characters is that they usually seem to be insanely rich or at least know someone or is related to someone who is. It'd be nice to have an average joe thrown in once in awhile who has some money issues. But I suppose that would ruin the fantasy of it all.

The plot was simple. Tanner comes to town, meets strange veterinarian, has worries about daughter and they all have family issues that they have to come to terms with. But they threw in the Christmas aspect and a little bit of magic (supernatural) and it gives it a twist. Since this is a romance novel I do have to say that there are sex scenes in the book. They aren't long or greatly graphic by any means, but they are there. So if you prefer your romances without the love scenes, Miller is probably not an author for you. The rest of the writing is down to earth and comfortable and it made it an enjoyable holiday read because of all the Christmas aspects in it.

I'll definitely continue to read Miller. It's hard to find a terrible book by her and I enjoy most of her books that I've come across.

A Stone Creek Christmas
Copyright 2008
211 pages