Big Sky Christmas by C.J. Carmichael

**This book was received in a Goodreads Giveaway**

I have to say, this fourth and final book in the Coffee Creek Montana series certainly improved upon the third book. The characters were written better and the plot moved along better. And because it is the fourth book, it's one of those series that would be helpful to read in order. Especially because this one relies a lot on the history from the other books.

Winnie has finally returned to Coffee Creek. In Book One, we saw her on her wedding day, about to get married to Brock Lambert, when a terrible accident killed him on his way to the church. Now, almost two years later, she returns with her son (she was pregnant with Brock's child)and finds herself trying to fit in with the Lambert family despite an overbearing almost-mother-in-law. And to make things even more complicated, she has feelings for Brock's foster brother, Jackson, who feels so much guilt over the accident that he's just not prepared to have any kind of interest in Winnie.

I was glad we got to see more of Winnie in this book. She kind of just disappears in the first book and then we only have phone conversations between characters with her in the next two. And it did seem unfair that she lost her fiance and never had another chance for love within those books. Jackson is also a well written character. But I can't say I like him. But that's probably because he just isn't my type. Regardless, he has fully developed emotions in this book and is believable. The only character I didn't really like was Olive, the matriarch of the Lambert family. She's hard to get along with anyway, but she has some unexpected changes of heart in this book that are just never fully explained.

This wasn't an exciting plot. It was more angst and emotion driven. But I thought it was well done. I really wanted to see what would happen with Jackson and Winnie. And some side plots that the author had been creating in the previous books were also resolved in this one. So that provided some closure. Maybe they weren't as dramatic as I was expecting, but they were realistic. This is a romance novel, but aside from the unsnapping of a bra, they weren't descriptive. It's a tame romance novel in that regard. So if you're looking for cowboys and love stories, this is going to be in that genre.

I'm glad the series ended on a positive note. Overall it's been pretty good and since I'm partial to cowboys and Montana, I was happy to read about Coffee Creek. I also wouldn't be adverse to this not being the final book in the series.

Big Sky Christmas
Copyright 2013
216 pages

Promise From A Cowboy by C.J. Carmichael

You would expect grown men to have a little more sense. Especially if they're trying harder to be responsible. But in this 3rd book of the Coffee Creek Montana series, common sense is hard to find. And being that it's the 3rd book, I'd highly recommend reading the series in order if you want to understand the characters, although it isn't entirely necessary.

B.J. Lambert has decided that the rodeo just doesn't hold the draw for him it used to. In fact, the sheriff from his hometown has more appeal. But then again, she always has for him. But it's a shame she doesn't trust him because of an unfortunately fire that involved him and her brother as youths. Because of that, and the new evidence found in it, he may find that Sheriff Savannah will never be willing to have feelings for him.

B.J. is infuriating. He tries to hold back things on the pretense of not hurting someone, even when they tell him the truth would make them feel better. It makes absolutely no sense and is just used to drive the plot. I quickly became disgusted with his character and would not have seen him the way that Savannah does. Savannah herself is a pretty strong woman. She has to be, to be the sheriff, so that too baffles me why she would fall for someone who's obviously not up to her standards. I was relieved to see the mother drama of the Lambert clan was toned down a bit. I don't like the woman, and that's probably the intent of the book, but it makes me want to skip over the parts that mention her.

The fact that a poor decision on keeping the truth is what drives this plot makes this one of the weaker ones in the series. Sure it moves along at a good pace and more loose ends in the Lambert family are tied up, but I've come to expect better from the series. Since they have a great setting (Montana) and cowboy characters, there's some good ingredients in the mix. It's not a bad book, but it certainly isn't one of the better ones in the series. And for the romance aspect of it, it's all pretty mild, so if you don't like graphic sex scenes, this would probably be a series right up your alley.

I'm eager to see what the fourth and final book will bring. Hopefully it will be better than this one.

Promise From a Cowboy
Copyright 2013
216 pages

Her Cowboy Dilemma by C.J. Carmichael

This is the second book in the Coffee Creek Montana series. You could read them in order, but having read the first book, I don't think it's entirely necessary. There's a prologue on this one so it kind of fills in the backstory and you can muddle through without any trouble. That being said, I do think the first was a better written book.

Cassidy has just graduated and while she waits to hear about a job interview, she's moving back home. Something she's not looking forward to with her overbearing mother. And her arrival coincides with an outbreak of illness in their horses on the ranch. Which means that she's going to have to spend a lot of time with the local vet; a man whose heart she broke and he's never forgiven her for it.

Cassidy is kind of a weak character. She spends all this time being passionate about something but doesn't seem to truly know herself and has multiple changes of heart. She's flaky. The male lead is actually the better character this time around. He had a wide range of emotions and strong feelings and was very appealing. The mother; I can't decide if she's for real or not. I know there are people out there like her, but it's hard to believe no one has really called her down for her actions and gave her some consequences. It's infuriating at times. I also grew tired of the conflict with her sister. Since the author isn't willing to even let a tidbit drop about what was going on, I kind of just lost interest.

I also thought the plot was weaker this time around. It seemed very out there with the cause of the horse illness and the "strife" between Cassidy and Dan seemed forced. Especially since they are able to dash it away pretty quickly. But being that this is a romance novel I can't absolutely trash the book. It was still mostly entertaining and involved cowboys. Those are good things. I just sometimes wish that romance novel writers would spend more time developing stories and characters, especially if they have a lot of potential to begin with. And since this was a quick read, it was hard to put down. On the romance side of things there wasn't a whole lot of description, but things were insinuated.

Not the best in the series so far, but I still think this is a series worth reading. Can't wait to get on to the next

Her Cowboy Dilemma
Copyright 2013
219 pages

Remember Me, Cowboy by C.J. Carmichael

Cowboy romances, they are definitely my guilty pleasure. After all, what's better than some handsome dude on the cover in a cowboy hat? The story doesn't even have to be good as long as I can keep flipping back to the cover. Luckily, the story in this one is decent even if the cover is tantalizing. Although I keep looking at it and forgetting what it is I'm trying to write here...

Laurel is in town for her friend's wedding. She hasn't been to Montana for awhile since moving to New York and starting a life there for herself. But the day of the wedding several members of the party are involved in a terrible accident. Including the man that Laurel slept with at the rehearsal dinner. The man that is the father of her unborn child and now doesn't have a clue who she is due to amnesia.

This is a short romance novel. None of the characters are particularly well developed. There's a lot of hints at their stories and pasts, but nothing is fully fleshed out. And a lot is left hanging (this is the 1st book in a series though, so anything could happen). We have conflict between characters that is never resolved, and that's a little irritating. Laurel is decent. She starts out knowing what she wants but then kind of has to readjust her whole way of thinking when she finds out she is pregnant. And I do think that she lets people walk on her too much. Corb didn't have much of a personality.
Sure he does sweet things, but aside from the amnesia, we don't really know that much about him. It makes it hard to really go crazy for him as a character.

I'm never too tough on romance novel plots. They have to follow a formula and getting the next bestseller out of those kinds of conditions just isn't going to happen. This one was decent. Rushed, and a lot of conflict thrown in in an attempt to make it interesting. But the amnesia wasn't the usual so I found that unique at least. I also liked the family issues thrown in as they made it seem realistic. This was a regular romance novel so I was surprised to see the romantic parts glossed over. All flash and no bang. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but just surprising. So if you're looking for something descriptive in that realm, it's just not here.

I'll keep reading the series. They are entertaining and I do like my cowboys. For the first in a series, it wasn't a bad start.

Remember Me, Cowboy
Copyright 2013
217 pages