Review: A Cold Creek Christmas Surprise by RaeAnne Thayne

USA TODAY bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne brings readers back to the ranch for an emotional holiday visit with The Cowboys of Cold Creek!

Hardened rancher Ridge Bowman has long told himself he has no need for love—just work and his little girl are enough to get him through. But when his "cleaning lady," Sarah Whitmore, gets injured on his staircase, well, of course he has to invite her to spend the holidays with him. It's only the responsible thing to do.

Only, Sarah isn't really there to work on his house. She came bearing precious artwork belonging to Ridge's late mother, and possibly a secret that could devastate them both. But as Christmas draws closer, so does Ridge—and Sarah convinces herself that she will tell him what she knows as soon as the holiday is over. She might be the key to his past—if only he could be a part of her future…

Paperback, 224 pages

Published November 19th 2013 by Harlequin

Terri's Thoughts:

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  I was in search of a good Christmas read and since I had not previously read any of Thayne's work I went in to this without any expectations and an open mind.

I have to admit that I enjoyed this read quite a bit and perhaps a little more than I thought I would.  Since this was an instalment in a series of book about Cold Creek I was worried that I would not be able to read this as a stand alone novel.  I was wrong.

This was a story about family, Christmas and forgiveness.  I fell in love with the entire Bowman family and I can understand why there are twelve stories written around this family and town.  Although the story does follow the typical formula one would expect in this type of novel I found that there was more depth in the characters and the storyline than other stories I have read in this genre.  One thing I really liked was that this story did not have any sex scenes in it.  While not opposed to this I do find that often the attraction between two characters is only physical and I struggle to find any other connection.  This was not the case in this read.  The attraction between Sarah and Ridge was an emotional one and therefore in my opinion made it a much more interesting read.

I do have to admit that it seemed hard to believe that there were so many wonderful people in one family however I suppose that is the reason this is fiction.  If I wanted reality I would not have picked this book up.  It was a great escape and just the Christmas read I was looking for.  I am now curious about the other Cold Creek stories and I will be spending some time catching up with the rest of the series.

I am glad I was introduced to Thayne's work and I will be reading more of it in the future.

About the Author (from Goodreads profile)

I'm not one of those people who knew from birth she was destined to become a writer. I always loved to read and throughout my childhood I could usually be found with a book in my hands. To the disgust of my friends, I even enjoyed creative writing assignments that made them all groan. But I had other dreams besides writing. I wanted to be an actress or a teacher or a lawyer.

Life took a different turn for me, though, when my mother made me take a journalism elective in high school (thanks, Mom!). I knew the first day that this was where I belonged.

After I graduated from college in journalism, I took a job at the local daily newspaper and I reveled in the challenge and the diversity of it. One day I could be interviewing the latest country music star, the next day I was writing about local motorcycle gangs or interviewing an award-winning scientist.

Through it all -- through the natural progression of my career from reporter to editor -- I wrote stories in my head. Not just any stories, either, but romances, the kind of books I have devoured since junior high school, with tales about real people going through the trials and tribulations of life until they find deep and lasting love.

I had no idea how to put these people on paper, but knew I had to try -- their stories were too compelling for me to ignore. I sold my first book in 1995 and now, more than 30 books later, I've come to love everything about writing, from the click of the computer keys under my fingers to the "that's-it!" feeling I get when a story is flowing.

I write full-time now (well, as full-time as I can manage juggling my kids!) amid the raw beauty of the northern Utah mountains.

Even though I might not have dreamed of being a writer when I was younger, now I simply can't imagine my life any other way.


Website:  http://www.raeannethayne.com   
Twitter:   #raeannethayne