Review: A Cowboy's Christmas Promise by Maggie McGinnis

Boston veterinarian Hayley Scampini tends the city’s pampered pets but dreams of the rural life of a country vet. She’s single and determined to stay that way, convinced that love isn’t permanent enough to trust. Then a vacation to the Whisper Creek dude ranch introduces her to Daniel McKee, a sexy single dad who runs the kind of veterinary practice she aspires to—and rattles her conviction to keep men at a distance.

Managing a thriving practice, coping with the loss of his wife, and fighting a custody battle with his in-laws over his twin daughters, Daniel couldn’t be more overwhelmed. Hayley is a godsend, accompanying him in the field and winning over his girls. It doesn’t take Daniel long to realize he’s falling for this woman, hard and fast. So before Hayley returns to Boston, he extracts a promise: that she will return to Whisper Creek for Christmas. It’s the perfect time and place to show Hayley that the promise of a beautiful life together is something she can believe in.
  


Expected publication: November 18th 2014 by Loveswept
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Kristine's Thoughts:

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from Loveswept via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

The title of this book is a little misleading. Yes, some of it occurs over the Christmas holiday but a great deal of it does not. I fear that people may only want to read it around the holiday season but it is a book that can be read and enjoyed any time of year.

This is a super easy and quick read about two people who are struggling with their pasts and who are afraid for their future because of it. Daniel is raising his seven year old twin girls alone and coping with the fact that his wife has been gone for two years. He is trying to balance his domestic life with his professional life that keeps pulling him away from his girls. Hayley is busy running her Uncle's vet practise for pampered pooches while wishing she could be caring for "real" or larger animals. She is single and that is just the way she likes it. She doesn't want to get close to any man for any length of time because she fears they will end up leaving like the men in her past. She doesn't want to make the same mistakes her mother made.

Then they meet...

As much as they don't want to admit it, there is an instant attraction that catches them both off guard. This is not just a simple story of two people coming together. There are conflicting emotions of guilt, sadness, fear as well as geographic differences and two young girls to consider.

All of the characters in this book are wonderful. Well, most of them are. I adored both Daniel and Hayley and loved the chemistry between the two. The easy bantering between the two of them had me smiling on many occasions. I also loved the way Hayley interacted with the twins and the relationship they had with each other.

This is a sweet and emotional story of an attraction that deals with real problems in an honest and realistic way. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

*Warning*

Reading this book will make you crave cupcakes and want to make snow angels!

About the Author

Maggie started writing when her twins were infants and she was desperately  seeking sanity. The fact that she found it only with imaginary people makes her a bit concerned, but at least they do what she tells them to...usually.

She lives in New England, but spends an inordinate amount of time on Arizona real estate sites in mid-January. While snow piles up to her windowsills, she cyber-stalks the blue skies and pink houses of the Southwest. It's cheaper than therapy...

She used to be an English teacher, a certified black belt, and a cool-car driver. Then...twins. Now she swills caffeine while driving the one vehicle she swore she'd never own: a minivan. It sort of hurts to admit it.

Her debut novel, a cozy mystery, was a Golden Heart finalist, and her debut romance, Accidental Cowgirl, is a USA Today bestseller.