She claimed to be a waitress and a single mother, but Rebecca Parsons doesn't look like any hash-slinger Pine Gulch Police Chief Trace Bowman has ever seen. And she doesn't seem particularly maternal toward her little girl, either. Still, one look in her vulnerable green eyes and his protective instincts go into overdrive.

Attention from local law enforcement is the last thing Becca needs. She'll do anything to protect her little sister Gabi from their con-artist mother, even lie about their identities. When Trace shows up at their house carrying a Christmas tree and stirring desires she can't afford to indulge, she longs to surrender to the magic of the season with him. But Becca's past is catching up—fast. Can her sexy police chief perform a Christmas miracle?

Review

Rebecca Parsons is trying to lead a simple life with her little girl. When her grandfather’s attorney calls to tell her that she inherited his house in Pine Gulch, Rebecca jumps on it. Now she is stable with a job at the local diner but trouble comes to her in the form of Chief Trace Bowman. The man oozes sensuality but his law enforcement background keeps Rebecca at bay.

Trace can spot a fraud in Rebecca. She doesn’t belong in the diner and her little girl is unusually quiet. He inches his way into their lives to find out why they are really in Pine Gulch. Trace doesn’t know that Gabby is not Rebecca’s daughter but her sister and that their mother is a con artist who dropped Gabby off at Rebecca’s house and nearly destroyed Rebecca’s career as an attorney.

My problem with this book is that the author did not focus on the romance at all. It is almost as though she forgot this is a romance novel. Trace and Rebecca have a mutual attraction and there is some kissing but they never acted on their emotions because the story focused more on Rebecca’s secret and her struggle to protect Gabby. I became more interested in knowing how Rebecca was going to keep Gabby than in Rebecca and Chase. The characters are great individually but together there is barely a spark.

The holiday theme is still strong in the book but it became overshadowed with Rebecca’s issues as well. I really wanted to give this a higher rating but the story lacked passion and romance which is exactly what I wanted.

Reviewed by Samantha

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