Review

Lissette Moncreif is having one rough break after another. First, her husband was tragically killed in war. Then, she receives news that her son is losing his hearing and there is nothing they can do to save it. Next, she rear-ends a strange man’s pick-up truck in the supermarket’s parking lot. How much more can a woman take?

Rafferty Jones watches the mother go into hysterics after the minor fender bender. Sure, she is a beauty but he should leave her alone. She is definitely a woman who has issues and he can’t afford to play knight in shining armor to anyone. He is in town to meet his sister in-law and give her the money she’s due.

Rafferty and Lissette are both surprised when he shows up at her door to deliver the money Lissette’s deceased husband left to Rafferty. From the moment Rafferty steps across Lissette’s threshold, trouble follows. He just wants to help her and his nephew, but he finds himself wanting to be in her life more as the day passes.

Lissette is one of my favorite heroines. She definitely shows a lot of development and growth in her character. She struggles with her independence and learning to stick up for herself, but she shows remarkable improvement. Her mother in-law is a true villain. For the most part, I couldn’t understand how she showed so much love towards Lissette when she did all of those horrible things to Rafferty as a kid.

Rafferty grew up in horrible conditions in California. His mother didn’t care for him or his siblings and his father never acknowledged him. He didn’t even know about his half-brother until he was older and they never built a relationship. So it is surprising that his brother would leave Rafferty all of his money instead of his wife and child.

I love coming back to visit the small town of Jubilee, Texas. We get to see what happened to some of my favorite characters, which is always fun. I love Rafferty and Lissette’s story so much. I think it’s because it has a holiday theme and because both characters have so much pain in their past that I felt they deserved a happily ever after.  There is a redemption story in there with Lissette’s mother in-law and, of course, Rafferty has to overcome some obstacles, but this is such a warm Christmas romance.