Cowboy’s Christmas Girlfriend
by Leslie North
Release Date: Available Now
My review:
“Cowboy’s Christmas Girlfriend” is the first book in the ‘Carson Christmas Games’ series by Leslie North. It’s a single dad, friends-to-lovers, fake relationship romance with just the right balance of sweetness and steaminess to make it a perfect escape from everyday life.
Suzanna is a novelist who develops a friendship with Will, a rancher she met in an online forum where she was posting questions as part of her research for a book she was writing. Sometime later, she shares with him the awkward situation she’s now found herself in; for some reason she told her publisher she lives on a ranch, which she doesn’t, and they want to interview her there. Will has problems of his own – single and his own family members are relentlessly harassing him to date. The handsome widower is busy enough running the huge ranch and raising his twin 6-year-old daughters – he has no interest in trying to start a new relationship. Obviously, they decide to help one another out. She can be filmed and interviewed at his ranch, and he can tell his family that she’s his girlfriend. Yes, the story is predictable, but it’s also entertaining and fun. I wish I could attend the Carson Christmas Games because they sound awesome.
This book is like a delicious holiday movie you can hold in your hand. Suzanne and Will are likable, kind-hearted characters with good intentions. There are plenty of entertaining secondary characters, including his daughters and his mother and the rest of his extended family, all of whom descend upon the ranch for a wide variety of holiday activities. It’s nicely written so you can picture in your mind everything that’s happening as the story progresses. The author creates a delicate balance of funny, emotional, steamy, and sweet along the way to the happy conclusion of this quick and easy to read book.