Acquired Book By: I’ve been hosting for Prism Book Tours since September of 2017 – having noticed the badge on Tressa’s blog (Wishful Endings) as we would partake in the same blog tours and/or book blogosphere memes. As I enquired about hosting for Prism, I found I liked the niche of authors and stories they were featuring regularly. Oft-times you’ll find Prism Book Tours alighting on my blog through the series of guest features and spotlights with notes I’ll be hosting on behalf of their authors when I’m not showcasing book reviews on behalf of Harlequin Heartwarming which has become my second favourite imprint of Harlequin next to my beloved #LoveINSPIRED Suspense. I am also keenly happy PRISM hosts a variety of Indie Authors and INSPY Fiction novelists.
I received a complimentary copy of “The Cowboy’s Christmas Baby” direct from the author Cathy McDavid in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
What I loved most about the first novel of the Sweetheart Ranch series:
Of all the places I’ve stayed as I’ve travelled the best places by far are Bed and Breakfast Inns!! They have a cosy comfort level to them, most are in historic homes and all of them have their quirky hosts and hostesses who are welcoming you into their home for the duration of your stay! Unless, like what Molly and her Grandma Em were trying to accomplish – the B&B was also inclusive of cabins, which is rather ideal as it enlarges your booking possibilities!
McDavid doesn’t hesitate to talk about the worries and grief associated with historic properties either – from how issues can arise out of the blue with utilities to how doors can become warped or knobs can be frustrating to open; she presents a realistic impression on historic buildings and their upkeep which is a refreshing find as it anchours her story firmly in reality.
I did have a good chuckle over how strained Molly felt realising her and Bridget were going to have open the Sweetheart Ranch on their own! She was just getting to the point where she believed in this idea her grandmother had of focusing on hosting weddings in a unique setting which could draw clients to their B&B when she encounters a shocking surprise the day of the ‘big reveal’!! Watching her interact with Owen, the father of three who is still trying to sort out his life one hour at a time, gave me a heartfelt smile, as even Molly was having trouble staying upset with Owen – as he was an unexpected arrival. Owen for his part was trying to smooth things over with Molly, even encouraging her to let him help due the tasks which were either inclusive of heavy lifting or tasks she could easily delegate to him.
I was overjoyed finding out what McDavid had in store for Owen!! I sensed it was going to head in that direction (in regards to his career) but watching it unfold was priceless! I also liked how she brought back Grandma Em right at a moment where the girls (Bridget and Molly) needed her to return. This is a novel centered round family and how sometimes, in order to find the tomorrow your wanting most in your life – you have to be willing to take risks. Without risking your heart, you lose the chance to find someone who is your rightful match and without being willing to go outside your comfort zones – sometimes you miss opportunities for self-growth.
What I noticed straightaway is how McDavid places us into the heart of the drama as it is unfolding – the curious bit there is you get to see her characters off-guard and out of confidence from who they are when things are going right. It leads to seeing their faults a bit earlier on in the story-line but also, to see their hearts and what makes them individualistically centred. For Molly and Bridget might have different personalities, there is no denying their sisters. Each of them helps compliment the other by what they are able to do in the pinch of a moment where life throws them a few curve balls! For this, I appreciated the choices McDavid was making on their behalf – as she was guiding us into where their lives shifted into the chaotic before giving us a path back to the serenity they once had known.
I look forward to seeing what develops through the series – being a quartet, I can imagine the POV is going to switch back and forth from characters we’ve become introduced too already in this first installment and newer characters we might meet in future ones. The best part of how this series was founded though is that McDavid kept family center-most of importance but also, how sometimes you have to encourage yourself to see life from different angles. Similar to how Bridget kept trying to encourage her sister Molly. It is one thing to see life from one perspective all the time but if you give yourself a chance to exchange one view for another, the surprises it affords could make the biggest differences.
-quoted from my review of A Cowboy’s Christmas Proposal
The Cowboy's Christmas Baby
Subtitle: The Sweetheart Ranch
by Cathy McDavid
Source: Author via Prism Book Tours
She gifted him with a daughter
He stunned her with the truth
When Tanner Bridwell discovers he’s a father, he gains some much needed hope. A year ago, Tanner lost his livelihood as a champion bull rider, and—more important—Jewel Saunders, the love of his life. Now this cowboy wants to do right by his family. But first he must reveal a stunning secret that will send Jewel and his beloved daughter either packing…or into his arms forever!
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 9781335510891
Also by this author: A Cowboy's Christmas Proposal, The Cowboy's Perfect Match, Her Cowboy Sweetheart (Spotlight w/ Notes), Her Cowboy Sweetheart
Also in this series: A Cowboy's Christmas Proposal, The Cowboy's Perfect Match, Her Cowboy Sweetheart (Spotlight w/ Notes), Her Cowboy Sweetheart
Published by Harlequin Books, Harlequin Heartwarming
on 1st November, 2019
Format: Larger Print (Mass Market Paperback)
Pages: 384
Published by: Harlequin Heartwarming,
an imprint of Harlequin Books (@HarlequinBooks)
Formats Available: Ebook and Paperback
The Sweetheart Ranch series:
A Cowboy’s Christmas Proposal (book one) | see also review
The Cowboy’s Perfect Match (book two) | see also review
The Cowboy’s Christmas Baby (book three)
This series is evolving into a proper quartet – there are four books planned!
Converse via: #Contemporary #Romance & #Harlequin Heartwarming
About Cathy McDavid
In the third grade, NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Cathy McDavid made it her goal to read every Black Stallion book ever written. Who knew such an illustrious ambition would eventually lead to a lifelong love of all things western and a career writing contemporary romances for Harlequin? With over 1.2 million books sold, Cathy is also a member of the prestigious Romance Writers of America’s Honor Roll.
An “almost” Arizona native, she’s married to her own real-life sweetheart, whom she re-met a few years ago at a high school reunion. Her grown twins are out on their own and finding their happily-ever-afters. In 2014, Cathy retired from the corporate world to write full-time. She now spends her days penning stories about good looking cowboys riding the range, busting a bronc, and sweeping gals off their feet. It a tough job, but she’s willing to make the sacrifice.
a note of gratitude to Prism:
I cannot believe a year has passed since I read my first Cathy McDavid story and began my journey inside the Sweetheart Ranch series! I’ve been blogging quite a bit this year about my love and admiration for Harlequin Heartwarming (from my sixth blogoversary to Top Ten Tuesday) which blessedly is due to hosting for Prism Book Tours. When I first learnt of this particular series – there was something about the enterprising nature of the series itself – how you could turn a ranch into a working business and have it sustainable on the artful grace of hosting weddings! They can host other occasions but this is my favourite feature they have – they developed a wedding venue whilst giving visitors a Western experience.
I am truly thankful to Prism for giving me the joy of hosting Ms McDavid for three blog tours and for finding myself truly moved by the stories the author is knitting inside this series! I also noted that she moved back to the roots of the series, as it began on a Christmas story and a full year later, we have our second! Isn’t that quite lovely?
my review of the cowboy’s christmas baby:
You immediately get attached to Jewel, Ava and Tanner’s situation because of how heart-wrenching it truly is once you learn all the facts about what caused the distance to erupt between Jewel and Tanner! Tanner is the kind of son and brother you’d hoped to have in your family – the kind where honour and loyalty are his best attributes but when it comes to balancing his family with his girlfriend, this is where his first fault is revealled. Tanner didn’t handle himself well with Jewel and this is also why little Ava despite her innocent acceptance of him didn’t know him from Adam. I also loved how in the opening pages Tanner is fuming at Jewel, when in theory you’d have thought Jewel would have been beyond angry at Tanner; at least, she was initially but I think its the shock of being reunited which overtook her moreso than the anger itself.
Just acknowledging what had transpired in their lives felt like a soap opera – you can hardly believe any of that could be true and yet, the ways in which McDavid writes the story – you cannot help but believe the situation because of how true it truly is to believe plausible! If anything you have sympathy for these two beyond the obvious reasons and your empathy for their plight is what leads you into the next pages… with an itch to see if they can either work through their differences and heal the past or if they need to temper their own reactions for the sake of Ava. Whichever way McBride had envisioned this story to go, all I knew is that I was ready to take the journey!
I felt it was fitting Emily was the one who met and took Jewel round Sweetheart Ranch – she has this kind-hearted grandmotherly persona which suits her well and she still had that distinctive glow of the recently married about her as well. The irony of course is how readily Jewel is finding that this ranch and the community which surrounds it is a small world. Meaning, there are a lot of interconnections between the towne, the ranch and the overall region therein. If she felt that trying to cut out a new life for herself and Ava would be seamless whilst finding out Tanner was living here as well – wells, let’s just say she short-changed herself for a bit of grief!
McBride definitely sorted out a way to bridge us into the difficulties of where a hidden pregnancy once revealled can become the unexpected nightmare for the parents. Tanner was unfortunately being a stubborn as a bull in July – not wavering his stance or even trying to understand the path Jewel had walked without him present. Whilst at the same time, Jewel was trying not to just confront her feelings for Tanner or the repercussions of knowing his whereabouts given he’s the father of her child but there was a finer point towards what is best for not just the child but the parents of the child. This is one of those slippery slopes where because they weren’t officially married nor separated, they are in that gray area where the law recognises both of them but that doesn’t meant they are mutually exclusive in their claim for the child.
I liked how McBride was presenting the case for Ava – she didn’t add judgement to the situation but carefully started to weave in the consequences of what happens when a baby comes into your life when your not planning to conceive. It takes both parties to realise their roles and to feel comfortable in the role they inherently want to occupy but its even more complicated than that when you don’t have a custody agreement penned between you. I felt the rest of the story might bring us towards that conclusion – how do you deal with an unplanned pregnancy, a reluctant Mum who is wary of her ex-boyfriend (as there are a layer of trust issues) and legal circumstances above and beyond this situation which could wreck even more heartache on their fragile state of family?
The complexities of this story keep building the harder McBride takes us into the conspiracy of what is surrounding the key case at the centre of the drama. A conspiracy in this case to subvert the truth even of a worthy case felt to me to be a bit too much to ask of those who were remaining quiet because it put themselves in jeopardy. Not just for the rumours but the situational stickiness of never being able to be open with responses to even simple questions which might route back round to the issues of why they are choosing to remain silent. I felt McBride wrote a dearly realistic story-line which has a lot of hidden layers – she pulls apart her character’s emotional states by placing you centre-fold into their lives – to understand what is compelling them to lie or to at least cover the truth with half-truths for an outcome which on the surface seems to be the right way to go for this particular set of circumstances but overall, you just feel the worst for how unrealistic the plan is to execute.
I also felt Tanner’s Dad was the most unsympathetic character I’ve come across in quite a long while – he was putting himself first and trying to convince everyone in his wake that his way was the better way and no other way could possibly be equal to his own choices. That kind of attitude had to be wrecking on a soul level to Tanner as the two men were night and day apart from each other especially in regards to how they approached parenting and family. For Tanner, being unexpected reunited with Jewel was a second chance in the making but for Tanner’s father, the unexpected was proving to be the pitfall of his relationship with his son.
Whilst all of this is brewing, the Sweetheart Ranch is chasing into a busy season for their weddings and other bookings; hence why it made sense to hire Jewel as they needed someone they could rely upon in-house to take care of their photography needs. I personally felt it was quite the gig to achieve as she was being given the options to still pursue her own endeavours as long as she could take care of her duties at the ranch. I even liked whom McBride selected for the babysitter for Ava it is showed how you can live an unconventional life even at an earlier age (in this case high school) whilst carving out your own path to walk on your own terms with great success. I love finding non-traditional characters and Tracee definitely was one of the most interesting teens I’ve had the chance to spend time with recently!
I truly felt for Jewel and Tanner – they were both trying to combat the past with the present but when you factored in how tarnished Tanner’s reputation was in his sport and how disillusioned her parents were with him as well, you nearly wondered how they could come out of this unscathed! They deserved a proper second chance – to work through their relationship, iron out how they wanted to parent Ava and to give themselves a chance to heal through the heartaches which had eroded into their young lives. Time can do wonders but sometimes you find that not everyone round you is willing to give you that kind of leeway. This is where McBride excelled in proving how hard it is to resolve major disconnections in relationships and how hard it is to repair a family who never had the proper chance of becoming one.
on the western styling of cathy mcdavid:
The author’s note inside The Cowboy’s Christmas Baby revealled how McDavid had considered owning a ranch similar to this one she’s created in the Sweetheart Ranch series. I had to agree with her that the concept behind the ranch and the ways in which it is run is very alluring because you are focusing on the happier moments in all of our lives. To rejoice in that kind of goodwill and thankfulness on a continuing basis would be beyond uplifting because you’re helping to seal the memories of life changing events which become the cornerstones of people’s lives!
Similar to the seamless transition I felt when I was reading The Cowboy’s Perfect Match – I also felt transitioning into this novel after reading one earlier in Spring was as easy as regularly Saturday family dinners! You get to re-visit with beloved characters, re-settle into the time-line of Sweetheart Ranch and find new characters you’re drawn into reading about due to their aspirations and the stories they have to share with us all.
It is a warm and welcoming series towards that end
and McBride never fails to leave me hankering after more stories set at Sweetheart Ranch!
This blog tour is courtesy of: Prism Book Tours
By clicking this badge you can find out about the giveaway associated with the tour;
my particular tour stop doesn’t host the giveaway as I’m a review stop, however,
you’ll find many other bloggers who are hosting the information!
This was read during the following readathon:
Read my TBR for the #HoHoHoRAT!
This book review is cross-posted to LibraryThing.
{SOURCES: Cover art of “A Cowboy’s Christmas Proposal”, “The Cowboy’s Perfect Match” and “The Cowboy’s Christmas Baby”, book synopsis, author biography, author photograph of Cathy McDavid and the Prism Book Tours badge were all provided by Prism Book Tours and used with permission. LibraryThing banner was provided by LibraryThing and is used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Book Review Banner using Unsplash.com (Creative Commons Zero) Photography by Frank McKenna, #HoHoHoRAT 2019 badge and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2019.
I’m a social reader | I tweet my reading life
#JorieReads | #ChristmasRomance
during #HoHoHoRAT?Returning to the Sweetheart Ranch series by @CathyMcDavid was a sweet #holidayreads treat! I heart #WesternRomances like this one – tender, sweet & blissfully realistic! #sogood?
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— Jorie jumps hyperspace into #SciFiMonth??? (@joriestory) November 15, 2019
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
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