Great Christmas romance, I felt like Sam & Grace had a sweet relationship that Maggie (Sam’s daughter) helped coordinate. Her mom died the year before & Grace is her single teacher. I loved reading this relationship develop. Highly recommend reading this novel.

Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

Maggie’s only wish is for his father to be happy again. It’s been more than a year since her mother died in a car accident and Christmas will be. Difficult time. But meddling is worth if Maggie can get his father and her teacher together. Sweet and romantic.

This is a Cute Christmas Romance, and this is the 4th book in The Christmas Tree Ranch series. I have to say the beginning started off very slow moving, but once the story got moving I was pulled into it. I felt this was a cute Christmas Romance story. I loved the characters in this book. Maggie is a little girl in this book, and her mother passed away. She tries to set her father and her teacher in this book. I loved Maggie's character in this book. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Zebra) or author (Janet Dailey) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

This is a sweet romance between Sam, the town sheriff and Grace, his daughter Maggie’s, teacher. Maggie is adorable and wants her dad to be happy so she sets it up for them to meet. The only issue is Grace is leery about relationships due to her past of thinking she found the one only to change her mind.

Sam is still mourning his wife, who died in a car accident, but can’t seem to get Grace off his mind. While they keep getting thrown into each other’s lives, a friendship builds. Sam was gruff, but sweet. Grace was great, but a little leery. I really enjoyed this sweet holiday romance.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest, voluntary review.

A sweet and festive holiday romance, it made me smile and root for the characters. I wasn't a fan of another Christmas story by this author but I enjoyed this one.
The plot is well developed and flows, the characters are fleshed out and likeable.
I liked the festive atmosphere and the romance.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Santa's Sweetheart
by: Janet Dailey
Kensington Books, Zebra

This charming Christmas novel, by legendary author Janet Dailey, is the fourth in the Christmas Tree Ranch series. Set in the small community of Branding Iron, Texas, the book offers a sweet, romantic story of a single father and his daughter during the Christmas season. Santa's Sweetheart would make a delightful Christmas gift for lovers of holiday romance books and those who have cherished Janet Dailey's books over the years. Tuck it in a pretty holiday gift bag or basket for a loved one, and slip into your own Christmas stocking. It's sure to get you in the Christmas spirt!
Thank you to Net Galley and Kensington Books, Zebra for the copy of this book and opportunity to provide my unbiased review.
#SantasSweetheart #NetGalley

Thank you, NetGalley, Janet Dailey and Kensington Book, for the copy of Santa’s Sweetheart. This is my personal review.
This was a wonderful soft romance book that hit every emotion I have when I was reading it.
Grace and Sam are so perfect together. And then to toss in Sam’s daughter Maggie and this was surely going be a story that was made to be. There were a lot of ups and downs in the path to happiness for Sam and Grace.
I am sure you will like this charming soft romance as much as I did.

A sweet and charming holiday romance. The couple each has their issues that need to be resolved. Many heart-warming or tugs on the heart strings. I am not a Christmas person, so that part of the story was irrelevant to me. That did not prevent me from enjoying the emotions involved. The lack of cell phones did amuse me and think the story must have been written thirty years ago or when mobile phones were first becoming available.

What a cute story. It is well written and kept my interst it was also a fast read. It will definitely tug on your heart strings.


** I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review **

Love this author and series. If you haven't read it yet. I highly recommend doing so. I didn't read it in series order

Sam Delaney is the sheriff in Branding Iron Texas! He is widowed and raising his daughter Maggie. Maggie decides it is time for Sam to find a girlfriend and decides that her teacher Grace Chapman would be perfect. Grace is recovering from a broken engagement and not interested in a relationship. Maggie schemes to get them together and hopes they realize that they are meant to be a couple. Easy to read cute romance!


Thanks to Janet Dailey and Kensington Groningen Books, Zebra for the book

If you like sweet, tender romances with a strong, handsome hero and a smart, resilient heroine with a heart of gold, then this book is for you. Both Sam and Grace have suffered pain in their pasts and have erected guards around their hearts to prevent further heartbreak. Sam, the town’s Sheriff, is a recent widower and father to a young girl, Maggie. Maggie is determined to see her father happy again and decides to do a little matchmaking. As she sorts for through the possible candidates, her pretty teacher comes to mind. Her ingeniously simple plan provides the opportunity for them to meet and Fate helps things along as well. Grace is not looking for love or any relationships, her past having eroded any trust in men and their professions of love. It doesn’t take long for Sam and Grace to guess what Maggie is up to and they try to thwart her efforts. Yet, Fate keeps throwing them together, and little Maggie is very persistent and persuasive. Being around Grace is no hardship for Sam, and he begins to feel his grief lightening and his heart opening for his daughter’s sweet, compassionate teacher. Grace, however, is just not ready for any relationship, even though the Sheriff and his adorable daughter have claimed a piece of heart. Will the magic of the Christmas season help Sam and Grace find a future together, or will there only be more heartbreak for them all?

This story is told in alternating points of view ….Sam’s, Grace’s and Maggie’s. Little Maggie is definitely a scene stealer, a masterful salesperson and utterly delightful. This book is a charming and wonderful romance that can be read any time of year, not just during the holiday season. I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

This is a sweet romance. Sam Delaney is sheriff in small town Texas. He lost his wife a year ago. His 6-7 year old daughter Maggie thinks he needs a new girlfriend or wife. She actively looks for candidates over Thanksgiving weekend. She wants this all tied up by Christmas.
Grace Chapman is Maggie’s teacher. Maggie orchestrates a meeting between dad and teacher and the story picks up speed.
Sam and Grace are a good fit but it doesn’t look like it will work out until pretty close to the end.
This is a sweet romance without being saccharine. There are real life type issues that need resolving.
Branding Iron sounds like a nice town. It may be just a little stereotypical small town but it was a nice place to visit. I enjoyed reading Santa’s Sweetheart.

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

Janet Dailey doesn’t write sappy, she writes emotional and that is what she did in this book as well. We meet Maggie who lost her mom and wants to be sure her daddy is happy for the holidays and she loves her new teacher so why shouldn’t six-year-old Maggie believe they would be perfect together?

Sam is the widower sheriff and Grace has recently had her engagement broken. Both aren’t thinking love is in their immediate future but with Maggie having her way these two are bound to become a family.

I really enjoyed all the characters. I thought Maggie was adorable, even though I think sometimes Dailey forgot she was only six. This story is a deep emotional read for the holidays and will make you fall in love all over again.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fine book, it did some really interesting things with perspective. We get the typical 2 perspectives from the hero and heroine in the relationship but then we also get the perspective of the hero's 6 year old daughter. I really enjoyed having that 3rd perspective of someone who wasn't in the relationship. I do wish the perspective had been written to feel like it was from a 6 year old it, it felt more like a 13 year old, but it did really add to the story.

There are lots of side plots, one between the hero and someone struggling to get their life back on track from alcoholism, one between the heroine and a sleezy boss, between the heroine and her roommates, between the hero and the mayor. I felt that these side plots did help us to understand the main characters better but at times I cared more about the side plots than the main romance. It didn't feel like much of a romance because we don't see the two characters spend much alone time together to build the chemistry. I wasn't against them together but I also wasn't routing for them.

The Christmas theme was present in just the right amount. It was never overpowering but was their enough to make me feel the Christmas season was present. The writing was solid, I had no complaints about that. I would recommend this to someone looking for a clean romance that isn't all about the romance.

Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book. I have loved all of the books in the Christmas Tree Ranch series set in Branding Iron Texas. This book is no exception. I love the way the two main characters both have their relationship issues to deal with however they are able to work through them and find their way to each other for the expected happy ever after that comes along with a holiday read. I particularly liked the little girl Maggie. She had a lot of spunk, grit and determination to help her dad become happy. This is a great holiday read!!

Santa’s Sweetheart is the 2021 Christmas offering from prolific writer Janet Dailey. Sheriff Sam Delaney is a single father to young Maggie. His wife, Bethany, was lost in a traffic accident a little over a year ago. He is determined to do right by Maggie, especially when it comes to giving her a wonderful Christmas after the sad one last year that she spent with her grandparents.

Maggie has decided that her Daddy is sad and that he needs someone to share his life with so he will be happy again. The little matchmaker chooses her teacher, Miss Grace Chapman, for this purpose and even gets herself in trouble so her dad will need to meet with her teacher. While there may be sparks, both are still licking the wounds already inflicted in life. But perhaps fate may have other ideas as they seem to keep being thrown together. And when Sam is shot while interrupting a holdup, it is Grace who takes care of the adorable Maggie.

This is a lovely holiday story of hope and new beginnings. The characters are charming and the issues they present are all too real. I very much enjoyed this book and I wholeheartedly recommend it!

Santa's sweetheart is a delightful romance that is surely enough to make you dream of Christmas and happy ever after. Six year old Maggie, whose mother died, senses that her Dad is lonely and sometimes even sad so she tells him he needs a wife or at least a girlfriend. Maggie is only in the first grade but she knows her mother isn't coming back so she is on a mission to find a girlfriend for her Dad. Her Dad, Sam Delaney is the Sheriff and many single women would be most happy to fill that job, however, not the woman that Maggie ultimately chooses. This book is about falling in love and Christmas and all of it's miracles. The plot of the book brings them together but you will have to read the book to find out what seals the fate. It doesn't hurt that Sam and Maggie are thrown together naturally. The ending is a wonderful way to understand the joy of Christmas, forgiveness and new beginnings.

I received a DRC from Kensington Books/Zebra through NetGalley, for which I thank them.

This is another delightful holiday read. Perfect for fans of Christmas themed books or Hallmark Movies.
Premise.

Sheriff Sam Delaney is shouldering a lot as the lone lawman in the small Texas town of Branding Iron—and the widowed single father of six-year-old Maggie. Especially since Maggie’s determined that what her daddy needs this holiday season is a girlfriend. Suddenly Sam is hustled off to a meeting with Maggie’s schoolteacher—and surprised to discover the demure Grace Chapman is unexpectedly alluring. Then he’s roped into playing Santa at the annual Christmas ball, with the pretty Miss Grace by his side. It’s enough to make Sam even grumpier than usual—if not for the feelings sweet Grace stirs up inside...
I love the relationship between Sam and his daughter and how it evolved into him meeting Grace and how their love story blossoms. It was a very charming read.

Santa's Sweetheart (#4)
by Janet Dailey
Pub Date: September 28, 2021
The delightful and entertaining new holiday novel from the legendary author of dozens of treasured romances! This Christmas, visit the small town of Branding Iron, Texas, where it’s time for the Cowboy Christmas Ball and one irritable sheriff is about to get in the spirit of the season…and find love along the way.
This was a cute holiday story. I enjoyed the characters and the story.
I think you will really enjoy this book!

3 star