One of my all time favorite authors. This story went back in time to tell about Maggie's (previous main character in another Branding Iron book) dad.

Janet Dailey brings us to the small town of Branding Iron, Texas. We meet Sheriff Sam Delaney and his daughter Maggie. They are celebrating their first Christmas without Maggie's mother. Maggie is determined that her father would smile again and reminds him that mom wouldn't want him to be alone. This launches her to play matchmaker by scheming to have her dad meet her teacher, Ms. Grace Chapman. When circumstances bring Sam and Grace together time and time again, will they allow their past to get in the way of their future?

Janet Dailey brings us a feel good love story. She draws you into the story meeting Sam, Maggie, and Grace as well as the rest of the townspeople. It makes you want to see what will happen to them and keeps you turning the page. I enjoyed reading this story and look forward to reading more from this author.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I would like to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books, Zebra for this privilege.

I am new to this author and I loved her style of writing, everything within the book was appealing and realistic. This is a sweet, enjoyable, Christmas read with great descriptions. I have a very romantic heart and the mix of Christmas vibes and all the "good" feels blended so well and had me hooked! This is a wonderfully, perfect holiday romance. Great storyline that gave me all the warm and cozy feels. Set in a small town (my fave!!), with excellent and enjoyable characters. I'll be searching out more Jeanet Dailey books for sure!

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC.

Sheriff Sam’s young daughter, Maggie, has decided he needs someone special in his life. Maggie feels that her teacher, Grace, is the perfect person for her dad, and for her. Maggie is super excited when Sam is “volunteered” to be Santa for the Christmas Ball, but the holidays are a painful reminder of when Sam’s wife died. Can Sam get past his grief? Can Grace work out why previous relationships didn’t work? They must each get past hurts and challenges, if they’re ever to find happiness. Author Janet Dailey has again given us a wonderful story with strong characters. I’d love to see their story continued in another book!

3.5

This is a very sweet Christmas story that tugs on your heartstrings continuously as the story progresses. It’s cute, sad, happy, loving, merry, bittersweet, and all those other emotions you could possibly feel all wrapped up into one little book.
In this story, Sheriff Sam Delany is doing the best that he can raising his six year old little girl Maggie all alone ever since his wife passed away last Christmas. Maggie isn’t making things easier since she has decided that this year her daddy needs to find a girlfriend and she’s going to find him one! She hones in on her teacher, Grace Chapman. To get them to meet, Maggie takes drastic measures. Once they do, there are sparks but both have baggage.
Sam is still reeling from the loss of his wife though he’s healing and Grace? Well, Grace is an absolute mess in the man department. She has issues that go all the way back to her father and they only get worse from there!
Never underestimate the power of a 6 year old,though. Maggie is as determined as one can be that Grace and her father are perfect for each other; they just don’t know it yet but she sees how happy her daddy gets when they are together and how Miss Chapman’s smile becomes bigger. Now the grown ups just have to see it too.
This book is cute. It’s got a lot of angsty stuff that’s frustrating because you just want to push the two together and yell at them! Still, the push and pull of the story is what makes it work. The building of the characters is terrific. You really get a feel for them and they seem so real even when they also seem so unrealistic. They seem way too nice to be real and sometimes Maggie seems way older than six. I kept forgetting that she wasn’t older. Still, the book is sweet.
This is a good book. If you like Christmas romance books with a lot of romantic angst but still a sweet story you’ll like this one.

Thank you so much to the publisher, author, netgalley, and anyone I may have forgotten for the eARC of this book. I appreciate it and I appreciate you! Thank you!

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. I have read many of Janet Dailey's books and enjoyed this book as well. Sam is a sheriff who lost his wife last year. His young daughter wantsvto find him a girlfriend. It takes several days to think of Maggie's teacher Grace. Grace has no interest in any relationship at this time. I liked the chemistry between Sam and Maggie. This book will put in the holiday spirit.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

Santa's Sweetheart is the fourth book in Janet Dailey's Christmas Tree Ranch series and the first book I have read by this author. This is the story of Grace a 1st grade teacher and Sam the local Sheriff of the small town of Branding Iron. After his wife died a year prior Sam's daughter Maggie decides he needs a girlfriend to make him happy and viola decides on her teacher.

This book is really well written and I loved the descriptions of the people and places. The story was sweet and fun and just a genuinely feel good read!

Things I liked about this book
- The Christmas theme was prevalent throughout but not overdone.
- Grace and Sam were great, well thought out characters that were relatable. The secondary characters were great and I loved Maggie but I would have liked further development of some although I fully acknowledge that they may have been more in depth in previous books (that I now DESPERATELY need to read!).
- The small town vibe was great and I loved how caring the community was.

Things I didn't like about this book:
- I really felt like it was maybe too soon after his wife's passing for him to be dating with intent again.
- I was desperate to see the school principal to either get his comeuppance or leave and I did want a slightly more dramatic culmination with the ex-fiance.
- There wasn't much if any sexual tension between the main characters which I usually don't like however the build up of the relationship was good but I did want a little more.

So glad to have discovered a new author that writes GOOD small town contemporary stories that also has the ability to weave them into a bigger series!

Sherriff Sam Delaney is the only lawman in the small Texas town of Branding Iron. He is the widowed father of a six year old girl named Maggie. Maggie has decided that her father is sad and needs a girlfriend. Sam has to go meet with Maggie's teacher and finds that she is an attractive single woman. Maggie decides that she is going to set them up. Grace is still healing after a broken engagement so she is not ready for a relationship. Sam and Grace have several encounters and they have an attraction to each other but are not going date due to her being his daughters teacher. This is a good book that I recommend.

Santa's Sweetheart by Janet Dailey
Publisher: Kensington Books
Genre: Romance
Publication Date: September 28, 2021

Santa's Sweetheart by Janet Dailey is a sweet holiday romance set in small town Texas and I knew I had to read this as part of my Christmas in July reading challenge!

Overall, this book is enjoyable. It has a lovely story with interesting characters. The romance is beautiful. I enjoyed the growth and development of the characters and how things work out.

This book is told from three perspectives. Maggie, a first grader who wants to find a girl friend for her widowed dad. Her dad, Sam, who is the county sheriff and Grace, Maggie's teacher who has some relationship hang ups. I wasn't expecting a romance novel to include the thoughts and perspective of a 7-year-old, so that was kind of weird. Also, the transitions from perspectives was a little confusing, but not totally off-putting.

I'm so grateful to Janet Dailey, Kensington Books, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

This is a sweet romance set around the Christmas Holidays. Sam was widowed a year ago and isn’t looking to move on yet. Maggie is his 6 year old daughter who thinks her Dad is sad and needs someone in his life, so she tries to act as a matchmaker for him. The book is set in a small town with lots of likeable characters, especially Maggie. It was a cute fun read. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

I really wanted to like this story and I think the storyline is good. However, the execution fell short. The six year old behaves in an unrealistic way and I just could not connect to Sam and a Grace. I think there will people who will enjoy this story, but I was not one of them.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The perfect Christmas book! Maggie, a six year old wants to find her father a new wife. Her mother has passed away and she really wants a new one. The local teacher is who she has her eye on and soon her father is looking that way too. With all the normal problems and complications, will Maggie get her Christmas wish?

a widowed father has a 6 year old daughter, he has to go to a meeting with her teacher, the teacher and the father like each other and we have a hea. good story as always by janet dailey.

I've read a few books by this author and have liked them. This is a sweet holiday-themed story. It was a bit refreshing to read one that wasn't dominated by modern technology. It added to the cozy feel. It's a sweet romance set in a small town. Realistic problems and relatable characters led to an enjoyable story overall.

I had not realized that Janet Dailey had died, so I’m assuming this is a lost work or a rerelease. In a small town in Texas Sheriff Sam Delaney has been widowed for a year. His first grade daughter Maggie decides her school teacher Grace Chapman might be just the person to cheer up her lonely daddy. Grace is new to town after calling off a wedding and leaving her old job in Oklahoma. Maggie is adorable as a match maker but she has the emotional maturity and thought process of someone twice her age. I like both the main characters but the attraction seems very instant. Good read, a quick buck, but nothing to memorialize the author by.

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.

Having a turkey TV dinner for their Thanksgiving dinner also convinces Maggie she needs to to find her Dad a girlfriend. She begins to notice all the women she sees around town, such as in the grocery store, the bakery, the library, but nobody seems just right or they are already married.

When returning to school, Maggie considers her teacher, Miss Chapman, who is strict but not mean, to be a good candidate to be her Dad's girlfriend. The challenge is to create a situation for her Dad to meet Miss Chapman, for which Maggie goes to great lengths, Miss Chapman, unfortunately has had some bad experiences with men so getting involved with any man, especially the father of one of her students is an absolute no.

As Christmas approaches, the town is planning the annual Christmas celebrations which this year will be call a Cowboy Christmas Ball. Sam isn't excited to attend the weekly meetings, however, is less excited when he finds himself to be the only person who will fit into the Santa suit. Between being expected play Santa, Maggie's obsession to find a girlfriend for him and an untimely collision with another car, plus a nearly deadly encounter at the hardware store, Sam finds himself overwhelmed..

This is a sweet story leading up to Christmas that will touch your heart.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance ready copy of this book. The comments and opinions are my own.

Such a magical Christmas story. I have loved this entire series. This is book #4 of The Christmas Tree ranch series. Sam is a widower and the town sheriff. Trying to get over the sudden death of his wife, he is just going through the motions and raising his daughter Maggie. Maggie thinks it's time her dad had a girlfriend. She makes it her Christmas mission to find him one. Maggie thinks her teacher would be perfect. Sam soon realizes Grace is perfect but Grace has commitment phobias. But when Sam is shot during a robbery, Grace realizes Sam has no one else to care for his daughter while he is hospitalized. It's what any "friend" would do, right? Such a feel good, sweet Christmas romance that envelopes all of the Christmas spirit. You might even shed a tear or two. Janet Dailey creates characters that you wish were a part of real life. I love her books!
Thank you to NetGalley and Zebra Books for this advanced review copy. In return, I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

I received an advance copy of, Santa's Sweetheart, by Janet Dailey. This is a good Christmas read. Maggie is trying to set her dad up, will it work?

A holiday romance that would appeal to fans of Hallmark holiday movies. A quick and delightful read.

A little more than a year after his wife’s death, Sheriff Sam Delaney Determined to find the perfect girlfriend for her beloved dad, Maggie does her best to match him with her teacher, Grace Chapman. Neither Sam nor Grace are looking for love. Sam still mourns the loss of his wife, and Grace has a disappointing history with the men in her life. But neither of them can deny their growing feelings. As Christmas approaches, Grace and Sam see more and more of each other in their small town. Will they take a chance on love and make Maggie’s Christmas wish come true?

Sam and Grace are both relatable and likable characters, and I enjoyed their budding romance. They both have reservations about initiating a romantic relationship, and they struggle with their feelings throughout the story. I like how patient and understanding they are with each other, as well as how they both reflect on and deal with their past and feelings.

Another great character is Maggie. She is so adorable and quite mature for her age. At only eight years old, she is often wiser and more astute than the adults, and she often tries to take care of others. I love her kindness and compassion, and her enthusiasm for the holidays is infectious.

The holiday spirit permeates the story with tree picking and decorating, party planning, and other holiday traditions. This, as well as the small-town charm, add to the optimism and hopeful tone of the book. However, the story also deals with some more serious issues like grief, loss, fear of abandonment, alcoholism. and other real-world problems. It is well balanced and shows realistic issues that many people face, which makes the story so relatable.

The story is sweet and charming, and it’s the perfect holiday romance to read when curled up next to the fire this winter. I enjoyed the likable characters, the small-town charm, and the lovely, clean romance and think the story will appeal to readers who like light and touching Hallmark-esque stories. Thanks so much to NetGalley, Janet Dailey, and Kensington Books for a copy of the novel in exchange for my honest review.

(Will post links closer to pub. date)