Christmas at the Ranch
Anita Hughes
St Martin’s Griffin
2022

Samantha is the writer of Sloane Parker books. Charlie Green, Samantha’s editor has told her that she has been invited to the CEO’s Christmas week party in Connecticut. She wants to stay home with her dog, Socks, but agrees to go. But the taxi drops her at JFK Airport. She is deathly afraid of flying and feels this must be a mistake; but it’s not. Charlie tricks her and reminds her that she can’t say no to the CEO of the publishing house, Arthur Wentworth. She boards the plane to fly to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, seated next to a handsome gentleman who helps her through her anxiety during the flight. Turns out, it’s Arthur’s son, Drew Wentworth. And she had revealed that she wasn’t the social media star that her boss believed she was! Thank you marketing department!

Hughes has written a love story set in beautiful, snowy Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The characters are well-defined and believable and you will love Samantha and her books’ star, Sloane.

I usually don’t read romance novels, but this book was a pleasure to read even though you know where the plot is going. It’s an easy read and the descriptions of Jackson Hole remind me of my trip there. Truly lovely wilderness. I recommend this book and give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

Thanks to #NetGalley and St. Martin’s Publishing for the arc. The opinions are all mine.

This was not a favorite book of mine unfortunately. I had a few quibbles with writing and the characters in general.

I wasn't super in love with Samantha as a character, I think that she did a lot of hiding behind her character "Sloane Parker" and used Sloane as a vehicle of living her life. I liked the eventual getting together with Drew, but it felt very weird that this seemed like a relationship that would've been built on a week, especially since Samantha and Drew were so different.

I disliked the way that the author used the character of Marigold and how it was always through a vehicle of Native American story telling, referencing this is what my Native American friends have said, this story that my Native American friend has told me, every time that Samantha encountered her. It's just rubbed me the wrong way because it felt that Marigold only did her learning through Native American culture (even though she wasn't Native American) and had no stories of her own. It felt very romanticized of Western/Cowboy culture and it just felt very weird.

I think one of my favorite characters was Samantha's mom, but it was I think because she was so zany. Not a lot of things added up for her influencer life style during Christmas, but I guess stranger things have happened.

A fun Christmas story about a writer who is pretty much scared to do anything. It doesn’t matter what it is….she is scared to do it, see it or be by it. Literally everything can put her in panic mode. Can she learn how to be brave and overcome her fears?
Quick read to start off the holiday reading…..would make a great Hallmark movie.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily. The setting for this book in Jackson Hole is enough to make this fun to read, especially set at Christmas. Samantha Morgan is an world class novelist who writes the Sloane Parker series. Sloane Parker is everything that Samantha is not. Sloane Parker is a heroine who rescues people and travels the world. Samantha Morgan rarely leaves her apartment because apparently she is afraid of everything! The premise of this book almost sounds like a recent movie about a novelist who lived vicariously through her heroine. In this case reality and fiction have blurred together. She ends up in Jackson Hole for Christmas by invitation from her publisher. She has a panic attack when she realizes she is flying. Her seatmate ends up keeping her calm and she pours her soul out to him not knowing she will soon see him again. I enjoyed this book because it was set at Christmas, and it was set in Jackson Hole with snow everywhere, but I think it could have been a little more exciting. I did not care for the fact that we were constantly having to read about another possible Sloane Parker adventure. I think this was a little overdone. I would have liked to have seen a little more character development and engagement (the real characters - not the fictional ones in her books). It was a happy book, and I enjoyed the scenery. It was also nice to see Samantha come out of her shell. I guess I was just expecting something a little different. However, since I am not an author, I try not to complain about plot lines as Ms. Hughes is definitely ten times more talented than I will ever be. If you enjoy a book about Christmas and a little romance, you will enjoy this one.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

Last year I read "A Magical New York Christmas" and really enjoyed it so I hoped this would give me similar reading experience but unfortunately I was mistaken.

In the beginning there were many things that were unrealistic and it annoyed me. As if Charlie would come and get her for a week away just before the plane leaves, because if Samantha didn't go his job was on the line. I call BS.
On the plane she has a stack of books in the seat next to her because she doesn't trust a Kindle...??? Did she buy two tickets for all her books? Why not have a couple of books and a Kindle with them on a trip? Ugh.

Also, she thinks that she doesn't have to explain herself and in the next breathe starts talking about she listens to podcasts and cook food for her dog. There's something wrong here...

AND, when she gets to Arthur's party Charlie's fianceé has packed a whole bag of designer clothes for her. Who in their right mind don't bring clothes by themselves? OMG.

I started to skim and eventually put it down. I'm sorry this was bad, the editor should really have done a better job here.

Review

I really tried to get into this book but I didn’t enjoy the writing style. It jumped from Samantha’s POV to her book character Sloane Parker which wasn’t emphasized like italics so it really confused me. Then being in the middle of having conversations then having paragraphs and paragraphs of internal dialogue then jumping back into a conversation. It was odd. For someone who was proclaimed to be such a fearless person she does seem to have many anxieties and fears for what feels like not significant events to cause such an extreme trauma response. Her having a fit on the sled because she thinks no one was listening to her fears gave me 6 year old tantrum vibes.

I think the switch back and forth from fearful timid Samantha to outgoing Sloane and the constant “I’m not as cool as Sloane” or “this is what Sloane would do” was a turn off when reading the book.

The arrowhead necklace felt like a placebo for her to get over her fear of literally everything.

One thing I really had an issue with is how naive Samantha was. From not knowing what wolves look like to not knowing what a bison was.

I really liked Bruno’s character. He was a secondary character but he was such a sweet soul and always had to right thing to say with a positive outlook on the things of life.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the gifted copy.

If you are in the mood for a quick read that reads like a Hallmark movie this is the one to pick up and read.
The story setting is beautiful. The main character Samantha is a writer of novels with Sloane Parker as the character in Samantha’s books.
Samantha is afraid to live her own life to the fullest after enduring a plane ride that was very traumatic for her and yet Sloane’s character is outgoing and totally opposite of Samantha.
When Samantha is invited to her publisher’s ranch things begin to change in her life.
This was a quick and easy read for me, but I wanted more time with some of the others people in the story and less of the rambling conversations Samantha had with her mother.
Thank you NetGalley, Anita Hughes and St. Martin's Press for the Arc of Christmas at the Ranch. This is my personal review.

1.5⭐️

Did not love this book at all. The premise of the story barely makes sense, I was expecting Hallmark vibes but this novel did not even live up to that.

The main character, Samantha, is afraid of and complains about everything. She explains that she accumulated all of her fears after her boyfriend left her a few years ago? I'm not even sure how that happens. She receives the opportunity to go to an esteemed week-long party, in a beautiful location with lots of activities, and doesn't want to do any of them. If these were genuine phobias or anxiety I would be understanding, but of course by the end of the (week-long) novel, she has overcome these fears.

Marigold was another character I had a problem with. She is an older white woman that is constantly referencing stories and lessons she learned from "her Native American friends". At first I thought it was cute to mention, but after it happened in every conversation with the main character, it started feeling off. It was as if there was a token character? that was not even the minority she was 'representing'.

The conversations Samantha had with her mother were also extremely repetitive, and the most annoying character had to be Sloane Parker. Sloane is a character in Samantha's novels, that Samantha somehow needs to act like. I have never heard of a case of an author needing to act as if they are the same as their characters for a marketing strategy! Besides this, there are random paragraphs of fight scenes and escape scenes and Sloane solving mysteries, in the middle of the novel. Very unnecessary to say the least.

Another strangely written piece was the diary journal entries that Samantha finds and begins reading. While I did enjoy reading about the person's story, I still had a problem with it. I don't think anyone writes journal entries with dialogue in it and conversations as they happened verbatim.

We also have Drew, and the concept that this was a romance novel. Nothing convinced me that these two were good for each other or should be falling in love, besides from the fact that they listened to each other talk, and I guess were a better option than their exes. ALSO, Drew was engaged for a majority of the book? I just was not rooting for them in any sense and did not care as to whether they ended up together or not.

Along these lines, we had a final conflict that was both dumb and extremely rushed. There was no point to it being included and it enforced my belief that this book was even worse than a Hallmark movie.

Finally, I give this book an extra half-star due to the imagery and scenery. If this book did anything for me, it convinced me that I should go to a ranch in Jackson Hole in the winter time or for Christmas.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC!

This book felt a bit like a mess. The characters felt, well, like caricatures rather than fleshed out and developed. Samantha was more irritating than sympathetic, and the way the stories she wrote was weaved in took me out of the story. I absolutely did not buy the “love” story here given the guy was going to get MARRIED for about 60% of the book! The ending felt rushed and I just didn’t buy the supposed character development. Also Arthur just forgives Diana upon first glance??? Very strange to me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Christmas is just the back drop for this enchanting story of a woman afraid to live life. Forced outside her comfort zone, she has no choice but to suck it up and learn to experience life. She discovers that with the right person next to you life is most definitely worth living.

Samantha has a great imagination and she makes great use of it to write her Sloane Parker stories of intrigue. Samantha sends Sloane on hair raising adventures and her Instagram account leads her fans to believe she enjoys Sloane like adventures of her own. In truth, Samantha has a great fear of almost everything. She spends most of her time on her couch, crafting her Sloane Parker stories and cuddling with her dog Socks

When her editor, Arthur Wentworth, invites her to his home for a house party Christmas week, Samantha is not in a position to refuse. What she doesn’t know is this house party is actually to take place at his ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. With no option, Samantha is forced to face her fears as she boards a plane to Wyoming. Looking for a distraction, Samantha strikes up a conversation with the gorgeous man sitting beside her . Before long she is sharing her fears and her secrets. Upon arriving at Arthur's ranch Samantha is surprised to find her gorgeous seat mate., and horrified to discover he is Arthur's son.

Drew is enchanted by Samantha. He has no problem keeping her secrets. But he’s also determined to bring her out of her comfort zone and teach her how to live a little. Samantha reluctantly agrees to participate in activities that terrify her but leave her feeling invigorated. Time spent with Drew brings her back to life, gives her the confidence to grow beyond her fears. After only a few days with Drew, Samantha realizes she's quickly falling for him.. There's just one small problem, he's engaged to someone else..

Being somewhat of an armchair adventurer myself – I’m really excited about trying new activities until it comes time to, you know, actually do them. I appreciated the way the author used Sloane’s adventures as a contrast to Samantha’s real life. As Samantha breaks out of her shell, those same adventures seem less outrageous, instead helping to illustrate the changes in Samantha's mindset. It’s inspiring to watch her take chances, to gain confidence and to realize she can do Sloane like things and enjoy them.

Christmas at the Ranch is an adventurous read for the protagonist and the characters she creates. This is a delightful romance all tied up in Christmas ribbons with horses and books and snowy vistas throughout. Enjoy!

I am currently questioning how I have gone this long without reading a book by Anita Hughes. Christmas at the Ranch pulled me in from the get-go! Samantha is a writer and writes books about a woman with life full of adventure despite having extreme anxiety about going anywhere. She writes of sky diving while she refuses to fly. Despite her fear, Samantha is talked, though tricked is a better word, into heading to Jackson Hole for an invite to an exclusive Christmas party hosted by her publisher. After death gripping her seat neighbor, Samantha opens up to this stranger about things most people in her life don’t know about. Turns out this stranger named Drew is her publisher’s son.

Samantha has finally started to face her fears and when she finds out Drew is engaged, she must face that head on too after realizing she’s falling for him.

Loved it! I just finished and I’m already wanting to read it again. Downloading more books by Anita Hughes now!

Posted review to Goodreads 9/18/2022

Samantha is a successful author. Her female protagonist is a female James Bond, but the antithesis of Sam herself. Her publisher has invited her to a Christmas party which Sam does not want to attend. She ends up going quite reluctantly which sets in motion the rest of the story line. Fear prevents her from truly living and the rest of the book centers on her internal struggle to break out of her shell. The near constant pedantic focus on Sam finding stories for her protagonist does slighlty detract from the overall story line; less would be more. I did receive an advanced copy to review. All opinions are my own.

💻Kept me reading but some issues❄🎇

3.5-4.0 🌟 stars
I don't believe I've ever read a book by Anita Hughes before and, on the whole, Christmas at the Ranch kept me engaged and was a fine story. The vivid descriptions of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and the surrounding countryside were great: I want to experience it myself, now! The discovery of a mystery diary was a good addition to the story that was well woven into the rest of the plot. I also really appreciated the author's transformation of author Samantha, the main character, into someone ready, albeit reluctantly, to get out there and try new things despite her multitude of fears. And Samantha's steadfast affection for her dog Socks and dedicated work ethic.

The romance started with a good meet-cute but then got a bit muddled. Okay, I accepted that life is like that. But there's a relationship built between Samantha and her rival for Drew's affection that just seemed off and very unrealistic. Though I did find the sympathetic treatment of her rival refreshing, the woman's changing behavior just did not add up. Drew's backstory comes briefly revealed and I felt his behavior during their holiday was also strange and came up a bit short in the romance department.

A good portion of the story is riddled with Samantha's ideas for new book plots or memories of old ones. For me, this could have been cut back without weakening the obvious contrast between Samantha' and Sloane, her brave, confident and intrepid book heroine. I fully understood that Samantha is imaginative and constantly creating new book plot scenarios; I just did not need to read so many of them.

Overall, this was a mild romance that might easily translate to a sweet, made for television movie. The holiday atmosphere and the gorgeous landscape particularly. I just wish there had been more focus on Samantha and Drew's connection.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Samantha is the exact opposite of the dynamic Sloane- the main character of the successful series of novels she writes. For one thing, she's very fearful. Now, though, she's being put to the test because she's at her publisher's ranch in Wyoming for a week at Christmas. Luckily, she met Drew on the plane- a sympathetic ear who turns out to be the son of her publisher and, regrettably, engaged to the infuriating Beatrix. This can be read as a romance between Samantha and Drew, with a fillip of mystery about the identity of Drew's mother (no spoilers) but don't forget that it's also about a woman overcoming some of her fears. Samantha does a "what would Sloane do" thing a lot but that makes sense. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Fans of Hughes will be pleased with this latest offering in her own Christmas series.

Rating: Didn't Like at all, 1 star

This book was not what I was hoping. I was hoping for a Hallmark movie in a book, and while the plot and setting was certainly that of a Hallmark movie, the writing, characters, vibes, and basically everything else did not live up to my expectations.

Christmas at the Ranch follows Samantha, the author of a successful spy/adventure type series in which her heroine is BA and basically a female James Bond. However, Samantha has a lot of anxiety and pretty much never leaves her apartment in New York. When the head of her publishing house invites her to his annual Christmas retreat, her editor (and friend) convinces her to give it a try. However, she is unaware that it is in Wyoming and will require flying. She bonds with the kind man seated next to her, Drew, and it turns out that he is her boss's son, and naturally, Samantha begins to lose her fears of everything and romance ensues from there.

There were a lot of things that I didn't love in this book. There is a LOT of telling. It felt like constant info dumping left and right in order to tell us everything that was happening. The dialogue felt stilted and very cheesy. Everything just sort of felt like it was meant to be a movie script, so there wasn't a whole lot of emotion or feeling behind anything.

There are a ton of moments where Samantha either recalls or plots out new scenes of her books, and these felt even cheesier than the book itself. They were so long, and I eventually just started skipping to the end because they were silly and didn't actually contribute anything to the story itself other than length.

I also didn't believe in the romance between Samantha or Drew either. This is partly because Drew is engaged for 90% of the book, and partly because it just didn't feel like there was any emotion behind it. Everything felt very removed and matter-of-fact. Even the third act conflict was super rushed and didn't feel like anyone was actually upset about anything.

Then there was this weird side plot with a character named Marigold that made me super uncomfortable. Marigold is a white woman who has lived in Jackson Hole most of her life and takes on the role of a wise mentor to Samantha. The part that makes this feel super weird is that Marigold is constantly sharing the wisdom, fables, traditions, etc. that she has learned from her Native American friends. The first one or even two times, I was willing to let it go, but it just felt very appropriative to me, and I wasn't a fan of the way that it was incorporated. There are some typos in this book and more than once this leads Marigold to refer to her friends as "my Native Americans," which I recognize is probably a mistake in the editing side of things, but it just made me feel even more uncomfortable with it all. It was weird, and totally not necessary to include, especially because it felt like it was a misguided stab at making the cast of white, straight people seem more diverse.

Overall, I had a lot of issues with this book and am not 100% sure why I finished it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Christmas at the Ranch releases on September 27, 2022.

Sweet Christmas romance! The main character could stand to be toned down a bit to make her more likable and less annoying though. 😊

Sorry but I really didn't care for this story. Samantha our MC is an author. I found the references throughout the book to her character Sloane to be silly and unnecessary. The conversations with her Mom were odd. I have read other books by this author and don't remember being as disappointed as I was with this read. This is the only place I will be posting this review.

Samantha Morgan has been invited by her publisher Arthur Wentworth to a Christmas party that he is throwing in her honor. She tries to give her editor Charlie every excuse not to go, but Charlie isn't hearing it. You see, Samantha writes novels about Sloane Parker, a female version of James Bond. The marketing team has built Samantha up to be just like her character Sloane, but in reality she's the exact opposite. The only people who know that are her and Charlie.

Now Samantha is on a plane to Wyoming and sitting beside a handsome stranger. On the flight she spills everything to this stranger. Upon arriving at the house she finds out that this stranger is Arthur's son, Drew. Now she's worried Drew will tell his father her lies.

As Samantha spends time with Drew over the week they start to grow close. Then Beatrix, Drews fiancée, shows up and tensions between Drew and Beatrix rise. As Samantha begins to overcome her fears, she starts developing feelings for Drew. Will Samantha be brave enough to get her Christmas romance?

Christmas at the Ranch is a small town romance set in the beautiful mountains of Wyoming. Anita Hughes did an amazing job transporting us to Jackson Hole, WY and you can feel the magic of Christmas. Samantha's character is really the only character that is fully developed in the book. The other characters are flat and leave the reader wanting more. While the concept of the story was cute, I felt it was a bit rushed at the end. I wished there was more time at the end where the characters spent time together or even an epilogue to wrap the story up better. I found all the Sloane book "ideas" on each chapter a bit redundant and annoying. I understand that the author was trying to tie in the Sloane book idea to the chapter, but for me it just didn't work with this book. If you're looking for a cute, quick Christmas read with a bit of Hallmark Movie magic, Christmas At the Ranch is the perfect book for you.

A fun premise. It was interesting to watch the protagonist overcome some of her fears. The romance was tricky. By the end I was skipping over the character's book plots. Eager to get to the happily ever after. Nice to visit Jackson Hole, especially as I have been there. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.