Cowboy Christmas

Title: COWBOY CHRISTMAS
Author: Mary Connealy
Publisher: Barbour Books
September 2009
ISBN: 978-1-60260-145-1
Genre: Inspirational/historical romance

Annette Tabot has a voice of an angel. And she loves singing for the Lord. But now she has a new boss and he is abusive, a gambler, and he is determined to dress Annette like a harlot and make her sing more modern songs. He also has plans that are a fate worse than death.

When Annette’s only friend is killed at the hands of her new boss, Annette takes flight, fleeing home to Wyoming where her father has a ranch. But after a long trip home, working her fingers to the bone in order to pay for her flight, Annette finds her old homestead deserted, run-down, and there is no sign of her father.

To make matters worse, Annette’s old boss has followed her from Missouri, and he almost arrived before she did. And now he is insisting she return to work for him—willingly, or not so willingly. Annette is determined to escape—and she does. Right off the edge of a cliff. What will it take for Annette to completely escape from this evil man’s clutches and find a true and lasting love of her own?

COWBOY CHRISTMAS is the latest novel by this funny author, Mary Connealy. I couldn’t wait to get into the pages of this book and laugh my way through the story. But maybe because I’m suffering from a bad cold while reading this, and I’m struggling to breathe, but I didn’t find this book quite as funny as her previous books. The story is still well told, the heroine and hero are at complete odds, trading insults and the story flows in the normal way for Ms. Connealy.

Annie is a stubborn heroine, determined to make a go of it, even in a cabin that is all but falling down around her ears. And the hero is of the opinion that she doesn’t have the sense that God gave a fly (no offense to the flies). But maybe this type of mentality was necessary to survive in Wyoming in 1879 (and maybe in the rest of the nation in 2009 as well). Still, the story was entertaining to read, and I couldn’t wait until Annie found a home—a true home. Don’t miss COWBOY CHRISTMAS for a side-splitting good read. $10.97. 304 pages.