Christmas Book Reviews: The Rancher's Christmas Song and Christmas in Icicle Falls

If you have visited my blog before, you might already know of my love for Christmas romances - especially those by RaeAnne Thayne. This one was no exception, as I thoroughly enjoyed reading about music teacher Ella and her adjustment to life out west. Ella may have spent most of her formative years in the city with her mother, yet her love of her dad's ranch didn't diminish, despite an accident as a child that left lingering scars. She has returned the ranch she once spent joyful summers riding horses to take care of her ailing father, and to confront a few demons as well - including two little twin imps from the ranch next door, whose father makes her weak in the knees. I loved the touching story of the twins love for the father, and what they do to make his Christmas special, along with the role that Ella plays. I love Beckett and his love for his high spirited but good hearted boys. And I love that Ella go to prove once and for all that she belongs to the ranching life, with her spirit, perseverance, and mettle. A heartwarming read for the season!  Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a free galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Reminiscent of the little Charlie Brown Christmas tree, Muriel Sterling, renowned in the town of Icicle Falls for her books, her family's candy factory that is central to the town, and for her parties, especially at Christmas, unboxes her tree to find that it is not what she expected - in fact, it's kind of ugly. After discovering that there is no other tree to be had, Muriel realizes her "ugly tree" just needs a little love and bam, it is no longer an ugly tree. She just had to see its potential. After telling her friends Sienna, Olivia, and Pat about her ugly tree, they realize they all have their own ugly trees in their lives, in the form of people who are hard to get along with for one reason or another. They resolve to conquer their own "ugly trees", see the potential, nurture it. I loved this concept, as well all have those people in our lives, who test us, just a little - or a lot! Sienna has her grouchy neighbor, who in turn has a good looking nephew, while Olivia is dealing with a new daughter-in-law she is skeptical of, while Pat puts up with the landlord to her bookstore. And Muriel - she has someone else that she is seeing the potential in, all of a sudden... I really enjoyed this book, once I got all the characters straight. I haven't read all the books in this series, so some of the back story was lost on me, but it didn't matter once I got into it. And once I got into it, I was hooked! I may even have to read the rest of the series! Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.