Home for a Cowboy Christmas by Donna Grant

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Paperbacks

Date of publication: October 26th, 2021

Genre: Romance

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

The most wonderful time of the year has arrived for this cowboy in New York Times bestseller Donna Grant’s newest novel, Home for a Cowboy Christmas.

Tis the season—for everyone except Emmy Garrett. She’s on the run after witnessing a crime. But when it becomes clear that trouble will continue following her, the US Marshal in charge takes her somewhere no one will think to look–Montana. Not only is Emmy in a new place for her protection, but now, she’s stuck with a handsome cowboy as her bodyguard…and she wants to do more than kiss him under the mistletoe.

Dwight Reynolds left behind his old career, but it’s still in his blood. When an old friend calls in a favor, Dwight opens his home to a woman on the run. He tries to keep his distance, but there’s something about Emmy he can’t resist. She stokes his passion and turns his cold nights into warm ones. When danger shows up looking for Emmy, Dwight risks everything to keep her safe.

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First Line:

Light flashed behind Emmy’s eyelids, the rocking of the SUV lulling her.

Home for a cowboy christmas by donna grant

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I have mentioned this in other posts, but Donna Grant is one of my absolute favorite authors to read. I have read nearly all of her Dark Kings, Reapers, and Heart of Texas series. I say that because there are a few books that I haven’t read in each series. I also want to read all of her other series (there are so many: click here to take a look). So when I saw that she had another series starting, I knew that I needed to read it.

Home For a Cowboy Christmas had a pretty straightforward plotline. Emmy is on the run. She is the star witness in a murder trial that will unmask a local businessman as a Mafioso. Being in witness protection hasn’t helped her because of a leak within the Denver marshalls. That leak caused her almost to be killed, but she was saved just in time by another marshall, Dalton Silva. He takes her to his friend in Montana. Dwight is an ex-military/FBI/Homeland Security who is now a rancher, and he agrees to keep Emmy safe as a favor. But, he wasn’t prepared for the feelings that Emmy stirred up in him. But danger has made its way to Montana, and it is a matter of time before Emmy’s past catches up with her. Will Dwight be able to keep Emmy safe until the trial? And will they act on the sparks between them?

Home For a Cowboy Christmas was a fast-paced book. This book started fast and kept the pace up for the entire book. I had a small amount of anxiety reading it because I didn’t know when or where Orso would show up. I loved it!!!

I liked Emmy and thought that her reactions to everything that she went through were perfect. When the entire backstory (how she witnessed the murder) was revealed, I felt awful for her. She was lonely, and when Joe (the mob boss) extended an invitation to one of his intimate dinners, she jumped at it. The horror of witnessing the execution and her bravery in going to the DA gripped me. I connected with her on so many levels.

I loved Dwight. He was the real deal. He also understood what Emmy was going through and offered her his support. His backstory was very similar to Emmy’s, except his trauma came from missions in the FBI/Homeland Security/the military. I loved his outlook on life and how he dealt with his trauma. He was the right person to protect Emmy.

Let’s talk about Dwight and Emmy’s romance. I am not going to sugarcoat it, but there was Instalove. Dwight was head over heels for Emmy the minute they met. But Emmy, well, she was attracted to Dwight, but she was also dealing with PTSD and a hitman, so telling Dwight that she loved him wasn’t a priority. She had to get through all that stuff first, and I loved that the author wrote it that way. Dwight respected that and gave her space, which made me internally cheer. He wasn’t pushy or demanding a return “I love you.” It was one of the best romances that I have read to date.

The bad guys (Tony, Joe, and Orso plus the dirty marshalls) were genuinely evil incarnate. I did like that the author showed Joe as a human being, though. He had marriage problems (wife was in and out of rehab, infertility issues) and was trying to build his Mafia presence back up in Denver. But don’t let my liking that he was shown as human fool you. He was evil, as were the other three. While their plotline was resolved, I am curious about what happened to the dirty marshalls and who the leak was. Nothing was mentioned about it, except there was an investigation.

The end of Home For a Cowboy Christmas was action-packed and full of surprises. I was a little mad at how Orso found Emmy. I wanted to reach through, shake the chatty woman, and tell her to shut up. But, in the end, everyone got what they deserved.

There is a short story in the same universe/area that Home For a Cowboy Christmas. It is Cady and Zane’s love story. Not going to get into it, but it was a cute story. Cady was a firecracker, and Zane, well, he needed to get that chip off his shoulder. But everything ended well.

I would recommend Home For a Cowboy Christmas to anyone over the age of 21. There is sex, violence, and language.