Lone Star Christmas
(Coldwater Texas, Book 1)
Delores Fossen
Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages
HQN
September 25, 2018
Christmas Romance, Contemporary Romance
Holiday Romance
A family crisis brings him home...Just in time for Christmas.
Cattleman
Callen Laramie has no intention of returning to his hometown of
Coldwater, Texas, until a Christmas wedding and a family secret convince
him he has no choice. And when he's reunited with his childhood crush,
the girl who'd always been off-limits, Callen knows leaving might not be
so easy this time.
Shelby McCall is as pretty as a Christmas snowfall,
and Callen wants to kiss her under the mistletoe...and the Christmas
tree...and the stars. But once Shelby knows the whole truth
behind this homecoming, will their holiday fling come to an abrupt end?
Or will she accept the gift of his heart?
Note
I received a complimentary copy of this book
from TLC Book Tours, in exchange
for an honest review.
from TLC Book Tours, in exchange
for an honest review.
All opinions are my own.
Although it's a bit early for Christmas romance novels, I eagerly signed up for this tour, as I think there's something extra special about such romance novels! So I was really looking forward to diving into this one, especially after reading the synopsis.
In the final analysis, however, I find that I'm really torn about this book. I wanted to love it wholeheartedly, but unfortunately, I can't say that I do. There were things I did love, but then there were others that took away from my full enjoyment of the novel. I'm aware, because I've read other reviews, that some readers have, indeed, totally loved this novel. Since I am firmly committed to providing honest reviews, though, I have to say that I am not among those who have raved about this book.
I will start with the positives first, and there were definitely a lot of them!
The story did turn out to be a great one! The themes were perfect for the Christmas season -- romance, strong family connections, and the fostering of troubled children. All the ingredients that lead reviewers to use the adjectives of "touching", "emotional", and "heartwarming" were very much present. And the characters were very real people to whom any romance novel fan could easily relate; their joys and sorrows definitely made me empathize with them. I desperately wanted things to work out in the end for everyone, including the secondary characters!
Callen and Shelby were a wonderful couple! They had spent part of their childhood together, in the small town of Coldwater, Texas. Callen and his three brothers -- Kace, Judd, and Nico -- were foster kids who had come to live with Shelby's family. They subsequently developed a warm relationship with Buck, Shelby's dad, who was like a real father to them.
Even back then, there was an attraction between Callen and Shelby. When Callen left Coldwater, at the age of eighteen, he had to leave that attraction behind, as Shelby was off-limits to him then. When they were unexpectedly reunited due to an upcoming family wedding, fourteen years later, the smoldering ashes turned into a raging fire. The question remained, though: would all that passion eventually turn into something lasting?
Callen was a great guy! He was not only very easy on the eyes (the author described him in a very appealing way), but he also had integrity, honesty, and a good heart. Even before he had fully committed to his relationship with Shelby, he was concerned about not hurting her, since she had already had a romantic disappointment in the past.
Shelby was a very sweet, yet assertive, woman. I liked how she "melted" around Callen, while not allowing him to control her in any way. I also liked the way she dealt with Gavin, her former love interest.
Both of these wonderful protagonists also had one thing in common, which helped to bond them together: their love and concern for Buck, the man who had played such an important part in their lives.
Callen and Shelby were, paradoxically, conflicted about their relationship, for different reasons. They were initially only interested in a holiday fling, although Shelby did want it to be so much more than that. So this was the typical "lust to love" romance that is a frequent romance novel trope. Fossen dealt with it very skillfully, though. Besides, we romance fans love to read about obstacles to romance being overcome by the couples in these novels!
Callen was a great guy! He was not only very easy on the eyes (the author described him in a very appealing way), but he also had integrity, honesty, and a good heart. Even before he had fully committed to his relationship with Shelby, he was concerned about not hurting her, since she had already had a romantic disappointment in the past.
Shelby was a very sweet, yet assertive, woman. I liked how she "melted" around Callen, while not allowing him to control her in any way. I also liked the way she dealt with Gavin, her former love interest.
Both of these wonderful protagonists also had one thing in common, which helped to bond them together: their love and concern for Buck, the man who had played such an important part in their lives.
Callen and Shelby were, paradoxically, conflicted about their relationship, for different reasons. They were initially only interested in a holiday fling, although Shelby did want it to be so much more than that. So this was the typical "lust to love" romance that is a frequent romance novel trope. Fossen dealt with it very skillfully, though. Besides, we romance fans love to read about obstacles to romance being overcome by the couples in these novels!
The secondary characters were also wonderful, with the possible exception of Havana, Callen's assistant. But more about that later.
Buck, the foster father, was one of those wonderful secondary characters! As I mentioned above, he was a real father figure to Callen and his brothers, as he was to every foster kid he took under his wing. He was a totally dedicated family man, a strong, yet gentle, caring, authority figure whom his foster kids could love and look up to. And he was crazy in love with Rosy, his longtime girlfriend, whom he was planning to marry around Christmas. There were several scenes in the novel that beautifully depicted just how much he loved her. It was so touching, too, to see how he put his family's needs ahead of his own at all times, even when his health had recently become a matter of concern for all of them.
I also loved Rosy! She was a quirky, lovable person with a wacky sense of humor. In addition to this, her devotion to Buck was so sweet! She was truly there for him, and her loving care for the foster kids was part of her devotion to this man who was the world to her.
This secondary romance was nicely contrasted with the main one between Callen and Shelby. There were differences and similarities, but the similarities definitely outweighed the differences. Both couples were just wonderful together!
This secondary romance was nicely contrasted with the main one between Callen and Shelby. There were differences and similarities, but the similarities definitely outweighed the differences. Both couples were just wonderful together!
Going back to the story, I loved the way Fossen wove all of the several elements together to create a wonderful holiday tapestry! All loose ends were firmly tied together in a very satisfying way by the end of the story. I love happy endings!
In spite of all of the positives I've mentioned so far, I did have a couple of problems with this book. It wasn't that "Christmasy", except toward the end, but that's not the main issue I have with it. It's the overall tone of the novel that bothers me.
I've read "lust to love" romance novels before, so they're nothing new to me. I've read romance novels with somewhat graphic sex scenes, as well. These things are not that much of a problem for me, as long as the descriptions don't get TOO graphic. But I'm well aware that, unless a romance novel is described as "a clean read", sensual elements will definitely be present in it.
So what was it that bothered me so much? It was the unfortunate fact that this particular novel was -- IS -- peppered with so-called "sexual humor". There were numerous instances of this throughout the story, and I found them vulgar and offensive. Some people would not be at all bothered by such things, but I certainly am. So this is why I am unable to give this novel the solid five stars it would have otherwise deserved. As I stated above, the story and characters were wonderful and compelling. But, the author's constant sexual innuendoes and outright, explicit sexual "jokes" constantly interfered with my enjoyment of what was obviously a great story. I just feel that there was no need for this type of thing.
I can cite numerous examples of this "sexual humor", but I won't provide actual quotes, as I find them too embarrassing to post publicly. I will simply explain them without using the actual language employed by the author.
First of all, there are two instances in which Shelby encounters old men who are obviously mentally unbalanced perverts, and this happens in two of the beginning chapters of the book. One of these men is dressed as Santa Claus, and she comes across him when she drives from Coldwater to Dallas, where Callen lives, to attempt to persuade him (Callen) to attend Buck and Rosy's wedding. The other man is known as "Gopher", and lives in Coldwater.
Both of these men exposed different parts of their sexual anatomy to Shelby. Both men were drunk, too. In the case of the Santa Claus, he was arrested right away. In Gopher's case, he was not. From the context of this incident, it was abundantly clear that his behavior was long-standing; yet, nothing was being done about it. He was not arrested when he accosted Shelby, even though the sheriff was a witness to his actions. He could have exposed himself to a child, for Pete's sake!
The author treated both incidents as funny, and used vulgar language to describe them. I found nothing funny about these incidents at all. I especially disliked the Santa Claus incident, just because it referred to that beloved Christmas character. To me, this was just tasteless and offensive.
I referred briefly to Havana above. When the reader first meets her, she is greeting Shelby shortly after the latter arrives at Callen's office building. Havana introduces herself, and then escorts Shelby to Callen's office. On the way there, she confidentially tells Shelby, "Callen moans out your name during sex." Then she laughs at Shelby's shock, and says that she was just "kidding". Again, I fail to see the humor in this. Had Havana said that to ME, I would have replied, "Excuse me, I forgot something," and promptly left the office. And, I would NOT have returned. Instead, I would have called Callen to complain about his assistant's inappropriate remark, and requested to meet him elsewhere.
Throughout the novel, whenever she appeared in the story, Havana continued to engage in such vulgarities. Although she was a sweet person, I found it very difficult to like her because of these comments.
There are more instances of this type of "humor". Callen refers pretty often to his memory of Buck's threat to castrate any of the boys who dared to touch Shelby, when they were all teens. Of course, this wasn't meant literally, but again, this is treated as funny. I could have tolerated ONE mention of this standing family "joke". But there were quite a few mentions of it, which I thought was overkill.
There are frequent references to the sex act with vulgar words that I prefer not to repeat here. At one point, Callen tells Nico, his younger brother, to keep his (insert vulgar word) in his pants whenever he (Nico) is around Callen's assistant, Havana. Callen then tries not to conjure up an image of his kid brother (insert vulgar word) his assistant.
In addition to these things, the relationship between Callen and Shelby starts off as an entirely lustful one. Again, I've seen this type of plot before. I just haven't seen so many comments made by the characters in such a relationship, that explicitly comment on the sexual act in vulgar terms. Also, at one point, one of Callen's friends comments, "Hard to have sex when you're three hundred miles away." There's sexual innuendo obviously involved in this remark.
Then there's the case of the wedding cake topper.... Rosy is trying to choose which one of three she will buy, and one of them happens to be a rearing stallion, who is very...... well, I think you get the picture.
I have only referred to a few of the instances of tasteless "sexual humor" included in this novel. Again, I don't see the need for any of this stuff. The story was just fine without it! Certainly I'm not at all against using humor in a romance novel. I just don't like the vulgar variety.
In short, I would have enjoyed this story a heck of a lot more, had these elements not been present. I feel that they partially ruined the story for me. I reiterate that I am not new to sensual romance novels; I've read such books before, but not with so many inappropriate comments and references included on nearly every page.
I was especially disappointed to find these elements in a Christmas-themed romance novel, too. Christmas is such a wonderful, special time of year! I would never have expected to find anything objectionable in a novel set during this beautiful season. Christmas is a family holiday, after all. So I was expecting Fossen to focus on such things as joyful family events (which she did, to some extent), the fun of decorating for the holiday (she also did this, but not frequently enough), and sweet, romantic moments between the main and secondary couples (these moments were all sexually charged, to the near exclusion of any tender, romantic feelings).
I would still recommend this novel for the wonderful story and characters, with the caveat that it's only for those who don't mind raunchy comments and "jokes" mixed in with their Christmas romance.
First of all, there are two instances in which Shelby encounters old men who are obviously mentally unbalanced perverts, and this happens in two of the beginning chapters of the book. One of these men is dressed as Santa Claus, and she comes across him when she drives from Coldwater to Dallas, where Callen lives, to attempt to persuade him (Callen) to attend Buck and Rosy's wedding. The other man is known as "Gopher", and lives in Coldwater.
Both of these men exposed different parts of their sexual anatomy to Shelby. Both men were drunk, too. In the case of the Santa Claus, he was arrested right away. In Gopher's case, he was not. From the context of this incident, it was abundantly clear that his behavior was long-standing; yet, nothing was being done about it. He was not arrested when he accosted Shelby, even though the sheriff was a witness to his actions. He could have exposed himself to a child, for Pete's sake!
The author treated both incidents as funny, and used vulgar language to describe them. I found nothing funny about these incidents at all. I especially disliked the Santa Claus incident, just because it referred to that beloved Christmas character. To me, this was just tasteless and offensive.
I referred briefly to Havana above. When the reader first meets her, she is greeting Shelby shortly after the latter arrives at Callen's office building. Havana introduces herself, and then escorts Shelby to Callen's office. On the way there, she confidentially tells Shelby, "Callen moans out your name during sex." Then she laughs at Shelby's shock, and says that she was just "kidding". Again, I fail to see the humor in this. Had Havana said that to ME, I would have replied, "Excuse me, I forgot something," and promptly left the office. And, I would NOT have returned. Instead, I would have called Callen to complain about his assistant's inappropriate remark, and requested to meet him elsewhere.
Throughout the novel, whenever she appeared in the story, Havana continued to engage in such vulgarities. Although she was a sweet person, I found it very difficult to like her because of these comments.
There are more instances of this type of "humor". Callen refers pretty often to his memory of Buck's threat to castrate any of the boys who dared to touch Shelby, when they were all teens. Of course, this wasn't meant literally, but again, this is treated as funny. I could have tolerated ONE mention of this standing family "joke". But there were quite a few mentions of it, which I thought was overkill.
There are frequent references to the sex act with vulgar words that I prefer not to repeat here. At one point, Callen tells Nico, his younger brother, to keep his (insert vulgar word) in his pants whenever he (Nico) is around Callen's assistant, Havana. Callen then tries not to conjure up an image of his kid brother (insert vulgar word) his assistant.
In addition to these things, the relationship between Callen and Shelby starts off as an entirely lustful one. Again, I've seen this type of plot before. I just haven't seen so many comments made by the characters in such a relationship, that explicitly comment on the sexual act in vulgar terms. Also, at one point, one of Callen's friends comments, "Hard to have sex when you're three hundred miles away." There's sexual innuendo obviously involved in this remark.
Then there's the case of the wedding cake topper.... Rosy is trying to choose which one of three she will buy, and one of them happens to be a rearing stallion, who is very...... well, I think you get the picture.
I have only referred to a few of the instances of tasteless "sexual humor" included in this novel. Again, I don't see the need for any of this stuff. The story was just fine without it! Certainly I'm not at all against using humor in a romance novel. I just don't like the vulgar variety.
In short, I would have enjoyed this story a heck of a lot more, had these elements not been present. I feel that they partially ruined the story for me. I reiterate that I am not new to sensual romance novels; I've read such books before, but not with so many inappropriate comments and references included on nearly every page.
I was especially disappointed to find these elements in a Christmas-themed romance novel, too. Christmas is such a wonderful, special time of year! I would never have expected to find anything objectionable in a novel set during this beautiful season. Christmas is a family holiday, after all. So I was expecting Fossen to focus on such things as joyful family events (which she did, to some extent), the fun of decorating for the holiday (she also did this, but not frequently enough), and sweet, romantic moments between the main and secondary couples (these moments were all sexually charged, to the near exclusion of any tender, romantic feelings).
I would still recommend this novel for the wonderful story and characters, with the caveat that it's only for those who don't mind raunchy comments and "jokes" mixed in with their Christmas romance.
Purchase Links
USA Today bestselling author, Delores Fossen, has sold over 70 novels,
with millions of copies of her books in print worldwide. She’s received
the Booksellers’ Best Award, the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award,
and was a finalist for the prestigious Rita ®. In addition, she’s had
nearly a hundred short stories and articles published in national
magazines.
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