Book Review: The Lawman's Christmas Wish by Linda Goodnight

  I have joined Booksneeze, a wonderful service that allows bloggers to receive free books if they will post a review on their blog and on a bookseller's site.  Since I'm going to have to post reviews for that once in a while, I decided it would be fun to post review's of other books too.  So today, I'm reviewing the book The Lawman's Christmas Wish by Linda Goodnight.

I've never done a book review before, so please tell me what you think.  Do I give too much away, not enough? Let me know.

Here goes...(fingers crossed)

This is the final installment of Love Inspired’s Alaskan Bride Rush continuity.  I place it in a tie for the “Best of Series” with book 5 (which I might review at a later date).

From the Cover:

            Widow Amy James can’t get through grocery shopping in Treasure Creek, Alaska, without a marriage proposal.  And she’s hardly flattered.  Most of her “suitors” are after the treasure her great-grandfather had buried on her property.  But only one man promised her late husband he’d take care of her and the boys: police chief Reed Truscott.  True, Reed is handsome and honest and makes her feel safe. But his honorable marriage proposal is about obligation—not love.  Unless he can convince her that his Christmas wish is to join her family forever.

Liked:

So many things really…

1. Amy refuses to accept a marriage proposal borne out of anything less than the true devotion she had with her late husband. Reed’s initial proposal was out of duty to her husband, his best friend
2. Granny Crisp—Reed’s none-too-subtle matchmaking grandmother.  She’s a no nonsense woman who wants the very best for her grandson, and she knows what that is.  She tells Reed when he’s completely on the wrong track, but she lets him figure out why, and how to get on the right one.
3. Reed does figure out the right track for himself on page 154 (really want to add a quote from that page, but I’m afraid that’s too much of a spoiler). He does lapse a little later in the story, but I forgave him.
4. Page 148—Reed accepts Christ.  It was beautiful.  I cried. 
5. Ms. Goodnight does an excellent job tying up all those series-wide subplots.  And I love the way she handles the treasure in the end.

Disliked:

No real “dislikes” just a couple of things that niggled.

1. I really thought previous books in the series said that Amy’s sons were twins.  There is a year or two between them in this final book, and that bugged me at the beginning.  I did a little checking, not a lot, and didn’t find any mention of them being twins, so I might have made that assumption.  At any rate, it would affect the story minimally, if at all.  So it really wasn’t bad.
2. Now I can’t remember the other thing.  It must not have been too bad either. : )

Overall:

            A great read.  Ms. Goodnight put her characters in circumstances that naturally and gently made them aware of their feelings. Both offered some resistance to their feelings, but their reasons made good sense. Also (I hope this isn’t too much of a spoiler) neither character waited until the last four pages of the book to understand his/her feelings (I really hate it when that happens).

***** (5 stars)

Has anyone else read it?  Do you agree? Why? Why not?