Janelle Mowery

This was a re-read for me and I enjoyed it. I read another one in this series earlier in the Christmas season - Christmas Belles of Georgia - but I enjoyed this one more. This one takes place over the course of four years at the Barncastle Inn where they have themed Christmases. The first book has a medieval theme, the second one WW2, the third a pirate theme and the last one is the first Christmas when Jesus was born.
I really liked the idea of different themed Christmases and it made the books interesting. Two of the stories have very fast romances which I don't really love but I still enjoyed the overall story. The second two stories the people already know each other which I found much more believable.
Overall though I found the stories enjoyable and completely clean which is nice. The writing was pretty good for the most part.… (meer)

Rachel Garrett ("She was a mixture of sass, sincerity, determination, kindness, fun, and intelligence") is a nurse who has come to the Colorado Territory in 1874 to help the doctor in the town. She quickly comes to be a big help and falls in love with the town and its people. But the deputy sheriff, Luke Mason, and her didn't get off to a great start. It will take awhile for Rachel to break down the wall around his heart. Luke turned his back on God when his father was killed, and will find peace with God through all that happens in this story. Rachel will find herself in need of Luke's protection many times in this story. There will be shootings, kidnapping, fear and danger all rolled up into this adventurous western romance.

This could be read as a stand alone, but I always enjoy reading them in the order they were written, so I don't miss out on any of the background of the other characters in this story. There were a couple of great moments in conversation during this story that I loved, one being the counseling advice that Pastor Robbins gave Luke; here are just a few glimpses of that conversation:
"Life is neither fair nor easy, Luke. The Bible tells us that over and over. God's own Son wasn't treated fairly while He was here on earth. But God's will is perfect, even when it's painful and difficult for us to endure." "God doesn't always offer a way out of our difficulties, but He helps us through them." "Sometimes you may never know the reason for a difficulty until you're with the Lord. But whatever the reason or problem, always trust that the Lord knows best and will get you through. He'll never give you more than you can bear."
Enjoy!… (meer)