Betul E.
- 3.5 stars - I absolutely love the characters Linda Broday creates. I am always able to fully connect to them and find them to be very likable. That was also the case with A Cowboy Christmas Legend. Sam Legend II, who is one of the main characters, is the son of Sam from To Love a Texas Ranger. Devastated by the loss of his young wife he decided to live on his own away from his family. He lives a simple life as a bladesmith. However, one day he is ambushed by Cheyenne Ronan who wants to know what Sam is doing on the property a friend of her lives. I loved the way Sam and Chey met. Sam wants to be left alone however, Chey isn't that easily persuaded. Both are haunted by things in their past, which makes it difficult for them to fully open up to each other. I enjoyed this book, but it isn't my favorite. The main reason for this was the last quarter of the book, which I thought was slow-paced. I just got bored a bit towards the end. The characters were great and that includes all the side-characters. It was also great to reunite with some of my favorite characters from previous books. Linda's writing is great and she really knows how to tell a story. I also love the suspense/action she sprinkles into the story which adds an extra excitement to the story. Furthermore, the romance was steamy and hot, which you don't really see a lot of in historical western romances. This was a great book and I certainly look forward to what the author comes up with next.
Valri Western
I truly felt for Sam as he had lost his wife and was in the grips of sorrow and grief. Even a couple years later, he can't get over the devastating loss of his young bride because he knows it was his fault and he can't live with that so he has left his job as a Texas Ranger and moved to a lonely area by himself away from his famous family to do his trade as a bladesmith. That part was fascinating to me! I never knew about that trade - making specialty knives - and it was interesting to learn about it. Along with his trusty dog, he can live out his days in peace, occasionally checking in with his family. He does have a distant neighbor and one day she comes blasting into his wikiup in the dead of night and puts a knife to his throat! What the heck??!! Cheyenne wants to know why Sam is living where he is because she used to know the person who lived there! They are a great couple and the two of them have great adventures after that. Cheyenne has secrets and so does Sam. When a small, hungry boy shows up at his place needing help, the two of them jump into action to save his family! That little boy and his sister were one of the best parts of the story! Such cute little kids! And then, Sam is sucked back into the Texas Ranger life when trouble comes to town. There was so much to love about this book! Romance, family, adventure, action, crime & punishment and more! I enjoyed it all, especially how Cheyenne changes Sam!
Viper Spaulding
Fascinating tale of the Old West! Oh my, I couldn't have loved this book more! A broken-hearted Sam Legend has become a recluse after the death of his wife, until the neighbor's daughter, Cheyenne, wakes him in the middle of the night with her knife at his throat. After that stunning meet-cute, the romance takes a slow-burn path as both Sam and Cheyenne are risking everything for a local family in trouble. Trouble that, by no small coincidence, leads right back to the tragedy that Sam is still recovering from. Cheyenne has her own trauma that she's still dealing with, and I loved her character so much for how she overcame her fears to help the Mitchells as much as she did. Sam is everything a gal could want in a hero, and I adored his friendship with fellow Texas Ranger, Cap. Set in 1900 in Tascosa, Texas, this intriguing book led me to research that area and history more and I was thrilled to see how much of the now ghost town's history the author worked into the story. Everyone gets a HEA, except the villains, earning this book a permanent spot on my re-read shelf. This author has quickly become my favorite for Old West romance, and I highly recommend this story. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
