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The Christmas Brides

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The Christmas Brides: A McKettrick Christmas\A Creed Country Christmas (Hqn)

-Linda Lael Miller

I received this manuscript from NetGalley for review.

In this re-issue we have two very charming novellas put into one book. I loved these books when I first read them as single titles and they stand the test of time as we as the re-reads. I still loved them and fully expect them to become classics of this genre..

In a "McKettrick Christmas" tragedy strikes when an avalanche hits the train that Lizzie McKettrick is using to go home for the holidays with her new special young man. But when the chips are down, her young man leaves less than is desired and Lizzie and the rest of her train mates are helped by Dr Morgan Shane and a very, very, mysterious stranger who just might be St Nicholas! Will sparks fly and Christmas dreams come true? They just need faith and hope and a big dose of McKettrick perseverance and since it is the Christmas season need I say more?

In "Creed Country Christmas" widower Lincoln Creed realizes that he needs more than hard work and love to raise his daughter, Gracie. He thinks he just needs a governess. One who won't be expecting anything more. But what he really needs is a wife, and since it's the Christmas season and Santa has a habit of giving us just what we didn't know we needed most, here comes Juliana Mitchell, a schoolteacher and her brood of "Indian" charges. As the season progresses, Lincoln and Juliana come to realize that there is more than just a business arrangement between them and may find themselves in love after all.

The stories are simple stories of faith, love and hope and just the perfect thing to read in this busy holiday season.

A McKettrick Christmas

Lizzy McKettrick is excited to go home to her family. She brings along her beau, who believes will propose to her. The train carrying Lizzy home is buried under an avalanche and she and the other passengers are stuck in the cold. Dr. Morgan Shane immediately springs into action, helping to care for the passengers that were hurt in the accident. Lizzy admires Morgan's compassion and his strength. She works alongside him to aid him with his medical attention and finds herself falling for him.

I liked this story but the bulk of the story was spent on Lizzy and Morgan helping the passengers. Though I felt a connection between the two of them, I wanted more of a focus on them. The story shifts towards them towards the end.

A Creed Country Christmas

Lincoln Creed needs a governess for his young daughter Gracie. Her mother died leaving him a widow with a little girl that he can't take care of alone. His luck is turning around when he helps a young schoolteacher and her small Indian school children out. Juliana Mitchell is left stranded with the last few of her pupils when the Indian school is closed down. Her brother refuses to send her any money because she had refused to marry the man of his choice. She is stuck out wild when Lincoln takes her and the students to his home while she tries to work out a plan. She never plans to fall for him or his daughter but she finds his warm spirit hard to resist.

Lincoln finds is hard to let go with Juliana because his heart still belongs to his dead wife. They slowly build a friendship that leads to a romance. This story is more emotional because of the young children involved and the emotional background from the main characters. Overall this is a great story with a nice happy ending.

For reality and fantasy in the mix, Linda Lael Miller can't be beat. In the first story, A McKettrick Christmas, the author weaves a dramatic, life threatening beginning, and finishes with the happy ever after ending I've come to expect from her stories. I love the brave heroines in her stories, and both stories have them in fine style. A Creed Country Christmas brought out her advocacy for Native Americans in those early years, 1910. I love her gentle way of making her characters awake to their sexuality and realization that they can love more than once in their lifetime, and that it's worth risking your pride to pledge your love and commitment. I will continue to be a fan of Linda Lael Miller, and look forward to reading more of her stories.

The Christmas Brides contains two different sweet and romantic historical stories set in the US and around Christmas time.

A McKettrick Christmas is the story of Lizzie. She's traveling to meet her family for Christmas when an avalanche strand her train. She's not scared and not alone, since she's traveling with Whitley Carson, her probably future husband. But when they and a couple of more passengers are in real danger, it is the handsome Dr. Morgan Shane who takes charge. Lizzie is a McKettrick, and she's going to help Dr. Shane and the rest of the passengers to survive, even if Morgan doesn't want her.

Most of the story is about Lizzie and Dr. Shane dealing with the passengers of the train. Lizzie is young and sweet, but I liked her attitude. Morgan is strong and responsible, and liked Lizzie from the beginning. Their story is sweet and extremely romantic. It was obvious they were made to each other, but Lizzie have dreams and Morgan is afraid he isn't going to give her what she deserves.

A Creed Country Christmas is the story of Lincoln Creed and Juliana. Juliana just lost her teaching job and she's taking care of a couple of native kids. She loves them very much, but she's having bad times. They don't have anywhere to live, until Lincoln Creed met them and invited them to his home.

He has been alone since his beloved wife died, and his daughter Gracie need a teacher and a mother. Could Juliana be that person? He doesn't want a wife, but Juliana seems pretty and perfect for the role.

Their story is sweet but was more intensive than the first one. Lincoln can't accept to love another women, and Juliana is poor and needs a place to stay. But they begin to fall in love, without really wanting to. Juliana is strong and her heart is big enough to love every kid she meets. Lincoln also has a big heart, and underneath his problems, he's a good man.

I loved both stories. Both were heart-warming and perfect to get into the Christmas feeling. I specially liked that their families where included, because I fell in love with the McKettricks and the Creeds. Looking for more books from this author, I discovered her McKettrick and Creed families' series and I'm assuming The Christmas Brides are part of this families.

Overall, The Christmas Brides is a very well written enjoyable read, and if you like sweet romantic stories (and a little bit naughty) you should read them.

I origianally I was just a Nora Roberts fan but Linda Lael Miller has really captured me with her stories. I think I have most of them and read them all. I have shared them with a few friends at work who also enjoy them. Keep up the great works!

Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas. - Peg Bracken

culled from her McKettrick and Creed series, "First Lady of the West" Linda Lael Miller presents a 2 in one reissue of her bestselling novels of historical Americana.

* in A McKettrick Christmas, Elizabeth McKettrick looks forward to spending the holidays with her family. her traveling companion is spoiled Whitley Carson whom she plans to introduce to her kith and kin. along the way, a massive avalanche occurs and their train is stranded. with the rest of the helpless passengers, Lizzie faces the cold and darkness of a winter blizzard. she puts on a brave front and assists the handsome doctor Morgan Shane in taking care of those who were injured. using her wits and hoping against hope, she is resolute that she and the survivors may still be home in time for Christmas.

* young schoolteacher Juliana Mitchell finds herself and her four Indian wards homeless and penniless in A Creed Country Christmas. her brother Clay has denied her again of her inheritance money. she encounters the widower Lincoln Creed who brings her and the children home to his ranch. there, she meets his seven year-old daughter Gracie and the rest of the ranch hands. with Christmas just a few days away and amidst the threat of the Bureau of Indian Affairs at her heels, Juliana learns that all may not be lost for her and her wards.

Lizzie's family reminds me so much of my own. i come from a big one too and Christmas is always the perfect season and reason for everyone to be reunited. it is also a time for christenings and weddings. if they had the time and the resources, my relatives who lived abroad would come home and spend the holidays with us. Juliana's concern for her wards also brings to mind my favorite grade school teachers. their patience and devotion to their profession are truly admirable. looking back now, my childhood Christmases were certainly memorable. they were times of wonder, expectation and delight over lots of gifts, plentiful food and love from family and friends.

Linda Lael Miller writes with such simplicity that reading her books is pure enjoyment. she paints vivid images that brings the reader right into the story. she populates her pages with ordinary men and women who lived in a different era yet their lives, their emotions and the predicaments they face translate well into the present time.

The Christmas Brides is a great book to read not only for this holiday season but also for the rest of the year.

Disclosure of Material Connection: i received a copy of The Christmas Brides from Harlequin through NetGalley.com i did not receive any payment in exchange for this review nor was i obligated to write a positive one. all opinions expressed here are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, the book's publisher and publicist or the readers of this review. this disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

I always enjoy a Christmas book or 2, seems to make holiday time sweeter. I had never read anything by this author before, but thoroughly enjoyed these 2 stories. The second one was my favorite of the 2. However, both are good, heart-warming tales. Highly recommend to be enjoyed with time on one's hands, a fire blazing and hot chocolate nearby.

In the mood for a Christmas tale, and being a long time reader of both the Montana Creeds and the McKettrick series, I snatched up this book sure I wouldn't be disappointed. And I was right. The characters were true to form. The women strong. The men a little gruff but with the love of a good woman, excellent husband material.

Without reservation, I recommend this book (comprised of 2 novellas). If you've never read the Creeds or the McKettrick series, no problem. These two stories stand alone, but I am sure you'll want more of both families when you're done.

Unfortunately I havd read these books before, the service from the vendor was great. I will enjoy this book and enjoy L.L. Miller again.

"A McKettrick Christmas". In 1896 after spending two years at Miss Ridgley's Institute of Deportment and Refinement for Young Women, Lizzie McKettrick is excited to return to her family on the Triple M Ranch in time for Christmas. She looks forward to being the new Indian Rock schoolteacher as well and to introduce her beau Whitley Carson to her family. An avalanche causes the train wreck stranding the passengers. Dr. Morgan Shane helps the injured while Lizzie assists him. While working with the caring doctor, she reconsiders her feelings towards Whitley, who increasingly compared with Morgan looks like a gold-digger. However, time is running out on the stranded travelers.

"A Creed Country Christmas." In December 1910 her Denver based family disowned Juliana Mitchell for refusing to marry because they demanded she do so. Instead she obtains work as a teacher at an Indian school in Stillwater Springs, Montana. When the school is shut, she worries about the welfare of her four students, but has no funds and her pompous brother refuses to send what is legally hers. Widowed cowboy Lincoln Creed has failed to find anyone to care for his seven year old daughter Gracie. He knows of Juliana's plight so he offers her a deal that he assumes she cannot refuse. Juliana accepts his offer to stay at his ranch with her students and his daughter for Christmas. As the two adults are caught in a compromising situation that forces them to marry, each wonders whether it will prove a Yuletide gift wrapped in love or otherwise.

Although both tales are simplistic and the kids overly precocious, fans of the McKettrick-Creed saga will enjoy the reprints of these charming holiday historical romances. Readers will toast Linda Lael Miller for her Montana Christmas.

Harriet Klausner