Customer Reviews

A Randall Thanksgiving (Harlequin American Romance # 1133)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

She's spent the past six years in Paris, but Melissa Randall is home in Rawhide, Wyoming for the holidays. Only for the holidays, though. There isn't a huge demand for a professional jewelry designer in small-town Wyoming. Still, when she meets sexy Deputy Sheriff, Harry Gowan, she can't deny that there's an attraction, especially as Harry insists on kissing her 'goodbye' just about every chance he gets. There just doesn't seem to be any way she can have it all--the handsome Deputy and her dreams of becoming a top designer.

Harry Gowan has found the home he's always wanted in Rawhide, and intends never to leave. Falling for a Randall is bad enough--they're the richest family in town and, while he has a respectable job as a Deputy, it doesn't exactly put him in the upper income brackets. Still, he falls for Melissa fast and hard. Which would be challenging enough, given her protective father and dozens of cousins, aunts and uncles protecting her, but her plans to return to Paris are the final blow. Every time he kisses her goodbye, he knows that he's kissing away a part of his own heart.

A late-night shootout with cattle rustlers, the arrival of Melissa's philandering ex-fiance, and the continual matchmaking of the senior Randall family members add to the confusion, and give both Melissa and Harry the opportunity to consider whether their lives could be complete without one another. Of course, having a matchmaking family isn't all bad when they're trying to match you up with the guy you're crazy about--but Melissa isn't willing to settle for anything less than the kind of love that makes the Randall family so strong--and she definitely doesn't want to be the 'convenient' girl for Harry.

Author Judy Christenberry continues her Randall series with one of the last of the second generation Randalls, the daughter of Griff and Camille Randal. Fans of the series will savor both the way the matchmaking tradition continues, and the return of so many characters from earlier novels in this series. Melissa's dilemma, being torn between her career goals and love, will certainly resonate with many readers and the Pierre, the French ex-Fiance adds a comic touch. A RANDALL THANKSGIVING is another sure winner in Christenberry's Randall universe.

I picked up this book because I'd seen that Christenberry had written a slew of Randall novels, so I figured they had to be good or the publisher wouldn't continue publishing them. I wish I had read at least one of the previous Randall novels first. Not that it was difficult to follow the storyline not having read any of Christenberry's previous novels, but I just did not fall for the Randalls in the same way as the previous reviewers who've read other Randall stories had. I found Melissa and Harry to be wooden, one-dimensional characters, and the dialogue often clunky and unrealistic. The typos sprinkled throughout the book were also a distraction. Was the book rushed to publication?

Perhaps to please previous Randall readers, Christenberry drops names of numerous other Randalls throughout the story. An almost dizzying array of aunts, uncles, siblings, and cousins are sprinkled throughout the story. Sometimes they step into a scene, and other times they're just discussed by other characters, but many of them serve absolutely no purpose.

Christenberry followed the standard romance-novel format ... man and woman meet, are attracted to each other but clash, and wind up falling in love. However, the conflict that initially occurs between Melissa and Harry is forced. Realistically, nobody would react (overreact, really) the way either of them did.

Elsewhere, the storyline was so unbelievable that it was laughable. For instance, Harry and his fellow law enforcement officers hide in the dark and shoot down cattle rustlers without giving them any opportunity to surrender. Sure, I know this is a romance novel and complete fiction, but it's difficult to get into a story when all you can think is, "This is ridiculous."

This is another cute Randall story. I liked it a lot, but dont feel as if it was as good as the previous. If you have read all the other "Randall" books, this is definately an addition you will want.

It was sweet true to Judy Chistenberry. I have the entire series so it is always a treat to add another book to the series.

I was very happy to discover that there was another new Randall title out, I have been following the series for the last couple of years and whenever I get my hands on the books I literally devour every word, I read this one in three hours. Be sure not to miss this one.