Debra Salonen

Sweet story that I thoroughly enjoyed. Krista and Jonah are interesting characters and I loved the small-town setting of Marietta. Small-town stories are fun because of the "everybody knows your business" vibe versus the main characters' desires to maintain some semblance of privacy in their relationship.

Krista moved to Marietta from NYC eighteen months earlier to join her friend Amanda's ad agency. She works long and hard to make their business successful, driven by the need to prove herself to her family. It's an odd juxtaposition because she also maintains as much distance as possible to avoid their drama. The Martins are big in the entertainment industry and drama around them is inevitable. The book opens as Krista prepares to talk to Amanda about the latter's lack of focus in their work. That goes out the window when the recently married Amanda reveals she's pregnant and having complications. With a need to cut back on outside activities, Amanda convinces Krista to take over her position on the Marietta Secret Santa Society.

Jonah returned to his hometown of Marietta to house-and-dog-sit for his parents while they help his newly widowed sister. He recently sold his high-tech Silicon Valley business for a lot of money and is now at loose ends as he tries to decide what is next for him. With a non-compete clause in the sales contract, Jonah figured it was safer to remove himself from the temptations of his lab. Before they leave, they tell Jonah that he's expected to take their place with the Society while they are gone. Jonah is a self-declared introvert who claims to have no people skills and feels unsuited for the job.

Krista and Jonah meet when one of the dogs he's walking tangles herself up in Krista's legs and knocks her over, and Jonah tries to break her fall with his body. The attraction between them is immediate and Jonah is happy to use the Secret Santa meetings to get to know Krista better. The older committee members think that Krista, with her marketing skills, and Jonah, with his proven business savvy, are the perfect people to fix the Society's financial woes.

I loved seeing the relationship between Krista and Jonah develop. Both have been burned by previous relationships gone bad, with partners more interested in what they could get than what they could give. Krista and Jonah start out intending to ignore the sparks and concentrate on being friends and partners. I loved how well they worked together, each one's strengths making a good balance of creativity and practicality. The more time they spent together, the stronger their attraction grew and so did their connection. But Krista is rooted in Marietta and Jonah will return to California when his parents return, so neither can see a future for them.

There are some sweet scenes between Jonah and Krista, from hot chocolate at the chocolate shop to time spent with the dogs or wandering the holiday-ready streets of Marietta. I also loved Jonah's support of Krista when the stresses of her family's upcoming visit got to her. There's a bump in the road to them finding their happy ever after and I had to laugh when Krista took action to overcome it. The ending was terrific and left me wanting to make more visits to the chocolate shop.… (altro)

I've enjoyed the Big Sky Mavericks series overall, and like having the interconnected characters and getting updates on characters from other Montana Born series. I found it difficult to get into this book, however. There wasn't anything wrong with the story or writing, but I just couldn't identify with the characters and therefore found myself struggling to push through at times. Based on reading the other reviews, I think that a lot of readers would be quite happy with this book, it just wasn't for me.
… (altro)

One of the reasons I look forward to reading Debra Salonen's novels is her books are like a comfortable blanket. They give you that warm and fuzzy feeling inside. She takes the time to let you get to know her characters. I received an ARC of Montana Rebel in exchange for an honest review. Montana Rebel is my favorite book in the Big Sky Mavericks series. Justin's wanderlust and addiction to adventure make him a high risk bachelor but can the love of a good woman rescue him from a lonely existence? It's not often love gets a second chance but when it does it is worth every tear. Wonderfully heartwarming romantic fun.… (altro)