When I was in in my early 20's I loved Janet Dailey's western romances. This month I had to read a book with a Christmas tree on the cover for one of my challenge groups so I found this one available at the library.

Sam Bennett, a handsome and gallant cowboy comes to New York in December to help a college friend install seasonal decorations and falls hard for Nicole Young, a busy window designer trying to create enticing Manhattan storefronts.

The characters were wooden and there was nothing exciting about the relationship. I consider it one of the least interesting books I've read all year. But it did have a Christmas tree on the cover. ( )

This was cute, but about 100-150 pages in all of a sudden either the writing went downhill fast or I suddenly gained an awareness of how mediocre it was. Not BAD bad, just sometimes repetitive, sometimes awkward... Right where it suddenly goes down hill is when the leads have the obligatory fight about a misunderstanding, and I found myself flipping back a few pages going "Did I miss something? Where are they suddenly mad at each other?" It seems like both characters all of a sudden started getting mad at each other for no reason, which made them both seem petty and shallow. It's almost as if the author went "Oh no! Things are going too well! How do I make this book longer?!"

The ending was also VERY sudden. As in, I turned the page and was surprised to see a blurb about a different book by this publisher. What the heck? There were a few cute sort of side storylines/romances going on, which I would have liked to see more fully developed, especially when the author spends several chapters (again, starting well into the book, which was odd) focusing on these side characters. Perhaps there will be another book about Doug's mother and her romantic and life developments?

I did really like the descriptions of the trees and the window displays in New York City. I felt they were beautifully detailed - I just wish the author had done as good of a job at developing the characters and plot.

This book left me pretty confused, but it was cute and sweet and made me smile. No really steamy bits (which I like but will turn some people off), just fluff. Worth a quick Christmas read if you're in the mood for some Cowboy holiday fluff. ( )

Sam Bennett is working the Christmas season in New York setting up Christmas trees. He meets Nicole Young a window designer. Sam works for Nicole setting up a beautiful Christmas window display and there are sparks flying while they work together. They spend time getting to know each other between Sam working on setting up trees and Nicole working on fabulous window displays.

I enjoy watching these two stumble into love without really knowing it was happening.

This book really shows you that there are families out there having a hard time a Christmas and what can happen when people take the time see what is really needed. This book leaves you with a true meaning of Christmas spirit.

I have always been a Janet Daily fan and this is another great Christmas story from her. ( )