3-3.5 stars: My main issue with this plot is how quickly the couple progresses from meeting each other to being engaged--though at least they aren't married by the epilogue, so there is hope that they will get to know each other better outside of the suspenseful time they've spent together in this book and see if they are compatible.

I liked the Thorn family. They seem close-knit and like they really care about each other and support each other. Barrett is a widower who lost his wife to an accident. Owen was hurt while serving in the military.

In contrast to other families in the novel: the Arroyos and the Hatchers. Shelby Arroyo blamed her mom from keeping her from her father--only to later find that the father had opted out of being a father. Shelby views her Uncle Ken as a kind of father, but he lost his wife in childbirth and has lost his son to prison. Joe Hatcher's wife Cora left him and left their daughter, Emmaline, with him.

Shelby is loyal to her uncle. She's promised him she'll get some samples from a mine he holds the mineral rights to. I think both are hoping it will help him improve his financial situation. Unfortunately, the mine sits on Hatcher's property and he's not too thrilled about letting her do her job. Shelby seems a magnet for problem situations. In this novel alone, she's been hit then locked in her car trunk; fallen into a ravine; been threatened by Hatcher; had a stick of dynamite thrown at her; been locked in the mine; fallen into a water-filled hole in the mine; had a knife held to her throat; had her uncle's stable set on fire, then been trapped in the stable along with two of the horses as it burned; had a warning painted on the inside wall of her uncle's house; been inside the mine when someone exploded stored TNT to block the entrance she'd used to enter; had the mine floor give way; discovered a body in the mine; watched Barrett fall when the ladder they used to bridge a gap gives way; been run off the road while driving to an assay appointment with her uncle; and had a gun pointed at her by someone attempting to kill her. Yet, somehow, Barrett still sees a future with her.

I didn't suspect who the culprit really was--though in retrospect, I can see clues as to who it was. ( )

I have read other books by Ms. Mentink and I have loved them. So, I was excited to read my second book centered around Christmas and that it was hers. Her books instantly grab you, and keep you hooked until the very last page.

Being married to my own cowboy, I tend to fall hard for the books with cowboys in them. Barrett's character was no exception. I loved every bit of his widowed self and found myself wishing I was in Shelby's shoes on more than one instant! Watching him be so protective of Shelby, even after he found the truth out, was absolutely heartwarming.

The circumstances in the book, the intense, breathtaking suspense that Ms. Mentink weaves through out this story really round out this romance novel. Ms. Mentink threads inspirational messages through out the story, showing her characters relying on God and leaving the reader thinking about the story long after the final page is read.

Ms. Mentink is well deserving of 4 stars and hats off. This book is not that long and easily read in one sitting. I definitely recommend it to all who love a twisting, turning, edge of your seat suspense novel. Well done, Ms. Mentink! Can't wait til the next one!

*Cafinated Reads received a complimentary copy of this book from Celebrate Lit Tours and the author and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.* ( )

Danger abounds when Shelly Arroyo arrives in Gold Country to do a job for her Uncle. Her life is constantly in danger. No one wants her to accomplish the work. Barrett comes upon her when she is in danger. Barrett does not like her Uncle. But some how he is thrown into her path. And he keeps saving her. God's plan to bring forgiveness runs all through the book. It isn't easy I know. Easy to forgive and not to forget. Through this book I finally able to let go of a lot of hurts and truly forgive what happened. Thanks Dana because now like Barrett, I have freedom and peace. Of course you get to enjoy Christmas too. But the danger will keep you reading. ( )