A Log Cabin Christmas

A Log Cabin Christmas by Margaret Brownley, Wanda E. Brunstetter, Kelly Eileen Hake, Liz Johnson, Jane Kirkpatrick, Liz Tolsma, Michelle Ule, Debra Ullrich and Erica Vetsch

GENRE: HISTORICAL ROMANCE

PUBLISHER: BARBOUR PUBLISHING

PUBLICATION DATE: SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

RATING: 8 OUT OF 10 STARS

PROS: Introduces readers to established authors and newcomers to the genre; perfect length of stories to read during the busy holiday season

CONS: Not ideal to read one story immediately after the other as the log cabin setting can get a bit repetitive

This endearing collection from Barbour follows on from the success of the previous year’s A Prairie Christmas Collection. Compiling short stories from popular and established authors in the historical genre as well as several newcomers, A Log Cabin Christmas features nine stories set in log cabins at varying locations and periods of American history. Ranging from typical homes built out of logs to log schools and stores and even a log church, the authors of A Log Cabin Christmas show readers how romance can blossom in every setting. Characters dream of living in log cabins, build homes from scratch and learn to overcome difficulties in this shared setting, across different locations and time periods at Christmastime in historical America.

As it is impossible to share my in-depth thoughts on all the stories in this collection I’ve picked out my ultimate favourites to share. While I didn’t have one outright favourite story in this collection, there were several that really stood out to me.

The Courting Quilt by Jane Kirkpatrick was one of these purely because it featured the most unique protagonists in the entire collection. Mary’s hair is prematurely white and as a result everyone believes her to be an elderly woman, and Richard was just as unusual with his different coloured eyes. This was more than just a straight-forward romance, featuring some humour in the fact that nearly all of the women in the story fell for Richard without him realising it. This was not a story that I forgot in a hurry and I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author, who already has several novels under her belt.

A Log Cabin Christmas also introduced me to a newer, less-established author who I’m certain will soon become more popular in the inspirational market: Liz Tolsma. I adored Under His Wings, the story of a young woman, Adie, who lives with her father at a logging camp and finds herself having to rely on one of the other loggers for protection when her father is killed in an accident. This was a slow moving romance as Adie took a while to respond to Noah’s offers of help. This touching tale will appeal to fans of marriage of convenience stories.

My love of all things German may have biased me towards A Grand Country Christmas by Debra Ullrick, but even those who aren’t so familiar with the language and the customs will enjoy this sweet tale of orphaned Awnya being taken in by Amadeus and his family just in time for Christmas. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, especially as the protagonists had a lot of chemistry between them which made their quickly blossoming relationship seem all the more realistic. The sizzle in their romance reminded me a bit of Vickie McDonough or Mary Connealy and made a much appreciated addition to this otherwise incredibly chaste collection. Readers who appreciate stories featuring characters from other ethnicities will likely also appreciate the Mexican-infused The Dogrot Christmas by Michelle Ule which, despite having a very different type of romance from that in A Grand Country Christmas, reminded in my mind long after I finished reading it.

I must also mention Margaret Brownley’s short story, which is the first in this collection. I was introduced to her work earlier this year and was pleased to discover that I enjoyed her shorter works just as much as her full-length novels. Snow Angels contained all of my favourite components in a romance, from being snowbound in a cabin to the addition of cute children to spur on the relationship between the hero and heroine.

There were no real duds in this collection, and I’ve refrained from going into detail about some other excellent additions to this collection purely due to the constraints of writing a review that isn’t so long that you’ll feel like you’re reading my university dissertation. So I must briefly mentioned Kelly Eileen Hake’s Christmas Traps and Trimmings, which stood out because of the details about Mina’s English upbringing and the disaster that brought her and Sam together, but isn’t a favourite simply because ended a bit too abruptly to make me truly love it. Christmas Service by Erica Vetsch is also worth reading for the message it gives about ways in which to serve God that many young women are likely in need of hearing, but this same message ended up making the heroine difficult to sympathise with.

I did find Wanda Brunstetter’s The Christmas Secret and Liz Johnson’s A Star in the Night to be the weakest stories in the collection, for very different reasons. I’ve never been a fan of Wanda’s style of writing and this was still the case in The Christmas Secret, but I will admit that the plot was quite original and kept my interest. A Star in the Night was a sweet, gently blossoming romance but lacked any chemistry between the characters, especially as the author continually reminded the reader that the protagonists never spent time alone indoors together, which even in a historical setting felt a bit forced. I still enjoyed reading both of these stories despite their flaws, and it wouldn’t stop me from recommending this collection.

A Log Cabin Christmas is a collection to be savoured over a matter of weeks, not hours, and the length of the stories makes it easy to pick up and put down again during the busy holiday period. Historical romance readers will be pleased to see stories many popular authors in the genre featured, and to discover some new writers who will hopefully come to be just as admired.

Review title provided by Barbour Publishing.

Rugged and Relentless - Kelly Eileen Hake

When three landowning women put an ad in the paper expressing their desire for healthy, hard-working husbands-for-hire to help them set up and run a sawmill, they never dreamed their tiny town would be overflowing with proposals from bachelors who responded promptly...and in person! Out of this logjam of potential suitors, which one will Evelyn Thompson choose? Jacob Grainger trails his brother's murderer to Hopesfall where, to keep his true intentions secret, Jacob pretends to court Miss Evelyn Thompson. Will this lumberjack-turned-bounty-hunter find himself falling for the enterprising female?

When four young women head off to the ghost-town of Hopesfall, Colorado to turn it into a bustling, prosperous saw-mill, they end up with far more than they bargained for. While Cora plans to wed her fiancee, she knows it's not safe for her friends to be alone in a town full of men. Thus Evie, Lacey and Naomi come to the conclusion that they need to find husbands - fast. But these unconventional women don't want to wait for the right man to come along and make a proposal; they plan to make sure that they get just what they want by hiring husbands! But when their unusual advertisement brings dozens of men to Hopesfall, rather than the letters they had expected, the women realise that they have a lot more on their hands than they'd anticipated. Especially with the mysterious Jake Creed who seems far too protective over the women, especially Evie. Little do they know that Jake ended up in Hopesfall purely by chance, and is actually searching for his brother's murderer. He certainly didn't expect to find himself protecting three headstrong yet vulnerable women who insist that they want to pick spouses out of the rabble of men that they've put to work rebuilding their town. Suddenly he finds himself in a race to find his brother's killer before the man in question marries one of the women that he's sworn to protect. And he definitely doesn't want Evie to get into this man's clutches...although Jake can't quite figure out why he feels so strongly about the stubborn woman he always ends up arguing with! 

The protagonists of this novel alone make it wonderful. While I adored the setting and the descriptions of the food, Evie and Jake were what made me thoroughly enjoy this novel. Like most women, Evie is insecure, but she also knows how to hold her own and assess situations. Unlike her best friend, Lacey, she doesn't rush into anything - except an opportunity to argue with Jake. She was a really endearing character and I appreciated the fact that she was self-conscious about her curves. As someone who cannot buy trousers anywhere at the moment because years of genetics have given me a more curvaceous derrière than most current fashion-designers admire, I understood Evie's dilemma! So naturally, I became Jake's number one fan when he told Evie to eat more as she was losing weight. Curvy heroines and the men that love them immediately get my vote in any novel. Jake is also a winner because of his caring attitude. While he initially sets out to find his brother's killer and discover what truly happened to his sibling, his plans change when he realises that the women of Hopesfall need protection. He sets aside his own desires in order to help them set up the town, and underneath his stubborn demeanor he's truly a caring gentleman.

The other women intrigued me as well. Despite her frilly clothes and privileged upbringing, Lacey clearly wants to look after her friends and her heart is always in the right place, even if she finds herself useless in the kitchen. Cora appears to be emotional and vulnerable to begin with, but her fight to convince her fiancee that she still wants him despite his injuries really brings out her true character. And Naomi is still a little mysterious to me. She was very quiet throughout the entire novel, yet seemed to be the more reasonable and sensible one of the group. I look forward to reading more about each of them in the upcoming books in the series. There were several interesting characters in the men who arrived in Hopesfall, yet I can't guess which ones Lacey and Naomi will choose as husbands!

One of my only complaints would have to be that the sections from the point of view of the murderer than Jake was hunting didn't really flow with the rest of the story. They felt a bit awkward and it seemed as if the author was trying too hard to be mysterious. The initial scenes with Braden, Cora's fiancee, also had a few odd moments, but this disappeared after a while. Other than that, there weren't any major letdowns but I would have liked a bit more time with Evie and Jake at the end! It was all over far too soon for me. I guess I'll have to wait for the next book to see how their story pans out.

If you're looking for an unconventional historical romance with moments of suspense and comedy, then this spin on the mail-order bride plot is definitely for you. If the protagonists don't win you over, the descriptions of Evie's delicious food definitely will! Look out for the first in the Husbands for Hire series from Barbour in March 2011. 8/10

Many thanks to NetGalley and Barbour for giving me an early chance to read and review this book.