Sunday, December 7, 2014

30 Days of Christmas - Day 6 - Western Holiday Duets by Paty Jager

Wow, look. I can go two days in a row without using a children's book for review after all, but only because this book is only twenty-one pages long. Apparently my late nights had caught up to me, and I spent most of the day sleeping while my husband played with the kids. Now it's two a.m. in Germany, and I'm wide awake, but I needed a short story to get this posted before the day is over in the US. So on with the review.


Genre: Romance/Holiday
Published: October 24, 2014
Ages: 12+
(That's my estimate)

Synopsis

Two historical western romance short stories. 

Christmas Eve Promise 
Sheriff Jubal Denton promises Suzie Harper they’ll marry Christmas Eve. Two weeks before Christmas a breakout at the Willow Bend jail sends Jubal across the state in an attempt to capture the outlaw. Christmas Eve arrives. Other members of the posse have returned, but where is Jubal? 

New Year’s Kiss 
Edda Rae Bartlett is pacing back and forth on New Year’s Eve waiting for her beau, Cort Haywood. He said he had something important to tell her before the end of the year. And there are only a few hours left to this year. Her best friend arrives, dragging her to a party and into a game her friend learned while traveling. Edda Rae likes the fact she is elbow to elbow with Cort, but soon learns everyone in the room knows something about the game but her. 

Review

This book consists of two stories, and is still only twenty-one pages long, which means I really found both stories to be far too short for my liking. However, like I stated before, the brevity was integral to my decision to read this book for review today. Also, it was free. The two stories included are both sweet historical romances, meaning that the kissing is even frowned upon by society, so they are perfectly acceptable for younger readers. 

Both of these stories are technically full stories. They have a beginning, a conflict of sorts, and a resolution, all of which are required for a decent story. I still would have loved to have had more and I will be checking out more of Paty Jager's work after the holidays are over and I get my book budget back. 

Christmas Eve Promise. 

This is the story the baker and the sheriff. They have been courting for a while as is proper, and are supposed to get married on Christmas Eve, but then tragedy strikes when Sheriff Denton has to help track down a band of outlaws after a breakout at the local jail. The conflict in this story was much more apparent and exciting than in New Year's Kiss. I also found the resolution predictable, but that's part of the appeal of this type of story for me. Of the two stories, this is the one I found most disappointing for it's brevity and that I would be most interested in getting more of. I think it really has a lot of potential.

New Year's Kiss.

Edda Rae Bartlett is the local pastor's daughter, which means strictly following decorum is essential for her. That doesn't stop the sparks from flying between her and Cort Haywood though, and like many pastor's daughters she has rebelled against the strict rules she is expected to follow to an extent. This story was ultimately like those proposal videos where the guy enlists the help of a bunch of his friends for an elaborate song and dance routine to propose to his girlfriend, and like those videos, the idea behind it was sweet. 

Overall I give this book five out of five stars. There was nothing structurally wrong with it, it was entertaining, and even though I was disappointed by the brevity, I have to rate it based on what it is, and not what I want from it, and for what it is, it's good. If you would like to sample Paty Jager's work and enjoy sweeter historical romances, I would definitely recommend this book to you. - Katie 

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