The Christmas You Found Me by Sarah Morgenthaler

This is not your typical light and fluffy Christmas romance. It’s very heartfelt holiday novel, even a bit of a tearjerker, and very hard to put down. The author has been through some loss and her writing here is richer and deeper than her popular Moose Springs, Alaska trilogy, beginning with The Tourist Attraction.

In northern Idaho, recently divorced rancher Sienna Naples is embarrassed when her friend Jess places an ad in the local paper: Husband for Hire, with excellent medical benefits. She kept her family’s large ranch in the mountains in the divorce, but has only a mule, a horse, two donkeys and her older dog Barley to care for a herd of 63 cattle. She can certainly use help on the ranch, but not another husband. Then Jess says they’ve sent an applicant to meet her at the local coffee shop. When Sienna meets Montanan Guy, he’s most interested in the medical benefits the ad mentioned, as his little girl, Emma, has some serious health issues. When Sienna meets the adorable 4-year-old Emma, and her dog Barley falls hard for her, she is stunned to find herself offering a marriage of convenience.

Guy does chores on the ranch when not working construction in town. Christmas is a big deal in Caney Falls, and he’s helping build an enormous walk-through snow globe. The three of them have a magical time enjoying it, though Emma wants to be just like the other kids.

Sienna’s ex, Micah, will be no reader’s favorite character, but he’s a surprisingly complex one. Micah even helps out when Sienna’s elderly father, who has dementia, takes a turn for the worse. This slow-burn romance is joyful, briefly funny, heartwarming, and occasionally achingly sad. I found this to be a compelling and memorable read. Robyn Carr is a good readalike.

Brenda