Review: The Christmas Bride by Sylvia McDaniel
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 5, 2013
Eugenia Burnett was known well for her matchmaking skills. She had been determined to find wives for her three sons, Travis, Tanner and Tucker and had greatly succeeded in doing so. She had also found husbands for several of her friends but had never considered a husband for herself. After being married to Thomas Burnett for twenty five years, Eugenia was thoroughly against marriage. Thomas was controlling, always making the decisions alone, and Eugenia refused to be ruled by a man again. Until Wyatt Jones made his intentions known. Although her head was telling her to stay as far away from Wyatt as possible, her heart was telling her she was being a fool. When her three daughters-in-law turned the tables on her and started playing matchmakers, Eugenia knew she was in trouble. Could she fight the feelings Wyatt awakened in her in order to stay in control of her life? Did she even want to?Wyatt Jones was starting to feel lonely and restless. His wife, Beatrice, had been gone for a year and he was tired of being alone. He wanted someone to talk about his day with, someone to keep him warm at night and share his life with. He knew the only woman he wanted was Eugenia Burnett. Wyatt and Beatrice had been good friends with Eugenia and Thomas and there had been sparks between him and Eugenia that had been suppressed because they were married. When Eugenia starts trying to set Wyatt up with the eligible women in town Wyatt makes it clear that she is the only woman he wants. Wyatt sets out to tear down the walls Eugenia has erected around her heart. Can he make her see that he wants a partner in marriage and not someone to give in to his every whim? Or will she leave him with as broken heart?The Christmas Bride was a treat to read. It was so great to see the tables get turned on Eugenia for a change. With all of her scheming in the previous books I loved seeing Rose, Sarah and Beth do some scheming of their own. I also loved Eugenia's take charge, no nonsense attitude. She was a little spitfire and I love that in a female heroine. She didn't take any guff from anyone which always makes for a more exciting read for me. Now Wyatt was a real sweetheart, a real gentleman, and I just loved him. His poor heart was so bruised and battered by Eugenia by the end I felt sorry for him and wanted to throttle her. The night of the snow storm was the best part to me because it started Eugenia on the path to some hard choices. I also loved that Miss McDaniel worked the whole idea about the casserole dishes into the storyline. It made for some great laughs. Humor blended into a storyline just enhances the story for me. I loved revisiting the characters from the previous stories, also. I don't always get to do that so it's a real treat when I do. All around this was a very entertaining book and a fine ending to a series I quickly grew to love. I will truly miss the Burnetts (unless Miss Sylvia digs deep and continues on with the series :)). If you liked the previous books you will love this one. If you haven't read any books in this series I still recommend it if you like being thoroughly entertained.Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Sylvia McDaniel for my honest review. These opinions are mine and mine alone. I received no monetary compensation for this review.