A Mistletoe Marriage

by Jeanne Allan

She had one month to win back her husband!

Justin Valentine was a man who had everything - a ranch, smoldering green eyes, a sexy, slow smile and even a wife, Cait...but she'd run out on him two years ago.

Now Cait was back - and all she wanted was a certain cowboy in her Christmas stocking. Cait was going to make this the best Christmas ever! Okay, she might not know one end of a turkey from the other, but she could learn, couldn't she? She wasn't the spoilt little rich girl she'd been when they'd married.

She was going to prove to Justin that she would make a perfect rancher's wife...and the perfect mother for his children!

Genres: Second Chance, Romance

Paperback

First published December 1, 1996

About the author

Barbara Blackman was under the pseudonym Jeanne Allan, the author of 25 romance novels for Harlequin. On the cover of her first novel, Peter's Sister, her surname was misspelled as "Allen".

Reviews

[Debby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a second chance story from 1996. I really loved reading this. This is romance. Five stars.

The H and h are married. He is a rancher guy, she is a city girl from rich parents. Their backgrounds don’t match and they had trouble understanding each other. Two years before she left him. And now she’s back on the ranch, she’s going from disaster to disaster.

It was funny and I liked her a lot. Her love for animals, her honesty, her sense of humour, she truly is kind.

He is mad about her. He says and does the sweetest things, he always sides with her when she is under attack from anyone, he is passionate and has a good sense of humour too. He is not afraid to apologize to her.

They both were celibate the two years in which they lived separate.

I like that she is not blonde, like at least 95% of other HP h’s, this h has dark hair.

[LBW · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I loved this engaging, extremely romantic, well-written novel about a fish-out-of-water “rich city girl” heroine trying to repair her broken marriage and find her HEA with the fabulous alpha rancher hero. Here is why:
• Believable MCs with H a kinder, more evolved version of a Diana Palmer rancher and a spunky, sympathetic h. Both of them contemplate how they contributed to the marriage problems and how they wanted to change their behavior – and did!
• Action and exposition versus deep thoughts that fill pages
• Sizzling chemistry and sex scenes that were actually tasteful and ended just before the “mechanics” of the intimacy.
• No OM/OW drama with about every scene between the MCs. One can see how they change and fall even more in love as they really get to know one another more deeply.
• Enough angst without overload and a minor mystery that serves to heighten the romance.
• Contemporary feel despite 1996 publish date.
This goes on my keeper shelf

[Last Chance Saloon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice story in places, but there were too many threads that went nowhere. The heroine (24) is going back for a second chance at her marriage with the hero (32) after almost two years apart. She went off in a tantrum and he never came for her. The problem for me is that he is just not mad about her. He says they should not have gotten together as she was too young and too spoiled - but he is only 8 years older. She's supposed to be classy and sophisticated, and yet she's always falling over things and is unable to do anything properly in or around the house. He tolerates her and likes her sexually, but I didn't feel any chemistry between them. The hero's cousin and his wife were awful - so full of themselves, but more than that - nasty people and they needed some comeuppance.
3 stars max - the heroine's personality was all over the place and the hero lacked charm.

[Myrna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why aren't there any reviews?
A nice solid book.
I think it's underrated.