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The Promise of Christmas
Mills & Boon Blush series brings you moving, true-to-life romances
Leslie Sanderson's brother Cal is dead, and he's left behind two children no one knew he had.
Kip Webster - Cal's closest friend - and Leslie "inherit" these secret kids. And as they form their makeshift family Leslie and Kip decide to share a house.
And that leads to other kinds of sharing, until one night before Christmas Leslie tells him about the devastating thing that happened when she was young - something she's kept secret all this time. Because in Kip, she finds the promise of safety, acceptance and love. The promise of what family should be?
Leslie Sanderson's brother Cal is dead, and he's left behind two children no one knew he had.
Kip Webster - Cal's closest friend - and Leslie "inherit" these secret kids. And as they form their makeshift family Leslie and Kip decide to share a house.
And that leads to other kinds of sharing, until one night before Christmas Leslie tells him about the devastating thing that happened when she was young - something she's kept secret all this time. Because in Kip, she finds the promise of safety, acceptance and love. The promise of what family should be?
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 2005
About the author
Tara Taylor Quinn
385 books1,459 followersTara Taylor Quinn began her love affair with Harlequin when she was fourteen years old and picked up a free promotional copy of a Harlequin Romance in a hometown grocery store. The relationship was solidified the year she was suspended from her high school typing class for hiding a Harlequin Romance behind the keys of her electric typewriter. Unaware that her instructor loomed close by, Ms. Quinn read blissfully on with one finger resting on the automatic repeating period key. She finished the book in the principal’s office. Forced to leave her romances in her locker after that, Ms. Quinn’s typing skills improved - a fact for which she is eternally grateful.
With over 140 original novels, published in more than twenty languages, Tara Taylor Quinn is a USA Today bestselling author with more than seven million copies sold. She is a winner of the 2008 National Reader's Choice Award, four time finalist for the RWA Rita Award, a finalist for the Reviewer’s Choice Award, the Bookseller’s Best Award, the Holt Medallion and appears regularly on the Waldenbooks bestsellers list. Ms. Quinn writes for Harlequin and MIRA Books. Reviewer, Cindy Penn, wordweaving.com says, “Amazing character development is the hallmark of author Tara Taylor Quinn’s work. Indeed, Taylor’s profound observations of human nature and intimate understanding of values and priorities lends extraordinary psychological depth to all her work.”
Tara Taylor Quinn was born and raised in Ohio. Though she wrote her first story at the age of seven, her professional writing career began ten years later when she was hired as a stringer with the Dayton Daily News in Dayton, Ohio. She attended Wright State University and graduated from Harding College in Arkansas with a degree in English and Journalism. She published several magazine articles before turning to writing as a full-time occupation.
Ms. Quinn is a Past President of the Romance Writers of America and served for eight years on the Board of Directors of that association. She has a wide range of experience as a public speaker and workshop presenter for writers groups around the country.
When she’s not home with her owners, Jerry Lee and Taylor Marie, and LeeLee or fulfilling speaking engagements, Tara loves to travel with her husband, stopping wherever the spirit takes them. They’ve been spotted in casinos and quaint little small town antique shops all across the country..
With over 140 original novels, published in more than twenty languages, Tara Taylor Quinn is a USA Today bestselling author with more than seven million copies sold. She is a winner of the 2008 National Reader's Choice Award, four time finalist for the RWA Rita Award, a finalist for the Reviewer’s Choice Award, the Bookseller’s Best Award, the Holt Medallion and appears regularly on the Waldenbooks bestsellers list. Ms. Quinn writes for Harlequin and MIRA Books. Reviewer, Cindy Penn, wordweaving.com says, “Amazing character development is the hallmark of author Tara Taylor Quinn’s work. Indeed, Taylor’s profound observations of human nature and intimate understanding of values and priorities lends extraordinary psychological depth to all her work.”
Tara Taylor Quinn was born and raised in Ohio. Though she wrote her first story at the age of seven, her professional writing career began ten years later when she was hired as a stringer with the Dayton Daily News in Dayton, Ohio. She attended Wright State University and graduated from Harding College in Arkansas with a degree in English and Journalism. She published several magazine articles before turning to writing as a full-time occupation.
Ms. Quinn is a Past President of the Romance Writers of America and served for eight years on the Board of Directors of that association. She has a wide range of experience as a public speaker and workshop presenter for writers groups around the country.
When she’s not home with her owners, Jerry Lee and Taylor Marie, and LeeLee or fulfilling speaking engagements, Tara loves to travel with her husband, stopping wherever the spirit takes them. They’ve been spotted in casinos and quaint little small town antique shops all across the country..
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 16, 2016
The Promise of Christmas is the tenth stand-alone romance novel by American author, Tara Taylor Quinn. Leslie Sanderson is shocked when her brother, Cal’s best friend, Kip comes to tell her Cal has perished in a climbing accident. But shock turns to bewilderment when they learn that Calhoun Sanderson had a secret family: a son and daughter whose mother had died some months before. Now Cal’s will states that he wants Leslie to adopt baby Kayla, while Kip is to adopt Jonathon.
While it seems the logical thing to do, sharing a house with her high-school crush and two young children is not something Leslie feels confident about. The children have more issues than the loss of their parents to overcome, and a dark secret that plagued Leslie’s youth will need to be exorcised before this group can form a happy family. A sweet, if rather slow-moving romance that does not take a light-hearted approach but deals head-on with issues of incest and racial prejudice. 3.5 ★s
While it seems the logical thing to do, sharing a house with her high-school crush and two young children is not something Leslie feels confident about. The children have more issues than the loss of their parents to overcome, and a dark secret that plagued Leslie’s youth will need to be exorcised before this group can form a happy family. A sweet, if rather slow-moving romance that does not take a light-hearted approach but deals head-on with issues of incest and racial prejudice. 3.5 ★s
December 14, 2023
I was expecting a nice heartfelt Christmas read.... definitely not expecting what I got.
Very hard topic to talk about.
Tara did a good job painting the story and the not often talked about after math of child sexual abuse.
Very hard topic to talk about.
Tara did a good job painting the story and the not often talked about after math of child sexual abuse.
June 10, 2018
Not a big fan of romance novels. Utterly predictable, and somewhat unbelievable.
March 12, 2008
This was a very difficult book to read just for the simple fact of the subject matter. This author is one of my favorites, but she does include real-life subject matter in her books, even that that affects us bad ways. Not an easy read, but touching in how the hero deals with it all and helps the heroine through.
January 2, 2013
Very difficult read. It had to do with rape and incest. I had a hard time swallowing while reading this novel. There was also a lot of tears. I didn't like how it really ended but it had a lot to do with healing.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews