Crazy Creek Christmas

by Lisa J. Lickel

Crazy Creek, Wyoming saves Leah Hanes's life. Running on fumes and bald tires, she thanks heaven for the Wimmers who recommend her to the Rocking J Ranch as a winter cook. Leah arrives to discover the ranch and the people need more than a cook. Noel Johansen, heir of the Rocking J, happily left for the big city years ago. When he loses his family in a terrible accident, the best thing for everyone is to sell the place, ditch the memories, and move on. But his brother-in-law has other plans, and the beautiful new cook they've hired for the season threatens Noel's desire to remain detached. The ranch represents Noel's future and selling it becomes more important than ever when one more tragedy leaves him with nothing. But memories can't be bought and sold, nor can a broken conscience heal itself. Home, heart, and future are irrevocably tied in Crazy Creek.

Genres: Christian

90 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 20, 2019

About the author

Lisa Lickel is a writer and editor who lives with her husband in the rolling hills of western Wisconsin. A complete list of her novels: mysteries, award-winning romance and children’s books, and contemporary fiction can be found on her website. She writes newspaper features, short stories, magazine articles and radio theater. An avid book reviewer and blogger, freelance editor, and writing mentor, she loves to encourage new authors. She has two grown and married sons. Find more at LisaLickel.com.

Reviews

[Amy Laundrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A feel-good, action-packed romance set in horse country is arriving just in time for the holidays. Lisa J. Lickel has a way of captivating readers, and Crazy Creek Christmas is no exception. Guilt-ridden, handsome Noel returns to the family ranch to face a painful past. Noel would like to sell the homestead, but his widowed brother-in-law, Gill, doesn’t want to. Complications mount because of the attractive 28-year-old woman, Leah, who arrives to help out, catching both men’s attention. This Christian story of forgiveness, family, and the longing for home is a winner.

[Lillian Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mountains and cowboys and Christmas!

I love reading Lisa Lickel's books.

They always have great characters along with an interesting plot. This one is no exception. This is not your everyday ho-hum romance. First of all, it's set in modern-day Wyoming on the Rocking J Ranch. I mean really--how cool is that?

Leah needs a job and Rocking J Ranch needs a cook. It sounds like the perfect situation....until she arrives. Things are a little different than she expected. OK, a lot different and not in a good way. It seems that not everyone's happy she's there. But that's OK with her, she's tough. Being raised in foster homes will do that. And she really needs this job.

Noel is the absent owner of the ranch but shows up with the intention of sharing his plan to sell the ranch to a development group. And that means he's not popular with anyone, including Leah.
I'm not going to give away the plot but I will tell you that there's lots of twists and turns. That's the great thing about reading Lisa J. Lickel's books. You just never know what's going to happen. Only that something will happen.

Definitely put this book on your holiday reading list.

[Carol James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christmas Redeemed

Leah Hanes needs a job and a place to live. And the cowboys at Crazy Creek Ranch need her even more. When her current employer closes his restaurant for the winter, he suggests Leah take a position at the ranch as a cook. Raised in the foster system, Leah is self-sufficient and a loner. She knows this position will be temporary.

Until she meets Noel Johansen, the heir to the ranch. Noel is a fast talking mover and shaker who is close to reaching his goal of banking a million dollars before his thirtieth birthday. He wants to sell the ranch and be rid of the burden. He left ranch life years ago and has no desire to return. Until he meets Leah.

When a tragedy strikes and Noel loses everything, he has no other place to go than home and to Leah.

Crazy Creek Christmas is an endearing story of healing love and redemption. Grab a cup of hot cocoa and let Lisa Lickel’s characters warm your heart.

[Penelope Marzec · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leah, once a foster child, takes on a job at the Rocking J Ranch in Wyoming cooking for cowboys. It’s a place to stay until spring. She doesn’t trust horses and she has no intention of making any deep connections with anyone. She never has. Then Noel arrives. He’s the son who never liked the ranch and intends to sell it to a developer, but after a business deal gone bad he has no place else to go. He believes he’s no better than the Prodigal Son. Still, the familiar rhythm of life at the ranch grows on him. Old memories, and Leah, tug at his emotions until the joy of Christmas takes hold in Noel once again.
This gentle, but complex romance was a wonderful read and highly recommended.

[Barbara M. Britton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lickel harkens back to the Prodigal Son with Hero Noel Johansen (I love that name). Noel has placed work and achievements above his family until they are killed in a car accident. Can he go back to the ranch where his boyhood memories abound? Leah arrives at the Rocking J ranch for a brief stint as a cook. Her wallet is as empty as her home life. Raised in foster care, Leah feels unloved and unwanted until she arrives on a ranch filled with welcoming smiles. When Noel meets Leah, his eyes are opened to the blessings he received being raised at the Rocking J. Noel and Leah find a happily-ever-after with ranch hands and horses. Lickel packs a punch in few pages.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leah takes a temporary job as cook at The Rocking J Ranch knowing she’ll have to leave in a few months. She finds the place inhabited by a handful of cowboys holding out during the winter. The ranch needs lots of love and not just the housekeeping kind.

Noel, the heir to the ranch, arrives with plans to sell everything. He hates the place and only wants to be rid of the responsibility, even though his parents wanted his brother-in-law to have it. Will the hopes and hearts at The Rocking J be healed in time for Christmas?

Ms. Lickel gives the reader a well-written and heartwarming story with a western flare and plenty of Christmas spirit.

[Clare Revell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leah needs this job over the winter at the ranch more than anything. At first she wonders what she's got herself into, but soon comes out of her shell and blossoms. Noel on the other hands wants to sell up and move away from the memories the ranch holds. However, nothing is ever that simple.
This book transports you to Wyoming in such a way that this Brit had no problem imagining the scene. A really nice Christmas read.

[Linda Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this novella. Lisa Lickel does an excellent job in character development. These characters organically "grew" as the story evolved through their circumstances. A plus in any of this author's books is I always learn things. She is a good researcher! I recommend it and any of her other books for these reasons.