Her Christmas Dilemma

by Brenda Minton

Searching for a safe haven

and a new beginning…

Returning home for the holidays after an unexpected pregnancy, Clara Fisher needs a fresh start. And working as a housekeeper for Tucker Church and his teenage niece is the first step. Clara still has hard choices to make, but Tucker might be just the person to help her forget her fears. Could the path to her new future also lead to love?

From Love Uplifting stories of faith, forgiveness and hope.

Genres: Christmas, Romance, Love Inspired, Christian Romance

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published November 30, 2021

About the author

Brenda Minton lives, procrastinates, writes, drinks coffee, raises her kids and is wife to her husband, in the Ozarks.

Okay, now to first person because a third person bio sounds like someone else wrote it about me, and is just license to create flowery prose about myself.

I grew up on a farm in the Ozarks. It was long ago and far away, in a land before cable TV, video games and the internet. To pass the time we read books, watched (gasp) network TV that rarely came in clear, and had friends over on weekends to play music on the front porch, or card games in the dining room.

The result of growing up 'country' was an active imagination. For fun I wrote stories to entertain myself and I dreamed of being an author. Oh, but first, before writing, I wanted to be a jockey.

Writing won out over being a jockey. In the spring of 2006 I got the call that made those dreams come true: the call that welcomed me into the Steeple Hill family of authors.

The moral of this story, never stop dreaming.

Reviews

[Cara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story touched me so. It left a lump in my throat with every page I turned. I have never read Brenda Minton before, but she is an author I will continue to read. This story was such an inspiration and very hard to put down. All you need is a cozy blanket and this amazing novel. Her Christmas Dilemma will take you on an emotional roller coaster ride.

Could the path to Clara's new future also lead to love?

Returning home for the holidays after an unexpected pregnancy, Clara Fisher needs a fresh start. When Clara was younger her house was a disaster, a falling down house, abusive parents. Clara returns to her foster mom Nan's house looking for a fresh start. Nan has taken many young girls in to foster. Clara has never told her story to anyone because she doesn't want anybody to see her as a weak person.

Clara meets Tucker Church and his teenage niece Shay. Tucker has decided to take in Shay because her parents are so selfish and don't want to put their daughter first. Nan doesn't want Clara to work on her boat shop for the rest of her life so Tucker offers Clara to be his housekeeper. Clara and Shay click instantly. Nobody knows that Clara is pregnant but her foster sister Avery. Clara still has hard choices to make, but Tucker might be just the person to help her forget her fears.

Nan seems like such a sweet person opening her heart up to her foster children. My heart broke for Clara. Tucker also seemed like such a sweet and caring gentlemen. Shay also pulled on my heart strings for how her parents treated her.

[Tina Loves To Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Clean Romance that covers some hard to read topics. Tucker is a good man that is trying his best to rest his niece, but his niece is acting out because of what her parents is doing to her. Clara is hiding her pregnancy and secrets from everyone. Tucker and Clara is everything each other needs, but they need to open up and let each other in. I loved the characters in this book, and how this book covers some really hard topics. I loved the love that each of these characters as for each other. You can feel the love coming off the pages of this book. There is enough drama/backstory to make this book have some meat to it and not just a cute romance. This is a short book and a quick read, but it was a really enjoyable read. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Love Inspired) or author (Brenda Minton) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

[Tina Loves To Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Clean Romance that covers some hard to read topics. Tucker is a good man that is trying his best to rest his niece, but his niece is acting out because of what her parents is doing to her. Clara is hiding her pregnancy and secrets from everyone. Tucker and Clara is everything each other needs, but they need to open up and let each other in. I loved the characters in this book, and how this book covers some really hard topics. I loved the love that each of these characters as for each other. You can feel the love coming off the pages of this book. There is enough drama/backstory to make this book have some meat to it and not just a cute romance. This is a short book and a quick read, but it was a really enjoyable read. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Love Inspired) or author (Brenda Minton) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

[Susan Snodgrass · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read my first Brenda Minton book about a year and a half ago, fell in love with her writing, and am on a mission to finish her entire back list, which is a lot. I'm doing very well, only a few left to go. And, of course, I never miss a new one by her.

This one is a stand out for me in several ways. Minton tells the story of a former foster child who has experienced a devastating event, returns home to Pleasant, Texas pregnant and convinced she will never be happy again. She takes a job as housekeeper for Tucker Church, who has what appears to be temporary custody of his teenage niece. He needs help and is not afraid to admit it. But maybe he is the one to be giving of help.

Poignantly told with a huge chunk of heart and full of emotions that had me clutching my own heart, this one is not to be missed. Well done!

My thanks to Love Inspired for a copy of this book via the Net Galley platform. The opinion in this review is entirely my own.

[Tina Loves To Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Clean Romance that covers some hard to read topics. Tucker is a good man that is trying his best to rest his niece, but his niece is acting out because of what her parents is doing to her. Clara is hiding her pregnancy and secrets from everyone. Tucker and Clara is everything each other needs, but they need to open up and let each other in. I loved the characters in this book, and how this book covers some really hard topics. I loved the love that each of these characters as for each other. You can feel the love coming off the pages of this book. There is enough drama/backstory to make this book have some meat to it and not just a cute romance. This is a short book and a quick read, but it was a really enjoyable read. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Love Inspired) or author (Brenda Minton) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Her Christmas Dilemma was packed with heart and emotion! It dealt with difficult and sometimes painful topics and I appreciated the way the author kept a strong faith focus going throughout the story, which helped the characters to not lose all hope.

I really liked the way the working relationship between Clara and Tucker moved into friendship and then into feelings of love for both of them. Clara had some very difficult decisions ahead of her and Tucker was such a supportive and caring stronghold for her.

This is the second book in the series. Her Small Town Secret is book one. However, you can easily read Her Christmas Dilemma on its own, as well. I really liked these main characters and the love and concern they showed for their families.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

You can read this review on my blog:
https://brittreadsfiction.wordpress.c...

[Ranie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, such a sweet, tender, very emotional story. Excellent and compassion storyline.

Love Clare, she was so strong and yet so capativing. She struggled to make the right choices for her unborn baby. Tucker is such a great man, who support Clare through their hope and faith. Love Nan and Shay.


Highly recommended

[Robin Loves Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Home again and pregnant. Clara's life has turned upside down and she must now find a way to deal with unexpected circumstances. Feelings of sadness are overwhelming her, but Clara must face her situation and make difficult decisions going forward. Taking a job as housekeeper for Tucker Church has a whole new set of challenges. One of those factors is that Clara is completely underqualified for the position. Also, Tucker is temporary guardian to his teenage niece and this ultimately affects Clara and her new job.

As Tucker and Clara begin working together, tender feelings slowly begin to form. Meanwhile, Clara begins to know Tucker's niece Shay and some of the struggles the teen is facing. Even though her life is still upside down Clara soon proves invaluable to both Tucker and Shay.

What a wonderfully emotional story. I loved seeing the relationship between Clara and Tucker grow and I also enjoyed both Tucker and Clara's relationship with Shay who had her own passel of problems. Compassion, kindness and friendship all begin to blend together as those very emotions slowly turn in to love.

There were some hard hitting topics this sweet story dealt with - unplanned pregnancy, former foster child, a teen away from her parents, and more. This book by Brenda Minton did a fine job with all of these things, bringing this warm story to a wonderful conclusion.

Many thanks to Love Inspired and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

[Storied Conversation · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first Brenda Minton book and I must say that her writing style was more than I could have hoped. While this is a clean romance it, for me, was a step above your everyday Harlequin romance book. This reminded why I fell in love with Harlequin romance books to begin with and why even when there are a few years of just okay books to stay true to them because they will give me an author and book like this one.

Clara is a former foster child who now as an adult has returned home. Well to Nan her foster mother’s home. Clara is certain she will never be happy again but it determined to start fresh as she is pregnant. She accepts a job as housekeeper for Tucker Church, who has his hands full as he has taken temporary custody of his teenage niece.

Tucker and Clara have such a wonderful working relationship that develops into friendship that develops into more. The way they become more for one other is so well written. You can easily seeing these two gradually falling in love with one another as they learn to first work together and then depend on one another.

Tucker’s niece Shay was a great character as well. She is a teenager and going through something few will understand. However, Clara does. Clara knows just what Shay feels and how lucky she is to have Tucker taken her in.

Nan, Clara’s foster mother was also a great character. I loved that she could have been written as one of the worst people since we know that happens. However, she was loving and warm. She took in girls that needed help and I can only imagine how Clara would have turned out without her.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. This review was originally posted on Wickedly Romance

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clara needs a fresh new start she's got a few hard decisions to deal with and needs a bit of space thinking things through. Then she ends up meeting Tucker and his teenage niece and ends up working as a housekeeper for them and not a good one at that! While she decides about the future she ends up falling for the man she's working for.

This was a nice contemporary read. I was hoping for more christmasy things when going into this book though. I enjoyed getting to know the characters. I felt so bad for Tuckers niece. I mean he was doing everything he could to make her happy but clearly her parents didn't care much of her and had her feeling like a burden and causing her to act out, thankfully Clara was there to help things out a bit. Then there was Clara who had a big reason for needing a new start and was going to make some tough choices that can really change her life and she was dealing with a lot conflict about it. I did like the romance that was starting to form between the two, but was what they were feeling for eachother really enough for her to stick around. Overall pretty good book I liked it.

[ANNETTE · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok kinda predictable and romance involved.

[Cindy Davis- Cindy's Book Corner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clara is a strong character in difficult circumstances. She had a rough childhood and has built a tough exterior around herself. When she goes home to Pleasant, Texas, she has no intentions of staying. She just needs a safe place to land and make some decisions. She did not anticipate Nan's health issues or becoming friends with Tucker and Shay.

Tucker is taking care of his niece, Shay, and she is a handful. She is constantly getting into trouble at school and driving the housekeepers away. When Clara agrees to work as his housekeeper, he is not sure she is the best fit, especially with all the secrets she is keeping, and her plans to leave as soon as she can.

This is a sweet story about love, forgiveness, grace, second chances, family, and so much more. This is a touching story that will keep you turning the pages to see how it will all end. This story is not just a romance, it has depth and weighty topics, that are handled extremely well. As expected from a Love Inspired novel, it also has a happy ending.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. I was not required to provide a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Jo-Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was packed with heart and emotion! It dealt with difficult topics and I appreciated the way the author kept a strong faith focus going throughout the story, which helped the characters to not lose all hope.

Clara was a former foster child who was pregnant and convinced she would never be happy again. When she went home to Pleasant, Texas, she had no intention of staying. She just needed a safe place to land and make some decisions. She did not anticipate her foster mother's, health issues or becoming friends with Tucker and Shay.

She took a job as a housekeeper for Tucker Church, who had temporary custody of his teenage niece. Clara was not qualified for the job - she couldn't cook at all, but she was wonderful with Shay, which was most important for Tucker. He desperately needed help with her. Shay was constantly getting into trouble at school and driving the housekeepers away. He was glad when Clara agreed to work as his housekeeper, even though he was not sure she was the best fit.

This is a sweet story about love, forgiveness, second chances, family, and so much more. If you enjoy Christian romances about family, this is not to be missed.

[Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

At just over 200 pages, Her Christmas Dilemma is easily read in an afternoon, which is a good thing since I didn't want to put it down. We won't even talk about the pizza my family had to order for dinner because 'Mom's stuck in a book.' Yeah, we've been there a time or two - or three. This time, it was the emotion of the story that held on the tightest. It's pretty obvious that this isn't your run-of-the-mill lighthearted Christmas romance just from reading the blurb, but be prepared because this one hits on some pretty tough topics, certainly much tougher than I expected. That said, Brenda Minton gives us a healthy dose of something we could all use more of these days - hope. I loved these characters, and they were so easy to root for. Honesty, even if there wasn't a romance to root for, I'd have wanted good things for these characters. To sum it up, this is an emotion-filled story, and yes, there is turmoil and there is angst, but at its core, this is a story of faith, hope, and love-a trio that's pretty hard to beat.

[Elaine - Splashes Into Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes the only way you can cope is to return home
So you have family and friends around, you're not alone.
Clara Fisher went to live with foster Mum Nan
Learned about family, faith and her new life began.

She was doing great
When in stepped fate.
An attack by someone she knew
Now she's pregnant, too.

Leaving the city to return to Nan
She knows she needs a new plan.
When she meets Tucker and Shay, his rebellious niece
She knows she can help Shay find some peace.

But as attraction between Tucker and Clara grow
It can't be more as they both know
That Clara plans to leave to start anew
Away from everyone and everything that she knew.

But this Christian pair find that God's plan for these two
Aren't what they thought they knew.
This is a story filled with family, faith and trust
If you enjoy Christian romances, it is a must!

For my complementary copy of this book, I say thank you,
I throughly enjoyed reading it and this is my honest review.

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clara Fisher returns to her hometown for a fresh start, taking a job working for Tucker Church who is raising his teenage niece on top of ranching and running a campground. Could this be the safe haven that she needs?

A poignant and emotional read, with wonderful characters with authentic chemistry. I liked how Clara is able to help Shay with what she is going through, and how she relies on her faith. Tucker is strong and supportive of Clara every step of the way. I admired his faith and how open and honest he is. Clara has a lot of secrets and hurt, she does her best to help Tucker even though she isn't a skilled cook.

Overall, this was a heart-gripping read, perfect for Christmas with a couple that I cheered for all the way through. Excellent interaction and chemistry, I couldn't put down this book. Highly recommend.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Nicola “Shortbookthyme” · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the story in Her Christmas Dilemma.
I shed more then a few tears as I read Clara’s story. Her upbringing with her parents was such a heartbreak to read about. Being put in foster care was a saving Grace for her. Her foster mother Nan is such a caring, giving lady.
What happens to her later in life is very intense and sad.
Can she overcome all that life has thrown her?
I loved getting to know Clara, Nan, Tucker and Shay♥️
Her Christmas Dilemma is sure to pull on your heartstrings.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

[Lindsey]

I had a few mixed feelings during this one – it still felt a little “judgy” to me. I don’t want to give away any major spoilers but think the main female lead didn’t need redemption in the classic sense – she needed love and support and a really good therapist. Regardless, my overall impression was that this was a sweet, heartfelt read with a leaning towards faith over religion. I really enjoyed the connection points between Clara and Shay - I think Clara did more by just being a steady welcoming presence than years of lecturing could have done. We all need that someone who holds us accountable but also has our backs. (3.5 stars)

[Elaine Applebury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great characters, good story line with lots of heart, and some tough subjects to be dealt with, this is a Brenda Minton book! I LOVE her books! Clara Fisher comes home,pregnant, to her foster home to make some tough decisions and prepare herself for a fresh start. Tucker Church is taking care of his troubled teenage niece,Shay, and needs a housekeeper and a teen wrangler! Clara reluctantly becomes the housekeeper, in spite of her inability to cook! However, Clara has other skills when it comes to getting a handle on Shay. Tucker is such a great character! What a guy!

[Sue Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her Christmas Dilemma by Brenda Minton.
Returning home for the holidays after an unexpected pregnancy, Clara Fisher needs a fresh start. And working as a housekeeper for Tucker Church and his teenage niece is the first step. Clara still has hard choices to make, but Tucker might be just the person to help her forget her fears. Could the path to her new future also lead to love?
A very good read with good characters. I liked Clara and Tucker and how they were together. 4*.

[Carissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've loved every book I've read by Brenda Minton and Her Christmas Dilemma was no different. I'm a sucker for Love Inspired Christmas romances as they don't tend to be cheesy like Hallmark ones. And I also love small town romances which this one was, and it was a bit of a second chance romance. Though both the hero and heroine found their seconds with people they thought they would as neither thought they would get a second chance. Clara Fisher didn't plan on her fresh start being in her hometown. And Tucker Church had pretty much given up on love. But Christmas is the perfect time for happy endings. And even though I know that Love inspired are going to give me a happy ending I don't find them predictable at all.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brenda Minton is one of my favorite Love Inspired authors. Her characters are truly authentic and feel real life. Clara is home dealing with a major trauma and the aftermath. Tucker is a hometown rancher, business owner whom is caring for his niece. They meet through his niece, and he hires her to be his housekeeper. The rest is wonderful.

[Nancy Cormier · Rating 2 out of 5]

Her Christmas Dilemma by Brenda Minton is an inspirational novel taking place at the Christmas season. Clara Fisher returns home pregnant and will not speak about it. She is hired as a housekeeper by Tucker Church who needs help while raising his niece. It is a story of hard choices and fresh starts.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a great book.

Such a powerful story. Clara is struggling to overcome a trauma in her past and trying make the best decision concerning the consequences of it. Tucker is trying to figure out the best plan to reach his troubled niece, Shay.
Can God be using them to answer each others prayers?

[Joy Gaines · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book.

I enjoyed reading this book. It is a sweet story. There are times it made me cry. I would recommend it to anyone who loves to read a good book. Make sure you have a Kleenex.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like Brenda Minton she is a fun storyteller

[Sheila · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an ok story. The characters are awkward at times, I read a similar story before this book, and that book was better.

[Faythe Swanson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not at all as I was expecting it to be, so I was a bit disappointed in the story line.

[Kaye Wingo · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful book

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romance.