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Texas Wine Trail #1
Cactus Christmas
New York Times best-selling author, Kate Summers, is facing a divorce in her 40's and up against a hard deadline for her next novel. She rents an Airstream on the Texas Wine Trail to find inspiration, but discovers much more... She meets Zach, a medical doctor from the Northeast scouting for a winery to invest in.
They decide to spend a week enjoying tastings, but just as they are getting to know one another, he has to return suddenly back home. The holidays are hard for Kate, as she lost her mother two years ago. This Cactus Christmas is prickly and sweet as Kate must heal her heart, try to reconnect with her estranged sister, Lillie, and find her way on her own.
Will she finish her book? Will she meet Zach again? Will timing ever be right?
A delicious story of finding yourself (again), second chances at love, and taking huge risks that payoff.
They decide to spend a week enjoying tastings, but just as they are getting to know one another, he has to return suddenly back home. The holidays are hard for Kate, as she lost her mother two years ago. This Cactus Christmas is prickly and sweet as Kate must heal her heart, try to reconnect with her estranged sister, Lillie, and find her way on her own.
Will she finish her book? Will she meet Zach again? Will timing ever be right?
A delicious story of finding yourself (again), second chances at love, and taking huge risks that payoff.
330 pages, Paperback
First published October 2, 2021
9 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
About the author
Heather Renée May
5 books7 followersHeather Renée May is passionate about fourth quarter pivots, and delighted that she can finally channel her love of wine into something productive. She hosts the Flipping Dreams podcast, is a performing musician with two albums (Heather Ré), and a software engineer. She lives full-time in a 22 foot trailer traveling around the U.S. with her sweet rescue pup, Dotty.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 3, 2021
May has crafted a cozy, cold-weather read. Curl up on the couch with a glass of red, or white and enjoy this romance filled with real life locales on the Texas Wine Trail.
Our main character Kate is a best-selling author who discovers her husband’s infidelities and leaves him. She gets away from her life by heading out to explore the Texas Wine Trail and work on a new novel. She meets Zach, a doctor looking to expand into the wine business. With the emotional challenges of the holidays looming, Kate is navigating her heartbreak, a budding romance and complicated family ties with her sister.
This story was sweet and cute. A holiday romance that explored themes of starting over, death and grief, and finding love and happiness within yourself. It was a quick and easy read that can be enjoyed in one afternoon under a warm, fluffy blanket.
The writing was clunky at times and the dialogue sometimes came off forced and awkward. There was a lot of telling instead of showing, which led to things feeling rushed and the characters being a little flat. I wished the scenes had been stretched out and the characters fleshed out a bit more. One of the sentences read ‘they kissed again’ and I longed for paragraphs of detail that would suck me into the scene. I did like Kate and did want her to find love and happiness, but never felt deeply connected to her as a character.
I did appreciate the real life places included in the book. For anyone who is a wine fan, the underlying theme of wine will be a big hit as readers connect with the many tastings Kate goes to. Also, Texans and tourists will learn a lot about wineries in Texas and maybe make some plans to head to these destinations. I love how this author was able to find a clever way to incorporate these places and support small business.
Without any spoilers, it was a HFN (happily for now) ending, with the potential for a sequel. I hope the next book in the series continues to explore Kate and Zach’s relationship and his new business venture.
Our main character Kate is a best-selling author who discovers her husband’s infidelities and leaves him. She gets away from her life by heading out to explore the Texas Wine Trail and work on a new novel. She meets Zach, a doctor looking to expand into the wine business. With the emotional challenges of the holidays looming, Kate is navigating her heartbreak, a budding romance and complicated family ties with her sister.
This story was sweet and cute. A holiday romance that explored themes of starting over, death and grief, and finding love and happiness within yourself. It was a quick and easy read that can be enjoyed in one afternoon under a warm, fluffy blanket.
The writing was clunky at times and the dialogue sometimes came off forced and awkward. There was a lot of telling instead of showing, which led to things feeling rushed and the characters being a little flat. I wished the scenes had been stretched out and the characters fleshed out a bit more. One of the sentences read ‘they kissed again’ and I longed for paragraphs of detail that would suck me into the scene. I did like Kate and did want her to find love and happiness, but never felt deeply connected to her as a character.
I did appreciate the real life places included in the book. For anyone who is a wine fan, the underlying theme of wine will be a big hit as readers connect with the many tastings Kate goes to. Also, Texans and tourists will learn a lot about wineries in Texas and maybe make some plans to head to these destinations. I love how this author was able to find a clever way to incorporate these places and support small business.
Without any spoilers, it was a HFN (happily for now) ending, with the potential for a sequel. I hope the next book in the series continues to explore Kate and Zach’s relationship and his new business venture.
February 12, 2026
my boyfriend's mom got me this book and i could not put it down once i started it.
i really enjoy how the book was split into thirds - it tickled my brain in the perfect way. the pace of the book was really nice, it wasn't too fast even though kate was working against a deadline for her story. it did not feel rush, i do wish we could see more of the writing process for her, but it was clear that her motivation after zach left spiked. he was the motivation initially, but once he was gone, all she had to hold onto was the memories that they had together.
i loved the sweet, simple reunion at the end. both of them, achieving the dreams they told each other about, coming to life.
i really enjoy how the book was split into thirds - it tickled my brain in the perfect way. the pace of the book was really nice, it wasn't too fast even though kate was working against a deadline for her story. it did not feel rush, i do wish we could see more of the writing process for her, but it was clear that her motivation after zach left spiked. he was the motivation initially, but once he was gone, all she had to hold onto was the memories that they had together.
i loved the sweet, simple reunion at the end. both of them, achieving the dreams they told each other about, coming to life.
June 5, 2025
Many people say this would make a great Hallmark movie. I feel the same way.
It's inspirational for someone going through a pivotal hard time in their life. The dialog was interesting between the 2 main characters and their theories on life.
It gave an insight to wineries and a little bit of the camper life.
For me, the ending was a little odd.
I will be reading the sequel.
It's inspirational for someone going through a pivotal hard time in their life. The dialog was interesting between the 2 main characters and their theories on life.
It gave an insight to wineries and a little bit of the camper life.
For me, the ending was a little odd.
I will be reading the sequel.
November 26, 2022
Round up to 3.5, but not quite a 4-star read. It was like reading a Hallmark movie, which is not a bad thing, but the dialogue fell short for me. I wanted it to be a little less cheesy. I did like the wine theme and enjoyed reading about some places I had been to.
January 14, 2022
Wonderful story and easy reading.
December 15, 2022
It was cute, but I just wanted a little more.
December 23, 2022
A lovely “hallmark” movie type book. Perfect read for something easy and filling right before Christmas.
January 3, 2023
poetic language; better than many romantic stories I've read; predictable but not really; better than a Hallmark movie
December 3, 2023
A cute, fun, easy read! Great for December
September 26, 2024
Fun, chick lit
December 21, 2023
Makes me want to go wine tasting 🍷
April 19, 2025
I picked this up in a winery in Louisianna, I guess the author had visited. It seems the book is a bit autobiographical. She had an interesting story. We were just in Texas, but sadly didn't make it to Frederecksburg, next time! Fun, light read.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews