Reviewed by Sarina

TITLE: Cattle Valley Mistletoe

SERIES: Cattle Valley #2

AUTHOR: Carol Lynne

PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing

LENGTH: 90 pages

RELEASE DATE: December 31, 2007

BLURB:

The Reverend Casey Sharp loves his church, his congregation and his community. He just wishes they loved him in return. Paying for the sins of his predecessor has left him feeling like an outcast. Contractor Halden Kuckleman, loves his quiet life. After a childhood trauma, Hal gave up on love and God. When hired by the church to finish work on a new meeting room, he tells himself it’s just a job like any other. He’s fine working on the addition as long as Reverend Sharp doesn’t try to save him. With a tight deadline for getting the room finished, Hal begins to wonder how he’s going to get the work done before the annual Christmas Eve party. When Casey offers to lend a hand however, he begins to wonder if the willowy minister will help or lead him straight into temptation.

REVIEW:

Casey Sharp was full of enthusiasm and hope when he accepted the job of Reverend for the Cattle Valley community but with a large to-do list and much to plan for before Christmas, its an exhausting one, as well. When the contractor he hired to build an expansion onto the back of the church has to bow out of the job unexpectedly, Casey’s desperate to hire a replacement and that desperation leads him to calling Halden Kuckleman. Halden hasn’t been in touch with God in a very long time so taking a job at the church isn’t really something he wants to do; one look at the new Reverend, however, and Hal can’t turn away. With his feelings about religion and his determination to keep Casey at arms length, however, it may take a lot more than the holiday spirit to make Hal give love a chance. It’ll take a large dose of forgiveness, too.

This book…hit a little closer to home than I expected it to and while my situation and Hal’s weren’t the same, they were similar enough that I completely understood where Hal was coming from in his feelings about religion and God. I tend to stay away from books dealing with religion for that very reason as I don’t enjoy them and oftentimes find them uncomfortable to read. That being said, I’m really glad I decided to give this book a try. I really enjoyed the first book in the series and, not one to read books out of order if I can help it, I picked this one up to continue that trend but to also, hopefully, enjoy it as much as the previous installment.

While the description of the book made me think the religious aspect would be pretty stand out throughout the story, I found it less prevalent than I anticipated. It is there, with a main character who’s a Reverend that’s a given, but religion wasn’t really the focus of the story, healing and forgiveness were; not only for the main characters but for the Cattle Valley community as a whole. Even though Hal didn’t want anything to do with God, it was nice seeing him want Casey enough to give being together a try.  I also just adored how Hal went about trying to make things right for Casey and how, even though he didn’t really understand the religious side of him, Hal wanted to bring the church congregation together to help the man he cared for in time for Christmas.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and I’m glad I decided to read it. I loved the healing and forgiveness that took place amongst the entire community and how religion and the church was more a way to kick start that process rather than the focus itself. The characters were enjoyable and it was nice catching up with some of my favorites from the last book.  There were some sexy times included in the story, as well, but it wasn’t right away and with all Hal and Casey were dealing with, I felt that was completely appropriate and appreciated.  This was a nice story to add to my holiday collection as I was left with a smile and some good feels when I’d finished. While not absolutely necessary to read the first book before this one, I’d recommend it not only for the context it gives to the situation Casey finds himself in, but because it was a good read, too. If you enjoy a nice holiday read that’s low on angst but not over the top with in your face Christmas items and activities, this could be something you’ll enjoy.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Pride Publishing

Amazon