Holiday in Stone Creek

I so enjoyed these two Christmas stories. The O'Ballivan family are a hard headed bunch. I got really teary eyed reading At Home in Stone Creek. Both stories are about men who are tired of roaming all over the earth and want to settle in one place. But is that possible? When the strong women who fall in love with them make it impossible to leave, they find a way to do it. Loved both stories.

I started checking Linda's books out of the library this summer when I needed some new books to read. I am not really a fan of historical westerns but her contemporary western stories intrigued me and I ended up checking out the Creed series. I was instantly a fan and I have been reading her books as often as I can now! After reading (and loving) Melissa's story in the Creed series, I was interested in reading about her sister's. I was tickled to see their stories came together in this holiday treat. I instantly fell in love with Olivia, Tanner, Sophie, Ginger, Rodney, and the entire cast of people and animals in A Stone Creek Christmas. I thought the "animal whisperer" thing was going to annoy me, but I actually found it to be a charming part of the larger story. It was insta-attratction between Olivia and Tanner but I think the love story moved along at a nice pace for the length of the book. I also liked how Jack and Ashley's story was set up so perfectly and you could go into At Home in Stone Creek. I was a fan of Ashley's from Olivia's story and she didn't disappoint as the heroine of her own story. Now I have to go back and read Brad and Meg's story to complete the family saga (even though I already know how it all turns out!)

A two-story collection, the first deals with Olivia O'Ballivan, a vet who can talk to animals and has a very smart Golden Retriever, who tangles with Tanner Quinn, her next-door rancher and his 12-yr old daughter. This is a Christmas story and it wouldn't be complete with a tree-seller who is Santa in hiding (sort of).The second story follows Olivia's sister, one of the twins, Ashley and explores whether Jack McCall, who stole her heart years earlier, is going to have it stolen again. OR will she so capture his that he can't leave Stone Creek again? This story takes place about two years after the first one, thus enabling us to follow what happened to Olivia and Tanner after they decided to make a life together.Both stories are heart-warming, even as they toss the reader in exciting events that keep the pulse pumping at times other than the sex scenes.

I've never read Linda Lael Miller before, but decided to pick this book up because the paperback was going for jut 52 cents and the story sounded interesting enough. Thus far, I've only read the first story, and I sort of felt like I was slogging through it. There isn't a whole lot of character development, and I was left wondering if this book was part of a larger series that would have given me more insight had I read it first.During the course of the story, of course Olivia and Tanner fall in love, but I just didn't see why. The sexual attraction was clearly spelled out, but there wasn't much emotional about this story. I thought the main character's ability to mentally communicate with her dog just wasn't really necessary to the plot, so it was more weird than anything else that there was more conversation between her and the dog than her and the hero. I kept getting a "Martha Speaks" vibe from Ginger (the dog) that didn't put me in the mind for reading a romance novel.The story wasn't bad, but I'm not even sure that I'll bother with the second story in the book. I need more than jeans and cowboy boots for a hero to have any appeal.ETA: I read the second story, just because the book was handy while I was laid up on the sofa one afternoon. It really wasn't worth the time that it took to read it. As with the first story, I felt like I was slogging through it. You get no character or relationship development, as it's all taken place off the pages of this book, which made me feel like I was missing a book or two between the first story and the second. Reading this story was like watching the finale of a tv show that's been running for ten years--you know you're supposed to be happy that all the characters are getting a happily-ever-after, you just don't know why or how they got it.

I love 💘 the way two families from two small towns are connected!

Linda Lael Miller writes some of the best historical novels. Every one is a 'keeper'. The Stone Creek series has brought to life a family that we wouldall be proud to call our own. And the weddings bring other families into themix to complete a group of families that stick together through hard times andgood. During this time period, life was hard, but these people were good,trong, God-fearing people who survived everything.

These two stories are two of my favorites in the series. I like Olivia very much and her relationship with animals is fun. I'm glad she is getting a chance to have a family in this story. Ashley's story has lots of exciting parts in it. I also like the fact that Ashley runs a bed and breakfast which makes for some interesting situations in several of the books in the series. Well she be bold enough to reach out and hold onto the man in her life?

This was one of the Kindle deals for a day, and was offered around the holidays, so for $.99, how could I go wrong? It's a pretty typical story line for a light romance, but sometimes we all need something to read that isn't full of high drama and death and destruction. If you like light reading, with a happy ending, this one's for you.Main characters are interesting people, not your average run-of-the-mill people.

arrived very early, very pleased