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Quick Review: "The Christmas Bargain" by Shanna Hatfield






From Goodreads:  Luke Granger is about to get more than he bargained for…

As owner and manager of the Hardman bank, Luke Granger is a man of responsibility and integrity in the small 1890s Eastern Oregon town. Calling in a long overdue loan, Luke finds himself reluctantly accepting a bargain in lieu of payment from the shiftless farmer who barters his daughter to settle his debt.

Philamena Booth is both mortified and relieved when her father sends her off with the banker as payment of his debt. Held captive on the farm by her father since the death of her mother more than a decade earlier, Philamena is grateful to leave. If only it had been someone other than the handsome and charismatic Luke Granger riding in to rescue her. Ready to uphold her end of the bargain as Luke’s cook and housekeeper, Philamena is prepared for the hard work ahead. What she isn’t prepared for is being forced to marry Luke as part of this crazy Christmas bargain.

My Thoughts:  I didn't know what to expect when I picked up The Christmas Bargain but I was pleasantly surprised by what a sweet story it turned out to be!  I typically shy away from Christian fiction but I was pleased with how that aspect of the story was handled; I didn't feel beat over the head with it and it was well-integrated into the story. 

Philamena and Luke are the cutest couple.  From the very first pages, it was clear that Luke was an upstanding character and I loved watching Philamena come out of her shell and really blossom throughout the story.  I really enjoyed reading as their romance softly and slowly came about.  One of my favorite scenes was that of their wedding day and seeing Luke realize that things weren't going to go the way he planned with their 'arrangement'.  I also really liked the secondary characters: Abby and Chauncy were great and Luke's parents were quite an interesting pair.

 I read this over the summer but it definitely put me in the mood for the holidays!  Ms. Hatfield's descriptions of all the amazing meals that Philomena prepared left me with my mouth watering.  The Christmas Bargain is a delightful read and is a great way to get in the mood for the upcoming holiday season! 3 1/2 stars.

 Be sure to stop by the blog tomorrow for a guest post by Ms. Shanna Hatfield, author of The Christmas Bargain!

 I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
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Comments

  1. Shanna HatfieldNovember 11, 2015 at 11:41 AM

    Thanks so much for the review, Denise! So appreciate it and glad you enjoyed the story!

    ReplyDelete
  2. MysticaNovember 12, 2015 at 2:09 AM

    Ideal to get into the Christmassy mood.

    ReplyDelete

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