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Santa In Montana (2010)

by Janet Dailey(Favorite Author)

3.62 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1420114743 (ISBN13: 9781420114744)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Zebra

series

Calder Saga

review 1: This romance novel is part of a series about the Calder family. Chase Calder, the owner of the Triple C cattle ranch in Montana and the patriarch of his extended family, aims to find a new husband for his widowed daughter Cat. He claims that she has been nagging him excessively about his health, and a new man in her life might provide a diversion. Cat lives on the Triple C ranch along with her elderly father and his widowed daughter-in-law Jessy. Other members of the household include Chase's grandson Trey and Trey's wife and their 3-year-old son, Jake. The family is preparing for the Christmas holidays and a visit from Cat's son and Jessy's daughter. Just after Thanksgiving, Chase invites a tall, handsome widower named Wade Rogers to have lunch at the ranch, hoping Wade a... morend Cat will hit it off. This is the first book by Janet Dailey that I ever read. It strikes me as "comfort food" for the mind. A book that is not too demanding, something that you can curl up with in front of the fire or space heater with a hot beverage and a snack. Two major questions or mysteries remained unresolved until the last few pages, so I cynically thought the author was just trying to get readers to buy her next book to find out what happens. But I have to admit that she provided decent explanations before the novel ended. The novel was pleasant enough but not very exciting. Apparently other books in the Calder series are more action-packed and suspenseful, according to the brief synopses that appeared in the paperback edition.
review 2: This book is like attending a family reunion and talking about kids and fixing food. I kept waiting for something to happen.THE MAIN CHARACTERS:Chase: widower, great grandfather, owns a million acres in Montana and elsewhere with cattle ranching and an airplane. A number of his offspring live on the family ranches and work for him.Jessy: widow, Chase’s daughter-in-law, grandmother, has boyfriend Laredo who lives and works on the ranch.Laredo: is hiding something from his past and is probably on the run from the law. The family likes having Laredo around and doesn’t ask questions – lets him have his secrets.Trey: Jessy’s son, Chase’s grandson, will take over the empire after Chase dies. He’s married to Sloan. They have a son Jake (maybe 4 or 5 years old) who has a lot of dialogue in the book.Cat: widow, Chase’s granddaughter. Cat would like to date again, but there aren’t any interesting bachelors around.STORY BRIEF:The story takes place during the few weeks before Christmas. People are talking about having all the family members home for Christmas and what gifts people will be giving to each other. Cat spends time cooking and waiting on Chase. There is a lot of conversation time with little Jake, hearing his cutesy talk. He calls Laredo Redo. He asks if Longhorn cattle are astink like dinosaurs. He frequently says can I, and his mother and others correct him saying may I, but he misinterprets not knowing they are correcting him. He is in the Christmas play as a shepherd, but doesn’t want to wear sandals, he wants to wear his cowboy boots.There are two mysteries. Wade visits the ranch for the first time. Chase meets with Wade and gives him a check. Cat and Wade are interested in each other. On Wade’s second visit he invites Cat to go to dinner. Sloan is worried that Wade might be a confidence man stealing money from Chase. Chase doesn’t tell anyone the nature of his activities with Wade.The second mystery: Laredo hears something and tells Chase he may have to leave the ranch. The reader is curious about Laredo’s past and need to hide.REVIEWER’S OPINION (with a sort of SPOILER):A couple meets and starts to date. Another couple is already together but have a problem which gets solved. I’m reluctantly labeling this romance, but it lacks relationship development.This reminded me of my own family reunions – little kids running around saying cutesy things and the grownups fixing food, cleaning up, and talking about the kids. But the reunions I attended were more interesting. Or at least some of them were – with debates, discussions, and fun playing Charades. The characters in this book had NO interesting discussions. I was bored listening to them. I felt a need to skim, and I wanted it to be over.The mysteries get solved in the last three pages, but it was not satisfying. I wanted to know a lot more about the main problem. It was told with no details – like make this go away and be done with the book. This book would be better if you cut out all the family interaction and just tell a short story about the one main mystery. I haven’t read any other books by this author. This is book 11 in the Calder series. I suppose it might be pleasant for readers who have liked other Calder books and want to revisit. As a stand-alone I find it lacking. It’s shorter than a typical romance book, fewer pages, and the print is slightly larger.DATA:Story length: 279 pages. Swearing language: mild. Sexual content: none. Setting: current day Montana. Copyright: 2010. Genre: contemporary romance. less

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