REVIEW: Merry Christmas Cowboy by Maisey Yates

Merry Christmas Cowboy by Maisey Yates is the second book in the Four Corners Ranch series. Book one was about Sawyer, and this time it’s about his younger brother, Wolf. After losing the girl he loved to a tragic accident when he was a teenager, Wolf swore he would never love anyone again, because they always end up leaving him somehow. Sawyer never wanted to fall in love but it happened, and now Wolf can’t help but feel jealous of his brother and his new family. He takes off to Copper Ridge to help out on his cousin’s ranch, and stays at the Inn owned by his cousin’s wife. It’s there he meets Violet, the innkeeper.

After being caught by her father, drunk and making out with a boy when she was a teenager, Violet has done her best to do everything by the book to prevent disappointing her father and stepmother again. Once she meets Wolf, she’s determined to throw those rules out the window. Afterall, he’s not going to be around long. But when Violet ends up pregnant, will Wolf, who never wanted kids or a wife, step up to the plate?

Both Violet and Wolf have experience with mothers who took off and left them behind. The difference is that Violet didn’t let it jade her. Wolf, on the other hand, used that along with the death of girlfriend years earlier to stop any thought of ever being able to love again. He, at times, is an unlikeable character. There were times he was downright mean to Violet, even while trying to do the right thing for her and the baby. She didn’t deserve it, yet she refused to give up on him. I didn’t know if I should admire her determination or yell at her to just leave him. I was left wishing that I had liked him more and that readers could have gotten to see more of the Wolf we saw in the last chapter or so, rather than the Wolf we got through a good portion of the book.

I will say that I was a little disappointed that the author used the unexpected pregnancy and unexpected baby trope again, when she used it in the first book. The only difference is that Sawyer’s baby was just born when he found out about her, while Wolf’s is an unexpected pregnancy. Still, they’re similar enough that it left me wondering why it would happen two books in a row.

I also wish that there was more interaction between Violet and Wolf’s immediate family, especially since Violet left her family behind to move with him to Four Corners. It gave off the feeling that Violet was living a bit of a lonely life there, especially when most of her interactions without Wolf seem to be with her best friend/aunt, who drove down to visit her briefly.

Despite the issues I listed, it is worth giving it a read. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy books about cowboys, small town romances, or unexpected pregnancy tropes. I look forward to seeing what happens next in the Four Corners Ranch series.
 

Book Info:

Publication: October 25, 2022 | HQN Books | Four Corners Ranch #2

Cowboy Wolf Garrett is delighted his brother is happily married—really, he is. But time can never heal Wolf’s own wounds, so being surrounded by such marital joy is a bit…much. A trip to his extended family’s ranch in Copper Ridge seems the ideal change of scenery. Until he meets local innkeeper Violet Donnelly and realizes he’s exchanged one form of torture for another—trying, and spectacularly failing, to resist their instant, wildly hot chemistry.

Violet knew Wolf was trouble the moment he walked into her inn. But it’s a whole new level of trouble when she discovers that their secret nights have left her pregnant! Especially when she has six feet of gorgeous, furious cowboy demanding that she come home with him for the holidays and marry him. Wolf has lost more than she could ever imagine, but Violet believes in the power of love to heal, and she’ll do anything to give their future family a chance. Wolf has already given her so many firsts—dare she hope he’s about to become her first Christmas miracle too?