| Title | : | Christmas at Copper Mountain (Taming of the Sheenans #1, Copper Mountain Christmas #4) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 158 |
| Publication | : | First published November 29, 2013 |
| Awards | : | HOLT Medallion by Virginia Romance Writers Romance Novella (2014) |
Annoyed at first by Harley’s interference, Brock is secretly pleased she’s changed Mack and Molly’s world. It doesn’t hurt that he finds Harley incredibly attractive, fierce, smart and passionate. It’s also an added bonus that she’s not afraid to challenge him and get his blood heated! But when sparks fly and the attractions sizzles between them, Harley’s not so sure she can handle something permanent with this dark, taciturn cowboy who doesn’t know how to let her in. But Brock is determined to hold on to her and praying for a Christmas miracle…
Christmas at Copper Mountain (Taming of the Sheenans #1, Copper Mountain Christmas #4) Reviews
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4.5 stars. Really good! I challenge anyone to read this and not cry happy tears at the end. Whew! Sniff, sniff. For such a short read and fast romance, it sold me by the end.
Brock hires Harley as a temporary housekeeper & cook for his Montana ranch, but he didn't expect someone like her. Both Brock and Harley are widowed, and both have had a hard time adapting and moving on. When his 11 year old twins come home for Christmas from boarding school, they remind Harley of the children she lost in a terrible accident three years earlier.
While the premise of the story might sound depressing, it is anything but. The story focused on these two enjoying life in the here and now, opening their hearts, and believing in hope once again. It is a clean romance with fade to black love scenes, but it has a lot of heart and passion despite not showing any love making.
I don't consider this a religious themed story, which I rarely read, but there is a sweet inspirational aspect of this story toward the end. Honestly, it is part of what tugged at my heart, and spoke to the magic of believing in love once again.
Overall, a surprisingly good Christmas romance. -
This little audiobook -included for free iny my Audible subscription- passed my litmus test for romantic Christmas fiction: it did not bring out the Grinch in me and my suspending-disbelief-muscles did not have to work that hard.
*Throws Christmas Tinsel in the air*
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I was waiting for the EuroMillions result (spoiler alert: I didn't win a penny of that £169 million jackpot, booooo) while simultaneous browsing the free Kindle books section. I came across this one, it was short, it was free and I was bored so I bought it.
"He didn’t want a stunning thirty-four-year-old with hauntingly high cheekbones and eyebrows that arched and turned into wings."
"The truth was, Brock Sheenan looked like a pirate, and never more so than now, with tiny snowflakes clinging to his wild hair and shadowed jaw."
I also associate snow covered hot guys withvikings,lumberjacks,Justin Trudeau,pirates.
Then again, I should have lowered my standards the moment I saw the heroine's last name. Harley Diekerhoff. The author clearly had it in for her and it came as no surprise that she had a tragic past.
Harley lost her entire family three years prior to the beginning of the book. By family, I mean husband and three kids, her eldest being 11. To me this spelled trouble as I was uncomfortable with the idea that someone with that level of tragedy behind them would be able to find love with someone new and adopt his two 11 year old twins so soon after. Especially in a 150-page novella. If this was a well written, 700 page epic with plenty of character development and bonding -- maybe. But it just came across as cheap, especially because the balance between grieving and sexy thoughts about Brock was nonexistent. I mean, their first kiss was straight after she told him her family died and suddenly they were making out with tears on her face....?
List of Aphrodisiacs:
Oysters
Chili peppers
Chocolate
Bananas
Honey
Coffee
Avocado
As for the hero, there was a scene where he was pleasantly surprised that Harley let her pie crust burn in the oven because she ran to help his daughter who headbutted an axe and was in the process of bleeding out from a head wound. Whether he had REALLY low expectations of people or just really loved pie, I'll never know because I lost interest in the story pretty soon after :p
2 stars -
Got a bit 'preachy' towards the end ... 'tis the season and all that, I suppose. I've not been happy with my reading this year; haven't read a lot and was disappointed in quite a few of the books that I did read. Will have to lower my challenge for next year ... might fit one or two more in before the 31st.
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Adorable Grumpy Hero and Wonderful Heroine, cried my eyes out!
Review of the book
The hero (Brock) is a widow and owns a ranch in cold Montana. Harley is also a widow that lost her husband and three kids to a plane crash. She goes to his ranch to work as a temporary housekeeper (to cook and do laundry for him and his workers) specifically to avoid spending Christmas with her family and around the family kids, because it is too painful for her.
When his two pre-teen kids arrive at the ranch, Harley finds out Brock is too hard on them and that they miss terribly their mom.
The romance between them is beautiful and intense and the Christmas Spirit is wonderful.
The book is quite short but so emotional. I cried my eyes out and I will surely hug my kids tied when they wake up tomorrow morning.
Review of the audiobook
The narration was not great, but it was ok. -
Two broken people come together in a silent Christmas. With the help of our hero’s twin preteens our hero and heroine start to heal.
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http://fangswandsandfairydust.com/201...
CHRISTMAS AT COPPER MOUNTAIN Holds Surprises
Disclosure: Purchased/Kindle Freebie
In the very last part of this book, we start to hear ” God:” God sent her to be here, Faith, God, Heaven. Of course this is immediately after a sex scene. This felt to me like some sort of trick, or attempt to appease people who would be upset by the inclusion of sex when they were expecting a Christian story, or vice versa. At least it represents Christians as very human individuals who do have sex outside marriage and are not all goody-two-shoes. The story is sold under the romance and women’s fiction genres.
I was immediately grabbed by the predicament in which the temporary housekeeper finds herself: a widow who also lost her three children. I can’t imagine how anyone would go on. So she’s a very sympathetic character. The ranch hands are friendly and welcoming — like family. I enjoyed reading about her tasks and the things she made for the ranch hands.
It’s the ranch owner for whom it’s hard to have a lot of sympathetic feelings. He reminds me of the father of A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN; determined that if he ignores the holiday grief and unwelcome emotions will be held in check. There’s a real reason for a turnaround in his feelings and behavior, but the escalation of the relationship is really, really sudden. In novellas, and short stories something has to be sacrificed for length, and here it is relationship development.
It’s engrossing, and enjoyable. But, that emphasis on God at the end felt off. Of course I am very religion sensitive; others may not be bugged by it. -
Christmas at Copper Mountain by Jane Porter
Love holiday reads and was happy to learn this one was free on the first few days of it's release.
Harley Diekerhoff works at the Copper Mountain Ranch for the holiday season to keep her distance from her family in CA.
Her gruff Boss Brock Shennan had hired her via a temp agency. They needed a housekeeper that knew the work and did it well.
He had lost his wife after 1 1/2 years and he didn't want a chatty housekeeper. It'd be a perfect fit.
She has had her own tragedy and we learn of it as the story goes along. She is really concerned when the biggest storm of the year hits and her boss is out in it. to track down some lost cattle.
The other ranch hands won't go look for him-the boss would have their heads. Love that she cooks for them all.
She gets the surprise of her life later that night and confronts the boss when he arrives.. is she going to leave or can she stick it out?
Love that their feelings on many topics come out of their shells and how they've kept them hidden so long. -
Two lively,wayward kids force dialogue between the by hot housekeeper and the sexy cowboy lifting regimented parenting style. This paves way for two grieving people reignite a spark thought extinguished when their loved ones died.
Kinda quick from grief sticken to insta-love & not really fond of the God's plan thing. -
This book made me cry, which is a very rare thing. Often the entire year will go by without a book making me cry. This story is so wonderful, heart-warming and emotional, I couldn't help but shed a few tears.
A wonderful Christmas story. A wonderful anytime story. -
Loved this!
So much emotion packed into the shorter word count.
Two hurting, flawed characters come together at Christmas.
Just lovely. -
Adorable Grumpy Hero and Wonderful Heroine, cried my eyes out!
The hero (Brock) is a widow and owns a ranch in cold Montana. Harley is also a widow that lost her husband and three kids to a plane crash. She goes to his ranch to work as a temporary housekeeper (to cook and do laundry for him and his workers) specifically to avoid spending Christmas with her family and around the family kids, because it is too painful for her.
When his two pre-teen kids arrive at the ranch, Harley finds out Brock is too hard on them and that they miss terribly their mom.
The romance between them is beautiful and intense and the Christmas Spirit is wonderful.
The book is quite short but so emotional. I cried my eyes out and I will surely hug my kids tied when they wake up tomorrow morning. -
I absolutely loved this story! It was exactly what I wanted from a Christmas story and what I hope for in a romance novel. Christmas at Copper Mountain was romantic and sweet, and just steamy enough without making me feel like a voyeur. It was moving and tender, but also a quick and easy read, the perfect reading escape. The relationship was realistic enough that it didn’t seem silly or contrived. The love story was magical, yes, but also believable in a truly hopefully romantic sort of way. I enjoyed the rugged, wintery mountains of Montana setting and I liked all of the characters. I eagerly look forward to continuing on with this series, The Taming of the Sheenans, and reading whatever else Jane Porter puts out.
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This review was originally posted on
Books of My Heart
3.5 hearts
Kindle freebie on April 1, 2016 (currently $2.99 on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and in Audible Plus as of writing this post)
I really enjoyed this story set in Montana on a big ranch. We get some of each of the main character's point of view. Harley is a hard-working woman who enjoys the work and the solitude on the ranch. I can believe this sort of method to help her relax and heal without people talking about the causes of her grief. I loved hearing about her cooking!
Brock was less easy to understand. He also had grief but his attitudes and character were more cliche. His children were awesome but also not quite realistic. On that train of thought, the fact the whole story happens in less than two weeks was too fast. But it was fun to read and had a lovely HEA.
#HoHoHoRAT2022 @angels_gp -
This is a heartwarming holiday story about two relative strangers that are both still dealing with grief. Harley Diekerhoff has been mourning the loss of her husband and 3 children for 3 years. This year she decided she couldn’t handle being around her well-meaning family at Christmas; so she takes a temporary job as a housekeeper on a cattle ranch outside Marietta, Montana; far away from her California home. She is enjoying the solitude and demanding job of keeping the rancher and his hands well fed and clean. Until she finds out that the rancher has children.
Brock Sheehan, admires the work his current housekeeper is doing and how much the hands are enjoying her cooking. Unfortunately, had he known how young and pretty his temporary housekeeper was going to be, he would have told the employment agency to find him someone else. He’d been on his own for quite a while and had never been tempted by anyone. Harley was testing his resolve.
Can two lost souls find and heal each other during the Christmas season and maybe, have a Christmas miracle? -
3.75 Stars for me!
My rating range throughout the story... 3.5 - 4 Stars
Main Character Ratings... 7/10 for both
Scenes with heat.. Not really
Heat Rating... 2/10
Clean - 1 or 2
Descriptive Sex - 5 or above
Beyond Descriptive Sex - 8 or above
The back story... h is escaping her family at Christmas as she is still grieving the loss of her husband and 3 kids after 3 years. The H lost his wife 12 years earlier and has poured his life into the ranch. A surprise half way through the story causes mayhem.
The Romance... Slow burn but instant attraction.
The drama explosion... Not much of one
Final Notes... Good Story
HEA or HFN? HFN but will be an HEA -
Sweet festive romance about a housekeeper who moved to copper mountain as a temp but is soon shocked to find 2 children turn up. After the loss of her own family this is too much for her and she tries to leave but has to wait a week. But so much can happen in a week
Cute story -
A heart-warming feel-good story. A little predictable, things moved pretty fast towards gooey in the end but all the Christmas magic makes it a decent read.
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Wasn’t bad but not really very christmassy.
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The idea of it was okay, but the execution just felt off. It was difficult to like the main characters, even with their tragic pasts. Then their story was just too fast for the amount of trauma they were overcoming. Maybe if it had been longer and if Brock has been much more like-able.
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It was a fast read.. It was a good book... However I felt it ended kind of abruptly.... It could have been a little longer... I liked the characters
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I found this on Audible and decided to give it a go! It was everything I wanted - a quick, fun romance read with some spice thrown in. Also love the warm Christmas vibes! such a fun book, highly recommend if you're wanting a quick listen
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In Christmas at Copper Mountain by Jane Porter, Harley is looking for distance from the past and the chance to make new memories. A widower looking for escape, Harley takes a temporary job for Brock Sheenan as a housekeeper at his Copper Mountain Ranch in Marietta, Montana.
Brock has suffered loss too...now he just wants the quiet and to be left alone. But he's noticing Harley way too much for his liking, she's not at all how he wants his housekeeper to look! He'd prefer she blend into the woodwork, not care, and not talk, but Harley is starting to grow on him.
Both Brock and Harley have endured tragedy and are still suffering. Not celebrating Christmas is just what Harley needs and just what Brock wants. Harley has no idea about Brock's past, until his two kids suddenly show up (early!) for Christmas break and change the whole scheme of things. Harley can't bear the thought of being around kids, especially at Christmas...it's also a part of her she isn't sharing. After a falling out and misunderstanding due to lack of communication, Harley realizes it matters to her what Brock thinks. There is a lot of chemistry simmering between Harley and Brock. With both of them trying to out run a past they can't face, they are going to have to choose between the past and the hope of the future. Will this be the Christmas of miracles? Can they recognize what they could have together?
Brock and Harley are both very dynamic characters in Christmas at Copper Mountain, they are complex and deep, and Jane manages to bring them to life and make us care for them in this novella. I could understand Harley and why she was doing what she was doing, although I had a harder time understanding why even after Brock's kids arrived she didn't tell him about her past right away...that mistake could cost her when he sees things the wrong way. Brock has some pretty broad shoulders and if they can open up to each other I feel that he will be an incredible man for her. Brock has been through a lot and is harsh and bitter at times...not even wanting to celebrate Christmas, something his children would dearly love to do. Harley can be just as good for Brock if he can open his mind and his heart.
The relationship that evolves between Harley and Brock is endearing and you will find yourself hoping they can find a way to get to each other. Jane also writes vivid descriptions of winter in Marietta. I could hear the wind and feel the cold on those cold, winter nights.
Christmas at Copper Mountain is the perfect romance to curl up with on a cold winter night!
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Big yikes. This novella is only 4 hours long and I have only 30 minutes left, but I'm cutting out early. I feel nothing for this couple, and I'm bugged at the explicit content when they hardly know each other. They met a week ago when he hired her as his employee, started to converse (minimally) a couple days ago, and when she starts to cry as she shares her tragic backstory and reason for her deep grief (one of the first meaningful conversations they have had), he kisses her (what the-?) which morphs into and I'm just, no.
I saw some reviewers mention that it had religious themes, and I didn't notice any of that. Maybe it was a word about God's plan in the last chapter or something?
I liked the two 11-year olds in the story. So there's that.
Content:
Language - only a few damns I think.
Sex - Heavy petting (see spoiler I hid in paragraph above) and, while I didn't get far enough in the book to read about it, another reviewer said there is a fade-to-black sex scene.
Violence - none
Audiobook narrator - I didn't like the voice the narrator used for the male lead. -
I found this in the Audible Plus library and loved the sound of it, but when I went to add it on Goodreads I discovered I'd read it on kindle years ago! 🙈
So this is an updated star review, and I think my reading tastes have changed since then as there were just a few niggles for me to bring it down a star.
👇ORIGINAL REVIEW BELOW👇
If you have read my reviews before you may know that I am a bit of a cover whore - I was drawn to this one, beautiful!
Anyway, on to the story. Jane is a new author to me and she didn't disappoint. Cowboy (Brock) needs a housekeeper over Christmas, housekeeper (Harley) arrives, the cowboy is a grumpy sod, but housekeeper is a loving soul and everyone except Brock can see it. I could feel the sexual tension between them from the off though and wanted to bang their heads together!
I did warm to both of them though as both their backstories were so sad and so similar. It was literally like fate had brought them together; a gift to each other from heaven. I did cry at the end, happy tears though! There wasn't an awful lot of sex though, only in the right places and not just for the sake of it, and I like that.
This was such a heartwarming Christmas story, perfect for curling up in front of the fire. 5* read from me. -
This was not a happy story. Harley (with the horrible last name of Diekerhoff. No offense to those really named that but it’s no kind of name for a heroine. Just sayin’) lost her husband and 3 kids, three years before, when his private plane crashed and everyone onboard was killed. Brock lost his wife 11 years before, and he was still in love with her until the last few pages of the novella. Matt and Molly, Brock’s twins, were really great kids, who were still very young when their mother died.
Overall, it was a very sad story, all the way through, so I can’t see myself reading anything by this author. Plus, there was so much about miracles, angels, God and Faith so it was a little too religious for me.
One reviewer on Amazon said she stopped reading because it got too intimate. Ummm, NO! Even the sex scene was fade-to-black. So, if you’re looking for sex just keep looking.
So, no sex and only a couple of little swearwords.
As to the narration: Horrible! I would never want to listen to Loretta Rawlins again. When it describes a man as big and speaking gruffly and then when he does speak it sounds just like a woman, that’s horrible. -
This is a touching Christmas story which warms the heart.
Harley takes a job at a ranch in Montana to escape the trappings of Christmas. Three years prior she lost her husband and children in a plane crash and holidays are too hard. Brock lives with strict rules and lost his interest in Christmas, despite raising two children on his own after his wife died when they were babies.
Harley wins over the ranch hands by being herself and doing things her way, which seems to go fine until Brock's kids arrive unexpectedly. Harley's first thought is to bolt--she can't handle kids, because she loved being a mother--but life has a funny way of warming the heart. Harley helps Brock to see he needs to be a more demonstrative father to his children, and Brock and his kids push their way into Harley's grieving soul. As Harley and Brock start falling for each other, they realize there's a little bit of Christmas magic, and a guardian angel pushing them to find a new life, and love together.
