Wishing Well Springs: Book 3
Publication Date: October 26, 2021
The magic of Christmas
Could make her wish come true!
A small-town Christmas wedding. What could be more romantic? Unless you’re a plus-one for hire like single mom Maia MacKenzie. Too bad handsome cowboy Brent Hayes is her new coworker—and completely off-limits! Neither of them can afford to lose their job…or invest in a relationship. But when she sees Brent’s adorable connection with her young son, Maia can’t help wishing for a Christmas miracle.
‘Tis the season, and I’ve been totally in the mood for Christmas stories. So when I came across A Secret Christmas Wish, and having read and enjoyed Cathy McDavid’s books in the past, I decided to pick this one up. It is part of a series, but it totally stood on its own.
A Secret Christmas Wish follows Maia and Brent on their road to happily ever after. Maia’s a single mom just trying to make ends meet. She’s lucky in that she has a super supportive family, but she wants to do things on her own. She’s not looking for love after the unfortunate ending of her last relationship, but she’s also open to it if it comes along.
Brent, on the other hand, is a loner. He’s not terribly close to his family, has few close friends, and is just bouncing around since the end of his rodeo career. He has depression and doesn’t handle it very well, and does not like advice on the issue. There are sparks between Maia and Brent, but because they are co-workers and Brent’s mental issues, there are a lot of walls to scale to find their happily ever after.
I’m not entirely sure I’ve ever read a book before where one of the characters suffered so much from depression. I myself have never experienced it, but I have family members that do. So, it was interesting to read how it affected Brent day-to-day, but also a description of how it felt. I think Ms. McDavid did a good job of handling the feeling of shame that some people deal with when it comes to depression and the understanding that those around Brent tried to express. And to also mention multiple times all the various types of support that are available.
I read A Secret Christmas Wish in a single sitting. I was drawn into the story and stuck around because I cared about the characters and wanted to see how they’d find their happy ending. If you’d like a clean contemporary romance set around Christmas, this might be the read for you.
In the third grade, NY Times, USA Today and Amazon bestselling author Cathy McDavid made it her goal to read every Black Stallion book ever written. Who knew such an illustrious ambition would eventually lead to a lifelong love of all things western, owning a stagecoach pulled by six mules, and a career writing contemporary romances for Harlequin? With over 50 titles in print and 1.5 million-plus books sold, Cathy is also a member of the prestigious Romance Writers of America’s Honor Roll. This “almost” Arizona native and mother of grown twins is married to her own real-life sweetheart. After leaving the corporate world six years ago, she now spends her days penning stories about good looking cowboys riding the range, busting broncs, and sweeping gals off their feet — oops, no. Make that winning the hearts of feisty, independent women who give the cowboys a run for their money. It a tough job, but she’s willing to make the sacrifice.
Thank you, Jen, for the lovely review 🙂