Title:  The Kidnapped Christmas Bride
Series:  Taming of the Sheenans #3
Author:  Jane Porter
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Published:  November 25, 2014
Publisher:  Tule Publishing
My Rating:  5 stars
Source:  Owned, Kindle edition
Cover Description:

All he wants is a Christmas memory…

Trey Sheenan has cultivated his reputation as Marietta’s resident bad boy, until one day he lets things go too far and he loses everything—his freedom, his fiance McKenna Douglas, and his infant son.

McKenna has loved Trey since they were kids, but she’s had enough. When Trey is sent away for five years, McKenna is determined to do what’s right for her and baby TJ, which means putting her mistakes—namely Trey—behind her, and move on.

When Trey is released early, he returns to Marietta determined to beg McKenna’s forgiveness and become the father TJ needs him to be, only to discover that he’s too late. McKenna’s marrying local insurance agent Lawrence Joplin in a candlelight Christmas wedding.

Or is she?

Once again, Trey risks everything, but this time it’s for love….and the memory of one perfect Christmas together as a family.

Read on for my thoughts on The Kidnapped Christmas Bride.  No true spoilers, promise.

Whether you read for pure pleasure or combine the pleasure with reviewing, there are novels that touch you beyond the closing of the final page.  The Kidnapped Christmas Bride is one of those stories that stick with you for a long time.  I have now read four novels in the Taming of the Sheenans series by Jane Porter, and each one has been rich with family, small town living, handsome, caring brothers and their special girl,  and lots and lots of love.  (I kinda reversed it and read the 4th Taming of the Bachelor first, then went back and bought the previous three stories)  Trey and McKenna stayed with me beyond the story, past their happy ever after and deep into my thoughts about what makes a happy couple, in love stories and in real life.

As readers have said many, many times before – there is just something about a bad boy.  It’s undeniable.  And Trey is not so much a truly bad guy, but his is a man who walks to his own tune, follows his own rules about life and what’s right or wrong.  McKenna has loved him since she was a teen, and if truth be told, she’ll love him until her last breath.  But everyone has their limits.  She stood by Trey when he finally had to pay for his actions.  Yes, they were justifiable, no man should beat up on a woman and he had stepped in to help when no one else did – but in that action, when fists flew and a man died, Trey paid for his part with years in prison.  By then he and McKenna were engaged with a small baby, but as the years wore on it got more difficult to see Trey behind bars and to hear the cries of their young son when they had to leave Daddy behind.  It was time to let go.

Today was Trey’s first day of freedom.  Tomorrow was McKenna’s wedding day – to another man.  The rest of Trey, McKenna and TJ’s story I will strongly suggest that you read for yourself.  You will fall head over heels in love with little TJ, who is an exact duplicate of his Daddy.  You will feel the heartache of Trey, the contained desperation of losing his family to a man so not worthy of them.  You will hurt along with McKenna as she comes to see some truths that have evaded her.  And you will adore and cherish the chance for this family to have their Christmas, reconnect and realize what is most important in life… and just maybe the best gift they receive this Christmas is a whole family full of love.

We all have stories that we know we will revisit.  I have my own bookcase full of “keeper” novels – and this entire series is going in my Kindle equivalent to that physical bookcase.  I will revisit The Kidnapped Christmas Bride again, I have no doubt about that at all.  I hope you will pick this one up and find a story that will touch you as well.

*Any review is just one person’s opinion. You might feel the same or totally different. The only way to know for certain is for you to read it. This was my opinion of this particular book.*

The Kidnapped Christmas Bride is available in audio and for the Kindle