There’s no place like Whiskey River for the holidays…

Nico Rossi isn’t someone that people usually say no to—especially at Christmas time. Women have always been easy come, easy go for the branding expert, but he’s been off his game lately—especially when a beautiful small business owner turns his offer down. Coming home for his brother’s wedding offers him a chance to prove that he still has his legendary charm and business mojo.

Cressida Cormac avoids Christmas. Ten years ago, she lost everything during the holiday season and now copes by focusing on her business. But when Nico arrives at her door wearing a Santa hat and a sexy smile, daring her to give both him and Christmas a chance, she can’t say no.

As the Christmas season and Nico work their magic on her wounded heart, Cressida starts to wonder if this Texan can deliver lasting love or if it will all end in heartbreak?

Titles in The Rossis of Whiskey River series include — Texas Christmas Dare — Smooth Talking Texan —

This is an adult 18+ story that contains language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

Title:  Texas Christmas Dare
Series:  The Rossis of Whiskey River #1
Author:  Katherine Garbera
Genre:  Modern Western Romance
Published:  November 18, 2021
Publisher:  Tule Publishing
My Rating:  4.5 stars

Texas Christmas Dare begins a new series, The Rossis of Whiskey River, set in familiar locations, and with lots of secondary characters from other series by Katherine Garbera.  I love how her worlds so often flow from one series to another seamlessly — almost as if we’re reading about a community, which, in fact, we are in so many delightful, interconnecting ways.

Cressida and Nico’s romance is full of emotions from one end of the gambet to the other.  They are a realistic couple facing situations in both the present and in their pasts that anyone could easily imagine happening in their own lives.  That’s just one of the reasons that this is a “go-to” author for me, her stories take me into new territory with a sense of the adventure tempered by the feel of completely everyday people going about their lives.  It’s a combination that works for me, and the reason I return to her worlds whenever possible.

My heart broke for Cressida in so many ways.  She’s faced tragedy with bravery that not everyone could muster.  She doesn’t see herself that way, and lives quietly, off the grid somewhat just doing what she loves and getting through each day.  She has some survivor’s guilt, some physical scars, and a lot of emotional ones as well.  Learning to trust and love not only Nico but his close family and extended family of friends will change Cressida’s outlook on life… should she take the risks that loving again will involve.

Nico is simply adorable.  Yes, I know he’s handsome and sexy as sin on a stick, but he’s also adorable.  I loved his heart, his discovery of what this thing called love is all about, and how he handles love finding him when he least expected it to.

We will meet up with familiar faces from Whiskey River and Last Stand — that alone makes Texas Christmas Dare worth picking up for me.  And discover the beginning of a new series that has already drawn me in for more, full of interesting characters, people I now want to know more about, a bit of an update on favorite characters from previous books, and a very satisfying, delightful romance for Nico and Cressida.

If you love a good romance with believable characters, emotional with laughter and tears, then this one is perfect for you.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher. That does not change what I think of this story.  It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

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