3.75⭐
This is the first book I've read by Caitlin Crews, and whilst I did enjoy it. I did struggle at times. As there is a lot of emotional baggage with the two central characters who haven't had the greatest of relationships with their respective parents. And this has a big impact on these two characters and all of their relationships throughout this book. And whilst this is a story with a Christmas backdrop. There isn't a lot of Christmas cheer going around. Which for me was a little disappointing and the story did seem to end rather abruptly. But, I do love a good cowboy romance, and Grey is the epitome cowboy. And this one was sweet, and at times fun. Plus, it held my interest throughout. And so I would certainly check out the next book in this series. As well as other books by this author in the future, and I would recommend A True Cowboy Christmas to others.

Thank you Net-Galley, St. Martins Press and author the opportunity to read this story. I am choosing to review this.

This is the first time I have read this author and I was in the mood for a holiday read. I enjoyed the story and the main characters a lot. There is a few secondary characters I disliked so much. Gray is a perfect cowboy, his heart is with his land and with his daughter but he knows he needs more then what he has.
Abby is works at a coffee shop and has always had a thing for Gray but never thought she was the type to catch his eye.

This is a sweet story with some heartbreaking moments. This story doesn't have a lot of Christmas in the story line but it a good starter for holiday reading. I really hope we get stories of Grays brothers there is so much of these two that I really want to know!

Caitlin Crews is a new to me author. I find that A True Cowboy Christmas, the first book in the author's Cold River Ranch series is a well-written book with some very interesting characters. I picked this book up as a Christmas romance read. Even though the storyline is true to the happily ever after for the heroine, Abby Douglas and the hero, Gray Everitt it didn't feel like a Christmas story for me. Yes, the story takes place around Christmastime and ends with a a heartwarming Christmas scene, but the spirit of Christmas just wasn't there for me. I enjoyed seeing Abby and Gray overcome some baggage from their earlier lives and plan to pick up the next book in the series to read.

A True Cowboy Christmas is book one in the Cold River Ranch series by Caitlin Crews. This is my very first book by Caitlin. I have such a weakness for cowboy heroes and combine that with Christmas and I’m in. Plus there is this cover to consider. I could gaze at it all day.

Gray Everett is thirty eight years old and is the oldest of three brothers who were born and raised on the Cold River Ranch by a father that poisoned them with his drunken ravings and terrible temper. Gray is the single parent of a fifteen year old daughter, Becca. Gray just put his father in the ground. His biggest fear is that he could turn out like his father, alone, angry and mean. He tried marriage for love once and it didn’t work out. When he looks at his neighbor, a woman he has known his entire life, it’s like he is seeing her for the first time. It’s then that the perfect idea comes to him. A marriage of convenience. A marriage based on a mutual love of the land and their lives. No emotion, no love, just easy compatibility. Plus, a mother for his daughter. It’s the perfect solution to everything.

“Today’s grumpy hermit is tomorrow’s bitter, old man, he told himself.”

Abby Douglas is thirty years old and has worked in the town coffee shop since she was in high school. She lives with her grandmother in the ranch adjacent to Gray’s. She has known the Everett family since she was born. Even though she and Gray have barely exchanged two dozen words their entire lives, she has loved him for as long as she can remember. It went from a silly school girl crush to love over the years. She loved him from afar through all that he went through. He just never knew it. So, when out of the blue, Gray proposed to her, she couldn’t have been more shocked. She was plain, unattractive, if she were to believe her mother’s words over her entire life. Why would someone like Gray really want her? Did he pity her? Gray doesn’t love her and doesn’t know that she loves him. He sees her as stable, salt of the earth. Could this be her wish coming true, marrying the man she has always loved? Could she love him enough for the two of them?

“She was everything he wanted. She was so much more that he’d imagined.”

First, I’d like to say that I believe Abby is, if not the strongest and most wonderful, than at least one of the most strongest and most wonderful female characters I have ever read. She took to being Becca’s step mother with the utmost of grace and love. She had so much dignity. And even though she was throwing herself into a brand new life of which she had no idea how to maneuver, she bravely found her way.

The host of secondary characters also all stole my heart. There are Gray’s brothers, each with issues of their own, Ty and Brady. Becca, Gray’s daughter was the sweetest. Abby’s grandmother was so wise. And then there are Abby’s two best friends who I also fell in love with, Rae and Hope. There is also a character who might be one of my most unliked characters of all time, Abby’s mother.

This was such a beautifully told story of the power of love, specifically the power of Abby’s love. She has so much to give and she gives it freely. I have to admit that I struggled a bit with Gray. I wondered if anyone could break through the walls he had built up.

This is one of those books that will just kind of linger in my heart. I don’t think I’ll soon forget Abby. I assume the future books in this series will revolve around Gray’s two brothers. I don’t know who it focuses on but the next book will be called Cold Heart, Warm Cowboy. I’ve already put it on my list and I can’t wait to see who it will be about.

Will appear soon at Romance Reviews Today:
http://romrevtoday.com/

A TRUE COWBOY CHRISTMAS – Caitlin Crews
Cold River Ranch, Book 1
St. Martin’s
ISBN 9781250295231
November 2018
Contemporary Romance

Cold River, Colorado – Present Day

Widower Gray Everett’s ornery father has finally passed away and he should be able to breathe easier now, but he has a daughter to raise and a ranch to run…and needs a wife. Gray looks no farther than neighbor Abby Douglas as his bride. They’ve known each other since they were both children and she is as much a hard worker as he is. On the day that Gray buries his father, he asks Abby to marry him, though he informs her that their marriage will be one without love. His idea of a perfect marriage is one where they work side by side as best friends and grow old together. Who needs love?

Abby accepts his proposal but doesn’t tell Gray that she’s been in love with him since she was a teenager. Is this the reason that she’s never married—or is still a virgin? Has Abby been waiting for Gray all her life? Abby was raised by her grandmother after her mother more or less abandoned her. Once in a while her mother shows up to toss insults at Abby that are meant to inflict pain. Abby thinks of herself as plain and nondescript. As part of her marriage to Gray, she will gain a teenage stepdaughter and Abby can only hope that one day he will fall in love with her. Is Abby making a mistake marrying a man who says he is not looking for love?

Gray and his two brothers grew up with a father so mean and dastardly that mealtimes weren’t even pleasant. Christmas? Forget it, because their father would sabotage any holiday that came along. Gray managed to marry once—and it gave him his daughter, Becca—but his wife hated ranch life and gave him plenty of grief until she was killed in a car accident. Marrying sweet Abby is the answer to his prayers for a nice, dependable woman to help him raise Becca. They marry, and soon he discovers that not only does Abby have a mind of her own, but he enjoys having her in his bed…

Abby suffers from a lack of self-esteem and thinks that marrying Gray is the only way to find happiness, even though she knows he doesn’t love her. He has been the man of her dreams for years, though he isn’t aware of her crush on him. Settling into married life, she could just “bow down” to his every wish, but his refusal to celebrate Christmas has her battling him. Not only for herself, but for Becca. The wounds created by Gray’s father run deep inside him. Will it take the love of a good woman like Abby to heal those wounds…and make him into a loving husband?

A TRUE COWBOY CHRISTMAS is the first book in the Cold River Ranch series by Caitlin Crews about the three Everett brothers and the scars left by their late father. They bicker among themselves—much of which was instigated by their father and continues to carry on after his death. Will the brothers finally find peace with each other? Will Gray find love—and happiness—with Abby?

A heartwarming tale of a friendship turning into love, A TRUE COWBOY CHRISTMAS is that feelgood Christmas romance you won’t want to miss.

Patti Fischer

Abby and Gray have similar backgrounds with parents who are not the best examples. Gray has just buried his father who was mean and abusive. He is raising a teen daughter alone since his wife died in an accident. He finds himself wanting a normal family life for his daughter and ask Abby to marry him. Abby lives with her grandmother because her mom Lily decided on a life without her daughter and left her with her grandparents. Abby gives a lot of thought to this prospect because she has been led to believe she wouldn't be worthy according to her mother who has put a lot of nonsense in her head. This couple has to explore the hurts in their past and grow into their relationship. Abby dealing with her Mom and staying true to herself. Loving Gray and his daughter . Gray has to get past the labels his father put on him and his brothers . Learn to trust them and learn what love is in a marriage.. I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading the next book in this series.

Gray Everett on the day of his fathers funeral looks up to see his neighbor and decides that it time he takes a wife. He needs someone reliable, who can be a mother figure to his teenage daughter and can pitch in around the house. He decides Abby would be perfect for the position and even though they have barely spoken he decides to ask her to marry him.

Abby Douglas loves her small town life for the most part, she has a job and friends she loves. Her whole love her mother has made her feel unpretty and inadequate so when Gray shows up and asks her to marry him she assumes she must be crazy. The man she has secretly pined over her whole life wants to marry her. Not for love but for practicallity, and she can't decide how that makes her feel. She decides she'd rather have any part of Gray then nothing at all.

When they exchange vows, Gray seems to have exactly what he wants. On the other hand, Abby is left down trodden. She knows Gray didn't offer her love, but she can't help herself from falling for him more and more. When she lets these feelings show it destroys what Gray thought of as the perfect marriage for him. He doesn't do love, he doesn't do love and he also doesn't do Christmas.

A True Cowboy Christmas by Caitlin Crew is a sweet holiday romance. I loved the chemistry between Abby and Gray and no matter what disagreements they had they came together and were perfectly in sync in the bedroom. I would have given it a higher rating but I felt like there was way too much inner dialogue that got repetitive fast. Overall, it was an enjoyable holiday read and I'm looking forward to Grays brothers getting their own stories.

3.5/5

First in a series (Cold River Ranch), this story centers on Gray Everett and Abby Douglas who grew up on neighboring properties in rural Colorado. Gray has spent long years laboring on the ranch living under the dark, bitter cloud of his father who made everyone’s life a living hell. Now that the evil old man has died, Gray wants to keep the ranch his ancestors founded going for himself, his motherless daughter, and the once proud heritage that has foundered. His two brothers may have other ideas, one of whom sees dollar signs only when looking at the ranch. Knowing he needs help, Gray decides his dependable, sturdy, and practical neighbor, Abby, would be the perfect wife, no emotion required.

Abby Douglas has loved Gray her whole life. She has quietly stood in the background living with her grandparents after her selfish, narcissist mother took off only returning home occasionally to torment Abby with her vitriol. Abby is at first shocked by Gray’s modern day proposal of a marriage of convenience, but decides she has enough love for both of them. Abby and Gray have equally been damaged by parents whose only happiness comes from making their offspring miserable. Abby internalized all the hateful messages from her mother while Gray is afraid he will become his father. This emotional turmoil sets the backdrop for two people who together have the opportunity to realize life offers second chances which are all the more glorious for those who overcome adversity.

Gray rejects Christmas with all the trimmings because it is only associated with pain and bad memories. Abby loves everything about Christmas and what it represents so when Gray essentially bans Christmas from their home, she hopes to find a way to the heart of a man who does not think he has one. This well written story kept me turning the pages not wanting to put it down. Gray and Abby are both compelling characters. Despite all that has been done to these two people by those who are supposed to love them most, they have not given in to the darkness. I look forward to the next in the series which I assume will focus on one of Grey’s brothers who have lately been come back to the ranch for differing reasons.

Overcoming lifelong issues to become a person you can live with is difficult at best but Caitlin dealt with it eloquently and with grace. Love can grow given time but it's a lot of work that can give you the best end result.

A True Cowboy Christmas by Caitlin Crews is the first book in the contemporary romance Cold River Ranch series. The story is told by switching the point of view between the two lead characters in the book and takes place at the holiday season.

Gray Everett has just buried his angry and abusive father and isn’t mourning him in the least but for Gray all he wants is to not turn into him. Gray’s father had left the family ranch to him and his brothers but Gray had always been the one interested in running it so to fight off his brothers push to sell Gray comes up with a plan to find a wife.

Abby Douglas grew up next to the Everett ranch and has had a secret crush on Gray her entire life but he’d never looked twice at her being eight years older. What Abby never expected was to open her door one day and find Gray on the doorstep and proposing marriage. The ever practical Gray came up with the plan that Abby was the “salt of the earth” bride he needed in his life becoming the mother to his daughter and combining their land.

Starting off reading A True Cowboy Christmas I thought I was going to end up falling in love with this story. What kind of crazy cowboy proposes out of the blue? And Abby was absolutely hilarious in her reaction so while Gray came off cold and calculating I could see them balancing out in my mind. Well, as much as that is true the thing is the story was filled with angst which got to be way too much for my taste and Gray really didn’t become likable until the end. Add in the fact there wasn’t much Christmas in the story which would be the main reason I’m attracted to these at this time of year I was a bit let down. So the one thing that kept me from actually disliking this was Abby and for that I will say it was an OK read overall.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

4.5 Stars
Gray Everett has a heart of gold but that doesn’t mean he believes in the magic of Christmas. He’s got plenty else to worry about this holiday season, what with keeping his cattle ranch in the family and out of the hands of hungry real-estate investors looking to make a down-and-dirty deal. That, plus being a parent to his young and motherless daughter, equals a man who will not rest until he achieves his mission. Now, all Gray needs is the help of his lifelong neighbour Abby Douglas. The chance to join forces with Gray is nothing less than a Christmas miracle. Much as the down-to-earth farmer’s daughter has tried to deny it, Abby’s been in love with stern, smoking-hot Gray her whole life. So when Gray proposes a marriage of convenience as a way to combine land and work together toward a common cause Abby can’t refuse.
This is the first book I’ve read by the author & it certainly won’t be the last. A very good series opener, I can't wait for more! A marriage of convenience where both parties bring lots of baggage was a great opening & I thoroughly enjoyed how they worked their way through. Gray is definitely swoon worthy & the ending was beautiful. The characters are well fleshed & the pace is very good in fact I just loved this book & it’s a keeper

My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I have not had the best luck with books lately so when I grabbed the one I didn't expect much and I was completely blown away in a good way of course. This book is about a marriage of convenience however this very much seems like I was catching up with friends. The author did an amazing job with the perfect amount a detail where you feel like you are there in the town of Longhorn Valley Colorado part of the story watching it all play out. I loved the characters so much all but Lily of course. I really loved the wisdom of Abby's Grandma she has such a gentle way to her that you just want to love her even more every time she comes into the story. I really loved Abby she has this thing about her that seems to resonate off the pages and I think most women could relate to her. I have never read anything from this author and honestly I can't wait to read more from this group of friends. I would say due to certain situations in this book it may not be suitable for all ages. That book being said this book it totally worth the read.

A TRUE COWBOY CHRISTMAS will fill you with many emotions and a few times you will want to tell Abby to give up because he's a lost cause. I think in this book, the story line will show readers that though children are often hurt and shaped by a parent who is mean-spirited, evil, or just thoughtless, there are ways of becoming the person you are meant to be despite them.

A TRUE COWBOY CHRISTMAS will probably make you cry because the hardheaded cowboy isn't stupid, he knows a good thing and knows what he must do to make things better with her. I am not sure I quite believe that his plan would work anywhere but this author's imagination and the pages of this book. This is a good Christmas theme story line, where love overcomes even life's toughest, beat in lessons.

Annetta Sweetko, reviewer for Fresh Fiction

Complete review may be read at: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=67078

Ugh. There were things that I really liked about this book. And then there were things that infuriated me. Let me start by saying that there wasn’t much Christmas in a book with it in the title. I was expecting this to feel like a holiday novel and it didn’t. Yes, one of the turning points in the relationship between Gray and Abby involves her love of Christmas and his disdain for it but I wanted more holiday romance and less romance novel tropes.
When we first meet Gray, he is burying his father and isn’t too torn up about it. We find out that their relationship wasn’t the best (to put it mildly) and Gray is determined to not become the bitter, mean man his father was. Spoiler alert: he is turning into his father. He has a teenage daughter, Becca, a result of his first marriage that ended in disaster, yet we don’t hear much from or about her for a while. He has two brothers who share the land he lives on but both don’t care about keeping it and are pressuring Gray to sell. The relationship between the brothers is tumultuous and a direct result of their upbringing with their horrible father and is a reason that Gray has become more and more introverted.
Abby is a local girl who has grown up living next door to Gray and has harbored a secret crush on him from the time they were kids. She has had to watch him marry another woman, have a child, and ultimately be betrayed by his first wife. She thinks her crush will remain unrequited until Gray approaches her with a marriage proposal despite never noticing her before and barely exchanging more than a handful of words with her before this. She is rightfully skeptical but with some advice doled out by her two best friends and the grandmother who raised her, she agrees to his proposal.
The plot to this book sounded very far-fetched when I read the synopsis but I found myself believing the decisions the characters made as I began to read. Crews does a good job of providing enough back story to make the decisions and actions of Gray and Abby believable in the context of the story. However, there were several things about each character that I found ridiculous. First off, we are supposed to believe that Abby is a 30 year old virgin (an overused romance novel plot device) because she sees herself as ugly and plain and wasted her one opportunity to date back in high school. Please. I would have appreciated this characterization more if Gray hasn’t been so excited to find out she was a virgin; as though he had won some sort of prize by picking the only virgin in town to be his wife. While Crews gives us a reason for Abby’s low self-esteem (an emotionally abusive mother) I just didn’t like this. Gray on the other hand has severe trust issues brought on by his emotionally abusive father and a cheating wife that made him the talk of the small town. My issue was that his feelings about Abby, Becca, and his family seemed to happen suddenly and after everyone in his life should have rightfully given up on him. He is not a nice man and the fact that Abby decides to stay with him in spite of this was infuriating. Maybe I am expecting too much from a romance novel but I have a hard time believing that her love for him changed him overnight. There were also too many scenes/moments of Gray being horrified at the thought of turning into his father only to fail to realize that he is turning into his father.
This book felt more like a general fiction novel than a romance novel as there were very few love scenes. It read more like a family drama and I was honestly more interested in that aspect of the novel than the love story. I liked the writing enough that I would read more from this author but I just found this one to be unbelievable.

Abby has loved Gray forever....forever. When his father dies he finds himself thinking about what he's done with his life. He loves his ranch, he loves his daughter Becca, he has no idea what to do about his future. On impulse, he proposes to Abby, who accepts (she might have thought about this a little more, but go with it.). This HEA is all about how these three become a family. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good positive (if old fashioned) read.

Dysfunctional Families!
Both the H and h are psychologically damaged by their parents. Abby’s grandparents raised her in a loving environment with her toxic mother visiting occasionally but often enough that her poison has affected her. Gray’s mother abandoned him and his two brothers when they were small and they were brought up by a father who delighted in spreading discord. Gray then married a wife who cheated on him!
After the death of his father, Gray decides he wants to change his life so that he doesn’t become as bitter and lonely as his father and to that end, proposes marriage (with no courting before hand) to his next door neighbour. Unbeknownst to him, Abby has been in love with a Gray for decades and so eventually agrees. The story then unfolds as to how they meld as a family. Hope we are going to get books about the two brothers.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A modern-day fairy tale that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking!

Gray has just buried his angry, bitter father, and decides that he needs to start living a life of joy and not just work in order to avoid becoming just like his dad. Having been burned badly by his late wife, he proposes a practical arrangement with the sensible girl next door.

Abby has been in love with Gray for as long as she can remember, and she's not quite ready to exchange her visions of Happy Ever After for a practical marriage of convenience. Even if marrying him is everything she's ever wanted out of life.

Abby and Gray are both wounded hearts, suffering from the sins of their parents and determined not to make the same mistakes. Living together as man and wife peels back all their defenses and exposes their darkest insecurities. This is a beautifully evocative love story about two people who thought they knew each other, but discover new layers and old hurts as they figure out the truth about themselves and their marriage.

Gray and Abby are so much more than just two people falling in love. They're the embodiment of every person's struggle to define oneself against the uncontrollable forces that shape our early lives.

It's a rare book that makes me wish I could give more than five stars, but this book is leaps and bounds above the best of the usual romances. It has everything we want in a truly captivating story, one that doesn't merely ask you to live in its world, it grabs you from the start and gives you no choice in the matter. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

Wow, I absolutely loved this book. Gray and Abby are both wonderful characters They are both emotionally damaged. Him by his father and her by her mother. This is the story of two people coming together for practical reasons. What they found was understanding, friendship, home and a true and lasting love. This is an amazing story with wonderful, endearing characters and I would definitely recommend it.

"A True Cowboy Christmas" by Caitlin Crews
I truly enjoyed the time I spent with Gray and Abby as they grew into their new selves. When you read this story you will be wanting to share some of the wisdom shared by Abby's grandma... a very wise and patient woman. There are several quotes I would love to share with you.. but maybe you need to find them for yourself. I was gifted an ARC of this story by the publisher via NetGalley. Since I gave this story a 5-star rating... I guess you know that I would recommend this story to anyone thinking about marriage... or already married. There are a few scenes with a bit of heat but they were not objectionable, at least to me.

5 STARS!!

I love this book! I honestly had a hard time putting it down and finished it in nearly one day. The detailed development was superb and what I long for in a story, but don't always find. After turning the last page, I intimately knew and understood these characters, their motives, and their actions. A True Cowboy Christmas is a modern marriage-of-convenience story written with depth, poignancy, and authenticity. The story doesn't solely focus on the romance between Gray and Abby, but also strongly relies on the peripheral relationships that undeniably have shaped who they've become and their outlook on life. Realistically tender and achingly romantic, A True Cowboy Christmas is a book that defines well-written romantic literature and why I enjoy reading. I can't help but look forward to the next book in this series.