This is a heartwarming and lighthearted romance that is a perfect fit for readers who enjoy feel-good, small-town Christmas stories with a focus on family, love, and second chances, especially those who appreciate a sweet and tender tale of a widowed single father finding love again.

It can't be Christmas without Janet Dailey's annual Christmas romance. These two people will come to learn that they can't live without each other and they owe it all to his 6yr old daughter.

I love reading Christmas stories and this one did not disappoint! Janet Dailey takes you right into to story!! Loved it

This is a Cute Christmas Romance, and this is the 4th book in The Christmas Tree Ranch series. It can be read as a stand-alone. I have to say the beginning started off very slow moving, but once the story got moving I was pulled into it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book and I am voluntarily reviewing it.

WOW!!!! This should be a Hallmark movie. As I was reading the book, I was easily seeing the scenes float by like one.

This is written in a multiple POV format. It was really helpful here. I can better understand, connect with and identify with them.

Maggie lost her mother before Thanksgiving last year. They didn't celebrate it together as her daddy Sheriff Sam Delaney sent her to her grandparents so he could deal with the lost for a short time. This year Maggie wants her dad to have a girlfriend. Maggie decided that her school teacher Miss Grace Chapman would be the perfect candidate. Grace escaped the disaster that is her life. She cancelled her wedding really close to the date of the union. Grace has had two failed engagement. She feels like she is broken. Since her father cheated on her mother and left the family when she was young, Grace doesn't fully trust men to not be someone like her father.

Can Maggie get her Christmas wish? Will Grace put aside her fears to embrace a relationship with Sam? Can Sam even come to love another woman? Well you will have to read this book for yourself to discover those answers. There were just a few scenes that really choke me up. I would have to close the book a time or two to wipe a tear away.

While this is a part of a series, you don't have to read the prior ones to fully understand and enjoy this one. This story takes place about 15 years earlier than the prior ones.

This is a tender and sweet romance all about seconds chances , a precocious little girl and a possible Christmas miracle or two?

This was a sweet story about moving forward after great loss.

Sam Delaney was a widower and the single father of a 6 year old daughter, Maggie, and the only lawman in their small town in Texas. Maggie misses her mom but she thinks the thing her dad needs most to cheer him up at Christmas is a girlfriend. Maggie is determined to find someone to fit that bill. She decides that her school teacher is just the right person for the job.

Grace Chapman had a fear of relationships. She had run away from two engagements and, because of a traumatic experience she had when she was very young, she doesn't think she could ever trust a man in her life. When she meets her student's father, she begins to think that if she were ever able to trust again, Sam would be the man she could trust with her heart. He is good and protective and loyal and very handsome. Will she be able to move on from the pain of her past and find a forever kind of love and the kind of family she has always wanted or not?

Ms. Dailey does a good job of selling the story and weaving a tale that draws you in and makes you feel like you are friends with the characters in her story.

I was given an arc copy of this book and I willingly offer my honest review.

Grace is a school teacher who get attached to her student, 6 years old Maggie. Unbeknownst to her, Maggie is trying her best to match her father, Sheriff Sam Delaney with her. Sam is still mourns the loss of Maggie’s mum. Sam tries to show he is happy with his life now for Maggie’s sake but both of them are still grieving for their wife and mother. Grace, a divorcee, is new in town and has trouble with man. Both of them needs to overcome their pasts in order for them to move on.

This is lovely story about love and 2nd chance to find the happily ever after story. It is full of holiday spirit, likeable and adorable character story which tugs on your heart as the story progresses.

Branding Iron, Texas and it’s Thanksgiving Day 1996

Sheriff Sam Delaney is raising his young daughter Maggie on his own after the recent death of his wife in. As Sheriff his work is unpredictable so sometimes sacrifices have to be made. Sam’s daughter Maggie thinks this holiday season is the perfect time for her father to find a girlfriend. Maggie’s matchmaking leads to a most likely person she can think of her teacher. Grace Chapman has recently moved to Branding Iron, Texas to work as a teacher. She tries to keep a professional distance with her students. When her student Maggie needs someone to look after her, that changes Grace’s thought about being close to her students. When Sam and Grace end up working on the Branding Iron committee for the town’s Christmas celebration they’ll be thrown together. Santa’s Sweetheart might be the present a widowed Sheriff might need.

Santa’s Sweetheart is the fourth book in the Christmas Tree Ranch series by Janet Dailey. A woman who knows that becoming too attached to her student may lead to heartbreak. She learned early in life her keeping distance is best. A recently widowed Sheriff who isn’t looking to move on from the grief just yet must deal with the six-year-old daughter who thinks he should. Santa’s Sweetheart has a young child playing matchmaker for her father and teacher while suggesting ideas for the town’s Christmas celebration that just may still be happening when she’s grown up. Janet Dailey takes the reader into the past to show the two future mayors of Branding Iron before they become mayor. Santa’s Sweetheart gives the reader a look into the past of the woman who is in present day Branding Iron mayor. Her family life and how she plays matchmaker for her teacher and father and even as a little girl was showing promise as a future mayor. The reader gets a look at Maggie’s early life and how she became the person she is today. There is also the look into the life of a man struggling to raise a daughter on his own during the holidays after losing his wife. A woman whose past has she ends up dealing with an estranged situation. Santa’s Sweetheart a holiday must read for Janet Dailey fans. A heartwarming romance during Christmas holiday season that’ll tug at your emotions. A great book for a holiday read and even has a little bit of danger involved. This reader loved seeing the early life heroine Mayor Maggie Delaney from Janet Dailey’s My Kind of Christmas. There is also a little tease about the hero Travis Morgan.

Janet Dailey has created a wonderful holiday story with fun characters and a unique plot. I greatly enjoyed the story. A perfect story for the long winter nights.

3.5

I have not read a Janet Dailey book in a very longtime. She got me hooked on Romances (back in the day) with her excellent, "Calder series." So I was intrigued when I saw this new book by her.

This was a wholesome Christmas story about a small town widowed sheriff who falls for his six year old daughter's teacher.

The story was a bit slow in the beginning but quickly kept my attention once it got moving. Maggie, the daughter was very endearing. I didn't quite feel too much chemistry with Sam and Grace although they were both very likeable characters.

I thought I might get a bit more steam from Janet Dailey but perhaps her writing has changed from what I remember. It was still a sweet story that was filled with a lot of emotions. I liked the ending as it was cute. A nice one to read over the holidays.

The perfect Christmas book for cosy nights abd frosty mornings. The ideal mic of. Likeable characters and storyline. Perfect.

When I requested Santa's Sweetheart on Netgalley I did not realize it was actually the fourth book in The Christmas Tree Ranch series. That being said as I was reading this one, I did not feel overly lost. The author did a great job of introducing these characters to me and explaining all of their connections. The focus for this one were the characters of Sam Delaney and Grace Chapman.

Sam Delany is the sheriff of the small Texas town of Branding Iron. He is also a recent widow and a single parent raising his six year old daughter, Maggie. Maggie is a very perceptive and precocious young girl and she does not want her daddy to be sad anymore. So she picks out her school teacher, Grace Chapman, as the perfect candidate for the job; and coordinates several different situations where they will be forced to spend time together in. Yes, Maggie is a little matchmaker maker and will do anything to have her family achieve their happily ever after.

Grace is new to Branding Iron and is just looking to blend in and not cause a scene. She is very closed off as a person because of her personal history and she is afraid to let anyone in for fear of being hurt. She has also set up some very strong boundary lines that she refuses to have crossed. Yet the more time she spends with Maggie and her father the harder this is. This is the first holiday season that Sam has allowed himself to celebrate since his wife died. Her still has alot of emotions which he has been overcome in order to come to terms with his loss. It surprises him how easy it is to spend time with Grace and how attractive he finds her. There is a very strong push-pull dynamic throughout this story as Sam and Grace attempt to understand their feelings and Maggie plays little matchmaker.

Branding Iron is a small town that in many ways is stuck with their traditional roles. Every year there is a Christmas festival and when suggestions are brought up for changes the hairs are raised on people's necks. Grace and Sam find themselves in the middle of all of this as they are both part of the planning committee; and spend many nights together trying to keep the peace. I enjoyed imaging all the decorations and everything that was described for the Christmas festival and Christmas ball. I'm admittedly a sucker for those kind of things!

All of the characters in Santa's Sweetheart had distinguishing characteristics that made it easy to tell them apart. Maggie's attempt at sneakiness made me laugh, and the slow melting of the walls between Sam and Grace had me melting along with them. Overall, this was an easy and enjoyable read for the time but, it likely won't be one that stays with me very long. It was good for the 2021 holiday season though.

Thank you Janet Dailey for creating the new book Santa's Sweetheart. This story will get you in the holiday spirits! Happy Reading!

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher ~ Thank you ~ !! This is my honest and personal review.

I was invited to read Santas' Sweetheart by Janey Dailey through invitation of the publisher on netgalley.com. In this book, I was immediately taken in by the story of Maggie and her dad Sam. Maggie's mother died a year ago and she is determined to find another love for dad. Grace and Sam have an immediate chemistry and the story if fun and engaging the whole way through! I always love stories that have a teacher as a protagonist, but all of the characters, including the annoying Mayor and his wife, were charming! I did sit and read the book in one day. It was a nice book to enjoy in a cozy chair by a fire on a snowy day.

The fourth book in The Christmas Tree Ranch, did not disappoint.. Santa’s Sweetheart, follows the sheriff and a local school teacher in Branding Iron, TX. Janet Dailey, brings us back to this quaint town, where lives can be changes and dreams can come true. Sheriff Sam, a new widowed father isn’t really in the mood for Christmas. But his beautiful daughter, has other ideas. She misses her mom but needs some normal things. She is a little girl and she doesn’t understand the loss of a wife.. She things finding her dad a new girlfriend, will make things better. This is when we meet Grace, a local teacher. She is a mess in her own right and feels like she has no luck in the relationship department. She teaches Sam’s daughter and through a series of events all three are thrown together.. can they find the holiday spirit? Is love in the air? Can they avert anymore tragedies? How can the town help or hurt this couple? This was a well written light hearted story. I really did enjoy it. Always impressed when a series can continue to be this good.. Janet Dailey does exception job.. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did..

I thoroughly enjoyed the gentle development of the relationship between Maggie's dad and her school teacher. Overcoming grief and finding hope is beautifully handled in Janet Dailey's 'Santa's Sweetheart' within the backdrop of a small Texas town. The characters are likeable and believable. I can strongly recommend this book for those who enjoy a Christmas themed romance.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Santa's Sweetheart by Janet Dailey is the 4th book in the Christmas Tree Ranch Series. This author does a great job of weaving a story where the reader loves the characters and makes them real. I loved Sheriff Sam Delaney’s daughter Maggie. She is a precocious child who just wants her widowed father to be happy. Maggie sets her sights on her teacher.

It was fun watching these characters as they fight the attraction.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book for free.

Santa’s Sweetheart by Janet Dailey was a sweet story about a six-year-old girl trying to find a girlfriend or wife for her widowed father Sam. She wants to make her dad happy again. So, Maggie looks around and finds that her 1st grade teacher Grace would be a good fit. It is a slow but steady paced book that works through the two adults’ issues with a relationship. It is a cute story but it puts too much into what a six year old thinks and feels. Both adults were on to her plan from the beginning, but it ended happily.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion of this book.

This book was good, but wasn't anything too incredible in my opinion. It was your standard, easy going romance. This book features Sam, a widower, single father, and the town sheriff and Grace, his daughter's school teacher. Sam's daughter, Maggie, is determined to set her lonely father up with her teacher. She thinks Sam is ready to open his heart back up, but Sam isn't so sure. Grace, for her part, isn't too keen on the idea of being set up either. She is emotionally scarred from the father that abandoned her family and she has since run from a series of relationships. From the few encounters Sam and Grace have, Sam has decided that maybe falling for someone is the right move after all. He is willing to open his heart to Grace, but she is still ready to run. It isn't just his heart she could break, but his daughter's also.

This story had the potential to have a lot of hijinks from Maggie and her attempt to connect her father and Grace. I feel like it was a missed opportunity that there weren't some more fun interactions written in. I also feel like there weren't as many important, meaningful interactions between Sam and Grace to see a real relationship fully develop. It seemed like they were both fighting the attraction and all of a sudden they decided they were in love and willing to give their love a chance. I do not like when characters "fall in love" before really getting to know each other or even going out on a date. It seems sudden and not well developed.

Even though there were a few things I wasn't crazy about, overall I thought it was a good romance and worth the read. If you like a lot of rom com moments or steam (even closed door), this book isn't for you. But, if you like a sweet, tender romance then I would give this one a read.

Fans of Dailey will recognize little Maggie Delaney as the future mayor of Branding Iron, Texas. Her story as an adult is the start of another series, My Kind of Christmas. A few characters, much younger of course, are familiar names from the series. Maggie is a little girl around six, but this is her dad’s story as he falls for Maggie’s teacher. It’s a slow read as the two work out their kinks and living in a small town has it’s own issues. When authors put the voice of the child in the story it never sits well with me. Maggie is six and often seems much older, like maybe the character should have been written as a ten year old instead. Anyway, it’s a lovely Christmas tale in a small town with the cute shenanigans of a matchmaking child. Netgalley provided my early copy.