A little more than a year after his wife’s death, Sheriff Sam Delaney Determined to find the perfect girlfriend for her beloved dad, Maggie does her best to match him with her teacher, Grace Chapman. Neither Sam nor Grace are looking for love. Sam still mourns the loss of his wife, and Grace has a disappointing history with the men in her life. But neither of them can deny their growing feelings. As Christmas approaches, Grace and Sam see more and more of each other in their small town. Will they take a chance on love and make Maggie’s Christmas wish come true?

Sam and Grace are both relatable and likable characters, and I enjoyed their budding romance. They both have reservations about initiating a romantic relationship, and they struggle with their feelings throughout the story. I like how patient and understanding they are with each other, as well as how they both reflect on and deal with their past and feelings.

Another great character is Maggie. She is so adorable and quite mature for her age. At only eight years old, she is often wiser and more astute than the adults, and she often tries to take care of others. I love her kindness and compassion, and her enthusiasm for the holidays is infectious.

The holiday spirit permeates the story with tree picking and decorating, party planning, and other holiday traditions. This, as well as the small-town charm, add to the optimism and hopeful tone of the book. However, the story also deals with some more serious issues like grief, loss, fear of abandonment, alcoholism. and other real-world problems. It is well balanced and shows realistic issues that many people face, which makes the story so relatable.

The story is sweet and charming, and it’s the perfect holiday romance to read when curled up next to the fire this winter. I enjoyed the likable characters, the small-town charm, and the lovely, clean romance and think the story will appeal to readers who like light and touching Hallmark-esque stories. Thanks so much to NetGalley, Janet Dailey, and Kensington Books for a copy of the novel in exchange for my honest review.

(Will post links closer to pub. date)

This is the first book I've read by Janet Dailey and I've found it quite appealing and realistic.
Very vivid Christmasy descriptions . Quite charming characters, well most of them.
Small town romance where everyone knows everyone and is helpful to one another.
A tragic accident takes the sheriff of Branding Iron,Texas wife and his daughter Maggie's mother.
A year has passed and his daughter is pushing him to get a girl friend.
His daughter is very precocious and seems years ahead of her age. This girl is talking about cooking meals for her father and she's only eight.
With an elaborate plan to get her father hooked up and him not ready to move on from grieving for his wife how will this work out for them both?
Lots of fun Christmassy scenes such as tree decorating,holiday meals with family and a special school program the children worked hard on. What Christmas story would be complete without the lovely snowy blizzard?
I found this very charming and I recommend it.

Pub Date 28 Sep 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you
All opinions expressed are my own.

I love reading books by Janet Dailey. She writes clean and heartwarming novels. I loved this one , because of the characters. Grace learned how to be bold, and Maggie is adorable she seems mature for her age. I am glad that netgalley and the publishers let me read this in exchange for an honest review.

I received Santa's Sweetheart as part of a NetGalley giveaway.

A year following his beloved wife's tragic death Sheriff Sam Delaney is struggling to raise his precocious young daughter Maggie, who has made it her personal mission to find her father a girlfriend. She zeroes in on her teacher, Grace Chapman, a quiet newcomer trying to start over after a rocky past. Sam and Grace cannot deny their chemistry, particularly when thrown together to plan the community's holiday celebration. But Grace and Sam both have hangups and doubts based on past relationships that must be traversed before they get their happy ending...

This was sweet. It has a 90s feel to it--there's no reference to modern technology, like cell phones or the internet--which isn't a bad thing; in many ways it gives it a timeless quality. There's no sexual acts beyond kissing, and a small child features prominently, so it's quite clean for any readers who may be uncomfortable with overt sexuality. Unlike a lot of small town romances, I liked that it didn't over-romanticize that life--it showed very real problems that the community was struggling with, and that it's not all sunshine and roses with universally happy people, thriving businesses, and a perfect location. If I had a critique it would be that the perspectives seem to change from paragraph to paragraph. All in all, though, a simple but sweet holiday romance.

I was genuinely excited to read this holiday romance. In the late 70s and early 80s Janet Dailey was one of my favorite romance authors. I remember reading her as she transitioned from Harlequin to Silhouette and on to her Calder series. After that I stopped reading romances for a few decades. I thought this was a republishing of an early work but I can not find it in her book titles looking at several sources. Janet Dailey died in 2013, so I don't know if this is a missing work or something that has been written under her name.

Santa's Sweetheart is a sweet, clean, short (233 pages), holiday romance. In a small town in Texas Sheriff Sam Delaney has been widowed for a year. His first grade daughter Maggie decides her school teacher Grace Chapman might be just the person to cheer up her lonely daddy. Grace is new to town after calling off a wedding and leaving her old job in Oklahoma. Maggie is adorable as a match maker but she has the emotional maturity and thought process of someone twice her age. I like both the main characters but the attraction seems very instant. This could easily be a script for a Hallmark movie. Everything is predictable and I'm going to end up happy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.