A marriage of convenience, a cosy mountain community, and the most adorable four-year old daughter. I was hooked from the first page and grew more in love with the characters and the setting as I went.

A really heartwarming story and the perfect book to snuggle up with by the fire on Christmas Eve.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book ripped my heart apart to an extent that I was frankly surprised by, and I loved it for that! I expected fun and quirky when I read the first page - Sienna is literally freshly divorced, her friends posted an ad in the small town local newspaper, and randomly Guy and Emma walk into her life… or at least into the coffee shop. The antics that follow are not only a charming love story, but also a heartwarming blended family coming together, fun and festive holidays, and moments that tore me apart. I love love loved this book, I’m so glad to see Sarah Morgenthaler back in action!

An emotional read, the story of Sienna and Guy who get married to help his sick daughter. What will happen when real feelings get involved in this fake marriage. Loved the setting of the book too.

I want to thank thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version.

The symposis sounded interesting, and I loved the cover. But this book was a huge left down. It is extremely unrealistic. I feel like this book would have worked better if it was set in the pioneer times. I like the mail order brides and .marriage of convenience type books when they are period pieces. But a modern take just doesn't work. I think what she did in this book is very illegal? And it was very liberal, woke and feminist. The main character drove me crazy and when they brought out they/them pronouns and how wonderful the guy is for using them, and that it where I am done with the book. Bring back male writers and the books from the past.

Thanks to @sourcebookscasa and @netgalley for the #gifted copy of this book.

Summary: Following a very public and heartbreaking divorce, Sienna Naples didn't realize how lonely she would be in December on her beloved family ranch. Enter Guy Maple and his four-year-old daughter Emma who has stage-five chronic kidney disease. He comes into Sienna's life answering an ad that was supposed to be a joke post-divorce asking for a husband for hire. Sienna makes an extremely impulsive decision to marry Guy in a marriage of purpose so that Emma will be able to be placed on the kidney transplant she so desperately needs. As she spends more time with her family, her icy walls melt, but should she give her heart away again?

My Thoughts: Oh my heart.... I loved this book so so much!! Sienna has a heart of gold for just jumping into a marriage with Guy at the spur of the moment after hearing his daughter's story. And Guy.... well he just melted my heart with his ability to listen to Sienna and then follow through with her hopes and dreams. His daughter Emma, despite being so so sick was just adorable and stole the show half the time. Be sure to bring the tissues (and check the trigger warnings) because this one will hit you hard but in a good way.

Read if you love:
🏘️small town
🔥slow burn
👨single dad
💍marriage of purpose
🎄holiday contemporary romance
🚪sweet/closed-door romance

This book was the perfect pallet cleanser holiday read. It was so wonderful. It was a nice clean story that pulled at your heart strings. Marriage of convenience and single dad done right.

Sarah Morgenthaler’s The Christmas You Found Me is a tough one for all of the right reasons. Those looking to get their heart broken this holiday season need not look further than this tale about holding on to hope when all seems lost.

Cattle rancher Sienna Naples is freshly divorced and was not expecting her best friend to play a monumental joke on her to celebrate her Independence Day. That is why there are ads around town stating that Sienna is on the market and looking for a new husband. Everyone, of course, enjoys having a little bit of fun at Sienna’s expense, and she is cool with it, but she was not expecting anyone to take the ad seriously. That is, until Guy Maple walks into her life wanting to fill the role of her new husband.

Guy’s daughter Emma is terminally ill with kidney disease and is in desperate need of a transplant; however, she cannot receive one until Guy can prove that he can afford the medication needed to ensure that the transplant sticks. Nearly all of Guy’s time is spent caring for Emma, while also trying to hold down a construction job, and unfortunately, he just doesn’t have the assets needed to show that he can afford the medicine. He is desperate and willing to marry Sienna, a complete stranger, just to make sure his finances look good on paper.

Being the season of good will, Sienna decides to help out Guy and Emma, marrying Guy and inviting father and daughter to move into her home. What starts as a marriage of convenience quickly turns into something more, however, when Sienna realizes that she is falling for Guy and Emma. As Sienna becomes more invested in Emma’s life and the quest to get her a kidney, she can’t help but get attached to Guy, who is everything her ex was not. When her makeshift family starts to turn into something more, Sienna realizes she has so much to love, yet so much to lose this holiday season.

I am admittedly a bit burnt out on Christmas novels, as they have all started to feel more formulaic than festive, but The Christmas You Found Me completely took me by surprise. This book is Christmas-lite, which would ordinarily bother me in a purported holiday romance, but in the case of this novel, I was not put off a bit because Sarah Morgenthaler sure knows how to tell a story! This book is so emotional, compassionate, and absolutely heart-wrenching! I felt everything that these characters felt, and cried more than once while reading.

The Christmas You Found Me is well-developed, engaging, and authentic. Morgenthaler’s characters feel real and are people you can root for. This book explores everything that intrinsically makes us human, and captures the spirit of Christmas, not by making everything merry and bright, but rather by demonstrating how loving and supporting those most in need of a little compassion can change the world.

Trigger warning for anyone who has ever been handed the life experience of a child battling a chronic illness or a parent suffering from dementia.

Sienna, Guy, and Emma have my whole heart. I smiled and I ugly cried, and every minute of it was spectacular. This book even made me kind of interested in ranching, which I can safely say I was not at all before.

Christmas is in the title, but I wouldn’t even call this a Christmas book. It’s a book about grief and illness and finding the people who help us make the best out of tough moments. It’s about figuring out where we’re meant to be and who is supposed to be there alongside us. It’s about family and sacrifice and love in all its varying forms.

Look, Guy is a sweet, flirty, sexy book boyfriend (or husband of convenience, in this case), but it’s the way he and Sienna support each other that really makes their connection feel so real. I loved them together, and Emma is the cherry on top. She’s a real, well rounded character in her own right, not a plot device as kids sometimes are in fiction, and the book would be truly incomplete without her. I loved this little family so much.

One of my favorites from the year. Before I picked up this book, I knew of the loss the writer went through before writing this book. The dedications to her husband, and the acknowledgments had my heart hurting for you. This all made the grief and sadness within the story itself palpable. What a beautiful story with so many complexities.. I chuckled, I cried, and I couldn’t put it down. I adore Emma, Guy, Sen-na (lol). The dementia diagnosis with Sienna’s father was heartbreaking but so well written, as well as the scenes where she interacts with him.
In the course of the story, I even grew to not hate Micah.
I feel like there is so much more to say about this story but I just recommend for everyone to check it out for themselves. Trigger warnings are listed in the beginning and with the heavy topics (childhood kidney failure being a primary focus) I recommend those are read beforehand.
Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC.

I love Sarah Morgenthaler. I am used to her writing, silly little holiday books that make me giggle that have lots of holiday cheer and moose and Alaska vibes. This book was completely unlike anything else she has written before and I still loved it so much. It did break my heart and stomp it into pieces reading the note you can’t help but love this book.

A cute and cozy christmas read! I enjoyed the story and the characters as I got more and more into it. I love a good christmas book

This. Book.

I wasn’t ready. It made my heart ache in ways no other book has this year. I thought I was going to come out unscathed but then sweet little Emma has a scene that absolutely did me in.

Do I want you to read it and experience holiday heartbreak, too? Yes, yes, I do. I know the author has been through some deeply personal loses and the way she shares those in “The Christmas You Found Me” while still being hopeful makes this story absolutely beautiful.

Sarah, thank you for this book, these characters, the hope for better days. As a fan of your work, I appreciate you creating such a touching story. Your husband and son would be proud of you.

If you need a Christmas book that hits you in all the feels, this is it... just fair warning, if you listen on audio it may make you cry in your office. Even with that I loved this book. It was so sweet, and everything I want in a Christmas book.

It started as a joke. Sienna's friends decide it's time for her to move on from her divorce. So they placed an ad in the local paper "Husband For Hire". Only it wasn't a joke to Guy Maples. His young daughter Emma needs a kidney transplant, but they won't put her on the transplant list unless he can prove he can pay for the anti-rejection drugs she'll need after the surgery.

Guy's disappointment is evident when he learns the ad isn't for real. But Sienna can't stop thinking about young Emma. There's only one answer she can see, and so she proposes an unusual alliance, a marriage of convenience. Only the more time Sienna spends with Guy and Emma, the more she wants the marriage to be real.

The author captures Guy's fear and desperation. his love for his daughter is palpable. His efforts to say positive, to try his best to give Emma the most normal life he can are almost heroic. And yet, he's not afraid to admit to the feelings he is beginning to have for Sienna.

This is a powerfully emotional story, full of laughter and tears, fear and hope and, of course, love. At times it was hard to read. But I found this one of the most meaningful holiday stories I have read. It is a story I plan to read again and again. It is a reminder of just what is important not just during the holiday season, but every day of the year

I fell in love with Sarah Morgenthaler's Moose Springs books and I was so excited to see that she was back with a brand new book. The Christmas You Found Me is gorgeous and healing, but also wow is it a brutal gut punch of a book.

Sienna Naples is dealing with a lot. Her father is in a care facility, she just finalized her divorce, and she's trying to run a ranch all by herself. When her friend posts a "Husband Wanted" ad all around their small town, Sienna thinks it's a fun joke - until someone actually comes to apply. Guy Maple is close to drowning under the weight of medical bills for his small daughter, who has stage-five chronic kidney disease. He just needs a little help - and some health insurance - so he can pay for the anti-rejection meds Emma needs for a transplant. Sienna and Guy might just be the answer to each other's prayers, and maybe even more.

I could tell from reading this book that Sarah Morgenthaler needed to write it to process her grief. It's not an easy read - Emma's story is rough and life on the ranch is realistically harsh. Even though this is a romance and there is an HEA, I highly recommend being in the right state of mind before starting this story. But it's rewarding and lovely, even though the end made me cry. Both Sienna and Guy's stories are authentic and emotional, and while Emma occasionally felt older than her stated four years, she's a joy even amongst her trials. I know this is the start of a new series, and I can't wait to see other residents of this small Idaho town fall in love too.

4/5

Be still my broken, but hopeful heart. This story was packed with all the emotion. I'm normally a tough little Christmas cookie to crack, but throw in a little kid with health issues and I crumble. I loved the overall hopefulness this story had though, so even in the midst of all the hard you weren't feeling defeated.
This was a great marriage of convenience story for modern times - very believable and sweet. I really enjoyed this one and I'm hoping we get to see Charley's story next!??

Thank you to the author, publisher and @NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Y’all, I have turned in to a total sap because yet another book made me straight BAWL 😭 I’m a big fan of Morgenthaler’s Moose Springs series and this one was adorable. You know when there’s a sick kid involved, that there will be tears, but this was heartfelt and just the kind of good Christmas story we need sometimes.

I am so grateful to have had a chance to read an advanced copy of this wonderful book. It gave me ALL the feelings. 😄🥹☺️😭🥲🥺🥰

I didn’t read the blurb, but within the first few chapters, I had a feeling my heart was going to hurt when this book was over.

The story and characters drew me in right away and I immediately wanted to know more.

Sienna is newly divorced and alone at Christmastime- she needs her heart healed. Guy has a daughter who may not live to see the new year. When he shows up to answer a “Husband For Hire” ad that was supposed to be a joke, Sienna realizes how serious he is and how she may be able to help.

Together in a marriage of convenience they both strive to make life a bit easier for each other and end up finding hope and love again.

The fight in them is remarkable. The slow burn chemistry is brilliant. Both of their character development is inspiring. I was enthralled with the writing and found it hard to put down. I laughed, I cried. Oof- What a read!!

The Christmas You Found Me is about a lonely, down on her luck rancher, Sienna Naples, who finds a lonely, desperate father, Guy Maple, with a very ill daughter. When Sienna decides to help this beleaguered family, she changes not only thier life, but hers as well.

Every aspect of this novel presented like a Hallmark Christmas movie but there were much heavier elements at play here and it made the novel seem more like a drama than a romance. While the story was touching and engaging with sympathetic characters, some of the plot was quite unbelievable and other elements felt unresolved.

While I did enjoy the novel it was not a light and breezy Christmas read. Recommended for readers who want a holiday novel with a little more drama. 3 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for an advanced reader copy of this novel.

Huge thank you to NetGalley for this eARC

I simply adore Sarah Morgenthaler’s books. I was overjoyed when she announced another book coming. Let me tell you, it did NOT disappoint.

Make sure you check the trigger warnings because this book is incredibly intense in what the characters have going on in their lives regarding the health of those around them.

Sienna is so easy to fall in love with. How hard she fights. How grumpy she is. How big she loves.

Guy is the guy (had to) we all wish we had. He is so well articulated and you can feel his suffering and joy right through the page

Emma and Barley is the romance I’m here for though

No notes, I just want to to hang with their little town friends and never leave…. Except to go to Moose Springs ;)