This book was truly one of a kind. Laughter along with tears. This story was something special and truly heartwarming. Perfect for the upcoming Holiday season.

I loved Sarah's Alaska series, so when I saw her name, I clicked without even reading the blurb. This title gave me ALL the feels and made me ugly cry more than once. I loved the whole premise and Emma, bless her little heart, had me wrapped around her finger too. It had chemistry, excitement, and a lot of love. A great story!

This book was fantastic. As someone who has experienced a loved one with kidney failure, this was handled so beautifully. I laughed and cried. I loved the setting and the animals and the town, everything just truly came to life off of the page. I’ve read all of Sarah’s books and this was one of my favorites.

This one really pulled at the heart strings. I loved this little small town and it truly packed all the feels, I loved how this started with Sienna fresh out of a divorce. This town was so sweet and I will definitely be reading more by this author! If your looking to pull on your heartstrings with a Christmas romance and has a HEA I highly recommend this one!

This is a Christmas romance for the rancher/cowboy romance fans.

I like the layers of love in this, how it's just as much about a lonely woman falling in love with a little girl as it is falling for her father. The romantic love story is sweet and sparkling, and Guy is an absolute gem, who feels like a surprisingly wonderful bonus who comes along at just the right time. The ranching and Idaho details read rich and authentic, not like a "book horse ranch" but a real cattle ranch, complete with stained Carhardtt jackets and grumpy mules.

This emotional, heart-tugging book is in a different tone than Morgenthaler's very funny outdoor themed Alaska rom coms (which I loved!) which just shows she's not a one trick pony about what types of stories and characters she can write. Don't expect a fluffy Hallmark rom com, but it still gets its Christmasy happy ending after all.

A solidly written, emotionally moving romance.

This was a different tone than the norm from Morganthaler. A story of grief, struggle, survival, love and hope, it will tug your heartstrings in all sorts of ways. Going into the story previously knowing it was going to be a heavy one prepared me for what was to come within the novel’s plot.

The found family aspect was lovely but there was too much of an instalove that I couldn’t buy into. There was also a serious occurrence involving Guy’s daughter that seemed to have been brushed aside a bit too breezily by the main character, Sienna, when in reality, most would be angry about it and take a bit of time to get over it. However, I loved how the supporting cast of character rallied for the Maple family when they needed it most.

THE CHRISTMAS YOU FOUND ME – Sarah Morgenthaler
Heart of the Wilderness, Book 1
Sourcebooks Casablanca
ISBN: 978-1728249209
September 24, 2024
Contemporary Romance

Caney Falls, Idaho – Present Day

Rancher Sienna Naples just finalized a nasty divorce that saw her ex-husband take most of what she once had. What she has left is her family’s ranch and the cattle she raises to support herself. Her best friend, on a lark, puts an ad in the local newspaper advertising for a husband for Sienna. It isn’t really what Sienna needs after a disastrous marriage, but a strange man walks into the coffee shop and asks to interview for the position. Sienna listens to Guy Maples and her heart cannot help but break for him. His four-year-old daughter is on dialysis and needs a new kidney ASAP. But in order to keep on the list, he has to meet certain criteria. Marrying Sienna would give him insurance and the apparent financial ability to keep her on the list. To Sienna and Guy’s surprise, they agree to marry.

The marriage will be in name only, but Sienna is soon falling in love with Guy’s daughter, Emma. Of course, Guy isn’t bad himself. In THE CHRISTMAS YOU FOUND ME, we see two hardworking people come together to try and make life better for a little girl. Christmas is nearly here, and while Sienna might not have bothered to think about the holiday, she will do whatever it takes to make it merry and bright for Emma. Along the way, Sienna becomes attached to both Guy and Emma, and her feelings for Guy are turning into something she never expected after her divorce: love. But as Emma’s condition worsens, will finding love be enough to pull her through?

Readers will cry and laugh as we get to know Sienna, Guy, and Emma in THE CHRISTMAS YOU FOUND ME. Life isn’t easy living on a remote ranch in the mountains of Idaho. Winters are harsh and losing cattle is something ranchers fear. But Sienna isn’t afraid of working hard and she soon learns Guy will do anything to help her out and keep Emma safe. You will fall in love with these three and root for Emma to get a kidney transplant. The chemistry between Sienna and Guy is apparent as they work side by side and interact. How long will it be before Emma sees Sienna as the mother she has never really had? How long before Sienna and Guy decided to share a bed and discover the magic of love?

Will THE CHRISTMAS YOU FOUND ME end in a feel-good way? Things are bumpy for these three wonderful characters, and you can only hope that they end up happily ever after. Discover the magic of love and hope by grabbing a copy of this beautiful tale.

Patti Fischer
Romance Reviews Today

I laughed and enjoyed the author’s previous romance series set in Moose Springs, Alaska. I wasn’t prepared for the seriousness and sweetness of her new book that begins a new series. Set in rural Idaho, Sienna Naples runs a cattle ranch that has been in her family for generations. The story begins on the day her divorce is final. Her best friend jokingly runs an advertisement in the local paper where they work advertising for a husband for Sienna.

Guy Maple answers the ad in hopes that maybe it could lead to a job. He works as a carpenter in construction and is the sole parent to Emma who is four. She is also in stage-five kidney failure. Sienna is land rich but cash poor and there isn’t much she can do to help the pair. But in the spirit of Christmas she suggests a marriage of purpose. The main thing she has to offer is insurance that will prove Guy can afford anti-rejection medicines so Emma can be on the transplant list.

I cried more than once reading this story. Guy and Sienna are genuinely kind to each other and both caring of Emma. I loved Barley the dog too. As someone who has lost extended family to kidney disease this one touched home. Sienna is still healing from her divorce and has a father with Alzheimer’s. Along with the hardships that take place in the few weeks the story covers there is joy. Good friends are supportive and caring. Seemingly this is the first in a series that I assume will focus on others in the town. I did like the epilogue giving me a glimpse of their HEA. I was especially touched by the author's note at the end of the book.

Sienna is divorced and her friend places an ad meant to be a joke, Husband for hire, Guy shows up with his daughter who needs a kidney transplant. it becomes a marriage of convivence, or is it?

Sierra is embarrassed. As a joke, after she and her husband divorced, Sierra’s best friend put out an ad in the local paper. It read, “Wanted: Husband for Hire”. Now someone has taken it seriously and responded to the ad! Sierra can’t believe it!
Guy Maple is desperate, otherwise he never would have paid attention to such an advertisement. He has a very serious reason for his unusual behavior; a four-year-old, blue-eyed, on-a-donor-list for a kidney transplant, reason..
Sweet romance, beautiful scenes of wilderness country, and a child protagonist that will steal your heart away (and make you want to go hug your own kids extra tightly).

*I received a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.*

Sienna Naples's family has been on the family's Idaho land for generations. This Christmas she will be alone after a painful divorce. Her BFF puts an ad in the paper about her needing a husband to help with the ranch; it was meant as a joke. Guy Maple is looking for help and when he sees the ad he tracks her down only to find it was a joke. Guy is taking care of his four-year-old daughter that is in need of a kidney transplant, and he needs to have a steady income so she will qualify for the transplant surgery. When he tracks Sienna down in the she has to let him know she is not really in the need of a husband. Sienna sense the desperation in Guy and they strike a bargain to marry, and she will provide insurance for him and his daughter.
Guy and Emma move in at the ranch, and she realizes just how bad his situation is and has fallen in love with his daughter. This is a wonderful heartfelt story on helping others and opening your heart to love.

Well that was emotional as heck!
I had no idea what this was about but I really wanted to check this out considering I really liked the other author’s work.
I don’t want to make this review about the author only, but I’m glad she decided to write again. This book was wonderful.
As a reader, I can tell the author pounded her heart into it. That in itself makes the book great.
Now add the loving characters: A strong and hardworking woman. A kind and loving father. A sweet and funny little girl. Each one of them brings a light to this story. The deeper themes are well balanced with its characters. You care because of the characters and that was my favorite part.

I was holding my breath and hopeful with Sienna and Guy. I was smiling reading Emma playing with the dog and the mule.

This story is about family and what it means and it was so well realized. The thing that made this book for me was family.
Then add the holiday season and the romance? *chefs kiss*

I really loved this book and I decided to give it 5 stars. ⭐️ it’s worth a read this holiday season.

I’ll be thinking about these characters the rest of the week. Maybe the rest of the year.

***THIS BOOK NEEDS CONTENT WARNINGS***

Rancher Sienna is alone at Christmas after her divorce. Her life is turned upside down when she meets handsome single dad Guy and his chronically ill daughter Emma. Sienna proposes a marriage of convenience to help Emma get the insurance she needs. Soon, though, Sienna is falling for Guy and his daughter. Could their arrangement turn into a real family?

I have nothing negative to say about Sarah Morgenthaler or this book. Both are brilliant. However, I’m very upset at how this book is being marketed with no regard to how the potentially triggering content could affect readers.

This book is not a romance. The central plot is not a love story. This women’s fiction novel is primarily about Emma’s illness. It’s distressing from start to finish. Sienna and Guy don’t have much of relationship beyond caring for Emma and supporting each other emotionally. They’re a lovely couple, but they’ve barely gotten to know each other by the end of the book.

Even before Sienna met Guy, this book triggered my depression. It just got worse from there. I’ve enjoyed Morgenthaler’s books in the past, and this novel has a cute rom com cover, so I figured the sad tone would turn more positive as the book progressed. Nope. Sad all the way through.

The cover, the genre designation, and the book description are completely out of alignment with the content of this book. This novel isn’t like Morgenthaler’s previous books that I’ve read. The publisher is being incredibly irresponsible in the way they’re marketing this content.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

It's been a few years between books for Sarah Morganthaler, after reading the acknowledgments it's an understood break and one that heavily influenced this book.

We meet Sienna fresh off a divorce with a friend trying to cheer her up with an ad for a news husband for Sienna. Through that ad we meet Guy and then in the first few chapters they're married.

Then the marriage of convenience begins... but really it's a story of grief and growth told through the lens of that trope. Sienna is grieving the 'what if' of her marriage, finding new footing in life and a father who's battling dementia. Guy is father to a 4-year-old in desperate need of a kidney transplant and he's balancing it with coping mechanisms to keep his grief at bay.

Putting them together in this situation forces each of them to face different parts of themselves and in a sense rediscover aspects of their humanity.

It's a moving and emotional book, I really enjoyed it.

This was such a heartwarming story! I absolutely loved it, and recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a story of love, grief, family, all set on a small town picturesque ranch.

This begins as a marriage of convenience, but so quickly becomes so much more. The characters are so lovely, you can really see their story develop, and you’re immediately bought into their love story.

I couldn’t put this book down! Definitely pick this up for a great winter read.

An emotional, hallmark-y, warm hug Christmas romance.

From the dedication, I KNEW this book was going to break me. It was worth every tear.

When the weather cools down, and the holiday spirit kicks in, this book will be the perfect companion.

A marriage of convenience with honesty and good communication, this book felt like a breath of fresh air. It was equal parts sweet and sad with a holiday spin.

Honestly, I’m not sure where to start on this one other than the fact that ‘THE CHRISTMAS YOU FOUND ME’ emotionally destroyed me in the best way possible (all my favorites do).

Listen, if you are looking for a sweet, light Christmas rom-com, this probably is not going to be the book for you, but if you are like me and need your books filled with real characters, storylines with grit, and a heart wrenching plot that weaves it all together- this is the book you need to pick up for the upcoming holiday season.

Tropes
• Small Town
• Cowgirl Meets “Townie”
• Single Dad
• Marriage of Convenience
• Clean/Closed-Door Romance
• Found Family
• Slow Burn

Plot
Guy Maple has tried to carry a heavy load for far too long. As a single dad, he’s struggled to balance finding work and holding a job that will also allow him to care for his dying daughter. One day he decides to swallow what’s left of his pride (all in the name of saving his daughter) and follows up on a local newspaper ad for a ‘Husband for Hire’ all in the name of the medical insurance that the ad is offering for the right candidate.

On the day her divorce is finalized, Sienna Naple’s is not only taken aback by the audacity of her best friend running an ad on her behalf in the local newspaper as a middle finger to Sienna’s ex-husband, she finds herself sharing a coffee with a man willing to fill the open position.

What follows is one of the most tender, selfless novels I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading as these two characters realize this Christmas will either make or break them with what they must overcome together.

Characters
All the characters in this story were wonderful and filled their positions in the book perfectly. Sienna is a strong female lead. Her obvious love language of ‘acts of service’ and wanting to take care of everyone and everything (relatable), even if it risks her own heart. Emma- a young girl wise beyond her years, yet every bit a broken child who just needs love and security in a world of harsh realities. Her actions throughout the whole story, I thought were believable not only for her age, but also for the cards she’d been dealt in life.

And my man- Guy. He gets a paragraph all his own, because in the hundreds of books I’ve read I’m not sure I’ve found a more perfect book boyfriend who is just absolute kryptonite for me. He’s sensitive and caring. Protective and honest. A strong communicator. Funny. Charming. And honestly, this list could go on forever. Most importantly though- he is the world’s best dad and husband (even if the marriage is more out of necessity than love). And good lord- this man and his sexy grins and winks would make any single woman willingly offer herself in marriage. Who knew men winking in books was such a turn on? Haha. Guy Maple’s cracked that code, ladies.

Final Thoughts
This novel had it all. I laughed. I gasped. I swooned. I cried. That only happens when you are immersed in a book and feel so strongly for the characters and the story they are living on the pages that you can’t help feeling everything they feel. This marriage of convenience was one of the best I’ve ever read. Sarah did a phenomenal job at accurately portraying the awkwardness of the situation, but more importantly she was able to show the heart of these characters in a way that you couldn’t help but root for. The development of their relationship as family and a couple was believable and beautiful to experience.

What I wasn’t expecting, was the hints of faith and discussions about God and prayer that were sprinkled throughout the story. The conversation that Guy and Sienna had about their struggles with faith through hard times was exceptionally done. I’m a firm believer in what Guy said about how God answers our prayers but maybe not in the ways we want at the time, but always the way we need. (Like I mentioned earlier- this MMC gets all the stars in my opinion- he’s a 100!)

Overall, this was a heartwarming novel and one I’m so thankful to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC. Now I need the physical book because this is one of those stories, I plan to read every year for Christmas just to experience this beautiful ride all over again.

Sienna's divorce has been finalized and as a joke, Sienna's best friend decides to put a "hiring a husband" ad that comes with great pay, great insurance, and other benefits!! This definitely puts a smile on Sienna's face and her best friend even sets up an interview with someone named guy Maple.

Sienna decides to just meet this person and lets him know that the ad was a joke. Guy was definitely understanding and he had explained to her that he was desperate. The reason for Guy being desperate: he needs good insurance to help his daughter Emma, who has stage 5 chronic kidney disease. This illness has really stressed Guy out, especially since he is a single dad without much support.

After meeting Guy, she can't stop thinking about how she could help and then she comes up with a genius plan. She decides to call Guy up and offers to marry him. They could live in her huge farm and they both can enjoy the benefits of having great insurance. Guy actually accepts the offer and does his best to help Sienna around the farm while also working on a construction project.

How does Sienna do with Emma? How's Emma's life now that Guy and Emma have moved in? Will Emma get the transplant she needs in order to survive?

I always love what Sarah Morgenthaler writes. This one is more emotional than her other books and I highly recommend this book. it is a "holiday" book, but it's not really screaming out holiday season except for snow and a few holiday traditions like decorating stockings for the animals on the farm.

First, thank you to Sarah Morgenthaler and Netgalley for providing this ARC.

I was not, at all, prepared for this book!

The truth is, despite having the book The Tourist Attraction on my TBR, I didn't get to read it last Christmas and, therefore, this was the first one I read by this author. And it didn't disappoint at all!

I felt every emotion possible with this book and I have to say that I full on sobbed in the last chapters.
The way this book is written made me feel everything the characters were feeling and I love it when a book can convey that to me.

It's a book with marriage of convenience and, of course, I love this trope, but this one is very well done!

Sienna is such an empathetic person that, after learning about Guy's story, she simply wants to help in some way and she then proposes that they get married so that Guy and his daughter are entitled to her health insurance.

And Guy is a desperate father who is willing to do anything, even accept a proposal from an ad meant to be a joke. And the truth is, he got the best for his daughter!

I thought this book portrayed these two's first hours of marriage very well, as we noticed an akwardness for a while, normal for two people who don't know each other, have just gotten married and are living in the same house. I really liked that this portrayed reality.

The way they develop their relationship is simply perfect. And I liked the fact that it was a different fake relationship than normal. That is, there hasn't been that whole "how are we going to fool everyone?" thing. I really feel that the relationship developed in the most natural way possible.

The way these two support each other is just relationship goals!

And Guy's daughter?? How loving! The way in which she deals with the disease I think it was very spot on. I really think this is how a child would react to being so sick and having so many restrictions.

I loved the way Sienna fell in love with little Emma, ​​it was just adorable.
And in the last chapters: the way Sienna deals with what happens was heartbreaking.

Despite being a book set at Christmas, we don't have too much information about it, which I thought was good. I think it was enough.

Read this book, please!
I want a physical copy by yesterday

Love it all- the quirky cast, the sweet romance and the setting outside of Moose Springs for such a different feel/vibe.