Publication: September 24th, 2024

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This made me feel every emotion for the characters, set in a small town in Idaho.

Guy Maple, a dedicated single father, is determined to provide for his four-year-old daughter, Emma, who is fighting stage five chronic kidney disease. Sienna Naples, fresh from a divorce, has no desire for romance. However, when a friend jokingly places a husband-seeking ad for her, the humorous intent prompts Sienna to impulsively decide to get married within a day. She commits to the marriage to support them, with no anticipation or plans of falling in love; her sole aim is to help Emma during this challenging time.

I love this book so much every time I wasn't listening to it I was thinking about it, The narration was so good!

Thank You Netgalley and Dreamscape Media

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

***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.

Sienna's divorce is final today. Her best friend added a "husband wanted" ad in the local newspaper as a joke. Except in comes a handsome stranger, skinny with threadbare clothes, asking for the job. Guy is a single father to Emma- who is in renal failure at four years old. Sienna feels terrible telling him it was a joke. As she goes home and thinks, she has to help. She calls Guy and offers to marry him. They get married 24 hours after they met. Both Sienna and Guy are used to carrying everything alone. As they try to navigate fake marriage life, they both realize it is nice to have someone to count on. And they are also physically attracted to each other. Soon the fake marriage of convenience starts to feel real.

While I never actually cried, I was on the verge for the entire book. Right from the beginning. There was a section in the second half where the tear jerking slowed and it felt like a normal romance, but it of course ramped back up.

This is more than a romance. It is two people, struggling through life, who find someone to help with their burdens. It is sweeter and deeper than your typical romance.

Haley Taylor narrates the audiobook and does a good job.

I received an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received this advance audiobook from NetGalley in late summer, before it’s even officially fall, but I am ready to embrace all the Christmas feels after listening to this beautiful story.

The premise is somewhat out there. Sienna, just coming off a contentious divorce, has fought to maintain control of the ranch and livestock that have long been part of her family and her Idaho community. Her BFF Jess (referred to by the pronoun “they” in a nice but not heavy-handed nod to LGBTQ+ inclusion) works at the local paper and puts in a practical joke classified ad about Sienna looking for a husband for hire. Benefits included! When Guy, a desperate single father, responds, Sienna finds his reasons so compelling that she actually decides she has nothing to lose. They end up married, on paper at least, within a day. Sienna’s ex-husband is very angry, and if you guessed that Sienna and Guy might start falling in real love based on the cover here, along with his adorable child who’s dealing with a very unfair lot in life, I don’t think that is giving much away in this heartwarming Hallmark type of story.

At one point Sienna mentions they’ve been together for two weeks but it feels like another lifetime, and I realized how willing I was to fully believe this instalove because the characters felt so genuine and right. Sienna is refreshingly even-keeled, perhaps even too much so, when facing situations that would cause a lot of characters in similar novels to react in highly emotional ways. There is a situation where she would be entirely justified losing her cool with her new family, yet she is kind and understanding, allowing her love for them to be the bigger force. She handles situations with her highly triggering ex and her father, suffering from dementia, with grace. For a little while I thought narrator Haley Taylor was too low-key, until I realized she was exactly on point for Sienna’s personality. Guy could not have been a more decent character, dealing with a desperately unfair set of circumstances in life, and I loved how little Emma was precious but also not immune to the occasional very human meltdown. Writing her as a perfect angel enduring all of her suffering with no complaint would have been lazy and unrealistic.

Thank you, #NetGalley, #DreamscapeMedia and #SarahMorgenthaler for this heartwarming read! Look for it on Sept. 24.

Sienna is recently divorced and jokingly places an ad for a new husband. Guy walks in thinking the ad was real and is looking for any help. His young daughter has medical needs and he’ll take whatever work he can get to show that he can afford her medication before a transplant is approved. On a whim, Sienna decides to marry Guy in order to get Emma the medical care she needs. This marriage of convenience benefits both of them and they vow to be good to one another for Emma’s sake.

I did not expect this book to rip my heart out a little bit but it did! I was crying and hoping for these people like I knew them. I loved their deal and how willing everyone was to help one another, these characters were so sweet. The story leads up to Christmas and I definitely felt the Christmas vibes throughout. This was such a good tear jerker!

This audiobook was narrated by Haley Taylor. She was perfect for portraying these sweet gentle characters. She did amazing.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Sarah Morgenthaler, and Dreamscape Media for providing this free ARC. This is my honest review. This publishes on September 23rd.

I have posted my review on Goodreads, my Facebook book club, and will make a TikTok to post before the pub date raving about this book!

Sienna is recently divorced and living alone when Guy responds to a ad that's meant to be a joke stating that Sienna is looking for a husband and she has health insurance. Guy is a single dad with a four year old daughter who has stage five kidney disease. He needs health insurance and a way to prove he can afford medication post kidney transplant in order for her to stay on the donor list. They agree to a marriage of convenience but soon they begin to see it's more than just that.

I was not expecting this to be such an emotional book. I cried multiple times. The Christmas aspect of it was smaller than I'd expected but they do have a fun Christmas event and the characters participate in Christmas activities. It was a good story and I enjoyed the characters, but I would not consider this to be a get you in the Christmas spirit book.

I listened to the audio for this book and I enjoyed the narrator.

CW for this book include divorce, a parent with Alzheimers, sick child, kidney disease

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I rcvd a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion, from Netgalley and Dreamscape Media.

This was so much more than I expected it to be. So full of emotions after reading listen to this. It started out as a typical cute romance but evolved into real life issues that really pulls you in. I cried. I laughed. Cried some more and then sobbed. The book ended with smiles and left me wanting more of Sienna and Guy's story!

The narrator was perfection. She really did a fantastic job. I'll be looking for more from her.

I went into this book expecting a lighthearted, cute, and funny single dad romance, but instead, it hit me right in the feels and had me sobbing so hard. The emotional depth caught me off guard, and I couldn’t stop crying. Now I just need more of these characters and their story! The narration was actually pretty good, even though it was single narration. It worked well for the story despite that!

This book is a Christmas love letter to anyone who loves a marriage of convenience trope story with some depth!

Our book starts off with Sienna who is fresh off of a divorce that was a long time coming. When her friend puts an ad in the paper as a joke looking for a husband for Sienna we meet Guy. Guy Maple is a single father who is down on his luck. He is looking for a job and any way to help get through the mountain of medical bills while doing anything he can to save his little girl Emma. When Sienna meets Guy there offer of marriage is out before she can even stop to ask herself is this the right thing to do.

This book was a sweet mixture of Christmas fluff and hard topics. There is an aging parents, a sick near dying little girl all while navigating a new divorce and holiday stress. Despite the idea of a marriage of convenience seeming far fetched (especially when they even call it a marriage of convenience multiple times throughout the book) I loved the story. I found myself fighting tears while reading about Emma's health struggles as well as smiling and giggling while Guy and Sienna find a way to navigate their blossoming feelings.

I recommend this to anyone who wants a Christmas story with a little depth mixed in with the romance fluff around the holidays. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this story.

After her best friend runs a joke ad in the local paper for a husband on the day her divorce is finalized, Sienna finds herself sitting across the table from Guy who is applying for the job - unironically.

Sienna is sad and alone and reeling from an ugly divorce where she managed to keep the family ranch but lost her soul and all her possessions to the awful ex.

Guy is looking for work. His four year old daughter, Emma, needs a kidney and without proof that he can afford the anti-rejection drugs, she’ll get taken off the list.

Sienna can’t really help him - money is tight - but she can get him and Emma on her insurance…if they get married.

I’m not generally a fan of insta love but I gotta say, Guy is the definition of someone you’d instantly love, so I’ll allow it. Emma is adorable and her part in bringing Sienna and Guy together is sweet. She calls her, “Senna” which struck me as cute every time.

Also, the cover absolutely put me in a holiday mood!

That said, it slowly but surely revealed itself to be a Hallmark movie of a book - which isn’t a bad thing, but a thing I feel compelled to share should that sway you one way or another. There’s also a very sick little girl, so if that’s a trigger for you, be warned.

In doubt? It’s an easy audiobook to play to put you in the holiday spirit.

Thanks to @dreamscapemedia and @netgalley for the audiobook ARC to listen to. This one is available September 24, 2024.

I've read some other books from this author, so I was super excited to see that she was back with a new release after taking some much deserved time off. This book was so good. If you are in need of a good cry, this is the book for you. Sienna is newly divorced when her best friend Jess puts an ad in the local paper for a husband for hire as a joke. Unknowingly, Guy responds to the ad, because he needs to show proof that he can afford anti-rejection meds for his daughter's kidney transplant. Sienna cant stop thinking about Guy and his daughter Emma, and offers to marry him to use her ranch as proof of being able to afford the anti-rejection meds. The very next day, they get married and move into Sienna's ranch home. With two new people in her home, she starts to develop feelings for Guy and Emma. This book is full of angst, love, sadness, and heartwarming emotions. If you are in need of a good cry, this is the book for you, and I mean that in the very best way possible. Thank you Sara for such a beautiful story! #TheChristmasYouFoundMe #NetGalley

The Christmas You Found Me brings us Sienna and Guy, who marry for convenience and find more than they expected. Guy’s daughter needs a kidney transplant and he can’t get one done for her without some help. They marry to increase the chances of her surgery , but soon discover a family. Sweet story

This one was not at all what I expected and so VERY different from Morgenthaler's Moose Springs series. The start was slow, and the way the relationship between Guy and Sienna developed was super awkward at times. Once I settled into the rhythm of the book, I did find myself enjoying the plot and what was happening. This is not your typical holiday romance and is much heavier than most Hallmark holiday movies. I think I prefer the Moose Springs series, but I see that this is the start of a new series, and I will definitely check out the next book!

THE FEELS.

I easily hand off five stars to any book that makes me cry because it's really hard to do so and this book earned those tears. I was a puddle finishing it and all of the emotions that came together (don't worry, it's a HEA!).

I loved these flawed characters leaning on each other through hard seasons of life. I was obsessed with Guy and his endearing qualities. A man who got up and did the hard things every single day. Who loved with such fierce loyalty. I loved everything about him and how well he balanced with Sienna. And I loved Sienna's tenacity too. Her impulsivity to help someone in need became the best decision she ever made. The journey captured my attention and I couldn't help but pick this book up because it continually draws you in.

The audiobook narration is AMAZING. I loved it. I loved how the narrator worked with Guy's voice and how Emma's voice wasn't too childlike. I loved this soft romance set on a beautiful mountain filled back drop. It is filled with all the things I love and I am so thankful that Sarah Morgenthaler wrote another book. She is one of my favorites and this is a perfect holiday gem.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Holiday Romance
- Language: low
- Romance: fade to black
- Violence: low
- Content Warnings: a child with kidney failure (theme throughout), divorce, mentions of PPD (side character), emesis

Perfect if you love your holiday stories to be heartwarming, Hallmark-esque, and filled with MCs you can root for! I especially loved that we had a single dad that would do anything for his seriously ill daughter, without the overbearing masculinity that can come across as in-genuine and gross (especially in audio reading formats). Really enjoyed this one and especially happy I was approved for the audio version.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape media for the opportunity to review this ARC in exchange for a potential review.

I do not know what I was expecting from this book but I can say this went above and beyond anything I could have hoped for! I love to listen to a book and feel like I am in the story and this author did just that. As someone who has experienced the heart wrenching things in this story I appreciate the attention to detail and how the author moved through the good and bad times. The love in the story was evident 🥰🥰🥰 I can’t wait to listen again!

This was a super cute story. I loved the Guy Maple he is so sweet and a great dad. Sienna is a strong female lead and I love how she just steps right in to help Guy and Emma. I felt like this book moved fast but the releationship between Guy and Sienna didn't feel like it was rushed. I loved that Guy gave Sienna the spave she needed to come to terms with her own feelings. It was a great read and the prefect book for the holiday season. I would definately reccomend this to my friends.

If you are looking for a quick and light holiday read, this is not it. It's emotionally heartbreaking and heartfelt and end with a happy ending. The narrator does an excellent job really pulling you in and connecting you with the story. 4.75 stars.

4.5⭐
Genre ~ holiday romance
Series ~ Heart of the Wilderness, #1
Setting ~ Idaho
Publication date ~ September 24, 2024
Publisher ~ Sourcebooks Casablanca, Dreamscape Media
Est Page Count ~ 304 (p+ 25 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 9 hours 24 minutes
Narrator ~ Haley Taylor
POV ~ single 1st, present tense
Featuring ~ small town, marriage of convenience, found family, single dad, 4 year old with kidney failure, slow burn, strangers to friends to lovers, no steamage

Sienna is fresh off a divorce when her bff put an ad in the paper as a joke that she's looking for a husband for hire. Never expecting anyone to respond she's shocked when Guy shows up for an interview. You see Guy's 4 year old daughter, Emma, is in kidney failure and he needs insurance to take care of her. She can't possibly help this man, can she? After thinking about it some Sienna proposes a marriage of convenience. Guy gladly accepts and they're married in less than 24 hours of meeting each other. And I gotta say I don’t hate a marriage of convenience when it’s to try to save a baby’s life.

As you can imagine we get an emotional journey as we follow the difficulties that Emma faces while she waits for a kidney transplant, Guy as a father that is doing the best he can for his daughter, and Sienna as she slowly falls in love with both of them. Sienna's father has dementia, so that brings out some heart wrenching moments as well.

Overall, a heartwarming story with characters you can't help but fall in love with and root for.

Narration notes:
I thought she did a great job. She really gave Guy a somber tone, which worked well for everything this character is facing day to day.

The Christmas You Found Me is written by Sarah Morgenthaler and narrated by Haley Taylor.

This heartwarming tale transcends the holiday season. While Christmas is a backdrop, it’s primarily a story of love and family. It tackles difficult themes with sensitivity, leaving a lasting impression. The narrator perfectly complements the emotional journey.

Publication date is Sep 24 2024.