Thirteen Candles

Starlight Canyon #1

by Sienna Judd

Sam Rider is mouthy, bossy, uppity as shit, and I have no choice but to deal with her smart-mouth since she’s my daughter’s teacher.

Sam waltzes into our small town on a temporary contract equipped with brochures and more change than a single dad can handle. I never trusted anybody to tell me what to do and I sure as hell won’t start with Sam, ten years younger, a city girl and only in Starlight Canyon for the short haul.

I have to watch those sassy pink lips tell me what’s right for three solid months and she won’t stop until I change my mind. Thing is, the more we get to know each other, the more I want to change her mind, too.

About leaving.

Welcome to Starlight Canyon, a small town of grumpy cowboys and the women that bring them to their knees. These books bring high heat and emotion. 18+ advisable. Trigger- fertility issues.

Genres: Westerns, Enemies To Lovers, Romance, Small Town Romance, Forced Proximity, Cowboy Romance, Contemporary Romance

Unknown Binding

About the author

Sienna Judd is a small town, contemporary romance author who lives for all the spice and book boyfriends who are book husband material.

Sienna is an American girl married to her Prince Charming. She lives with her husband, three children, pony, dogs, guinea pigs and countless other animals on a small farm in England. She thinks kitchens are for dancing, is everybody's hype girl and might be known for talking too loudly.

Like every respectable woman she also loves drinking champagne and eating half of every chocolate in a truffles box.

Her spirit animal is a butterfly.

Reviews

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW WOW WOW. Sienna Judd is a new author to me and I am obsessed with her writing style.

This story hooked me from the beginning. Once I learned that Thirteen Candles has all my favorite tropes: I knew I had to read this and I am SO HAPPY I did.

✨small town
✨single dad
✨cowboy
✨enemies to lovers
✨forced proximity
✨age gap

I loved Colt & Sam’s story so much this might be one of my favorite small town romances ever.

If you loved:
✨in a jam by Kate Canterbary
✨heartless by Elsie Silver
… read this book!!!

🌶️🌶️🌶️

[Ashley Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, 🌶️🌶️🌶️

small town romance
Enemies to lovers
Single dad + cowboy
Mental health rep
Forced proximity
Age gap

a new to me author that I am now ✨obsessed✨ with!

Consumed this book so fast! It started off so strong and the storyline stayed solid! I loved Sam + Colt!

Sam was the easiest character to love. A people pleaser who wants the best for everyone, loves hard but also isn’t scared to speak her mind when needed! I love her relationship with Eve & how easy going she was!

Colt is the best daddy! I love his love for Eve, the way he does everything with the best intentions. & the little things he did once Sam was in his life and he realized how amazing she was! && the mouth on this man 🌶️🌶️🌶️ was not expecting this book to be so spicy but just an added bonus to the already great story❤️‍🔥

&& can’t leave out Colts mama who was so welcoming! So excited to see how the rest of this series is & getting to know the rest of the characters.

[Bumble Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of light after the dark.

In dire need of a dark romance book cleanse, I turned to Thirteen Candles, by Sienna Judd.
Needing just a hint of small town goodness and a dash of hot cowboys I thought this was the book I needed.

And it did the job and more!

With Colt (MMC) as the single 'cowboy' Dad and Sam (FMC) as the SEN teacher of the Colts little girl. So, we start with a little situation, where Sam tries to question some of Colt's parenting decisions. Which doesn't go down well with our single, yummy, cowboy Dad.
But don't fear, as it soon turns into heated stares, secret yearnings, then down to the good stuff.

Now things don't get heated till gone 50% in, but when it does starts it's good, like real good 🥵
The spice isn't overly dirty (like butt stuff etc 😂) it's just very detailed. I've never read about how it feels for a man to blow in such fine detail before, it was surprisingly hot to read!

Yeah the story line is as old as time, especially with the age gap, single dad trope. But I really liked it!
Also I am a sucker for any books that have a character with SEN and Colts (the MMC) little daughter stole the show for me ❤️

I've downloaded the next book, as I feel quite invested in this series. Whether that lasts or not, I don't know? But the spicy scenes and the story line has peaked my interest.

On to the next one!

[María · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una GRATA SORPRESA. Fue un romance muy refrescante de leer. La relación no se sintió forzada, tenían buena química y el spice estuvo bien. No le tenía mucha fé pero me alegra haberme equivocado, lo disfruté muchísimo.

[Kat's Books & Brews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it. It’s a new to me author, and I got sucked in by a reel, but it was for the second book. I’m not mentally capable of jumping into a series without starting at the beginning.

I just didn’t feel the connection with Sam and Colt. Like it felt a bit rushed.

[Catie · Rating 3 out of 5]

What was with the abrupt ass ending??????

[Kacey Daniels {hiatus} · Rating 2 out of 5]

The guy in this book is terrible. Like I want to find him hot and he easily should be since he’s a caring, single-dad, cowboy, but he’s such an ass and not the good kind.

He tells her they should be friends but every time they’re together ask her if “she’s sure she can handle being friends with him” like such a jerk wtf!

Eve and Sam are the best parts and I love the DS rep but he ruins this book. I hardly made it through and it’s not even 300 pages which should have made it a breeze.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the words of Colt: “I now know the true meaning of being hung like a horse. Maybe that’s why girls cowboys.” Why yes sir, that and your mouth are exactly why we like cowboys LOL. Loved this read! It was quick, spicy and full of cowboys/ranch life.

You’ll enjoy this read if you love:
Single dad
Age gap
Small town (like real small)
Cowboys
Angst + a dirty mouthed cowboy

[LoveBooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

‧💛₊ ❛𝓢𝓪𝓶 𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓼 𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓲𝓷 𝓶𝔂 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓵𝓭, 𝓘 𝓷𝓮𝓮𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓮 𝓸𝓷 𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓼.❜

🕯️┊➛ single dad
🕯️┊➛ cowboy x city girl
🕯️┊➛ parent x teacher
🕯️┊➛ enemies to friends to lovers
🕯️┊➛ small town romance
🕯️┊➛ down syndrome rep
🕯️┊➛ mental health rep
🕯️┊➛ adopted fmc

🤠“ℰ𝓋ℯ𝓃 𝓉𝒽ℴ𝓊𝑔𝒽 𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝒸ℯ 𝒾𝓈 𝒷𝓊𝓏𝓏𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓉𝒾𝒸 𝓈ℴ𝓊𝓃𝒹𝓈, 𝒽ℯ𝓇 𝓁𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉ℯ𝓇 𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒽ℯ ℴ𝓃𝓁𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝐼 𝒽ℯ𝒶𝓇.”🤠

The start of the book was fantastic and pulled me right in! I loved the tension between Sam and Colt and the way they gradually figured out who the other was. Eve, Colt's daughter, was absolutely adorable, and her relationship with Sam was so sweet.

🤠“𝐼’𝓂 𝒻𝓊𝒸𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓂𝒾𝓈ℯ𝓇𝒶𝒷𝓁ℯ 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽ℴ𝓊𝓉 𝒽ℯ𝓇.”🤠

But as I got further into the book, around the 40% mark, some of the writing started to feel a bit awkward. It threw me off and even made me feel a bit disconnected from Colt at times. It was just kind of strange, and I'm not sure why it was written like that. Also, the ending felt super abrupt. I was really surprised when it ended so suddenly and had to double-check the last few pages to make sure I hadn't missed anything.😭

★★☆☆☆
⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝: ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

˗ˋˏ “𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕.” ˎˊ˗

[Omnya Ali (Free Palestine) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5/5
Don't miss the trigger warning ⚠️

I finished it in one day💜This story hooked me from the beginning.💜💫
I really loved Sam&Colt story sm🦋💜🦋💜🦋
one of my favorite small town romance & westerns-cowboys story ever 💜💜💜💜

I’ll tell you what I’ve been thinking about for the past seven days. Maybe you think you’re on a different path from me. Maybe you need to go down that path for a while and see for yourself, but once you get to the end, you’ll find out the same thing I already know. We’re on the same path, Sam. I know you’ll come back to me because you belong here. I’m all in. I love you. So if I have to wait for you, I’ll wait for the rest of my whole damn life.”💫

[Tori Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did somebody order a single dad cowboy??

This book was everything I needed and then some. I am so obsessed with this man & I need more!! 😍

The banter was elite, the single dad was single dading, her relationship with his daughter was adorable. His mom had me cracking up the entire time and WHEN SHE SAID THE WALLS WERE THIN!!!! I was crying oh my gosh.

I adored Sam & Colt so much and I can’t wait to read more in this series!

Tropes
✨Single dad
✨Small town
✨Cowboy
✨Age gap
✨Enemies to lovers
✨Forced proximity

4.5⭐️ | 2.5🌶️

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very cute cowboy romance. But as others have mentioned, what was that ending?? It felt like we were in the middle of a big, emotional pillow talk moment, and then everything just stopped. Other than that, I really like this one!

What you can expect:

- Cowboy romance
-Small town romance
- Down syndrome disability rep
- Sweet & spicy

[Megan Coggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute small town cowboy romance.

Cowboy x daughters teacher
Single dad
Disability rep
Fertility issues

Nothing mind blowing but no icks
🌶️🌶️

[nicklein · Rating 3 out of 5]

my heart is happy with this one but the ending feels rushed. i’d be happy to read a hundred more pages of this.

[Kim Mayberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

The spicy scenes in this book is SPICYYYYYYYY!!

If you love a spicy cowboy book, I highly recommend!

[Jenna O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet book with an unexpected surprise

As a mom of a child with Down syndrome, it was so refreshing to see the daughter portrayed so accurately. The love story was sweet and I love the amount of space they gave to Sam and Eve. Very well done!

[Christina Sturgill · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 / 5 Stars
3 / 5 Steam

I think it was more of a me issue than anything here. Parts felt a little preachy, like thoughts and opinions were being shoved down our throat. Then other parts had great communication between the main characters. I enjoyed Colt but I never warmed up to Sam. I disliked her from the start and her character stayed unlikable for me all the way to the end. She overstepped too often for me. I get that she had a rough history and a bad experience but for someone shoving the rights of others into your face she was quick to make snap decisions to spare her feelings and hurt others. She was so quick to judge and tell Colt he was wrong about what his child should be learning and the laws surrounding that but then very easily turned thing’s unprofessional when it suited her and her libido. She was so set on her independence and equality and how she wanted to make series changes. Then she folded like a deck of cards on all of it and ran away without so much as a conversation because of an assumption. Her character was all over the place and felt incredibly selfish to me. Just because someone is good at working with kids does not make them a great person or a great significant other. And to me, that’s what this felt like…her only redeeming qualities were that she was good with his daughter and he liked having her in his bed. Again, I think this was a me issue because I couldn’t get over my initial dislike of Sam’s character and how she overstepped with his parenting right from the start.

The writing was good and easy to read though. And I am looking forward to the next book. A curvy fmc and a grumpy cowboy forced into roommates…definitely here for that.

[Alexia Peterselli · Rating 5 out of 5]

You guys, this book… THIS DANG BOOK! Why isn’t this talk about more? This was such a wholesome, angsty, sexy read. It had me giggling like a little girl, kicking my feet at some of the dirty talk and filled my eyes with happy tears. Don’t even get me started on the extended epilogue either, because I could read about 20 more of them and still want more of Colt, Sam and Eve.

Colt has always been the protective, doting father of sweet Eve. When Eve’s mother decided to jump ship over her extra sweetness, Colt makes it his sole duty to provide Eve with the best life and have no distractions while doing so. Until, Sam blows into Starlight Canyon as Eve’s new, temporary teacher.

I knew I would love this story the minute I seen single dad, small town romance (we love the daddies). I didn’t expect to be absolutely enamored when I found out Colt is a single dad to a sweet girl which Down Syndrome. My heart literally exploded with so much love and I felt so captivated by this story even more because my brother also has Down Syndrome and just like Eve, has so much love to give 🥹 This was jam packed with such goodness, from the relationship between Eve and Sam, to Sam finding her bestfriends and creating a relationship with Colt. Sienna, you have given me a new favorite and a comfort read through and through. This had all the swoon worthy tropes as well. Enemies to friends to lovers, forced proximity, and found family. With a side of dirty talkin’ cowboys. I can’t wait for the rest of the series, because those Hunter’s have me obsessed!

[Charlotte · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not sure what happened. I really enjoyed the first 25% of this book and then it all just went to pot.
It felt like it was written by a man, don’t ask me to explain that because I’m not sure I can… there were just descriptions of things that just seemed off.

There’s also way too many bits where the FMC Sam and the MMC Colt both refer to Cote as being an alpha and it just felt a little much. He also went from “we’re friends” to rearranging her insides way too quick and then even after they did it he was saying they’re just friends.
It almost felt like the author was confused about which character was the pursuing person. Sam was pursuing Colt and he was the resistant one and then suddenly Sam’s having thoughts that suggest she’s the one that’s been holding back.

There was a weird bit about the headteacher marrying his stepsister which made absolutely no sense and was pointless to the story.

Also, telling your partner that if the room full of people hear you shagging then you’ve done your job well is weird… saying the same when you know the other room is also filled with kids is borderline illegal.

I finished it, but I’m almost wishing I hadn’t.
The best thing about the book was Eve, Colts daughter, and Joy, Colts mum. Both characters were great.

I really wanted to like this book and I really did… for the first 25% but unfortunately the rest of the book fell short.
I’ve given it a two purely for the first bit and Eve & Sam.

2⭐️2🌶️

[Christina Rybka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sam is having a drink with her roommate and coworker Stella and Tula when in walks three men and she can’t stop staring at him. Sam is teaching at school for a year then traveling and she is emailing a parent Mr Hunter who is annoying her. Sam and Stella are going shopping for the school dance when she see the man from the bar and his daughter Eve and figures out he is the parent who she angry emails. The attraction between them is intense but so is the anger. As they are thrown together they start to see different sides of each other. But they both have secrets and reasons for not going forward with the relationship. Great characters and storyline Highly Recommended Amazing book I love Colt and Sam Great supporting characters. I love Eve she steals all the scenes. The spice is hot love cowboys.

[Devons book corner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thirteen Candles is a book that will sweep you off your feet. It's a small town romance between Colt and Sam, and it's definitely packed full of emotion. Colt's a single dad to the sweetest little girl ever. Same is a teacher and she is the sweetest also. When Colt receives a letter from his daughter's teacher, he responds back to Sam, this man that has just made him upset. One night, Sam's coworkers talk her into going out with them. Her and Colt meet and they hit it off. Colt is really enamored with Sam, but he has no clue that this is his daughters teacher. There are some twists in this book that just make it that much better. I loved this book so much, and I hope that you do too!!

[ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this book so much!! it’s the perfect enemies to lovers, cowboy romance and i adored the characters. the chemistry between sam and colt was OFF. THE. CHARTS!! and sam’s bond with eve was the cutest 🥹

- cowboy romance
- single dad x teacher
- enemies to lovers
- down’s syndrome rep
- forced proximity

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a little slow in the beginning, but deeeeeng did it take off. I will never get tired of a dirrrty mouth cowboy 🤠 yeeehaw!

[Kailynn (slump 😔) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve never wanted to erase something from my brain so badly. I should have just stopped reading.

I’m also pretty sure this was written by a man, because wtf was that?!

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️s

This started off really well - an interesting premise between Colt, a single dad of Eve (who has Down Syndrome) and Sam, a temporary special needs teacher who blows into town and turns their world upside down. First half is pretty good -esp in terms of representation of a kid with special needs (not that I know much about DS but it was from an asset-based rather than deficit perspective).

The second half just kind of dragged with Sam being really stubborn about her own personal trauma and assuming the worst of Colt (who, btw, is THE ultimate marshmallow unicorn cowboy man). They literally needed to have a simple conversation and she just went into hiding, basically, in a totally unnecessary 3rd act break up.

This is not a slow burn. It gets hot and steamy very quickly, entering into smut category (the epilogue smut was especially not necessary - I’m all for steam but it has to actually help move the story and not smut for smut’s sake). The steam also just seemed to be pretty sudden - they go from getting under each other’s skin to inside their skin (ha!) in a flash. No real build up or actual development of relationship. It feels like pure lust, which makes their supposed love for each other a little suss. In other words, the second half of the book just felt a bit rushed and underdeveloped - not surprising for a first time author.

Definitely seems to be influenced by Elsie Silver’s Chestnut Springs series, specifically Heartless (ranch life, single-dad, age gap, girls who arrives and totally turns everything on its head). And we get to meet the rest of the siblings who will feature in future installments. I’m hooked enough to keep reading the series and hope that SJ grows as a writer because there is a lot of potential here.

[Courtney Tillotson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thirteen Candles
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Colt really showed up to the cowboy scene and said, “hold my beer!” 😍🤭

I was BLOWN AWAY by this debut novel from Sienna Judd! She has without a doubt solidified herself as an auto buy author for me. Hands down. Small town, cowboy, single dad, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, and age gap. Sign me the heck up!

Colt is a single dad of an adolescent girl with Down syndrome, Eve. Sam is Eve’s teacher. Their first impressions are less than pleasant and the banter that comes with that is top tier. Then they fall and boy do they fall hard. Icing on the cake? Colt has a filthy mouth and who doesn’t love a cowboy with a filthy mouth?!

“I’m a gentleman, Sam. Ladies first.”

“Say that word again, Sam, and…” “And what?” “And I’ll fuck it out of your mouth.”

If you’re a Daddy Cade fan (and who isn’t?) then read this book. I got so many Chestnut Springs vibes from this book and I was HERE FOR IT! 🥵

“Sam, you don’t find your worth in a person. You find your worth within yourself and then? You decide if I’m worthy of you.”

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I volunteered to read this ARC for an honest review. I enjoyed this story about Sam, Cole and Eve. She's a young teacher just moving into Starlight Canyon to fill in as a special needs teacher. Cole is a single dad to Eve, plus he runs his family's ranch and business. He's a tough cowboy who never gets to close and protects Eve with all he has. When Cole hears Sam is Eve's new teacher, he thinks the worst. But when they meet all bets are off. They have a sizzle of chemistry that can't be denied. But her past leaves her with walks around her heart that are thick. Bonding over Eve and animals Sam sees a different side is Cole. Great HEA in the making.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Grace Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourites I have read recently. The sassy attitude of Sam and the grump of Colt mix together so well. His love for Eve is admirable and you know he would go lengths for her and this progresses further when he develops his love for Sam. Sam and Eve are my fav duo together, their friendship is heartwarming throughout.
Sienna Judd literally captured my heart with this one, her writing style is beautiful and I couldn't put the book down.

[Emily Heilemann · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars // I have so many mixed feelings about this book. Overall I think the writing style wasn’t my favourite. I also couldn’t decide how I felt about the characters individually, I felt like their thoughts were a bit all over the place and I felt like the characters went from “enemies” to lovers way too quickly. I liked the story and I like the representation of Eve. As someone who works with people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities it was really nice seeing some pretty accurate representation of this population.

The story was cute overall, but the writing style just really wasn’t for me. Also, the *spicy* scenes were NOT IT. Some of the terminology that was used made me cringe and I could not take it seriously. I almost DNF’d this book, however I pushed through and I am happy I did because I liked the ending. Overall, just wasn’t my favourite read.

[IeshaAndHerBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This was my first time reading sienna judd books and I loved her writing style! This book had some of my favourite tropes and I really enjoyed it! I can’t wait to read the rest of the series 🤠🤍