A Double Christmas Surprise

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

It was the perfect relationship…until the stick turned blue!



Ellie Fitzgerald is lucky. She has a longtime love affair with the man she adores and has also kept her independence. Because Joe is in the Special Forces, their time together is precious…and fleeting, because of his frequent deployments. When the pair discover Ellie is pregnant—with two babies!—Joe is set on finally making things official and getting married. The Texas soldier begins work on a new plan that Ellie knows nothing about—but until he can reveal his plan, he risks losing her forever. Can Joe convince her that he will always be there for her…before their Christmas babies arrive?

From Harlequin Special Believe in love. Overcome obstacles. Find happiness.

A Marrying a McCabe Romance

Book 1: A Double Christmas Surprise

283 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 26, 2024

About the author

Dear Readers,

The love stories in my family have always been fodder for romance novels.

My maternal grandmother and grandfather simultaneously ran a business together and raised four daughters, long before it was an accepted thing to do.  Grandpa O’Dell ran the gas station and the barber shop; Grandma O’Dell managed the grocery and cooked for customers.  They were true partners and madly in love and parted, tragically, way too soon when he succumbed to cancer when he was in his early fifties.  Grandma grieved deeply but eventually picked herself up, started a new career as a cafeteria chef, and eventually found deep romantic love and happiness again, in the form of a second marriage.

Read more here...

Reviews

[Becca · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't care for the main characters in this book at all. Throughout the entire book, it felt like Ellie and Joe were just two people living together and having sex, while leading two completely separate lives when it came to all of the important things.

When he was planning a life outside of the military, Joe didn't bother to fill Ellie in on any of his plans, he just kept saying he had to get it all figured out first. Likewise, Ellie told Joe nothing about her feelings of him being in the military now that she was pregnant. Because they didn't make demands of each other when they were single, they continued with that attitude in to marriage, and that doesn't work. People, situations and feelings change and it's silly to pretend they don't. It's also a tad ridiculous to expect your partner to make zero demands of you.

[Janie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If there was ever a book where you wanted to reach in and smack the heroine, this is it. Ellie was used to being on her own. Joe, her husband, tried to do nice things for her, including leaving the special forces, so that he could be home for her and their babies. Instead of being thankful, she made it all about how she would be inconvenienced. This book is a little slow, but don't give up on it.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a little slow and instead of talking things out they just went their own way and did what they thought the other wanted. I really liked Joe McCabe, though. I am a widow and I kinda got tired of the sex everytime they got alone. Maybe because I thought they should talk more and have sex less.

[Harlequin Books]

Contemporary Romance
Miniseries
A Marrying a McCabe Romance (Book #1)

[ayiruh · Rating 4 out of 5]

i hated the entire sub plot with the dil and mil, lets just skip past it and you have got a pretty great book

[Adam Gutschenritter · Rating 2 out of 5]

The big issue is she is too committed to her freedom and he doesn’t explain his thoughts. Add to that the stress of lots of changes and a baby.

[Tammi Kendall · Rating 5 out of 5]

a sweet story