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Holiday Hearts #3
Vermont Valentine
"In every generation of Trasks lives one man born to be alone…"
And Jacob was clearly his generation's representative. Because while his brothers sought their livelihoods—and loves—elsewhere, he knew he had to stay where he belonged. Where he was needed. And where eligible women were as rare as an eighty-degree day in January...
And then came a possible danger to his beloved family farm. The bearer of bad news? A petite, gorgeous, non-stop talker named Celie Favreau. And though captivated by Jacob's rugged good looks and piercing blue eyes, she had to stay on track. She'd come to warn of a threat to his trees.
The threat to his heart was merely incidental...
And Jacob was clearly his generation's representative. Because while his brothers sought their livelihoods—and loves—elsewhere, he knew he had to stay where he belonged. Where he was needed. And where eligible women were as rare as an eighty-degree day in January...
And then came a possible danger to his beloved family farm. The bearer of bad news? A petite, gorgeous, non-stop talker named Celie Favreau. And though captivated by Jacob's rugged good looks and piercing blue eyes, she had to stay on track. She'd come to warn of a threat to his trees.
The threat to his heart was merely incidental...
- GenresRomance
256 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2006
37 people want to read
About the author
Kristin Hardy
82 books29 followersI've been book crazy my entire life. When my mom would tell me to go to bed, I'd hide in the bathroom just so I could read a few more pages. In the afternoons, I'd play with my dog, Misty, in the backyard and tell her elaborate stories of princesses and Indians, dressing the dog up to play the part.
I grew up in Anaheim, California, home of Disneyland. When I was 12, I started my first novel, about a boy growing up with a race horse. I only managed to get about ten pages into it, but the seed of ambition was planted. I wrote short stories throughout junior high and high school, and entered college as a creative writing major. Unfortunately, the pressure of writing literary short stories weekly for a college course was far different than writing one story a semester in high school and that was the end of that.
Shortly after, now as a geology major, I read about category romance in a Sunday supplement and decided to give it a try. My first effort brought together an aviatrix and a cowboy and had a great scene in which the heroine airlifted a sick ranch owner in the midst of a thunderstorm. Unfortunately, it didn't have much else. A few years later, now as an engineering major, I decided to try again with a book about a lady architectural engineer and the gorgeous owner of a shipping company. This time, I had a cute meet and a great kiss scene, but still no real plot or conflict. I tossed it after three chapters.
The next year, this time as a physics major, I came up with a plot about a firefighter and an engineer. Things were looking good when I thought about plot points and conflict and actually developed a solid story line. A couple of chapters later, though, I moved away to attend grad school in Orlando, Florida, home of Disney World (are we seeing a pattern here?). The manuscript moldered in my closet.
After graduation, I worked in Connecticut on the mirrors for a NASA x-ray telescope now orbiting the Earth. Writing kept calling to me, though. I quit engineering and moved to New Hampshire to join the editorial staff of an engineering trade magazine. There, I met and fell in love with my husband, Stephen. Suddenly all those romance novels made a heck of a lot more sense.
Thus, plot possibilities followed me when I left the editing spot to join a business-to-business dot com (where we were paper millionaires for a heady 30 seconds). Around that time, a publisher tried to recruit me to launch a print magazine for an engineering society. Driven by the conviction that it was time to finally finish one of those danged books, I took the job and negotiated a four-day work week that would allow time to write.
This ambition coincided with the announcement of the Blaze line. Inspired by a presentation at a writers' conference, I plotted out a Blaze novel on the plane home and wrote the draft of Chapter One that night. Ten months later, I typed the words THE END and did victory laps around the living room. My Sexiest Mistake sold to Harlequin's Blaze line in September 2001 for publication in June 2002. My upcoming three book series will be released by Blaze in 2003.
I currently live in New Hampshire with Stephen (he's also a magazine editor), who is my critique partner, copy editor, web master, and master of my heart.
I grew up in Anaheim, California, home of Disneyland. When I was 12, I started my first novel, about a boy growing up with a race horse. I only managed to get about ten pages into it, but the seed of ambition was planted. I wrote short stories throughout junior high and high school, and entered college as a creative writing major. Unfortunately, the pressure of writing literary short stories weekly for a college course was far different than writing one story a semester in high school and that was the end of that.
Shortly after, now as a geology major, I read about category romance in a Sunday supplement and decided to give it a try. My first effort brought together an aviatrix and a cowboy and had a great scene in which the heroine airlifted a sick ranch owner in the midst of a thunderstorm. Unfortunately, it didn't have much else. A few years later, now as an engineering major, I decided to try again with a book about a lady architectural engineer and the gorgeous owner of a shipping company. This time, I had a cute meet and a great kiss scene, but still no real plot or conflict. I tossed it after three chapters.
The next year, this time as a physics major, I came up with a plot about a firefighter and an engineer. Things were looking good when I thought about plot points and conflict and actually developed a solid story line. A couple of chapters later, though, I moved away to attend grad school in Orlando, Florida, home of Disney World (are we seeing a pattern here?). The manuscript moldered in my closet.
After graduation, I worked in Connecticut on the mirrors for a NASA x-ray telescope now orbiting the Earth. Writing kept calling to me, though. I quit engineering and moved to New Hampshire to join the editorial staff of an engineering trade magazine. There, I met and fell in love with my husband, Stephen. Suddenly all those romance novels made a heck of a lot more sense.
Thus, plot possibilities followed me when I left the editing spot to join a business-to-business dot com (where we were paper millionaires for a heady 30 seconds). Around that time, a publisher tried to recruit me to launch a print magazine for an engineering society. Driven by the conviction that it was time to finally finish one of those danged books, I took the job and negotiated a four-day work week that would allow time to write.
This ambition coincided with the announcement of the Blaze line. Inspired by a presentation at a writers' conference, I plotted out a Blaze novel on the plane home and wrote the draft of Chapter One that night. Ten months later, I typed the words THE END and did victory laps around the living room. My Sexiest Mistake sold to Harlequin's Blaze line in September 2001 for publication in June 2002. My upcoming three book series will be released by Blaze in 2003.
I currently live in New Hampshire with Stephen (he's also a magazine editor), who is my critique partner, copy editor, web master, and master of my heart.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 14, 2012
4 1/2 Stars! ~ Jacob's the oldest son. He's the rock that continues to anchor the generations to the family farm. The maple trees are everything to him. Celie has a tough job with the US Forest Service. Time is running out and she has to identify and destroy all the trees that have been infested with a very aggressive beetle that threatens entire sugar maple forests. When she finds some infested trees on Jacob's farm, she has to make some heartbreaking decisions on how many trees must be destroyed.
This is an emotional story for both Celie and Jacob. Jacob has such a strong sense of responsiblity, a love for the land, and a fear of letting down his family. Celie has an instinct when it comes to Jacob. She completes him.
I'm very impressed with Ms. Hardy ... growing up on a farm, albeit a vegetable farm, I appreciated the care she took in getting it right. Ms. Hardy not only tells beautiful stories, but they are intelligent and informative too. I also appreciate the care provided in the story of the family's loss. Having just past the first anniversary of my own father's death, I can say that Ms. Hardy captured and held true to real emotions. Her characters come alive. That is a true gift
HOLIDAY HEARTS Trilogy by Kristin Hardy Book #3
This trilogy is about the Trask family, whose sugar maple farm boasts a legacy of five generations. The first story begins around Thanksgiving, a bittersweet time. This will be the first Thanksgiving without head of the family, Adam Trask, who died suddenly of a massive heart attack the previous spring. The final story is set around Valentines, when the sap in the sugar maples starts to flow and the anniversary of Adams death is coming near. Family and roots are the underlying theme behind all three books. The sons, Jacob, Nicholas and Gabriel; each have their own paths, but their paths always bring them back to the family farm.
This is an emotional story for both Celie and Jacob. Jacob has such a strong sense of responsiblity, a love for the land, and a fear of letting down his family. Celie has an instinct when it comes to Jacob. She completes him.
I'm very impressed with Ms. Hardy ... growing up on a farm, albeit a vegetable farm, I appreciated the care she took in getting it right. Ms. Hardy not only tells beautiful stories, but they are intelligent and informative too. I also appreciate the care provided in the story of the family's loss. Having just past the first anniversary of my own father's death, I can say that Ms. Hardy captured and held true to real emotions. Her characters come alive. That is a true gift
HOLIDAY HEARTS Trilogy by Kristin Hardy Book #3
This trilogy is about the Trask family, whose sugar maple farm boasts a legacy of five generations. The first story begins around Thanksgiving, a bittersweet time. This will be the first Thanksgiving without head of the family, Adam Trask, who died suddenly of a massive heart attack the previous spring. The final story is set around Valentines, when the sap in the sugar maples starts to flow and the anniversary of Adams death is coming near. Family and roots are the underlying theme behind all three books. The sons, Jacob, Nicholas and Gabriel; each have their own paths, but their paths always bring them back to the family farm.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 29, 2014
Spare me. =__=
September 29, 2015
Loved this book!
March 31, 2011
This was a pretty good story overall.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews