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Country Christmas

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This Christmas, two worlds collide...

Edward Kirby is a big-city surgeon who’s worked himself toward an early grave. On his way to Wisconsin for some enforced R&R, a snowstorm hits--leaving Edward injured, stranded, and more stressed than ever.

Stephen Jackson is an all-American cowboy--and a virgin. He’s overwhelmed with work, trying to keep the family farm from falling into financial collapse, when Edward ends up renting a room at his ranch. He has no idea how to handle the attraction he feels towards the handsome, wealthy man. They come from opposite worlds, but could love find a way to make it work?

Bundle up under the covers and let Riley Knight warm your heart with this burning hot 50,000 word gay romance, intended for adult audiences only. Merry Christmas!

142 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 27, 2018

195 people are currently reading
96 people want to read

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Riley Knight

47 books69 followers

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5 stars
124 (32%)
4 stars
122 (31%)
3 stars
96 (24%)
2 stars
35 (9%)
1 star
10 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
Profile Image for Ula'ndi Hart.
989 reviews15 followers
December 5, 2018
Overall book rating: 3.8
Audio Book: N/A
Book Cover: 4




I swear Cowboys fall under the label of Men in Uniform. Cause hot damn a sexy cowboy is a magnet for attention in my opinion.

I started this because

1. It’s a Christmas read!

And

2. It’s got a Cowboy!

Throw into the mix an overworked sexy doctor and what more do you want? It got my attention.


I really liked the story, I loved how Stephan is a mix of pride and hard work but also of a brand of innocence. It really got me turning the pages there. His character was something I really enjoyed.

Edward, I like as well. He has his own little things that make him hug-gable to me.

Then came the “misunderstanding”. Hmmmm And two grown men, one a medical professional for that matter, got to feel kinda "childish" to me?

Let me state that BECAUSE this a Christmas read, I overlooked most of the little niggles. I still enjoyed myself reading the story.

But... again. It’s like things just mellow out at some stage. Like a sea shore loosing waves? And then it doesn't end on the high you envision when you get all excited about the two MC’s.

You want MORE but LESS?

More relationship and feeling. Less dragging out of things that could have just been left as an open ending.

I’m not sorry for reading this because I so enjoyed the thing between Stephen and Edward and I really love Stephen’s personality.

This author has so much potential. It’s just the little things that need tying up to make this a 4 or even a 4.5 star read.
Profile Image for Martin.
807 reviews601 followers
January 4, 2019
Dr Edward Kirby is stressed out, working himself to death trying to get the position as head surgeon in his hospital. At the beginning of December, his boss Amy sends him on a forced vacation to the countryside, only allowing him to return to the ER when he isn’t close to a nervous breakdown anymore.

To make matters worse, Edward drives right into a snowstorm and crashes his car. Luckily, a local farmer and his mom find him and rescue him, keeping him on their farm until he’s healed enough to travel.

description

Stephen is a 25 year old farmer who runs his family’s ranch with his mom after his dad passed away. Lots of hard work and high debts make life hard for him and the handsome stranger is the first man that catches his interest. Not daring to come out to his mom and with the dating pool generally limited in the countryside, Stephen is still a virgin.

Despite their differences, the shy farm boy and the cynic city doctor become involved until they both question their life choices and would do anything to align their different lives just to be together.

This was sweet. So perfectly sweet and romantic.

The logic was missing a bit in some places, but who cares? It’s a Christmas romance after all and as such, it satisfied me 100%.

However, the one big conflict that breaks them up is so shallow (or should I say: not even existing) that I had to deduct one star.

May they live happily ever after!
4 stars!
Profile Image for Manfred.
800 reviews47 followers
December 28, 2018
This was one of my favorite Christmas stories this year. A perfect mix of sweetness, drama, sex and steam. Very predictable of course and the big misunderstanding at the end a little too stupid to be convincing, but still....
Edward is a city boy and a surgeon, who is sent to the country before collapsing or burning out in his job. Stephen is a cowboy who lives in a farm with his mother, barely able to keep the place running. When Edward is surprised by a snowstorm he has an accident and is found and rescued by Stephen. He stays on the farm and while healing slowly starts to enjoy the country life.
The whole plot was not really creative, but I did like the writing and it felt genuine, the main characters were likable and their falling in love maybe a little rushed but sweet nonetheless. All the cliches were served, but that's what I am looking for in a holiday story, so no complaints from me and above average 4 stars.
Profile Image for Denise H..
3,248 reviews271 followers
December 10, 2018
***** A charming Riley Knight story, full of feels and longing, anticipation, first times and shared passion. (Older-smaller man/younger-big strong hunk.)
Older NY surgeon, Edward, has an accident

from the snowy Wisconsin road, and that's how he ends up on younger and muscled, Stephen's farm.

Their attraction is instant, but not acted on. Edward is injured, in need of rest, and is supposed to be relaxing away from his stressful work. Both Stephan and his Mom take care of Edward.
Soon, Edward is getting an awakening as Stephan is showing what complete devotion and commitment look like. We see intense characters to analyse, as we watch their mindful thoughts and conflicts. We watch the honesty and expression of how the men will proceed, and then when greater emotion engulfs them, they welcome it.

We witness their sizzling hot sex scenes and fantastic new experiences that virgin Stephen fearlessly relishes.

We feel the steady pace and flow that makes this tale so easy to read. It feels good and it keeps our interest so well; we don't want it to end. Edward, previously had
a "laissez-faire" attitude, but here on the farm, he learns so much from Stephen's strong steadfastness. Their revelations are magnificent.

I loved everything about this fabulous romantic story, and the epilogue is priceless.

Very highly recommended. ENJOY !

===========
Profile Image for Vanna.
812 reviews97 followers
December 19, 2018
3 stars! Somehow I didn't feel the connection between Edward and Stephen.. it felt a little like insta-lust without any common ground. Overall it was an ok story with the holiday background.. but not very memorable.
Profile Image for BR11.
647 reviews18 followers
December 17, 2018
Ehhh... it was ok. Insta love, not much connection other than an instant attraction. The steam was good... The resolution of the issue was mehh...
Free with Kindle Unlimited
262 reviews
December 4, 2018
It was a nice story and the main characters were cute. However, I did feel like the characters fell for each other too quickly. I'm not against insta love, but I need to see where the feelings are coming from. Being stuck in some place with someone isn't enough to justify a love story. Don't even get me started on the miscommunication at the end. That being said, it was a nice read.
Profile Image for Vfields Don't touch my happy! .
3,507 reviews
December 29, 2018
2.5 stars
Country Christmas by Riley Knight was one of the most confounding reads Ive picked up in a long time. It started out with such a great premise but unfortunately the writer had this odd way of writing that caused me to repeatedly go back a few pages to figure out what was going on. The romance should’ve been good but there was no real connection between the main characters, the relationship developed way too fast. The drama concerning the farm was just beyond perplexing and I found myself eye-rolling. It was a long story with no bite that just kept going and going and going and going…
Profile Image for Tj.
1,715 reviews20 followers
December 14, 2018
Nope... just didn't work for me. The sentence structure was clunky.
Profile Image for Eleeze.
606 reviews20 followers
January 2, 2019
2*

I really wanted to like this, is a Xmas story! But there's a lot of editing errors and I rolled my eyes a lot, so it wasn't a good as I hoped.-
Profile Image for Elithanathile.
1,927 reviews
00-mm-horrible-disaster-fail-dnf
January 17, 2019
Okay ENOUGH!! DNFing @ 6%!! The spelling mistakes, horrible writing, and non-existent editing is too distracting to try to ignore!! I can tell this is going to be a horrible failure, so I’m giving up on this book because frankly, I know I’m going to give this negative stars!!!
The best advice I can give this “author” is to stop trying to write M/M because it’s clearly not working for this person! Seriously! I’m not trying to be mean or anything but the protective lioness in me is fiercely inclined to protecting this genre from one more writer wannabe who thinks just because she or he can string a few badly edited words together, that they should jump on this non-existent bandwagon and ATTEMPT to write an M/M book!! Author, dude, there’s more to writing M/M than shoving one male MC at another male MC *rolls eyes and shakes head*!! Seriously, this genre needs to stop intaking all these horrible writers who only THINK they can write!!
Drivel like this makes me angry because there’s a lot of it, and all it does is waste a reader’s time, and dilutes the talent pool of an already tiny community!!
We - the M/M community - have a wonderful growing group of FABULOUS and wonderful and talented M/M authors, thank goodness, and they deserve the attention! They do NOT deserve to have attention diverted from them to this kind of badly written, LAZY garbage!!
I’m annoyed and I am sure it’s obvious! But I mean for Pete’s sake, man!!!

I returned this book after scrolling right back to the beginning of the back after only hitting 6%!! I had ZERO inclination to “give it a try” by continuing on because frankly, I didn’t want to support this book!!

I will not be rating this book though since I didn’t read it, which for the author, is a saving grace!! Hard pass on this book, even harder pass on this “author” (I will not be trying other books because bad and lazy writing is NOT for me! It’s also a major turnoff)!!

If an author is going to put out a lazy and badly written book, I’m going to deliver the facts hard and fast!! #DefinitelyNotSorry!!!


***** Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited and want to clear from TBR. *****
Profile Image for Monika .
2,342 reviews39 followers
January 31, 2020

This turned out to be just an okay read for me. I really liked the premise but I think the way the story was written made it hard for me to get into. The writing was choppy and the flow was completely off putting. There were times I got confused and had to go back to rereading pages to see if I'd missed something. This could have been a really good read, the story just needed a bit of smoothing out.

TAGS
-- Holiday/Christmas -- insta love & insta lust -- doctor/rancher -- age difference -- some sweet moments -- needs some TLC -- liked the MCs... Edward & Stephen but had trouble connecting -- virgin/first time -- came out
Profile Image for Amanda.
20 reviews
January 13, 2019
I’m going to be entirely honest - the only reason I finished this book is because I am doing the reading challenge, and I didn’t want to waste a book by not finishing it.

That being said, I wasn’t a fan of this one. I wish it had been shorter for one, like a Christmas ficlet or something, because stretching it out as much as it was made it feel like the author was trying too hard to make what little story they had here fit a specific length.

I feel like the biggest problem I had here was the lack of growth in the relationship. While Edward and Stephen had an initial attraction to each other, this somehow morphed into them having intense emotional feelings for each other somehow after a day. Had the author somehow shown them having moments of emotional connection instead of just physical attraction, maybe I would have been able to get over that, but instead I didn’t at any point in this book feel any emotional chemistry between these characters. I found myself eventually not really caring much about them or their relationship.

Overall, the plot was fine, but could have been trimmed to be more streamlined (as there were details that honestly felt unimportant and added in for reasons that didn’t add anything to the plot). I found myself skimming parts of the story by the end and still not feeling like I missed anything at all. Again, I think the story would have benefitted a lot more by being trimmed and made a shorter story, but overall, this hasn’t been my favorite read.
Profile Image for Melissa.
635 reviews4 followers
February 8, 2019
It Was Okay.

It was okay. I really couldn’t get into the story. I really tried but it just dragged for me. I might try reading this story again to give it a second chance.
Profile Image for Wendy Moore.
1,332 reviews11 followers
December 22, 2018
3.5 star

This was my first read from Riley Knight and it was a sweet, feel good Christmas read!!
Profile Image for Christine.
1,889 reviews
February 26, 2019
A painfully bland and stale Christmas treat!

Uptight trauma surgeon Edward is stranded in a blizzard and rescued by tall-dark-and-boring farmer Stephen. Despite Stephen’s initial reluctance to engage, Edward soon convinces him to begin a quick affair...which surprises them both by quickly flaring into more. However, both Edward and Stephen must make some difficult choices.... is there a way to choose each other?

This almost went in my DNF stack. The writing style is heavy on lengthy and awkwardly constructed narrative describing the characters’ thoughts and feelings...hardly any dialogue. Which is a good thing, considering how weirdly bad the dialogue is....

Neither Edward nor Stephen have much to recommend them. Edward is a self-absorbed jerk; Stephen is so passive and quiet that he’s barely there at all.

Give this one a pass.
Profile Image for Ann.
1,452 reviews136 followers
January 5, 2019
The story was both sweet and hot. The characters were good but flawed. The insta love was a thing and the kind that works for Christmas stories but expires in January.

A good holiday escape with lots of steam and minimal angst.
1,187 reviews4 followers
December 28, 2019
Edward is on forced leave. His job as a surgeon has taken its toll. He has an accident that leaves him injured and renting a room. Stephen is stressed himself trying to run the family ranch. Being a virgin, he has no idea how to handle his attraction to the wealthy older man.

This is an erotic romance between a younger man and an older man. The characters are great and the interplay between the them is what makes the story so good. They both have their own insecurities and mountains to climb to get together and be happy. The explicit sexual scenes are well done and woven nicely into the storyline used a . They add a dimension to the story that is important because the younger man is a virgin and comes out in the story. If you like your romances hot then this one is the for you.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Beth.
2,916 reviews27 followers
December 21, 2018
Cute story, abrupt ending

Really liked this story. The characters are well constructed and the story arc moves well. The crisis point is heart wrenching and the resolution satisfying. However the ending feels rushed and incomplete. I think we needed an epilogue to tell us how things eventually worked out in terms of what each MC did after their trip at the end. (Trying to avoid spoilers!) Can’t imagine Edward not being a doctor so some clarity there would have been helpful and a description of how things worked with the ranch and Stephen’s mother would also have helped the book feel more settled and finished.
Profile Image for Joanne Thornborough.
79 reviews6 followers
February 14, 2019
Prickly, sarcastic Edward and sweet, determined Stephen are the MCs in this tale of a chance meeting under not ideal circumstances. After a snowstorm forces Edward's rental car off the road, it's Stephen and his mom, Sarah, who rescue him from the crash.

As Edward recuperates at the ranch owned by mother and son, an attraction develops between the two men. As it blooms into something more, they begin to wonder if it's something worth fighting for.

Both men are fully realized characters, who have you on their side as they navigate this unfamiliar terrain. The book is charming, sexy and undeniably sweet.

It may be set at Christmas, but it holds up well regardless of the time of year.
1,787 reviews26 followers
January 6, 2019
Beautiful Couple, Lovingly Developed

One negative, as I have often stated: I am getting tired of the small-large opposite in MM romances, and this one did not have to be that way.

It is not logical that a burned out, brilliant, and somewhat acerbic and anti-social New York City surgeon also needs to be under six feet tall and wiry.

It is also not logical that the last remaining male in seven generations of a family's farm be a well over six feet tall and full of muscle and bulk, and very socially unhinged and deeply closeted.

Other than that, I loved Edward the Doctor and Stephen the Farmer from the start. You know where this is going from the time the lost puppy Lucky finds Edward in a wreck in the snow and Stephen's mother drags her son out to rescue Edward.

After that you could throw snowballs at what might seem to be a overly romantic plot, but they would melt upon impact. This is a wonderfully romantic, not necessarily Christmas, story. I am going to search for more Riley Knight books because I enjoyed this one so much.
2 reviews
January 1, 2019
It's a really sweet story. There is a lot of public display of affection which I don't usually like. And all of characters are pretty tolerant. It's not realistic, but nevertheless nice. The Edward character is very good - he is developing through the story. The Stephen one - not so much. He is static and perfect: seriously, is there at least one flaw in him? In the end it became too saccharine.
Well, anyway, this book is quite nice for one or two times.
Profile Image for Lizzie.
337 reviews19 followers
November 17, 2019
DNF. Wanna talk about boring? This book had total promise! The author even gave us the ages and physical descriptions of each MC! (Yay for that!!) but the inner dialogue of each MC was too long and b-o-r-i-n-g.

Wordy. This book was too wordy. I don't know if the author was going for some sort of fantastic descriptions or what, but it DID NOT WORK. It wasn't interesting.

Just wordy...😖

*Sigh* So sad...another mm romance down the drain for me. 😒
Profile Image for Shelly.
Author 3 books8 followers
December 23, 2019
I rushed to get through this book and found myself skipping long segments. I didn't find any connection with the two main characters and thought Edwards was extremely weak in character. Stephen was a little more developed. The instant attraction felt forced and unrealistic. I did want to see where it ended up and have to admit, didn't care for the ending.
Profile Image for Shon  Michelle.
786 reviews1 follower
December 19, 2018
Christmas

This book was very passionate and exciting. The characters where amazing and the storyline was full of love 💘. This book was incredible. The best Christmas Read so far. Thanks
Profile Image for Samantha's ~*Confessions*~.
429 reviews15 followers
December 24, 2018
Sexy Christmas spirit

I really enjoyed this Christmas M/M read. It was emotional yet fun. The characters were total opposites yet had similar morals and stubbornness. Definitely recommend
142 reviews1 follower
January 12, 2019
Well done.

The characters really drew you in. I am such a sucker for basically love at first sight. Great ride, left you feeling all gooey inside. Keep it up. If you love Christmas themed and or Cowboys then this should be part of your library.
437 reviews5 followers
January 24, 2019
Country Christmas

Loved it, loved it, loved it! Definitely a must read, a beautiful love story! Keep those Kleenex handy, for those tears of joy! Just a very wonderful story! Many thanks, Honey Bee 🐝💙🤠🔥🎶
Profile Image for Oz007.
295 reviews
February 27, 2019
Nice Christmas short story

Nice story about Edward and Stephen. It's not deep, just enough smooze to make it romantically honorable. A few sweet moments and of course, a snowy Christmas.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews

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