The delightful and entertaining new holiday novel from the legendary author of dozens of treasured romances! This Christmas, visit the small town of Branding Iron, Texas, where it’s time for the Cowboy Christmas Ball and one irritable sheriff is about to get in the spirit of the season…and find love along the way.
Sheriff Sam Delaney is shouldering a lot as the lone lawman in the small Texas town of Branding Iron—and the widowed single father of six-year-old Maggie. Especially since Maggie’s determined that what her daddy needs this holiday season is a girlfriend. Suddenly Sam is hustled off to a meeting with Maggie’s schoolteacher—and surprised to discover the demure Grace Chapman is unexpectedly alluring. Then he’s roped into playing Santa at the annual Christmas ball, with the pretty Miss Grace by his side. It’s enough to make Sam even grumpier than usual—if not for the feelings sweet Grace stirs up inside...
Grace only wants to heal after her broken engagement. So why is she so charmed by the slow smile—and the surprising tenderness—of the town’s sheriff? Maybe because Grace is discovering that beneath Sam’s gruff exterior lies a heart as big as Texas, especially when it comes to the women in his life—like little Maggie. And now her… Which only has Grace hoping she’ll be Santa’s sweetheart for many seasons to come...
Janet Anne Haradon Dailey was an American author of numerous romance novels as Janet Dailey (her married name). Her novels have been translated into nineteen languages and have sold over 300 million copies worldwide.
Born in 1944 in Storm Lake, Iowa, she attended secretarial school in Omaha, Nebraska before meeting her husband, Bill. Bill and Janet worked together in construction and land development until they "retired" to travel throughout the United States, inspiring Janet to write the Americana series of romances, where she set a novel in every state of the Union. In 1974, Janet Dailey was the first American author to write for Harlequin. Her first novel was NO QUARTER ASKED.
She had since gone on to write approximately 90 novels, 21 of which have appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List. She won many awards and accolades for her work, appearing widely on Radio and Television. Today, there are over three hundred million Janet Dailey books in print in 19 different languages, making her one of the most popular novelists in the world.
Janet Dailey passed away peacefully in her home in Branson on Saturday, December 14, 2013. She was 69.
I have not read a Janet Dailey book in a very longtime. She got me hooked on Romances (back in the day) with her excellent, "Calder series." So I was intrigued when I saw this new book by her.
This was a wholesome Christmas story about a small town widowed sheriff who falls for his six year old daughter's teacher.
The story was a bit slow in the beginning but quickly kept my attention once it got moving. Maggie, the daughter was very endearing. I didn't quite feel too much chemistry with Sam and Grace although they were both very likeable characters.
I thought I might get a bit more steam from Janet Dailey but perhaps her writing has changed from what I remember. It was still a sweet story that was filled with a lot of emotions. I liked the ending as it was cute. A nice one to read over the holidays.
I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Kensington Books with granting me access to this Advance Reader Copy.
SANTA’S SWEETHEART is the fourth book in the Dailey series set in Branding Iron, Texas, and goes out of order. It’s a prequel book, set when Maggie, the character from book one, is a child, and is a romance for her father Sam, the sheriff and the local schoolteacher, Grace. I prefer series to go in order, but I still enjoyed this just as I have all the other books in the series. Maggie desperately wants another mom for Christmas and is endeavoring to play matchmaker. Sam and Grace have their reasons for wanting to stay apart but that doesn’t last too long. There were some sweet Christmas scenes. 5/5 stars.
This is a Cute Christmas Romance, and this is the 4th book in The Christmas Tree Ranch series. I have to say the beginning started off very slow moving, but once the story got moving I was pulled into it. I felt this was a cute Christmas Romance story. I loved the characters in this book. Maggie is a little girl in this book, and her mother passed away. She tries to set her father and her teacher in this book. I loved Maggie's character in this book. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Zebra) or author (Janet Dailey) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.
I need something happy and cringy after The Black Farm 😂
Well I am slightly disappointed. I liked this for the setting, and characters but we were missing the christmas cheer that all the other books had? We barely even mentioned the holiday times?
I liked the way we went back in time and learned about these characters but it was just missing that holiday joy. I am hoping the next book we have more? Also the ending felt rushed. I enjoyed these characters, and learning about their pasts! Very interesting middle book lol.
Santa's Sweetheart by Janet Dailey is her fourth book in her popular The Christmas Tree Ranch Series. The book is a super cute, sweet, holiday romance that involves a single dad, a single woman, and an adorable matchmaking six-year-old girl.
Maggie is the six-year-old daughter to single dad Sheriff Sam Delaney. Maggie’s mother died leaving her and her dad alone for Christmas. Maggie decides that her father is too lonely and sets off to find him a wife. Her new teacher, Grace Chapman is the perfect candidate. Grace is recovering from a broken engagement and the last thing she wants is to jump into a new relationship. But, she has to admit that the Sherrif is hard to resist.
Santa’s Sweetheart is a charming but somewhat predictable small-town romance involving a sweet little girl. At first, I thought this book would be a bit too sappy for me, but I was surprised that it had a bit more emotional depth than I anticipated. The book was a bit slow to get off the ground in the beginning, but soon enough the action picked up and I flew through the rest of the book.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a wholesome sweet, small-town romance. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
A little more than a year after his wife’s death, Sheriff Sam Delaney Determined to find the perfect girlfriend for her beloved dad, Maggie does her best to match him with her teacher, Grace Chapman. Neither Sam nor Grace are looking for love. Sam still mourns the loss of his wife, and Grace has a disappointing history with the men in her life. But neither of them can deny their growing feelings. As Christmas approaches, Grace and Sam see more and more of each other in their small town. Will they take a chance on love and make Maggie’s Christmas wish come true?
Sam and Grace are both relatable and likable characters, and I enjoyed their budding romance. They both have reservations about initiating a romantic relationship, and they struggle with their feelings throughout the story. I like how patient and understanding they are with each other, as well as how they both reflect on and deal with their past and feelings.
Another great character is Maggie. She is so adorable and quite mature for her age. At only eight years old, she is often wiser and more astute than the adults, and she often tries to take care of others. I love her kindness and compassion, and her enthusiasm for the holidays is infectious.
The holiday spirit permeates the story with tree picking and decorating, party planning, and other holiday traditions. This, as well as the small-town charm, add to the optimism and hopeful tone of the book. However, the story also deals with some more serious issues like grief, loss, fear of abandonment, alcoholism. and other real-world problems. It is well balanced and shows realistic issues that many people face, which makes the story so relatable.
The story is sweet and charming, and it’s the perfect holiday romance to read when curled up next to the fire this winter. I enjoyed the likable characters, the small-town charm, and the lovely, clean romance and think the story will appeal to readers who like light and touching Hallmark-esque stories. Thanks so much to NetGalley, Janet Dailey, and Kensington Books for a copy of the novel in exchange for my honest review.
This is the first book I've read by Janet Dailey and I've found it quite appealing and realistic. Very vivid Christmasy descriptions . Quite charming characters, well most of them. Small town romance where everyone knows everyone and is helpful to one another. A tragic accident takes the wife of the sheriff of Branding Iron,Texas and his daughter Maggie's mother. A year has passed and his daughter is pushing him to get a girl friend. His daughter is very precocious and seems years ahead of her age. This girl is talking about cooking meals for her father and she's only eight. With an elaborate plan to get her father hooked up and him not ready to move on from grieving for his wife how will this work out for them both? Lots of fun Christmassy scenes such as tree decorating,holiday meals with family and a special school program the children worked hard on. What Christmas story would be complete without the lovely snowy blizzard? I found this very charming and I recommend it.
Pub Date 28 Sep 2021 I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you All opinions expressed are my own.
If you love sweet small town holiday romances this is a wonderful book to enjoy reading during the Christmas season. It has descriptions of crisp snowfalls, hot chocolate, warm fires, Christmas trees, decorations and Santa of course!
Branding Iron, Texas Sheriff Sam Delaney is facing another lonely Christmas after the death of his wife. Maggie, his six year old daughter has a plan to play matchmaker for her dad and her teacher, Miss. Grace Chapman. I found Maggie sweet and her conversations and thoughts were wise beyond her years.
Grace has been dealing with a past that includes broken relationships and trust issues.
It was enjoyable getting to know the characters in this small town.
When Sam and Grace try to see if they can have a relationship together there are many obstacles they must overcome. I was turning the pages to see if they would have a happily ever after and you will too.
Sam Delaney is the sheriff in Branding Iron Texas! He is widowed and raising his daughter Maggie. Maggie decides it is time for Sam to find a girlfriend and decides that her teacher Grace Chapman would be perfect. Grace is recovering from a broken engagement and not interested in a relationship. Maggie schemes to get them together and hopes they realize that they are meant to be a couple. Easy to read cute romance!
Thanks to Janet Dailey and Kensington Groningen Books, Zebra for the book
I really wanted to like this story and I think the storyline is good. However, the execution fell short. The six year old behaves in an unrealistic way and I just could not connect to Sam and a Grace. I think there will people who will enjoy this story, but I was not one of them.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Cute holiday story. I really wish I could have given it a 3.5. The characters were sweet and the town was charming. The plot was predictable and the reason the heroine didn’t want to start a romance, was tenuous at best.
review time since kelsey has read the book!!! i think that miss janet needs to like,,,,speak to a six year old or something because this is Not how they behave
Santa's Sweetheart by Janet Dailey is the fourth book in The Christmas Tree Ranch series. I absolutely loved and enjoyed reading this cute and sweet Christmas series. I instantly fell in love from the first novel until the last one. This story is so easy to follow and very well put together. I have read other Janet Dailey novels and series, but this was by far the best one i have read by her. If you are looking for a Christmas series to read i highly recommend reading The Christmas Tree Ranch.
Santa's Sweetheart is the fourth book, but it does go back in time to when Maggie was just 6 years old. Sam Delaney is the sheriff of Branding Iron Texas as well as a widowed single father to 6 year old Maggie Delaney. Maggie lost her mother to a car accident when she went out to do some Christmas shopping and never returned home. Sam tries to put on a brave face and happy smile for Maggie but deep down they are both grieving the lost of their mother and wife.
This Christmas Maggie is determined to find Sam a girlfriend. Maggie's first grade teacher, Grace Chapman is also single so Maggie decides to get her dad into a parent teacher conference so he can talk to Grace and hopefully fall in love. Sam doesn't think anything to what Maggie is trying to do. Grace is new to Branding Iron, she is also divorced and has troubles with men. Maggie doesn't understand the complications that her dad and teacher can face because Sam is the sheriff and Grace is Maggie's teacher.
My heart absolutely broke for Sam and Maggie. I often wanted to reach into the book and hug Maggie, she seems like such a sweet little girl who just wants her father to be happy. But Sam is also determined to make this the best Christmas he can give Maggie. My heart also broke for Grace for all the trouble she has endured with her previous relationships.
Setting: small town TX .. 2 hours from Lubbock Sam & Grace. Wonderful story. Heartwarming. Maggie is too good to be true but written as very engaging (Shirley Temple - like ?) first grader. My first 5 star read of 2025.
This is my first Janet Dailey and come on now, give me all the Christmas heartwarming romances because wooow. Santa's sweetheart is a delightful romance that is surely enough to make you dream of Christmas and happy ever after . It's a single-parent romance set in a small town *long sigh* that follows s a single dad (hunk of a sheriff), a single woman that happens to be a teacher, and an adorable matchmaking six-year-old girl.. This book is a highly predictable romance but it doesn't take from how good it is. I highly recommend it and if you don't start daydreaming about Christmas and the dashing sheriff I have no idea what could be wrong with you.A huge thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my e-ARC in exchange for an honest review
Christmas stories like this one absolutely warm my heart, it truly does. I enjoyed everything about "Santa's Sweetheart", the characters, the small village at Christmas time, the deep felt emotions and how one little girl's only wish is to make her daddy be happy again.
A small town sheriff, Sam is a widower with a young daughter and some of the scenes between them had me in tears, their loss of a wife/mother, so acutely felt. Maggie wants to find a girlfriend for her daddy and she sets her eyes on her school teacher, Grace. Not all goes according to plan, though, as Grace has a lot of angst with relationships!
Janet Dailey writes from the heart and one can tell that through the written words of this story. Christmas is all about hope and wishes that come true.
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
The story was cute and I like Janet Dailey but this one fell short of her normal writings. Don't get me wrong, this was okay but it just seemed unrealistic that a child of her age would speak like that, and be that savvy.
Santa’s Sweetheart is the 2021 Christmas offering from prolific writer Janet Dailey. Sheriff Sam Delaney is a single father to young Maggie. His wife, Bethany, was lost in a traffic accident a little over a year ago. He is determined to do right by Maggie, especially when it comes to giving her a wonderful Christmas after the sad one last year that she spent with her grandparents.
Maggie has decided that her Daddy is sad and that he needs someone to share his life with so he will be happy again. The little matchmaker chooses her teacher, Miss Grace Chapman, for this purpose and even gets herself in trouble so her dad will need to meet with her teacher. While there may be sparks, both are still licking the wounds already inflicted in life. But perhaps fate may have other ideas as they seem to keep being thrown together. And when Sam is shot while interrupting a holdup, it is Grace who takes care of the adorable Maggie.
This is a lovely holiday story of hope and new beginnings. The characters are charming and the issues they present are all too real. I very much enjoyed this book and I wholeheartedly recommend it!
I won this book on Goodreads in one of their giveaways. I am sure from years ago, I have read Janet Dailey novels, I just cannot recall. Janet is now deceased and these novels are being released through her family’s endeavors. The novel was fairly typical romance and lighthearted. Nothing heavy or distributing involved. With so much going on in this world dealing with depression, pandemic, etc. this is really a good novel to read to keep it light.
(It is very sad when we live in a small rural city, to pick up the newspaper and learn the police have killed a beautiful young 30 yr old white woman who had been locked in a house shooting at them. It is a sign of the need for better mental health care in society and more training in negotiations with law enforcement. And a sign of how this pandemic has pushed people to their limits. She was a single mom of two beautiful little boys. And the probable motivate of her being in the house locked in with the gun was to kill her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend. Why she choose to start shooting at the police, no one will ever know. Ironically, the next day was her birthday. Years ago, we would never dream of stuff like this happening in our little town. Now it’s becoming reality. This being the second killing, another murder took place a year before in a robbery / drug exchange gone bad.)
Thank you, NetGalley, Janet Dailey and Kensington Book, for the copy of Santa’s Sweetheart. This is my personal review. This was a wonderful soft romance book that hit every emotion I have when I was reading it. Grace and Sam are so perfect together. And then to toss in Sam’s daughter Maggie and this was surely going be a story that was made to be. There were a lot of ups and downs in the path to happiness for Sam and Grace. I am sure you will like this charming soft romance as much as I did.
This was a really cute Christmas story. I really enjoyed it. The characters were easy to fall in love with. The sheriff showed such kindness and the true spirit of Christmas, by helping someone down on their luck. I recommend this one.
Janet Dailey has created a wonderful holiday story with fun characters and a unique plot. I greatly enjoyed the story. A perfect story for the long winter nights.