The Christmas Key

Starred review from September 3, 2018
Wilde’s latest Twilight, Texas contemporary western romance (after Cowboy, It’s Cold Outside) is an absolute crowd-pleaser. Former Marine Mark Shepherd comes to the town of Twilight to honor the wishes of Clayton Luther, a man under his command who died in Afghanistan, and return a cherished possession to Clayton’s family. Clayton’s father, pastor Tom Luther, mistakes Mark for a handyman he has hired, and Mark can’t bring himself to tell the man the real reason for his visit. As Mark works on projects for the church, he falls under the spell of Naomi Luther, Clayton’s older sister, and Hunter, Clayton’s orphaned son. Mark tries to keep his distance from Naomi, feeling responsible for Clayton’s death, and Naomi attempts to ignore the sizzling heat she feels in Mark’s presence, as she believes that raising Hunter leaves her no time for love. The magnetism between Naomi and Mark is breathtaking and real, and the magic of Christmas enhances their romance. Readers will cheer for the wounded warrior who may just have found a place to call home. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency.

October 15, 2018

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2018
A Marine who feels responsible for the death of a soldier travels to the man's hometown to make amends, but things get complicated when he falls for the soldier's sister.After a childhood filled with uncertainty and abandonment, Mark Shepherd turned to the Marines for a sense of order and direction. However, after an attack in Iraq a year ago that left his leg permanently injured and Clayton Luther, one of his men, dead, Mark is wracked by guilt, believing he is responsible for Clayton's death. He's also questioning his purpose and his rigid belief in following rules. In his last session with a psychologist before being released from the Marines, Mark receives a mysterious skeleton key that leads him to Twilight, Texas, Clayton's hometown. Twilight has a number of legends and traditions that revolve around romance, one of which is the kismet cookie. The legend goes that sleeping with a kismet cookie under your pillow on Christmas Eve makes you dream of your one true love. Before he died, Clayton gave Mark one, and, "against all common sense, Shepherd had slipped the cookie underneath his pillow," then dreamed of a woman he'd never met before. When Mark arrives in Twilight, his dream woman turns out to be Naomi, Clayton's sister. Mark tries to tell the Luther family about his connection to Clayton, but circumstances keep getting in the way. Mark and Naomi explore an immediate, fiery attraction, then help each other work through their pain and grief and ultimately embrace forgiveness, especially once Naomi discovers Mark's connection to her brother. Wilde's studies of military service and war wounds may be light, but the town that offers shelter and love to soldiers with physical and emotional damage is always nice to visit.Another Twilight, Texas, Christmas romance filled with warmth, spirit, and healing.

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Starred review from October 15, 2018
Former Marine Gunnery Sergeant Mark Shepherd can't believe it, but the cookie was right. While serving overseas with Clayton Luther, Mark reluctantly accepted a special Christmas kismet cookie that Clayton swore would reveal Mark's true love if he slept with it under his pillow on Christmas Eve. That night Mark dreamed of a beautiful, dark-haired woman, who now almost a year later stands before him. The problem is that the woman Mark is fated to love is Naomi Luther, Clayton's sister, and Mark has just arrived in the small town of Twilight, Texas, to complete a last request from Clayton, for whose death Mark holds himself responsible. In the latest stellar addition to her Twilight, Texas, series, Wilde explores the subject of PTSD with great empathy and insight. Put this together with the author's usual superbly nuanced characters, layers of emotion, and exquisite sexual tension, and you have a heart-wrenching and heartwarming tale that beautifully encapsulates all the love, hope, faith, and forgiveness of the holiday season.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)