Cowboy Christmas Jubilee

August 15, 2018
Fleeing California, Jinx Jacobs winds up in Holiday, Texas, when her motorcycle breaks down on the way to New Orleans. Though she's a loner, she becomes entangled with the local sheriff's deputy, his young daughter, and a town tempting her to give love a chance.Realizing her sleazy boss (and ex-boyfriend) is involved in dealing drugs, Jinx takes the money he owes her and begins a motorcycle trek from California to New Orleans, where a friend has a bartending job for her. During her ride, she discovers a huge stash of gift cards in her bag, the kind that her ex used to launder money from drug deals. When her bike breaks down in Texas, she's aided by Cash Walker, a local sheriff's deputy who definitely feels like she's hiding something but is attracted to her nonetheless. Soon Jinx has a job, a place to stay, and a connection to a growing number of people in the town and to the Walker family. She's falling in love with Cash and his daughter, and for the first time in her life, she feels like she just may have found a place to call home and people she can trust. Yet when Jinx's past comes knocking, Cash is quick to question his feelings for her. Some weak development mars the book. Jinx and Cash fail to communicate on almost every level other than in bed and through his daughter; a detail about Cash owing money to a curse jar every time he swears is overused to the point of grating; and the characters can be uneven. Yet author Crush's sophomore effort still manages charm, humor, a vast array of quirky Texas characters in a community readers will love, and a couple they'll root for anyway.Readers will enjoy returning to Holiday, Texas, with another fun, flirty title.

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 3, 2018
Holiday, Tex., the locale for this uneven contemporary, is full of holiday cheer, kindly characters, and charm, none of which Joy “Jinx” Jacobs was looking for when she set off to ride her motorcycle from California to New Orleans. But when the bike breaks down, she’s stranded in aggressively quaint Holiday. Deputy Cash Walker has his hands full with his seven-year-old daughter, Kenzie. The last thing he needs is for his precocious child to become enamored of the teal-haired, tattooed, pierced Jinx—because then he’d have to admit his own attraction to the outrageous biker. When Jinx finds she’s mistakenly taken valuable gift cards from her drug-dealing ex-boyfriend and former boss, she decides to use the goods for good, which lands her in hot water that she’ll need Cash to get her out of. Cash and Jinx are an unlikely pair, but their connection works. However, readers may need a dose of strong eggnog to get them through the slow start. Agent: Jessica Watterson, Sandra Dijkstra Literary.

October 15, 2018

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2018
Jinx Jacobs is on the move again, this time to get away from her drug-dealing ex-boss/ex-lover. When her beloved vintage motorcycle breaks down in the small town of Holiday, Texas, she only intends to stay long enough to earn the necessary funds to have her bike fixed. Local deputy sheriff Cash Walker has his hands full as a single dad to Kenzie, an energetic seven-year-old, but there's something about the new, teal-haired bartender at Rambling Rose that intrigues him. Soon enough, Jinx gets swept up in attending Walker family dinners, helping with preparations for the annual Jingle Bell Jamboree, and flirting with the sexy sheriff. Just as she considers putting down roots, her past catches up with her. Readers will be charmed by Holiday and its lovable residents in this fast-paced book by Crush (All-American Cowboy, 2018), filled with holiday cheer. Jinx and Cash have strong chemistry and fun banter, but it is the heart of the story that will resonate most with readers. A strong choice for those who keep Christmas in their hearts year-round.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)