Kathleen Creighton

One Christmas Knight is a sweet, gentle romance that was analogous to the biblical story of Mary and Joseph. It features an “immaculate” conception and a heroine who is stranded by a snowstorm in a town filled with other travelers and “no room at the inn.” Ultimately, she gives birth on Christmas night in the back of a semi-truck named The Blue Starr with no one to help but the hero. This was yet another of the love-at-first-sight stories that seem to be so common in the romances I've read, but at least the author created a credible emotional bond between the characters by having them share a rather extraordinary experience together. Afterward, they separated for a little while, giving them both a chance to make sure that their feeling for each other were real, and not just the result of an emotional high. These things made the story somewhat more believable to me. The book had lots of descriptive passages and introspection on the part of both Mirabella and Jimmy Joe which made the narrative move at a languid but steady pace. I think the pace could have been picked up a bit, perhaps with the inclusion of a little more dialog, and it might have been nice if the couple would have had a little more interaction and “getting-to-know-you” time following the big event before committing to a lifetime together, but overall, I don't really have any major complaints about the storytelling.

The hero, Jimmy Joe was really the best part of One Christmas Knight. He certainly was a “knight in shining armor,” a sweet, sensitive beta hero who was also a perfect Southern gentleman. I liked him so much it made me want to make a trip down south to see what I've been missing.;-) Jimmy Joe was a devoted single father who had know the pain of loss in his life which made him very sympathetic. His career as a long-haul truck driver and all the fun trucker lingo brought back fond memories of a kind truck driver who “rescued” my mother and I many years ago when our car was stranded by the side of the same highway in the story, and I also have an uncle who also used to be in that same line of work. I think having had these experiences in my life made Jimmy Joe seem more real to me, but it was truly just his charming nature, patience, gentleness and intuitiveness with Mirabella that made him irresistible to me.

On the other hand, I wasn't quite as quick to warm up to Mirabella. It wasn't that I actually disliked her, but I can't say that I enthusiastically liked her either. I think it was just that she was a little too stubborn and independent for my taste, often acting like she absolutely didn't need a man in her life at all. I'm fine with career-minded women who wait until later in life for relationships and family. In fact, I thought that Bella wanting to wait for Mr. Right (but never finding him) was admirable, but what bothered me about her was that she seemed to need to be in control too much. It was in the moments when she was able to let go and be a little bit vulnerable, when Jimmy Joe was able to break through her barriers, that I liked her more. Also, for such an obstinate woman she seemed to say, “I can't” a little too often, which is something that Jimmy Joe humorously pointed out to her at one point. In the end, I still thought that Mirabella and Jimmy Joe were as different as oil and water. It was difficult to see how they were going to “mix,” but I guess opposites attract all the time. I just usually like my heroes and heroines to have a bit more in common, though I'll have to say that readers who enjoy May-December romances with an older heroine should like this one.

One Christmas Knight is the first book in The Sisters Waskowitz series. It introduces Mirabella's best friend, Charly, who becomes the heroine of the next book, One More Knight, in which she is paired with Troy Starr, who I think may be one of Jimmy Joe's brothers, though I don't believe he was mentioned by name in this book. Also, Mirabella's two sisters, Sommer and Eve, the heroines of the other two books in the series, One Summer's Knight and Eve's Wedding Knight, receive a brief mention. In addition, One Christmas Knight spawned a spin-off series, The Starrs of the West, which features other members of Jimmy Joe's family as heroes and heroines. One Christmas Knight was a light, easy novel that was a nice way to wrap up my holiday reading. It was my first book by Kathleen Creighton, and I liked it well enough to explore other books from both series in the future.… (més)

One More Knight is a heartfelt, emotional story of a woman's journey back to the home town to which she swore she would never return twenty years before and her efforts to overcome the pain of the past. I had really enjoyed the first book in the The Sisters Waskowitz series, but as good as it was, I don't think it prepared me for how lovely and poignant this book would be. Kathleen Creighton has a beautiful way with words. She's very talented at describing the settings and gestures of the characters in a detailed and almost poetic way which really drew me into the story. She is not only great at setting the scene, but also the mood and tone which wonderfully conveys the emotion and tension that Charly felt as she faced down her demons. I also liked the way that the story of why Charly left her hometown twenty years ago unfolded slowly through her teenage diary entries from that time. It perfectly complimented the events of the present day and kept me reading to find out exactly what had happened.

Charly is a smart, independent woman who has worked hard for the past twenty years to become a successful attorney. She always felt that she had to make something of herself before she could return to Mourning Spring. Although she thinks that she has tamped down the pain of giving her baby up for adoption all those years ago, coming “back home” nearly devastates her, especially after she sees a photo of the young man who she knows in her heart is the son she left behind. On top of that, facing her father after all this time, makes her feel like the same confused, sixteen year-old all over again. In spite of having a stubborn, independent streak in her, Charly never irritated me like some heroines who fit this description would. I think this was because she was still smart enough to realize when she needed help. She also exhibited a great deal of vulnerability, and even though it scared her and was a foreign feeling to have someone else take care of her, she slowly allowed Troy into her life and willingly turned herself over to his very capable hands.

Troy is a fabulous hero. If it weren't for the fact that he's an ex-Navy SEAL, I'd have him pegged as a beta like his brother, Jimmy Joe. Troy is just a really nice guy who seems to enjoy helping others out and would do almost anything for anybody. What he thought was a simple mission to rescue his future sister-in-law's maid of honor turns into something more very quickly. Troy has been feeling rather lonely, watching his brother so happy with his soon-to-be wife, so he's quite open to the idea that he might have just found his own lady love even if she does come with a lot of baggage. He truly does become Charly's knight in shining armor, riding to her rescue at a time in her life when everything was falling apart and she needed him the most. I like how Troy isn't all that concerned with how Charly looks, but instead is drawn in by her eyes and all the pain he sees mirrored there. He is very intuitive to figure out that there is more going on in Charly's life than what he can see on the surface and what she's initially telling him. I love how he just wants to be there for her to ease her heartache and occasionally just sweeps in and takes over, but in a gentle, non-threatening way. Troy just always has Charly's back and is looking out for her well-being. I also thoroughly enjoyed his interactions with his pup, Bubba. The man is obviously a dog lover.:-)

I have to admit that I was a little skeptical about the future of this couple's relationship when they had sex the first night they met. This usually isn't my favorite plot device, but in this case, I at least understood that Charly was feeling vulnerable and didn't want to be alone after experiencing one of the worst days of her life. Troy, for his part, was feeling a little lonely too, and being a man, wasn't about to turn down a willing, passionate woman. There is a part of me that wishes the story could have been drawn out over a longer period of time. The bulk of it takes place in only a few days, so the romance is definitely played as love at first sight. Again this is something I typically have a hard time buying into, but somehow the author pulled it off and by the end, I believed Troy and Charly did love each other very much. I liked how Troy held back later on, wanting their love-making to be more than just something to ease Charly's pain. Ms. Creighton also slowed things down a bit between them and allowed them to have some really intimate moments where they were able to share their hearts with one another. I found the late-night picnic in the park to be thoroughly romantic.

One More Knight had some strong secondary characters. It was fun seeing Jimmy Joe and Mirabella (One Christmas Knight) again. I love that they're still so happy together and about to be married. Charly's father, her son, and her old housekeeper, the woman who raised her and was like a mother to her, were all well-written supporting players. I liked how everything came together in the end to give this family a happy ending that tugged on my heartstrings. It just goes to show that HEAs aren't just for the hero and heroine. There is also a little preview of Mirabella's sisters, Summer and Eve, who become the heroines of the next two books in the series, One Summer's Knight and Eve's Wedding Knight, as well as mention of a couple of Troy's siblings, Roy and Joy Lynn, who are featured in the spin-off Starrs of the West series.

Overall, One More Knight was a touching, small-town, family drama mingled with a sweet romance. Considering the shorter Silhouette length, I thought the author did a great job with the character and plot development. I just couldn't help but become invested in their lives and the outcome. My only minor complaint would be that Charly's friend Colin's secret was never revealed in so many words unless I missed something important. I think maybe it was one of those read between the lines kind of things that I'm sometimes good at and sometimes not. I have my theories, but was a little disappointed that it wasn't revealed in a way in which I could confirm my suspicions. Other than that, this was a truly lovely story that I'll be placing on my keeper shelf, and I'm looking forward to continuing the series.… (més)