O Little Town of Bramble (Deep in the Heart of Texas novella)

O Little Town of Bramble
by Katie Lane
Release Date: November 1, 2011
Publisher: Forever
Book #2.5 in the Deep in the Heart of Texas series
Number of Pages:  51
Paperback
Source:  Warren Public Library
Contemporary Romance/Holiday M/F
Rating:  PG-13
Read 2/14/19

All Ethan Miller wants for Christmas is to celebrate in Bramble, Texas, with family and friends. But when his childhood neighbor comes home for the holiday, Ethan realizes that the girl-next-door could be the girl of his dreams.

This short story was included in the copy of Carolyn Brown’s Cowboy Honor I read recently.  I couldn’t find the story listed individually at first so I wasn’t sure if it was part of a series.  It turns out it’s part of Katie Lane’s Deep in the Heart of Texas series.  Unfortunately, neither my online library nor my brick and mortar library have the first book in the series.  I can’t justify purchasing books right now because of other projects I have going on, but this series is definitely going on my list.  Plus, I’ve recommended it to my libraries in hopes they’ll purchase a copy I can borrow.  I thoroughly enjoyed this short story and would love to read more about the people of this town.

Ethan and Sam are pretty serious in their interactions with each other.  Not a lot of joking around or even flirting.  But the chemistry is still there and they both have reasons to be a bit unsure and awkward with each other.  The rest of the town, on the other hand, seems to have the comic relief in hand.  So don’t worry, this book is by no means somber and boring.

The author is able to convey a lot about both characters with the little bit of space she had to use.  There are a lot of feelings and situations the reader needs to understand in order to root for these two.  Ms. Lane does an exemplary job of getting the reader’s sympathies.

I’ve read another book by this author that I thought had great potential, Hunk for the Holidays, but never continued that series.  For some reason my library gets random books in a series and it never makes sense to me.  Why buy the first book and not the rest?  Why buy book 3 of 6?  Things like that drive me bonkers.  I’ll have to look into what is available for me to read by this author and give her some more chances as I have enjoyed her stories so far.

4.5 stars