The Christmas bargain, book #85

So I decided to look for a quick read and have a little Christmas in July, since I never seem to have enough time to read all the Christmas books I want to in December.  This one pretty much fit the bill and it started out great, but started going downhill in a way I did not care for.

This book encapsulated all my favorites ... pioneers, small towns, a little love, underdog ... Luke Granger, the banker, was just trying to have a client pay off his debt.  Mr. Booth, however, had no money at all and whenever he did have money he'd spend it in the saloon.  He did, however have a daughter, who took care of the house.  She seemed to be a homely character with serious self confidence issues, so afraid of her father.  When Luke shows up at the homestead demanding payment, he discovers Mr. Booth has nothing and was planning to "trade" his daughter to the saloon to pay off his debt there.  Not that Luke had any need for a wife or housekeeper, and the girl was not much to look at, he could not let her be given to the saloon.  So he agrees to take the girl for his payment and they are off.  

To find out what happens, you need to read it for yourself.   Your opinion may very well differ from mine!  

As owner and manager of the Hardman bank, Luke Granger is a man of responsibility and integrity in the small 1890s Eastern Oregon town. When he calls in a long overdue loan, Luke reluctantly accepts a bargain in lieu of payment from the shiftless farmer who barters his daughter to settle his debt. Philamena Booth is both mortified and relieved when her father sends her off with the banker as payment of his debt. Held captive on the farm by her father since the death of her mother more than a decade earlier, she is grateful to leave. If only it had been someone other than the handsome and charismatic Luke Granger riding in to rescue her. Ready to uphold her end of the bargain as Luke’s cook and housekeeper, she isn’t prepared to marry Luke as part of a crazy Christmas bargain. (picture and description from amazon)

I've already started another book to hold me over before I dig into this month's Book Club book!

Keep Reading!

O:)
Melissa