I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and I am voluntarily reviewing it.

I so enjoyed reading this story. I love the Marvell brothers. They are strong men who love fiercely. Cody is the middle brother who normally keeps the peace. He has always tried to be the good guy and come to the aid of others. He has enjoyed short-term relationships and it isn't until his younger brother Shane gets together with Ella (The Cowboy's Last Rodeo) that Cody realizes that he is missing and wants that special connection with someone. He is left home alone at the ranch this year. On his way back home from Marietta he sees tracks going into the neighboring ranch's drive. He knows the ranch is vacant with the death of rancher and the daughter, Murphy, lives else where. Fearing squatters or something more nefarious, he turns in. There he sees Murphy who has been gone for over 10 years.

Murphy is home for Christmas. She is going to put the ranch up for sale following the death of her father. She and Creelay (her father) didn't have a good relationship as she grew up. It wasn't until after his stroke and therapy sessions, that she discovers that he did love her but wasn't good at showing his feelings. The ranch isn't a place for happy memories as money was short, her mother left her father for another man when Murphy was four (the mother dies when Murphy is six and returned to live with her father at the ranch). Her father sold her beloved mare, Lady, to Cody right after she left for college. She believed the Marvells to have everything that she didn't. Plus in school, Cody flirted with every girl but her. Also he would drive by her on his way to school and not stop to ask her for a ride. Now he bought her beloved mare. Murphy had a major crush of Cody but there are hard feelings as well with his purchase of Lady.

Through a series of unfortunate events, Murphy is forced to abandon the ranch and stay with Cody for Christmas. This story shows how these two wonderful people work through the past and come together. I adored both of these characters. Having this book written in a dual POV format really helped me to be able to connect with Murphy. I was able to understand her actions and speech so much better. Being able to see into the character's mindset helps me to identify with them.

I highly recommend this story to anyone. Well this story really can be read as a stand-alone, I do recommend to start with The Cowboy's Last Rodeo though. Not because you have too but Ms. Watt writes wonderful stories.

This is a very slow build romance about two emotionally closed off people who lived in neighboring ranches/farms growing up.

The heroine/Murphy is much more reserved and still working through growing up with a cold and reserved father. It’s immediately apparent she’s held a lot of unfair preconceived notions about her childhood neighbors and made it into decades of one sided resentments and judgments.

The hero/Cody is the middle child of the Marvell brothers who keeps the peace and is easy going. He’s a serial dater and isn’t sure he can really do longer relationships. He really seemed like a normal guy to me and likable.

After a slow build they move fast and he’s feeling more for her than he’s had with others. She’s immediately protecting herself by trying to think of it as a one night stand and not taking a risk. Murphy had a lot of baggage and it felt like she projected that on Cody. I felt for her in the beginning but as it went along I grew weary of her and found myself skimming her long internal monologues.

I liked the 29 year old ranch hand, Brandon, a lot. When he came back early I loved the scenes between the three of them and how he lightened the mood.

Overall, it was a nice book but not one I’ll likely revisit. I am interested in the other brothers and if the storylines might have more energy.

2.75

I’m received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review.

Murphy is going back home to put her family’s ranch on the market. The plan is: go, get the place in shape to be sold, meet with the real estate agent and go back to the city where she enjoys a quite and confortable life. In the middle of that though, her place gets flood and she has no other option that to ask Cody Marvell, her neighbor, for help until she can meet the real estate agent and go back home.

So this is the kind of short and fast story. It's cute but it's not the kind of book that kept me glued to it. Their connection is solid seeing as they have a motive – he bought her mare from her father when they were young and she has hated him for it ever since. So what I think is missing is the story happening in the present tense. There's not a lot happening besides christmas decorations and sex.

I would recommend it if you're looking for a fast story that won't get you connected to the characters or their love. On the other hand, if you're looking for something a bit more heartwarming and unputdownable, then you better skip out on this one.

Murphy Anderson is returning home to her father's ranch to get it ready to sell. After 10 years away she has made peace with her dad before he passed away. She always wished for the life on the Marvell's neighboring ranch, so when she sees her high school crush Cody Marvell she is surprised the old feelings are still there. When bad weather forces them together they end up spending Christmas together. What started as a holiday fling scares both of them. Can they take a leap of faith and fight for their happily ever after? Great read.

3.5☆
Enjoyed it
I always enjoy revisiting Marietta and its characters.

What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Part of a series: The Men of Marvell Ranch
Standalone
HEA
Epilogue

I look forward to reading the other books in this series.

This romance novel was ok, I enjoyed reading it, however, it missed the mark for me. The plot was overly simplistic and did not feel natural. The characters didn't feel real enough and I struggled to relate to them.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed reading another of Ms. Watt’s books and also to seeing the Marvell family again. This book opens with Murphy Anderson returning to her family’s ranch after 10 years, outside Marietta, after her father’s death. She had a tough childhood. Her mother had left and later died, leaving only her and her father. He was a tough man and they struggled to make ends meet. She wants to clean out the house and sell the old ranch. Her return is over Christmas due to vacation time from her job in the city.

Her neighbor Cody Marvell sees a car at her ranch and stops to check. Murphy always had a crush on Cody and also hated him. She was envious of all the material things and money his family had, the fact there was a large loving family, the fact that he bought her beloved horse from her father when she left for college, and the resentment that he was never interested in her as a woman. Also, she’d had to work as a day laborer on his ranch many times to help her father with expenses and she didn’t feel comfortable. Cody has no idea she feels this way. When Cody sees it is her, he tells her he wants to make an offer on the ranch which makes her mad too.

Murphy works in her house and then the weather becomes a problem. There is snow and then a flood makes her house uninhabitable. Cody offers for her to stay at his ranch for Christmas. He is alone as the brothers take turn visiting their mother and taking care of the ranch. He wasn’t planning on getting a tree or decorating. However with her staying they work together to have a festive Christmas. They talk and realize their misconceptions about each other. She reveals to him her anger about him buying her horse ( he no longer has it, sold it to a friend, who sold it too) and about her awful childhood. They work together and a chemistry develops.

This is a sweet romance and a nice addition to the books taking place in Marietta. I will definitely read more by Ms. Watt.its a solid 4.5 stars.

This has been another Christmas Cowboy story to love. Second in Jeannie Watt’s Marvell’s of Montana series, A Marvell Country Christmas works well both as a stand-alone or as part of the series. With a boy next door theme to it, the story revolves around Murphy Anderson, who grew up poor and with only a closed off father to raise her, and Cody Marvell, the man she’d had a crush on as a teenager but whom she’d also resented for ignoring her. With plenty of history to address these two had an interesting journey to their happy ever after. Along the way there was a lot of Christmas cheer with tree decorating, mulled wine and Christmas cookies adding to the sense of family that grew as the story progressed. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

This is a first for me by this author... but it won't be my last.

Murphy Anderson is coming home for Christmas…

And as soon as she arrives, she’s putting the family ranch on the market. Her plan is to get in, get out, and head back to the city, where she belongs. Growing up on the hardscrabble property next door to the prosperous Marvell Ranch, and being constantly reminded of everything she didn’t have, left her with no love for ranching, or her handsome neighbors—especially Cody Marvell, who always rubbed her the wrong way. And maybe that’s why, when Cody shows an interest in the ranch, she hesitates to sell.

Cody Marvell has a way with people…unless that person is Murphy Anderson. Cody never understood what she was dealing with when they were younger. Murphy had a hard time while growing up, with no mom and a cold-hearted father. He made some mistakes, which he now regrets. He wants her ranch, and more than that, he wants her.
When a Christmas flood makes Murphy’s home uninhabitable, he invites her to stay at the Marvell Ranch. With the help of country Christmas magic, Cody hopes she’ll start to see him with new eyes.



I really enjoyed this story and will be looking for more of this authors work.

Thank-You Netgalley for my ARC.

A perfect Christmas homecoming romance!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author. All opinions are my own.

An enjoyable Christmas romance. I liked all the characters and the growth that both experienced throughout the story. The plot moved along nicely and had a nice realistic feel to it. This is also a real Christmas story (not just a mention to make it holiday title) that does deal with some of the feelings experienced over the holidays. Overall, an enjoyable story.

This is the first book by Jeannie Watt I have read and I loved it. I have already purchased a copy of one of her other books. I am looking forward to reading it.

This story is about overcoming the past and moving toward the future you want. Murphy hated the ranch she grew up on but was brought back and she was determined to make it with out any bad memories being to much but that doesn't really happen. Cody works on his families ranch which is right by the Anderson Ranch. He is the golden boy to Murphy. The guy she crushed on that didn't show any interest in her.

This story gave me the feels, and in part made think that maybe this Christmas I will try to get more in the spirit of the holiday as I tend to be the bah humbug. I really enjoyed this story a lot, the chemistry between the two. I loved how they made Brandon feel welcome when he returned. I look forward to reading more of this series.

Thank you Netgalley, publisher and author for a copy of this book to read. It was my pleasure to leave a review.

Another one of the Marvell brothers is spoken for, thanks to the long-lost girl next door! When Murphy returns home for the first time in ten years to put her late father’s property on the market, the last thing she expects is to run into, her high school crush, Cody Marvell. Cody rescues Murphy after her property begins to flood. She is forced to stay with him alone on his family’s Rachel over the Christmas holidays. Neither is looking for a relationship in the beginning, but that eventually changes. Cody is the first tonrealize that their relationship has the potential to become permanent. Unfortunately, Murphy fights it, and eventually leaves for Missoula. However, she misses Cody like crazy, and decides to return in an effort to make things right with Cody. They do eventually get their HEA!

A Marvel Country Christmas is a well written romance. This book has a good plot setting. I enjoyed the author’s writing. I recommend to readers of romance.

I loved this emotional and engaging story of two people learning of how their young misperceptions about each other tempered and tainted their thoughts and feelings about each other. The two main characters had warped teenage views of each other’s lives and personalities that, as the views are inspected, each finds they do not really know each other at all. What proves to be really true leads the way to love.

Murphy had one thing on her mind, get in and get out. Get the house ready for sale and get on with her life. Things didn't happen the way she hoped, but Cody has come to her rescue. Cody and his brothers own the ranch next door, Murphy has no love lost for this family. Cody has invited Murphy to spend the Christmas holidays with him. Murphy is thinking a Christmas fling, might just be ok, but will to turn into so much more.

Loved this Christmas story with plenty of traditions, decorating the tree, games. sledding, cookie baking and plenty of romance. Can't wait to read more of the Marvell Brothers. I highly recommend.

Joyous Christmas!

This author is new to me and I found I really enjoyed this book. The story had misunderstandings, preconceived ideas and feelings, chemistry, banter and good old fashioned romance. The relationship between Murphy and Cody starts with past memories and feelings. Cody recognizes Murphy is the one for him, and he helps her bring joy back to the Christmas season.

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Tule Publishing. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely.

Perception can alter people’s sense of reality, of the true facts when only seeing one’s own side of any situation. In many ways perception, misunderstanding the truth, and preconceived ideas handed down are at the core of A Marvell Country Christmas.

I had a difficult time warming up to Murphy. Her anger towards any Marvell seemed over the top, and at first I wanted to flick at that chip firmly planted on her shoulder. Yet, there had to be more than simply one thriving ranch and one floundering barely surviving ranch existing side by side to her reactions. And there certainly were. As Cody and Murphy’s story unfolds we begin to get a clear picture of the years when Murphy still lived on the ranch. Of the neglect, the lies, the promises broken by her father… and the unknowing part that the Marvells played in that history.

As the middle brother, Cody has always held the role of peacemaker. We first met him in The Cowboy’s Last Rodeo (part of the 79th Copper Mountain Rodeo and the first story in this series – Tule Publishing often has one story be part of two series, so don’t miss the first one). For the life of him, Cody could not figure out Murphy’s intense dislike of him. Even so, he still did the right thing by inviting her to stay at the family ranch when her home became flooded and impossible to stay at. Slowly Cody got the truth from Murphy, and did apologize for something he had no knowledge of back them. Also slowly the attraction that has always been flowing between them gets a chance to thrive with the magic of Christmas, misunderstandings explained and the possibilities in front of them.

Like Cody, once I understood why Murphy acted as she did, I did warm up to her, even liked her by the story’s ending. A lesson I learned long ago, never assume and wait til the words “The End” appear to make any judgments *grin* I enjoyed myself with Cody and Murphy, their romance is full of banter, misunderstandings and eventually the solid foundation that makes for a very happy ending. I would not hesitate to recommend A Marvell Country Christmas to any reader who enjoys a solid romance, interesting secondary characters, a bit of drama and a very happy Christmas ending.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

A Marvell Country Christmas by Jeannie Watt is the first in the spin-off series title Men of Marvell. It is a bittersweet story with two Characters who have known each other since childhood. They were never sweethearts just neighbors. From all outside appearances their lives couldn’t have been any more different than they were.

Cody was a supporting character in the last Marvell book, so I was glad he received his own story. Likable and hardworking, he is a friend to all. Murphy had a difficult, dismal childhood with her father on a ranch bordering Cody’s family ranch. Neither prosperous or inviting not a fun place to grow up. After ten years away, she had returned home to settle family affairs then move on with her life elsewhere. Plans often change as they do here. A sweet story with an extra sweet epilogue.

A Marvell Country Christmas by Jeannie Watt
Murphy Anderson is coming home for Christmas…
And as soon as she arrives, she’s putting the family ranch on the market. Her plan is to get in, get out, and head back to the city, where she belongs. Growing up on the hardscrabble property next door to the prosperous Marvell Ranch, and being constantly reminded of everything she didn’t have, left her with no love for ranching, or her handsome neighbors—especially Cody Marvell, who always rubbed her the wrong way. And maybe that’s why, when Cody shows an interest in the ranch, she hesitates to sell.
Cody Marvell has a way with people…unless that person is Murphy Anderson. Cody never understood what she was dealing with when they were younger. Murphy had a hard time while growing up, with no mom and a cold-hearted father. He made some mistakes, which he now regrets. He wants her ranch, and more than that, he wants her.
When a Christmas flood makes Murphy’s home uninhabitable, he invites her to stay at the Marvell Ranch. With the help of country Christmas magic, Cody hopes she’ll start to see him with new eyes.
This is Murphy Anderson and Cody Marvell's story.
This is going to be one lonely Christmas.
Murphy Anderson gave herself a mental shake as she turned her car off the snowy county road onto the neglected driveway that led to her family ranch. She was not going to endure another sad, lonely Christmas at her childhood home. This was going to be a positive and productive Christmas. She’d brought along a holiday arsenal to keep the mood as cheery as possible while she went through the house and prepared the property for sale. The boxes in the back seat of her car were loaded with spiced teas, holiday-scented candles, music, and even a small potted evergreen tree. She’d spent too many Christmases without a tree, so the decorated pine had been a must. When she returned to Missoula, she’d plant the little tree in the yard of the house she was in the process of buying to commemorate closing this chapter of her life.
And while she was on the ranch, she was going to stay positive. Absolutely, 100 percent positive.
He slowed as he rounded what he and his brothers called Anderson corner, named in honor of the abandoned ranch about a mile north of the road, then he rolled to a stop as the tracks he’d been following turned down the Anderson driveway.Huh.
Greeley Anderson had suffered a stroke the previous spring and, after spending six months in a care facility in Missoula, had passed away. So, who’d just driven down the Anderson road?
"I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book."
A Marvell Country Christmas by Jeannie Watt is a 4 star book.
Jeannie's Books with Tule:
The Montana Bride
Marvells of Montana
Starrs of Sweetheart, Montana
The Christmas Secret
Marvells of Montana
Catch Me, Cowboy
Marvells of Montana
The 78th Copper Mountain Rodeo
Austin
American Extreme Bull Riders Tour
The Cowboy Rides Away
Marvells of Montana
Wedding at the Graff
Holiday at the Graff
The Cowboy’s Last Rodeo
The 79th Copper Mountain Rodeo
A Marvell Country Christmas