Sylvia McDaniel

I received a complimentary copy of this book as a part of a book tour in exchange for a fair and honest review. I rated it 3.5 Stars

With a message that family is more important than money and prestige, Sylvia McDaniel treats us to a second chance romance taking place during the holidays. With a likable, yet also annoying, hero and heroine, a precious child and well written secondary characters, Ms. McDaniel's story is a good reminder of what's important, regardless of the season. Ms. show more McDaniel's well paced plot and setting round out this entertaining tale of love.

Ambitious and hardworking, salesman Colin McDermott has worked all year to earn a promotion to Regional Sales Manager of the West Coast. Discovering the promotion he thought was a done deal is now up for grabs thanks to some last minute sales by a rival, Colin heads out to make additional calls on prospects he's trying to turn into clients. He didn't plan on running into Brooke, his college sweetheart, at one of the prospective hospitals he's trying to sell software to or on having to play a last minute Santa Clause to a roomful of kids. Ms. McDaniel does a good job developing Colin's character; at first he comes off as a single minded, almost obsessive businessman who has money and success on his mind. As we get to know Colin and his background, we get to see a man who grew up poor and thinking both of his parents abandoned him. Discovering he has a child he never knew about throws him into an emotional tailspin and makes him question what's really important.

Single mother, Brooke Warren, is content working at a local hospital and raising her daughter Olivia. Running into Colin, her college sweetheart, and the man who is secretly the father of her child, is something she never planned on. Talking Colin into playing Santa Clause in a last minute emergency is easy, coming clean about their daughter is not. While Brooke plans to keep Colin at arms length, she wasn't counting on Olivia, an angel named Gabriella and a demon named Devon, ruining all of her plans. Ms. McDaniel did a good job with Brooke's character; she's responsible, a loving mother and a good daughter. She's also scared of letting Colin into their daughter's life and into her heart.

The scenes between Colin and Brooke are well written; they're both likable characters but their fear, their stubborn behavior and their unwillingness to forgive their shortcomings in the past, made me want to slap them once in a while. Luckily Olivia, Gabriella and Devon always know what to do to bring them together, even if it wasn't what they planned. While Ms. McDaniel did a good job through most of these scenes there were a few times when both Colin and Brooke's emotional immaturity and inability to be totally honest with each other got annoying.

Will Colin choose money and a promotion over Olivia and Brooke or will he make peace with his past and look towards a brighter future? Who will win the battle for Colin's soul over the holidays - the angel or the demon? You'll have to read The Reluctant Santa to find out. It's a short, entertaining holiday read. show less

I can't tell you how much I love books about scheming mothers who try to play match-maker! For the most part, this was an excellent read about her oldest son and a woman with a questionable past. Travis is attracted to her, but he fights it by treating her terribly. He's so hard-head and convinced that she's this awful terrible no-good woman that he never stops to consider that things might not be what they seem.

Naturally there were a few scenes that would have been better left out, but show more aside from that, I enjoyed the book. show less

The Outlaw Takes a Bride by Sylvia McDaniel
Burnett Brides #2. Historical romance. Can be read as a stand-alone but know that the couple from the first book play a small part in this book.
After selling everything she owns, Elizabeth Anderson travels on a stagecoach as a mail order bride to the rugged Texas frontier. A robbery leaves her shot and destitute. Her only hope to make her arranged marriage work.

I appreciated Beth’s strength and determination but really hated her lack of options show more because of the time in history. I also didn’t like the “don’t deserve her attitude” from Tanner.
In the end it’s a romance, so they overcome the internal issues and get their HEA. show less

This story started off so funny! Taylor, Megan, and Kelsey hadn't seen each other in years so they were celebrating with lots of wine. In their drunken state, they decided to test the town superstition by doing the Cupid dance around the town statue. Apparently, by dancing naked around the statue, it would help them find their true love. While Taylor didn't want anything to do with men ever again, after finding her ex in bed with another woman, she went along with her friends' plan. They show more were having a great time until the sheriff came along. Megan and Kelsey ran off (without clothes) but Taylor was caught.

I really liked this cute story with its incredible characters. Ryan was a great guy, who had had a crush on Taylor in their youth, and hoped he would now have a chance to act on his feeling for her. But while Taylor was also interested in Ryan, she had decided that all lawmen were cheaters, like her ex who was a lawman. On top of that, Ryan had dated her best friend, Kelsey, in high school, so she thought she shouldn't date her friend's ex. Taylor and Ryan definitely have chemistry but will they be able to overcome the issues keeping them apart?

This sweet romance is not only funny but has some dramatic and sexy moments, too. It's a great read. show less