Christmas at Twilight: A Twilight, Texas Novel Mass Market Paperback – October 28, 2014

This plotline is messy, with the protagonists reeling from serious issues! As the story unfolds, those issues are revealed slowly. Both Hutch and "Jane" adapted to their complex reality and learned to trust each other! The loving people of Twilight Texas supported them sweetly!I thought the angst, while realistic, was dragged out agonizingly slow! The descriptions of their self-defeating and conflicted reasoning were so redundant and agonizing! I finally just started skipping those endless paragraphs because they killed the plotline!I gave the novel 4 stars (really 3.5) because the plotline, characters, "feels" and tenderness were amazing! One of my favorite Christmas stories this year, but also an excersize in patience!

I enjoyed this story but it was a bit long on the love scenes. I enjoyed the twist and turns which I didn’t expect.

I debated between giving this review a 3 or 3.5, but I can't decide. There are parts of this book that I really truly liked and enjoyed, but as other reviewers mentioned please don't be fooled by the title and the cover - this is not the happy-go-lucky Christmas novel that you might be expecting. That didn't bother me as much but it's a warning to everyone who is considering purchasing this novel for that purpose.A few of the things I didn't like:1) If a woman runs off and leaves her daughter with you (as Ashley did to Meredith) and does not return after the stated time your duty as a responsible human being is to call Child Protective Services or family members (in this case she didn't know any) or go seek other people in town. It was just unbelievable that Meredith thought it was appropriate to continue to keep Kimmie, even if it came from a good place.2) How does Meredith get off setting ground rules for Hutch when it is HIS home that her homeless a** is staying in? Are you kidding me? It made no sense that he would put up with that crap from a complete stranger.3) Hutch regaining his voice was completely swept under the rug and not given the attention it deserved especially since before he got his voice back so much of the book was focused on his psychological issues that held him back from speaking.4) (THIS MIGHT BE THE THING THAT BOTHERED ME THE MOST): There was a chapter (or a few pages) in the final portion of the book that showed complete laziness from Ms. Wilde. She started describing the story by telling instead of showing. For example she wrote stuff like (paraphrasing) "Hutch was so happy the way things were going. Hutch really liked spending time with her." It was just so bizarre because the entire book (And every book I've read from Ms. Wilde) she does the showing not telling. I think she really wanted to rush to the we are in love part so she could get to the big scene at the end. Whatever - didn't love this part.5) Another reviewer said this but I can't stress this enough: these two would never have had a chance if it wasn't for the kids in this book. Neither of them would have an incentive to stick with the other. The Twilight series just seems to work better when it's long lost loves or when we're reading about people who grew up together or knew each other back in the day. I saw no chemistry with this couple and the mystery part regarding Meredith's ex-husband was much more interesting than the "love" story. The woman portrayed in this story is not healed enough to start a relationship with a new man.SEXUAL CONTENT: I'm used to a good amount of sex scenes from Lori Wilde's books, this book had one or two and it was soooo lame I wouldn't buy the book if that's what you're looking for because it's not steamy.

4.5 StarsLori Wilde seems to be either a hit or a miss for me. All the books in the Twilight, Texas series have been a hit! Including this one.Ms. Wilde dealt with some really heavy topics in this book. Domestic violence, mental illness and PTSD in war veterans being the main issues. It's amazing to me that she could put so many heavy topics into one romance novel and have it still be a really sweet story!The two little 4 year old kids were probably my favorite part! I was pleased with the way their dialogue was written. It made if very clear that they were 4 and not older. Sometimes I feel like kids are older when they're not supposed to be because their dialogue is written to much like an an older kid's.Despite Hutch being mute for 60% of the book, there was enough internal dialogue to know him and Meredith was his perfect match so she was able to understand him most of the time through facial expression and hand gestures.I was very pleased that both hero and heroine weren't super closed off to each other despite their individual struggles. Overall, character progression was awesome! Even though both characters took longer to open up to other town members, they opened up to each other, which was the most important part!I did find a bit of Hutch's emotional confessions of love and the future toward the end to be a bit fantastical. I've never heard a man speak that way in real life. I rolled my eyes several times at some of his dialogue.There was a little bit of foul language, a few f bombs and the other four letter words, but not an over excessive amount. Two love scenes. Both pretty tame and not super detailed.Overall, really great book!

Thoroughly enjoyed this book especially as it linked to the previously written ones

Dies ist der 5. Teil einer Reihe, die in der Kleinstadt Twilight, Texas spielt. Ich habe ganz bewusst diesen Teil ausgesucht und nicht mit dem 1. Band begonnen, da mich der tortured Hero mit PTSD besonders interessiert hat.Hutch, ein Delat Force Soldat, wird nach einem Hinterhalt als einziger Überlebender ins Militärkrankenhaus gebracht. Dort werden seine körperlichen Wunden versorgt, doch seit dem Vorfall kann er nicht mehr sprechen. Die Diagnose der Ärzt lautet, dass es körperlich möglich sei, er aber durch psychische Störungen das Sprechen verweigern würde. Deshalb entlassen sie ihn auch und senden ihn nach Hause.Als er in seinem Haus ankommt, erfährt er, dass seine Schwester das Haus an eine alleinerziehende junge Mutter vermietet hat. Da Hutchs Schwester über Weihnachten ohne ein weiteres Wort abgehauen ist und ihre kleine Tochter zurückgelassen hat, liegt es an Hutch sich um seine Nichte zu kümmern. Jane, die Untermieterin, hilft ihm dabei und - natürlich - kommen sie sich auch näher. Doch auch Jane hat eine Vorgeschichte und mit ihrer eigenen Vergangenheit zu kämpfen.Das Setting erinnerte mich stark an die "Virgin-River" Reihe von Robyn Carr, die ich verschlungen habe. Auch in Twilight sammeln sich ehemalige Soldaten und finden dort ihr familiäres Glück. Allerdings wurde meiner Meinung nach zu wenig auf das PTSD Hutchs eingegangen - wie auch, da noch jede Menge anderer psychischer Störungen "abgehandelt" wurden. PTSD, Borderline Syndrom UND Misshandlung ist vielleicht etwas viel für eine Story. Im Großen und Ganzen fand ich die Geschichte aber spannend und hatte trotzdem das Gefühl ein Wohlfühl-Buch zu lesen.Ich werde mir nur auch die anderen Bände besorgen und nun doch am Anfang der Reihe beginnen, da ich auf die Geschichte der anderen Paare neugierig geworden bin.

Was okay, I suppose. I was hard to get into. Once into it, it was okay. Had a disappointing ending. Not a five star by me.