Every romance contains a touch of fantasy, but this new offering from Dawson (My Big Old Texas Heartache
, etc.) has more than a few fairy tale elements. Lawyer, carpenter and philanthropist Nick Sutherland is the so-called "Santa Claus" of quaint Cedar Dell, Tex. Not only is he gorgeous and gentlemanly, but he is a "seeker of dreams" who has climbed the Himalayas and helped build a hospital in Africa. He's also, miraculously, single. When Nick isn't helping the town's elderly, he's busy trying to aid despondent Chloe Anderson, who's living in a broken-down trailer, awaiting the birth of her twins. Her boyfriend, Snake, walked out on her, and now Snake's mother wants to evict her. Enter Chloe's sister, Tess, a successful L.A. talent agent who has spent most of her life extricating her younger sister from one sticky situation after another. Sparks fly between Nick and Tess, but their romance is often interrupted by various implausible plot developments, including Chloe's abandonment of the twins shortly after their birth and Snake's involvement with the Cowboy Mafia. Tess's efforts at parenting her new nieces provides some comic relief, and Dawson's portrayal of Cedar Hill and its gossipy locals is not without charm. But more often than not, the story's twists feel fabricated for the sole purpose of adding tension where there is none. Agent, Denise Marcil. (July)
