My Kind of Christmas

There is nothing romantic about this gloomy holiday tale. When former cop Travis Morgan returns to Branding Iron, Tex., after serving three years in prison, the only thing he expects to get is solitude on his run-down family ranch. Mayor Maggie Delaney finds out the town’s Santa is retiring and sets out on a mission to replace him with only six weeks left before Christmas. She thinks Travis’s father, Hank, will be the perfect replacement, but Hank refuses to take the job unless Travis forgives him for a mistake from long ago. Prison has made Travis bitter, so when Maggie tries to get the two men to reconcile, all of her efforts are met with resistance. It’s obvious that Travis and Maggie are physically attracted to each other, but with no real conversations or time spent together, readers will wonder how they fall in love. The relationship is as nonexistent as the holiday cheer, and the character development is just as bland as the love story. Agent: Richard Curtis, Richard Curtis Literary. (Oct.)