Peace and quiet—that’s all Connor Pierce wanted from the rented cabin on Crimson Mountain. Yet the caretaker turned out to be lovely April Sanders—a total distraction. As were the two little girls she was caring for. Connor’s plan to forget his painful past soon detoured into giving the ladies a Christmas to remember.


Being named guardian of two motherless girls has upended April’s world. Add to the mix a mysterious, brooding writer claiming he wanted to be left alone while going out of his way to bring a little joy to the girls, and she has quite the quandary. April had counted herself out of a happy ending. But maybe Santa still had a few surprises up his merry old sleeve…

Titles in the Crimson, Colorado series include: A Kiss on Crimson Ranch ~ A Second Chance at Crimson Ranch ~ Suddenly a Father ~ A Very Crimson Christmas ~ A Baby and A Betrothal ~ Always the Best Man ~ Christmas on Crimson Mountain ~ Romancing the Wallflower ~ Sleigh Bells in Crimson ~ Coming Home to Crimson ~ Anything for His Baby ~ Love at First Bark ~

This is an adult 18+ story that contains language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

Title:  Christmas on Crimson Mountain
Series:  Crimson, Colorado #7
Author:  Michelle Major
Published:  November 22, 2016 (Original), October 19, 2023 (Reissue)
Publisher:  Harlequin Special Edition
My Rating:  4.5 stars

Christmas on Crimson Mountain is the seventh title in the Crimson, Colorado series, and brought (for me) the most emotional, heartwrenching romance of this series, so far.  We met April when she and Sara first came to Crimson.  She’s Sara’s best friend, yet soon became an integral part of the community, even if she has held herself back a bit, a little off to the side, claiming that she had no need nor use for romance in her life as friends found their happy ever after endings. 

Right now, she’s way outside of her comfort zone, as she’s been named guardian to her friend’s two little girls, Raine, a twelve-year-old with wisdom and pain far beyond her years, and Shay, a delightful little almost five-year-old with a smile that lights up any room.  They’ve come to spend the holiday season with April, as their aunt and her family are on vacation.  April firmly believes the best place for the sisters is with their aunt and not her.  She’s wrong, but it’s going to take some Christmas magic, a very grumpy author, and allowing herself to believe in a future that has always had a cloud hanging over it before she’ll embrace the found family she has right in front of her.

Connor is a best-selling author, an author who needs to get his latest book written as he’s on a deadline with little to show for his editor.  He’s a man who has had to face an unimaginable tragedy, a man who has fenced off his emotions and is in a constant survival mode of living, if you can call what he’s doing right now actually living, more like existing.  He’s looking for peace and quiet to write, but what he’s about to get is more like controlled chaos with a woman who has her own fences firmly surrounding her, and two children who have lost their anchor in life and need so much from Connor and April, more than either believes they have to give.  The perfect setup for disaster… or, perhaps, to find a found family for them all that will give them a different future, yet one still worth embracing.

Christmas on Crimson Mountain by Michelle Major touched my heart in so many ways, and has lingered in my mind long after that final page.  There is pain and heartache in this story; there is also hope, and new beginnings should April and Connor take a few very difficult risks on themselves and each other.  I can completely understand why this story was a RITA award winner.  If you love a well-written, completely emotional romance that will tear your heart apart before mending it once again in a new direction, with believable characters and realistic situations, then you’ll be a perfect fit for this couple’s journey.

I read this title through my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

If you love this author’s work, please visit our Michelle Major page for other titles that you may have missed over time.

This title is available at Amazon (affiliate link)