Christmas…with benefits.

Rancher Riley Fletcher has known librarian Letty North since they were kids. But recently, he started to notice that Letty is beautiful and desirable, which convinces him she’d be the perfect woman to marry and build a family with. To think is to act for Riley, so this Christmas season, he sets out to convince Letty that they’d be the perfect couple.

Letty crushed on Riley for years. He was to her mind the ultimate sexy Montana cowboy, but no way will she marry him. She lost her parents at seventeen and ever since, she’s been unwilling to let anyone too close, certain she’d never survive another loss. But Riley has always been beyond tempting, so she counters with her own proposal—date until New Year’s.

Riley cockily agrees, convinced he can win her heart by her artificial deadline, but against the backdrop of Christmas and New Year’s, Riley soon realizes he’s deeply in love. What can he do to convince Letty to take a risk? And can she take a chance at love? Does she really want to be alone forever?

Titles in the Montana Made series include: The Wrong Brother ~ The Christmas Cowboy ~ Montana Medic’s Match ~ Hot Christmas Cowboy ~

This story may contain language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult 18+ audience.

Title:  Hot Christmas Cowboy
Series:  Montana Made #4
Author:  Eve Gaddy
Published:  November 4, 2025
Publisher:  Tule Publishing
My Rating:  4.5 stars

Hot Christmas Cowboy is the fourth title in the Montana Made series. This time, we’ll watch as two stubborn, determined people fall in love during their “Holiday fling” in Marietta, Montana (one of my favorite fictional towns of all time).  Letty is the town’s librarian, a job she loves with all her heart.  She’s known Riley and his family for years; in fact, when she lost her parents in an accident, Riley’s family brought her into their home.  She had a crush on him, but, back then, Riley knew she was too young for him, and he didn’t return more than brotherly affection.  Time moves on, people grow up, they change, and suddenly, Riley is looking at Letty with different eyes.  Here’s a woman who is beautiful, dedicated, and very interesting to this rancher.  She’s the type of woman a man can see himself settled down with for a good life together.  

Trouble is… Letty isn’t buying his argument to date, and then see what develops between them.  She’ll agree to a fling for the holiday season with an expiration date of New Year’s, then they’ll break up and go on with their lives.  Riley agrees, secure in his feelings, his belief in them being right for each other, believing he can convince Letty that they have a future together.  Umm… stubborn meets even more stubborn, and more scared.

Letty is scared; it’s that simple.  After losing her parents as she did, Letty has convinced herself that to love anyone is to be destroyed when she loses them, and of course, she’ll lose Riley; that’s just how love works for her.  She declared years ago that she’d remain single and be happy alone because to trust in fate that she wouldn’t be devastated again was asking too much.  Riley has his work cut out for him as he pulls out all the stops in the most tender, understanding, determined way to win her heart… and more importantly, her trust in them.

I love Eve Gaddy’s characters. I’ve been reading her books for many years now, and I can honestly say that I’ve never not loved any of her stories.  Letty and Riley hold a special place in my reading heart.  Letty is so relatable in her fear.  Yes, I know to some it’s unreasonable, but for her it’s her reality, and she’d rather protect her heart than risk feeling that kind of pain again.  Watching Riley patiently show Letty that loving someone is worth the risk, that being together, for however long, is enough to get through whatever the future may hold, was an emotional journey.  If you love a well-written, emotional romance filled with the magic of Christmas, laughter, and finding trust again, then you’ll devour Hot Christmas Cowboy by Eve Gaddy.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the author or the author’s team via Booksprout, and I sincerely thank them for their trust. It is my choice to leave a review, giving my personal opinion about this book.*

Do you love anything (any story) that’s even slightly connected to Marietta, Montana?  Yeah, me too.  Be sure to visit our Marietta, Montana pages (this link to where this series is located – there are three pages :)) to catch up on the series that you might have missed over time.  It’s quite an amazing and diverse community, with happily ever after endings guaranteed.

This title is available at Amazon (affiliate link)