Fascinating story about getting stuck on a train at Christmas but finding ways to survive. Confusing at the beginning with all the many characters but liked how the author made you really get to know them. Adding the criminal element gave the story tension. Still could not figure what Matt Jensen does for a career but truly liked him. Also impressed with the rancher Luke and the teacher/hostess of a brothel Jenny. Smokey and his wife added humor. Got a little strange at the end but it helped put the story together. ( )

I didn't think I would ever finish this book. The story had wonderful potential, but the execution and writing was horrible. I was shocked at the glaring errors in content. For example, there is a murder trial in the story, but the laws of 1879 (or ANY timeline in U.S. History) are completely ignored. Trial procedures are stretched WAY past my ability to suspend belief, prisoners are allowed to sit with and freely converse with women while traveling in the Sheriff's custody, etc. There were other problems with historical accuracy surrounding social behaviors between men and women, the use of modern slang, and other issues that I just don't have the energy to get into. These issues constantly pulled me out of the story, making it a chore to finish the book.

I may give some of the author's very early work a try, but I'm not in a hurry after this train wreck (sorry for the pun). ( )

This is the perfect book if you are looking to get the feeling of Christmas running through your veins. The setting isn't only Christmas, but is also winter in the west. I tell ya', I could really feel the chill in the air.
Also, good character and story development. My only complaint is that there are two main male leads whose characters were so alike that it was hard to tell one from the other at time. ( )

From the Book Jacket: Three days before Christmas, Matt Jensen is traveling the Denver and Pacific railway, when an avalanche slams down onto the train, trapping it. But it wasn’t an act of nature that caused the accident; it was a gang of outlaws attempting to rescue their leader,who is being taken to Red Cliff to be hanged. As Smoke Jensen and Duff MacCallister frantically try to make their way to the scene, Matt struggles to save the survivors, among them a beautiful young wqoman with a dark past, a merchant seaman turned rancher, and a senator with his very ill young daughter.

My reaction
If that description sounds melodramatic … well that’s because the story is melodramatic. I picked this up strictly based on the cover because I needed to complete a challenge. I should have read the plot description first and gone looking for a different book.

The characters were all stereotypes and the message was heavy-handed. I don’t think I’m spoiling much by saying that the bad guys get what’s coming to them and the good guys win. It wouldn’t be a Western romantic Christmas story otherwise.

I couldn’t help but think of David Baldacci’s [b:The Christmas Train|126185|The Christmas Train|David Baldacci|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1354941481s/126185.jpg|3181772] … not a western, but a contemporary romance with mystery … also featuring an avalanche. Baldacci’s work was first published in 2001, eleven years before this effort. Hmmmm.

At least it was a fast read.
( )

A Rocky Mountain Christmas by William Johnstone
Matt Jensen is on his way to spend Christmas with the family-the ones who took him in.
Jenny McCoy is on the same train after she's been wed, widowed and banished.
The Senator is on the train with his wife and very sickly daughter. The sheriff is escorting a man to prison for 4 years along with a man to be hanged for holding up a man and asking for all his money.
There are others on and about the area when the train is derailed due to an avalanche. How will they survive and pull together to make it through the storm???
Easy to keep the characters straight. Love a good western and this is one of them.
I received this book from The Kennsington Books in exchange for my honest opinion. ( )