Promise Me This Christmas by C.J. Carmichael is a fabulous book. It is the fourth book in her Bramble House Chronicles. It has so many of my favorite things in it. There is an emotional second chance romance, it is Christmastime, the book is set in Marietta, Montana, there is a mystery to solve and we are at the Bramble House B and B. The owners of Bramble House, Amy and Chet are ready for their guests during a week of special events in the town. The guests include an older couple who are experiencing their first Christmas without their adult kids joining them, a single man who is perpetually grouchy, Amy’s brother Carson, Kris, who acts as the Santa for the Graf hotel, Edith, an elderly lady from Marietta who is recovering from hip surgery and her granddaughter Larkin, who is there to help her. Carson lives an hour away on his parents ranch. Larkin now lives in Denver and works as a reporter. The pair used to date in high school until they had a major falling out nine years earlier.Edith is thrilled that Carson is also at Bramble and tries to act as matchmaker. Larkin never told anyone why she and Carson broke up. She is still very angry at him and tries to avoid him. He has no idea why she is angry and is still very attracted to her. When the contractor puts off the renovations for Edith’s house, Carson offers to do it so she can return to her house as planned. Larkin and Carson finally have a heart to heart and clear the air. She realizes she also still has strong feelings for him but with them living in separate states, she doesn’t see how they have a future.There are strange things happening at Bramble. The first thing is the afternoon cookies are overdone. A couple of the guests commented on it and Amy knew her cook was top notch so she’s not sure what happened. After there was a complaint on the coffee, she realized the wrong beans were used that morning. Then the grouchy guest found a dead mouse in his room. Amy is worried as she depends on the five star reviews and is afraid this set of guests won’t be giving her that. The guests also participate in many fun holiday activities in Marietta; chocolate making at Sage’s Copper Mountain shop, sledding, ice skating and meals at the Graff, the Diner and Rocco’s and shopping in town. After an incident at the holiday tea Amy is hosting, everyone is talking and speculating on if someone is intentionally trying to make trouble for Amy and Chet.This is a wonderful story. There are many heartfelt moments. The interactions between the characters are great. Larkin and Carson finally talk and she shares her what happened to her in the past and they discuss the future. Their love has endured and is romantic to read. Amy and Chet and their son are creating a happy life together. Once the guests discussed their feelings and experiences, everyone was much happier. I love hearing about the activities at Christmas time in Marietta. It sounds wonderful. CJ Carmichael has given us another terrific series that builds on the prior Bramble House books. It is great that so many prior characters and places were part of this book as well. I also enjoyed trying to solve the mystery of the incidents taking place. This is a five star book I am happy to recommend.
