Blurb
Spending the winter at a friend’s borrowed cabin in the Sierra Nevada mountains was supposed to give Lucy Pond time to finish her novel and look for a permanent place to live after a big breakup. But being Florida-born and raised didn’t prepare her for dangers like mountain lions, bears, and hypothermia. Most of all, she didn’t expect the danger of living next door to a sexy mountain of a man whose muscled body makes her bones melt even when he’s glaring at her.
Gabriel Mason isolated himself in a remote cabin to escape his grief. The last thing he wants is Lucy for a neighbor. Not only does she look like a strong wind could knock her over, she doesn’t know the first thing about surviving on a mountain in winter. But Lucy’s solemn eyes and wistful smile crack him open in unexpected ways, and soon he’s giving into the heat that blazes whenever they’re together. Still, Gabriel knows he’s broken. He may want Lucy, but he has no right to share her future.
Review
Cancer survivor Lucy Pond heads to an isolated cabin in a small mountain town to lick her wounds from her recent breakup with her boyfriend. She isn’t the outdoorsy type, and the cabin’s hot, gruff caretaker is the first to point out all the mistakes she’s making in trying to survive a snowy winter in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, she has her wonderful German shepherd, Hilde, to protect her.
Like Lucy, Gabriel moved to the mountains to heal from a tragic loss. He’s closed off and abrasive, but as he gets to know Lucy, his levelheaded, kind self reemerges.
Lucy and Gabe were perfect for each other. They have both suffered trauma and needed another damaged person to help them move on and learn to live again. However much I sympathized, I couldn’t relate to either of them. Maybe because I’d never, thankfully, experienced anything similar as to what they went through? I don’t know. I just felt their trauma held them back way too much, which slowed the pacing of the story. On top of that, there was more telling than showing and a few minor loose ends. Like what happened to the burglars and were they involved in Hilde’s poisoning (or rather, why weren’t they involved)? In my mind, the burglars’ involvement made total sense (get rid of the guard dog to rob the house), but that never happened and felt like a lost opportunity.
Anyway, readers who want an emotionally flawed couple, lots of steamy love scenes, and an adorable dog with a personality of her own, should consider giving this book try. Even though it wasn’t meant for me, you might enjoy it.
3.5 Stars
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