By Firelight
Grant Monroe is enjoying being by himself in his mountain cabin when, during a heavy snow storm, there's a sudden thunk at the door. And then Madison Tierney stumbles in. She was hiking the Appalachian Trail, got ditched by her two friends, then got lost, and only barely made it to Grant's cabin. Now the two are trapped together in a cabin.
This story has my least favorite trope of "we don't need condoms I'm on birth control" and was also just a bit too insta-lurv-twee for my tastes.
Two and a half stars
Hot Arctic Nights
Hallie lost her mother in January and he job the Monday after Thanksgiving. She's not really in a holiday frame of mind so she agrees to fly up to Alaska and fill in for her friend's parents for two weeks at their B&B. She doesn't expect to find semi-permanent guest, Daniel.
When they meet, Hallie is about to fall over exhausted from travel and Daniel is dressed as Santa. She takes him to the school and learns that he works for the navy as civilian law enforcement.
Hallie then discovers that she has a family of fifteen that she's going to be expected to host, including cooking for them. Of course, as this is a holiday story, she is immediately enveloped into their warm bosom. Or something. Daniel helps her as often as he can and, as the two grow closer, Hallie starts to reclaim some of her holiday spirit. And she also starts to realize that maybe, as people kept telling her in the beginning of the book, Alaska is a place that she can fall in love with. Especially if she has a special someone to share it with.
Good use of condoms in this story.
Three stars
This book comes out October 11