Lots of snow but even more heat!
I have lived where snow literally takes over your life. Author Sarina Bowen does just that with her steamy story about two strangers whose lives were linked and began by a frigid snow storm. But it doesn't stay cold for very long! The story of a woman whose luck in life was really one that was not so lucky and a man whose luck always seemed to go his way, simply because he made it that way. She followed her heart to a disastrous relationship leaving her broke and lonely; he was an Olympian whose winning streak kept him going for as long as he thought he had to live - and lived his life not chancing on love only because he didn't believe there was anything there for him.
I liked that the characters were familiar in the sense that their triumphs were yours and their failures were also ones that may have or could have happened to anyone. Willow Reade, was in no way a helpless creature, she was strong but insecure, beautiful but not a princess. She was in fact anyone that you may know - a neighbor or a friend whose luck was just not on her side. By allowing herself the chance to just be in the right place at the right time, we see the story unfold and she meets a gorgeous stranger who also holds his own mysterious past and finds himself letting go to his new beautiful friend.
While driving home on a stormy Vermont evening while taking a chance on getting some feed for her chickens, Willow narrowly avoids hitting an oncoming vehicle. Dane (aka "Danger" Hollister), the Olympian whose personal secret has allowed him the chance to live a life like that of a winning bachelor, escapes being hit by Willows truck as they both swerve out of each other’s way and are now stuck on either side of the road. Making sure that she was OK, he invites her to his Jeep where we quickly find the two are attracted to each other and things get a little steamy while they are inside of his jeep waiting for the plow to come through as a monstrous snow storm blankets them in for the night. He believes that he will never see her again and plans for a getaway, however he seems to stick around a little longer than usual. After making it clear his intentions after their evening in the steamy Jeep, Willow tried nothing more than to be kind as she was and wait for him to run away.
It was by running that Dane found that he could no longer run from the secret that he had been keeping. Forever thinking that he inherited the disease that took his mother's life and made his brother sick and eventually take over his life as well, Dane was feeling what he thought were effects of the disease that he assumed he inherited. Together, they found that there was no keeping them apart. One event changed all that forever.
You want Dane and Willow to be together. You read quickly through and discover that what he was hiding was in fact hindering any possible way of moving forward with his life even though he seemed to have it all right at his fingertips. Reluctant Willow, however, wanted the dream and what she got was in fact a bit more than she bargained for - that greatly changed their lives forever.
Sarina Bowen brings two unlikely characters together - one who wanted to be loved and another who only ran from it, in a series of events that brought together two individuals who only seemed different were in fact very similar. Together we share in their lives can only hope that both of these characters will in fact get together as both of them soften to the idea of great changes that they must face together.
The story was such a fast read. I was engaged throughout and found myself wanting more. Bowen engages you in such realistic dialog and believable dialog. The plight of both loss and love and a second chance are wrapped together in this engaging story.