When a rapidly approaching blizzard forces her off the road in the small town of Sugarplum Falls, thriller author Brynlee Adams is dismayed to learn that neither of the local hotels has any rooms available. A local man offers her the use of his tiny cabin instead; the only problem is that she'll have to share it with handsome stranger Sebastian, who's also stranded because of the storm. Brynlee's addiction to true crime documentaries and horror movies immediately makes her suspicious of Sebastian, no matter how much he tries to put her at ease. The situation becomes even more awkward when he reveals that he's also an author; in fact, he's Brynlee's favorite romance author, whom she previously thought was a woman. Now that she knows the truth, she can't help wondering about the inspiration for his books' steamy scenes...and imagining herself acting them out, with Sebastian in the starring role.
Both Brynlee and Sebastian were likeable protagonists, and I enjoyed the aspects of the plot related to Brynlee's mysterious past and reconnecting with her family. Unfortunately, I wasn't so much a fan of their romance. I just didn't feel the chemistry between them, possibly because of Brynlee's early fixation on Sebastian as a potential serial killer. She genuinely seemed scared of him, which was understandable given the situation, but doesn't exactly lend itself to a burgeoning romance. Sebastian's behavior was concerning to me as well. In a lot of ways, it felt like he was putting on a show because both of his big emotional confessions happened in front of Brynlee's aunt and cousin. It's like he had written his and Brynlee's story in his head and was trying to force it to become real.
Bottom line, while not everything about this story worked for me, I'd still recommend it for fans of steamy contemporary romance. I look forward to the author's next release.
*Review copy provided by the author via BookSirens. All opinions expressed are my own.
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