Coming In From The Cold

By Sarina Bowen

Synopsis

He can’t have her. And he can’t tell anyone why.

Ski racer Dane “Danger” Hollister does not do relationships, though he keeps his reason a secret. The real-life curse he’s inherited from his mother will eventually cost him everything: his place on the Olympic ski team, his endorsement income, and his ability to fly downhill at top speed.

Reluctant country girl Willow Reade meets Dane by accident. Literally. Her skidding truck forces him off the road during a blizzard. Stranded together in his Jeep as night falls, the two loneliest people in Vermont find themselves sharing more than they’d planned. And not just conversation.

Yet neither can guess how their unlikely tryst will threaten Dane’s frightening secret and Willow’s tentative peace with her own choices. Only mutual trust and understanding can end their pain and give them a hard won shot at love.

Review

On a cold December evening in Vermont, Willow really doesn’t want to be driving in a snowstorm. But she is and there’s nothing she can do about it, especially when she starts to lose control and is involved in an accident with Dane. Both cars are unable to move and they’re forced to sit out the snowstorm together until help arrives. The attraction between the pair is instantaneous and strong, and while unsure of the reasons, both start sharing things about their lives they wouldn’t normally tell a stranger. Things like how Willow is left in financial ruin and stuck in Vermont due to falling in love with the wrong man and that Dane’s older brother is slowly dying. But talking won’t keep them warm against a raging snowstorm, so what’s a young man and a young woman to do in order to stay warm when both attracted to each other? Yeah, I don’t think I need to tell you.

Due to a genetic disease, Dane has accepted that he’ll never have a wife or children and has lived a very lonely life filled with frequent one night stands. But one night with Willow is not enough and leaves him wishing for a different life. When fate steps in, will Willow be able to put her heart and her trust in another man? And will Dane be able to accept who he is and take the future that’s being handed to him?

I loved Willow. She’s living a life she did not expect and yet she takes it as well as she can. While she has moments of sadness, she tries her best to not let them bring her down. She has a very strong spirit and had no problem putting Dane in his place when he was being a prick. And yes, Dane was a prick. Not at the beginning and not at the end. But in the middle I hated him because he was so cruel to Willow. If he was a living person I think I would have kicked him in the balls.

I liked this book and how the story progressed. I liked all the characters, except when Dane was being a prick. Yes, I’ve called him that three times, but he really was. I kept expecting Willow’s ex-boyfriend to make an appearance and cause drama, because that would have been predictable and a lot of the books I’ve read lately have been a bit predictable. I was so happy that Sarina didn’t go down that route. I was a little disappointed with the ending as it seemed to come up on me very abruptly. I turned the page and suddenly I saw “THE END”. I would have loved to have seen an epilogue six or so months down the track.

Overall the book got me hooked enough to want to read book 2 in the series, Falling From The Sky.