Reviewer: Rowena One Snowy Night by Jill Shalvis
Series: Heartbreaker Bay #2.5
Also in this series: Sweet Little Lies (Heartbreaker Bay #1), The Trouble with Mistletoe, The Trouble with Mistletoe, Accidentally on Purpose, Chasing Christmas Eve (Heartbreaker Bay, #4), Chasing Christmas Eve, Holiday Wishes (Heartbreaker Bay, #4.5), Holiday Wishes, About That Kiss (Heartbreaker Bay, #5), About That Kiss, Hot Winter Nights (Heartbreaker Bay, #6), Playing for Keeps (Heartbreaker Bay, #7)
Publisher: Harper Collins, Avon Impulse
Publication Date: November 8th 2016
Pages: 160
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Series Rating:
New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis returns to Heartbreaker Bay with a fun and festive holiday novella!
It’s Christmas Eve and Rory Andrews is desperate to get home to the family she hasn’t seen in years. Problem is, her only ride to Lake Tahoe comes in the form of the annoyingly handsome Max Stranton, and his big, goofy, lovable dog Carl.
Hours stuck in a truck with the dead sexy Max sounds like a fate worse than death (not), but Rory’s out of options. She’s had a crush on Max since high school and she knows he’s attracted to her, too. But they have history… and Max is the only one who knows why it went south.
They’ve done a good job of ignoring their chemistry so far, but a long road trip in a massive blizzard might be just what they need to face their past… and one steamy, snowy night is all it takes to bring Max and Rory together at last.
This was a shorty but goodie. Ha, see what I did there?
This novella features Max Stranton and Rory Andrews. Max works with Archer (hero of Book 3) and Rory works with Willa (heroine of Book 2) and they don’t like each other. Rory goes out of her way to avoid Max when he brings his dog into her work for his pet care needs and she wonders why he keeps bringing Carl (Max’s dog) in for every little thing, even things he can do himself, especially if he doesn’t like her. Max can’t explain it either. He’s got some resentments that go back to their high school days so yeah, he doesn’t like her but he sees her all the time. Goes out of his way to see her.
When Rory finds herself looking for a ride home, Max volunteers to take her. They’re going to the same place, they might as well go together. Rory isn’t a fan of this plan but ends up going anyway. She’s expecting a long, awkward drive to their hometown but she’s in for a surprise because everything she was expecting goes right out the window once they hit the highway.
Max is drawn to Rory, despite the resentment he feels for her. He’s attracted to her but shoves his desire for her down at every turn because he’s not over what happened back in high school. Her actions back then changed the course of his life and he hasn’t really gotten over it. The thing that really chaps his hide is that she acts like she doesn’t even care about changing the course of his life with her actions and that, more anything is what he can’t forgive.
Rory has had a crush on Max since they shared classes in high school. She was never the girl that all of the boys crushed on so of course Max didn’t return her feelings and she spent so much time planning to get out of their small hometown that she splits the first chance she gets. She left a family behind and hasn’t been back to visit them in years. It’s going to be hard going back home but she’s making changes in her life and she’s going to be dependable for once.
The whole road trip serves as an epic clearing of the air between Max and Rory and I thought it was super cute. If I had a gripe, it would be that their story was far too short but overall, it was still a cute romance with an adorable dog that I loved the heck out of. The love that blossomed between Max and Rory happened pretty fast but was made okay for me by the fact that they shared a history. Jill Shalvis can write the heck out of a story and for me, it showed in this short one. I adored both Max and Rory and wished we could have gotten more from their individual stories (it would have been nice to meet and spend some time with their families, see what happened when Rory finally went home, etc..) but I’m hopeful that we’ll get more of them in Archer and Elle’s book.
This was a delightful romance that one would excpect from Jill Shalvis and it made me anxious for the next one.
3.75 out of 5
I liked this novella, but I had some issues with it. Many people point out how short it is, which I agree with. But my big issue is that I don’t think Max had any reason to blame Rory for what happened in high school. It was his decision to do what he did even though he knew that it could lead to trouble. Plus it was when they were in high school, and he should have accepted responsibility by then.
oh I am so glad that you liked this one as well!! I really enjoy this author, and I do love seeing two people come back together like this. Its pretty annoying when a story is way too short, its my main problem with novella’s. They just aren’t long enough to satisfy sometimes.
I read the first book in the series. Looking forward to reading the 2nd and this novella. Thanks for the review!