Review: Hot Contemporary Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 23, 2013
My rating: 4 of 5 starsBlaze of Winter by Elisabeth Barrett is a contemporary romance novel published in Sept. 2012. This is  Loveswept publication.This is the second in the Star Harbor series,but it can be read as a stand alone. Avery is a social worker in Boston. She helps people with drug abuse issues. But, when Avery loses a client her confidence is shattered. She doubts her abililty as a social worker and takes a leave of absence. Avery's Aunt Kate owns an inn in Star Harbor and is recovering from breast cancer. So, Avery agrees to stay at this inn until Kate is able to get back to work in full swing. This two month period away from her job in Boston was supposed to give Avery time to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. But, a handsome novelist checks into the inn to work on his book and Avery's life takes off in a different direction. Theo, has had what amounts to writer's block. He returns to his home town of Star Harbor for a little peace and quiet so he can focus on his book. Staying with his brother though proves to be too much for Theo's concentration and at the suggestion of a friend, he moves into Kate's inn for awhile. When he and Avery meet, it's love at first sight, but Avery is determined to fight her attraction to Theo tooth and nail. Meanwhile, there is trouble in Star Harbor. This is a perfect area for drug smugglers and the inn is a perfect place for someone to hide. I loved Theo! Wow, what a great guy. He's good looking and smart. He refuses to give up on Avery . Avery is very skittish about Theo. She's not is a good place in her life and knowing she would fall hard for him and then he would leave has her so terrified, she won't take a chance on love. Although I understood Avery had issues and needed someone like Theo to help her learn to trust, she took it too far at times and didn't treat this great guy very well at all. But, Theo understood Avery better than she understood herself at times and although he was human and got frustrated, he was still there for her no matter what. Avery and Theo both had great families that loved and supported each other. I'm looking forward to more in this series. Overall this one gets a B. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC