Review: Adorable!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 13, 2013
I was really excited to read the Stranded with a Hero anthology. A handful of romantic, snow filled stories? Sounds perfect to this Minnesota gal! I will say that anthologies are a tricky thing. Most often I find that I’ll love one story, like one or two, and not be a fan of at least one and once again, I found that to be true.The first story of the anthology, Loving Mindy, was cute and sweet. Mindy in unexpectedly spending Christmas alone after her ex-husband sweeps their kids away for a surprise trip to Hawaii to celebrate with him and witness his marriage, even though it was technically Mindy’s year to have Christmas with the boys. Josh is driving past Mindy’s house when he swerves to avoid hitting her cat and ends up stuck in the ditch. Josh and Mindy have known each other since childhood and once upon a time were best friends. That all came to an end when Josh confessed his feelings for her in high school only for Mindy to reject him in favor of her now-ex-husband. Getting stranded together in a snowstorm for a few days gives them plenty of time to hash out the past and work toward rebuilding their friendship and building on those feelings that never quite went away. Josh and Mindy were sweet and once they made it out of the house, the supporting cast was fun and made me excited to read more about them in the authors other full length stories in the series.Next up was White-Hot Holiday, which pairs up workaholic, Scrooge-in-training Aaron with full-of-Christmas-Cheer, Naomi. When his boss orders him to take some vacation time, Aaron travels to Australia to visit old school chum, Luke for a couple weeks leading up to Christmas. While there, he meets Luke’s niece, Naomi, who’s bunking down with Luke and his family after a bad breakup. Aaron’s cynical about Christmas after some past bad experiences and feeling forced into family revelry every year with his family. Naomi loves Christmas and is determined not to let Aaron’s bad attitude get her down. This one started a little slow for me but by the end I was in love. I thought these two were really cute together and I absolutely loved how Aaron’s walls kept getting chipped away little by little as he started feeling the Christmas spirit. The last few chapters and the epilogue are so adorable and really make the whole story shine.The third story, An Officer and a Rebel, was by far my favorite. I’ve read a few things by Cindi Madsen at this point and really like her style and characterizations. I was a little apprehensive after reading the summary – wild girl with tattoos and purple streaks in her hair? Not necessarily a heroine I relate to. On a nostalgic impulse, Kelsey decides to drive through her teenage hometown of Marion, NC on her way to visit her mom for Christmas. Unfortunately her impulse gets her stuck in a snowbank in the middle of a snowstorm, only to be rescued by Nate, her teenage boyfriend’s older brother. Kelsey had never been one to fit in, and Nate had always been one to follow the rules. Kelsey always thought he disapproved of her, when in reality, Nate had always had a secret crush on her. Being the eternal “good guy”, he’d never act on it out of respect for his brother. But a few after a few days alone, Kelsey proves to be a temptation he can’t resist. Nate is just about the sweetest guy ever and I loved how his serious nature gave way to a fun sense of humor. While Kelsey is impulsive and rebellious, she’s also kind hearted, sweet and is clearly yearning to settle down, just in her own way. I love how these two balance each other and bring out the best in each other. As short as the story was, it was so jam packed that I didn’t feel like it was a novella. A bag of chocolate chips might just be the most romantic gesture I’ve read in a while!I had a tough time with the final story, Saving the Sheriff. Red is housesitting his friend’s ranch over Christmas. While out feeding livestock before a major winter storm hits, he comes across a trespasser in Elves clothing. Frankie made it her mission to free the reindeer/elk/caribou from her seasonal Santa’s Helper job. After hijacking the trailer, she drove it out to Three River Ranch, after reading online that it was a reserve for wildlife. From very early on I just didn’t like Frankie. I know she was supposed to come across as a passionate crusader, but I found her flaky and annoying. I actually liked Red, but couldn’t appreciate him once Frankie entered the picture and overshadowed him. The way Frankie teased him came across less as flirtatious and more as condescending. Even when we learned that it was probably justified for Frankie to try and save the reindeer/elk/caribou, the way she went about it was so flawed that I couldn’t find anything good about her actions. The writing itself was fine and it’s very possible another reader will enjoy this one but I just couldn’t get past my distaste for the leading lady.The anthology as a whole was cute and got me in the mood for sitting by the fireplace with some cocoa while the snow falls outside…which is a good thing because I think I saw some flurries this morning! Happy (and warm) reading!