Tome Thursday: Snowfall and Secrets

 

Hello everyone!

 

And welcome to the final Christmas-themed review of the calendar year!

 

Man, it blew over fast.

 

Come next week, we're looking at some really exciting works to review, because did I read some FANTASTIC books as the year drew to a close.

 

I plan on reading a couple more of those but, for the time being, let me just say most of January is already filled up review wise.

 

As for tonight?

 

Tonight, we take a hike to snowy Michigan, the land where there's plenty of snow measured in actual feet, which I haven't seen in a heck of a long time.

 

Kimmy Loth wrote a romance series, you see, and the first book in it is called Snowfall and Secrets.

 

Links to previous related posts can be found at the bottom of the page, as per usual.

 

Although since I've never read anything by this author before, it's safe to say that the only ones will be the other holiday-themed ones.

 

Tess makes landfall in Michigan after fleeing Florida with a big secret she's unwilling to share yet, and promptly realizes she's got literally no gear that can actually withstand the temperature drops.

 

Her landlord, Lukas, helps her out a little by sharing some of his ex-wife's stuff (as well as getting her from point A to point B since, otherwise? Well, our girl would've been rightly screwed).

 

Then proceeds the typical, will they, won't they, as Tess has moved to the island he lives on to teach at a school there, where she firstly gets harassed by one of the other teachers, who later gets his come-uppance when Lukas punches him in the face.

 

Then, she of course tells herself she doesn't need a man to complicate things but, alas, a huge snowstorm rolls in, her house is literally snowed under, and Lukas decides to make it easy on them both and pretends her fireplace doesn't work.

 

This, naturally, leads to things heating up, and everyone and their mother could have guessed that would happen.

 

They all wanted to warn Tess about Lukas, too.

 

Turns out, he has a secret as well.

 

Remember how he used to be married? Well, he also used to be a father, but one time when he was working, he sat his two sons down in front of a movie and realized, too late, that they'd snuck out while he wasn't paying attention.

 

The end is horrifically tragic, and a divorce follows, as well as Lukas swearing he's never trying parenthood again because he's such a failure. My guy could take lessons from Kratos, actually.

 

Anyway, turns out that secret's not as explosive as the one Tess holds, because SHE woke up one morning after a party with no memory as to how she ended up naked on a couch, and is now pregnant. Thinking that she'd just had too much to drink, she never rightly considered she might have been used and discarded, but the consequences are here.

 

And Lukas balks at the idea when she shares the news with him, so that pretty much nearly ends their relationship right there.

 

Thankfully, however, all's well that ends well when some of his buddies from his university brotherhood come to knock sense into his head, and he proposes to Tess in an idyllic location they'd both admired earlier on in the book.

 

They also get married right then and there, too, and have their happily ever after on the spot!

 

 Whew.

The book's story is really good and has awesome bones - but it's executed much too fast.

I feel like Lukas and Tess both could have benefitted from giving their personal histories and baggage some room to breathe and marinate. As it is, things happen in a very wham-bam-thank you-ma'am kind of manner, which isn't BAD, but it leaves a bit to be desired.

Everything just needed some more fleshing out, the story, the main couple and the side characters.

It's definitely a GOOD read, quick and clean, but it could have been better with some more exposition.

xx

*image not mine

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