An Alaskan Christmas

And in novels that I should have abandoned but stuck it out to the end, we have this holiday romance. I borrowed it from the library as an ebook when I forgot to bring a book for the bus and it starts off fine enough. Workaholic surgeon, Erika, is forced to go on vacation by the Anchorage hospital board and decides to go to her small Alaskan hometown, where she reconnects with her childhood best friend, who she hasn't seen in ten years. Also there is said best friend's older brother, Reed, who is now a hot search and rescue volunteer (and bartender). There's lot of initial awkwardness, eventually Erika and Reed get together (and wowzers can you tell this is a Harlequin imprint as there's a fair amount of "getting together"), there's the show more inevitable big break up, and final reconciliation. And because he's in search and rescue and she's a surgeon, there's dashes of medical peril thrown in. The point at which I should have put the book down was midway into the novel when Erika mentions in internal monologue that she saw Reed's father, who went missing when Reed was a teen, several years prior to the novel's start. It felt like a real BS move to include this plot point over halfway through when there had been regular mention by other characters of how much their father's disappearance had affected them. And I couldn't buy that even someone who was as socially awkward as Erika had been established to be, wouldn't contact the authorities about seeing a missing man, even if she was out of touch with her childhood best friend. AND THEN this plot point didn't even pay off. I assumed that it would be the source of the big misunderstanding but at no point did Reed find out she ever knew. Instead it seems to have been included just so Erika could recognize the father in the final section of the book when Reed is in the hospital. *eye roll* But somehow I persevered only to be rewarded with an eye roll inducing, overly happy ending that placed bows on every single thing (including fixing in a paragraph Erika's contentious relationship with her father). If you're looking for a holiday read, skip this one. Please. show less

Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.

So the first book in the Wild River series is fantastic. I didn't know at first if I would like it, but Snow does a great job of setting up the hero and heroine. They have some obstacles to get past, but I loved them falling for each other and trying to make it work long distance. I also loved that we get a sneak peek at the couple in the next series I assume (the hero's sister and a coworker of his). I definitely plan on reading this series in the future!

"An Alaskan Christmas" follows surgeon, Erika Sheraton. Erika is driven and looking forward to starting a new drug trial that will help prevent people from rejecting organs after transplants. show more However, after losing another intern (she's too driven and not a people person) her father who is a head at the hospital in Anchorage tells her she is being forced to take two weeks off. Erika has no romantic relationships and really no friendships. However, she messages her childhood best friend Cassie Reynolds and asks about visiting her in their hometown of Wild River. Cassie's brother Reed though remembers Erika, and recalls her being a snobby girl who once ended up getting them lost in the woods at night Now he's older and hotter and does Search and Rescue for Wild River. The twosome ended up disliking each other again after years apart, but both feel attracted to each other.

So Erika at first is prickly, but once you find out her backstory (her mom's death and her father pulling away from her) you can see why she is the way she is. I also loved having the woman being the successful one in this relationship. Erika knows what she is doing and she's a great doctor. I liked we never questioned her competence. She starts realizing she wasn't a good friend to Cassie after moving away and tries to step in to heal that breech. And when she realizes how attracted she is to Reed, the sparks just fly. There is a secret she's keeping (no secret baby!) but I am glad it got resolved via another character.

Reed is very good at his job though he gave up going to school to become a EMT or nurse due to wanting to help his sister out with her business. He's a good guy and I liked how we get to see how attracted he is to Erika and how it quickly develops into something more. There is a scene where Reed goes and asks an older woman in Wild River about what to do if you want to show someone you care that had me laughing out loud.

The secondary characters were developed well enough to make you more interested in reading about them in future books. I can't wait to see how Cassie gets her man!

The writing was very good (Snow obviously knows Alaska, search and rescue, and about frostbite and other things). The flow worked too.

The setting of Wild River sounded great though it only has about 2,000 people.

The ending was great and we get a HEA. show less

This first book in this series rom author, Jennifer Snow is off to a great start. I loved this book. Reed and Erika were great. Although, so was reed's sister, Cassie and a hidden star in Diva, the narcoleptic dog. I mean, what more could you ask for...a narcoleptic dog! Yes, please.

Erika started out with her hair up, expensive clothing, and a stuck up attitude but by the end of the story she had let her hair down, not afraid to get her hands dirty and found love in her heart. She and Reed were great together. Their first scene together was both hot and funny. Hot due to the make out session between these two and funny because after Erika took lead, she told Reed that he was "just ok". Luckily, things got better for Reed as he did win show more Erika's heart.

Maybe it was the cold Alaskan nights or the engaging characters but An Alaskan Christmas is a book that you will want to make sure is in your Christmas stocking this year! This book is sure to be on Santa's "good" list. show less

An Alaskan Christmas is the first book in Jennifer Snow’s new series, Wild River, which takes place in Wild River, Alaska. When Dr Erika Sheraton, gets sentenced to a mandatory two-week vacation, she decides to head back to her hometown and her childhood best friend, Cassie Reynolds. When Erika arrives in Wild River, she and Cassie quickly realise how much they’ve changed over time, but after reuniting with Cassie’s brother, Reed Reynolds, the two best friends finally start to get their groove back.
Speaking of Big Brother… Sparks are flying every which way between Reed and Erika. The pair have an immediate connection despite their rocky start. They butt heads as much as they flirt, which, for me, is so entertaining. I like my show more romance pairings to have various sparkings, okay? A little strife to add some spice to life. Growing up, Reed had a complex about proving himself to his little sister’s stuck-up best friend, they didn’t really interact aside from this one time one time they got lost overnight on a camping trip.
One of the things I truly enjoyed about An Alaskan Christmas was the research Jennifer Snow put into this book. Not just in the medical mumbo jumbo that I know absolutely nothing about but also in the search and rescue field which I’m happy to say I’m a fan of. So, when I say Ms Snow did research, I mean it! The one thing I didn’t really like was Erika was dogsitting and had the chance to put the dog’s shoes on but her response was “you’re a dog”. Ahem. Soap box time.
If you feel the need to protect yourself from the cold, including your feet, put the shoes on the dog because dogs can get frostbite too! I live in Florida, the complete opposite of Alaska, but my dogs wear boots so they don't burn their feet. If you feel the need to wear shoes to protect your feet from something, put boots on your dog. It bothers me so much that we have this educated character presented with the option of taking the precaution of protecting a dog from needing medical treatment and instead, she opts for "why would a dog need boots? so ridiculous." Why not educate your audience through your story and help put shoes on other dogs out there whose owners have that mentality through subliminal messaging? Instead, Jennifer Snow put dog boots in the story and made them seem ridiculous.
Moving on, An Alaskan Christmas is about love, connection, and discovery. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this book (like I’m ever sure about anything), but as I read Erika and Reed’s story, I found myself enjoying it. Did I hope Erika would fall down the stairs for not putting the boots on the dog? Maybe. But other than that, I found this book a great read. I got my emotions all twisted about and tugged every which way just right and I really enjoyed the storyline.
This book contains alcohol consumption, bar scenes, a father with an alcohol problem, life-threatening situations in the wild, and medical procedures performed in less-than optimum surroundings, and loss of parents.
Overall, I'm giving An Alaskan Christmas 4 stars and 5 flames. This book was well researched, entertaining, and absorbing. I look forward to reading the second book (hopefully Cassie's!). I received a copy of An Alaskan Christmas from Harlequin as a part of their 2019 Holiday Blog Tour and as super excited as being a part of Harlequin's blogging community, this does not influence my rating or review. I'm an overly opinionated heifer and, after thirty years on this planet, I'm stuck in the zone. But the FTC demands I make you aware of my connection to Harlequin so I'm connected to Harlequin as a voluntary blogger and reviewer.

This has been a review from Once Upon a Time, I Read a Book (dot-com), and if you enjoyed this review, come visit my site where you can find me in all of my weirdness. show less

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Erika is a workaholic surgeon and when her father, who is also her boss, forces a two week vacation on her before an important clinical trial she is set to lead, she's not happy. Deciding to try and reconnect with her childhood bestfriend Cassie, she heads up to her hometown of Wild River.
Reed was always intrigued by his younger sister's friend Erika but she's even more stuck-up than she used to be, until he has to help her and his sister get home after a couple of drinks. Having her help on his Search and Rescue crew has brought them together but circumstances and secrets could keep them apart.

Their show more tattoos had been more than just words at one time and their shared history had to mean something.

First in the Wild River series set in Alaska, I thought the author did a great job transporting the reader there. There are a couple search and rescue missions that Erika and Reed go on that help set the scene and environment, also giving a good winter wonderland feel that fits the holiday title. While I thought the environment setting was well written, I struggled with Erika and Reed's relationships with secondary characters. It's at first set-up for Erika to reconnect with her childhood bestfriend Cassie, but Cassie is not around Erika for most of the book and I missed their friendship, even while this gave more time to Reed and Erika. I also thought more interaction between Reed and his friends was needed to create more of the small town vibe and give the story more life. I just generally missed secondary characters helping to round out and fill the story.

Crazy as it sounded, nothing else seemed to exist when he was holding her. Both an amazing feeling and a terrifying one.

Our leads Erika and Reed do spend a lot of time together, this definitely helped their chemistry but the middle of the book and the majority of their time is sex scenes. I thought the sex scenes did good on emotionally connecting the characters at times but, I personally, was looking for more of them outside the bedroom; I found myself skimming some of the bedroom scenes at times.

Reed and Erika did have chemistry and I liked how low angst most of the story was, the author did a good job of creating real world problems, Erika being a workaholic due to how her father treated her after her mother died and Reed sticking around his hometown to help his sister and mother out and search for his missing father, and how this created two different worlds that put their happily ever after in jeopardy.

And it surprised him that two people who were so incompatible on the surface could be so perfect together at the core.

There was a hint of secondary romance between Reed's sister Cassie and his friend Tank that will draw you into (along with Cassie's narcoleptic dog) wanting to read the second of the series. The main characters' relationships with secondary characters wasn't filled out enough for me and the sex scenes were a bit too abundant but Erika and Reed's chemistry and emotion was there. show less

Erika is a surgeon working in Anchorage, Alaska who has been forced into taking a vacation by her hospital's board. She decides to head back to her hometown of Wild River, Alaska in order to catch up with her best friend Cassie, since it has been about ten years since they've seen one another. While there, she reconnects with Cassie's brother Reed, who works for the local Search and Rescue team. Erika ends up spending most of her vacation with Reed, and the two have a deep connection that turns into a romance fairly quickly.

Things I liked: the Alaskan setting, the outdoor sports, the scenes involving the Search and Rescue, the secondary characters, and Diva the dog

Things I didn't really like: It seemed like Erika and Reed were show more constantly having sex or thinking about having sex. They did other things, like outdoor sports a couple of times, and Erika assisted with some Search and Rescue missions. But my gosh, they had descriptive saucy moments ALL throughout the story and I ended up skimming those scenes. Romance stories are best (to me) when I get a good sense of the relationship building part. Meaning, I'd love to read some scenes where the two are getting to know one another or doing fun activities.

I loved the way everything ended for Erika and Reed, and I love that the next book features Cassie. I think what I was looking for at this time was something a little less sexy and more Hallmark-like, probably because of all of the talk of coronavirus and social distancing. At another time, I may have "loved" this one, where I really just "liked" it at this time.

Thank you to Harlequin publishing for sending me a free digital copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my thoughts in the form of a review! show less

This book had a great story backing it. An overworked doctor goes back to her hometown to visit her best friend. The best friend has an all-grown-up brother. He's Search and Rescue and she's a doctor. Sounds like a nice little fluffy Christmas read. Right away, practically on the first page, there is talk of chemistry. Then we get lots of fantasizing and a day or so into her trip her friend has to leave. Then it's full-on descriptive sex and dirty talk. I hate when an author doesn't leave that for us to imagine in our own way. I skipped 6 pages hoping to get back to dealing with the characters and where their lives had taken them. No. More skipping of pages. A couple with conversation and then MORE SEX! I always try to honor an author show more and make it through a book to find something positive but I am wasting my time. The premise sounded great but I'm not into erotica. show less