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Snow Queen #1
Snow-Kissed
Romantic Times calls Laura Florand's writing "sensuous and sumptuous", awarding her their Seal of Excellence, and NPR says it's "explosive, sensual . . . and utterly sweet".Now the internationally bestselling author of The Chocolate Thief takes us to a snow-kissed Christmas cabin for this heart-wrenching tale of love, loss, forgiveness—and hope.Voted the Biggest Tearjerker of the Year in the annual AAR reader poll (you were warned). Named one of the best books of 2013 by Dear Author and Romance Novels for Feminists. DABWAHA nominee (Dear Author Bitchery Writing Award for Hellagood Authors).Once they had been the happiest couple in the world. Once serious, restrained Kurt had fallen hard for a laughing, easy-going woman who filled their lives with joy.But when loss struck them, Kai went down under the avalanche of grief. She threw their marriage away, and she left him, fleeing the world for this cabin high in the mountains.Now, as the two find themselves snowbound over Christmas, Kurt has to convince his wife that while she may have lost everything else, she never lost him. Now he has to show her the true strength of one man’s love.Praise for Laura Florand and her novels“Emotionally intense.” – Publishers Weekly starred review "Gorgeous, brave, heart-breakingly beautiful, and written with astonishing insights into grief." -- Ruthie Knox, USA Today bestselling author“So romantic and sexy.” – USAToday.com“Sensuous and sumptuous.” – RT Book Reviews Seal of Excellence“Explosive, sensual . . . and utterly sweet.” – NPR“Gorgeously written, in that way that sort of creeps through my entire body and makes me shiver with delight.” – Dear Author"I love, love Laura Florand's writing! Deeply emotional, delightfully sensual, deliciously sumptuous. Give yourself a treat and buy this book." -- Virginia Kantra, NYT bestselling author
122 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2013
17 people are currently reading
1751 people want to read
About the author
Laura Florand
30 books909 followersLaura Florand is the international bestselling and award-winning author of fifteen books, including the Vie en Roses series (Once Upon a Rose), the Paris Hearts series (All for You), and the Amour et Chocolat series (The Chocolate Thief). Selected by NPR for their Top 100 Romance list, her books have appeared in ten languages, been nominated for RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Book of the Year, received the RT Seal of Excellence and numerous starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal, and been recommended by USA Today and The Wall Street Journal.
She was born in Georgia, but the travel bug bit her early. After a Fulbright year in Tahiti, a semester in Spain, and backpacking everywhere from New Zealand to Greece, she ended up living in Paris, where she met and married her own handsome Frenchman, a story told in her first book Blame It on Paris. Now a lecturer at Duke University, she is very dedicated to her research into French chocolate. For a glimpse behind the scenes of some of that research as well as recommendations for US chocolate, make sure to check out her website: www.lauraflorand.com.
She was born in Georgia, but the travel bug bit her early. After a Fulbright year in Tahiti, a semester in Spain, and backpacking everywhere from New Zealand to Greece, she ended up living in Paris, where she met and married her own handsome Frenchman, a story told in her first book Blame It on Paris. Now a lecturer at Duke University, she is very dedicated to her research into French chocolate. For a glimpse behind the scenes of some of that research as well as recommendations for US chocolate, make sure to check out her website: www.lauraflorand.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews
January 9, 2024
Laura Florand continues to astound me with her utterly gorgeous writing. Snow-Kissed was perfection!
To be honest I was a little scared to read Snow-Kissed when I found out it was about a marriage in crisis. I don’t like to be bogged down by depressing stories and what could be more depressing than a rocky marriage? Well I had nothing to worry about because this story was uplifting, and one of the best second chance romances I’ve ever read.
Kai and Kurt haven’t laid eyes on each other for a year and a half. After suffering through three miscarriages Kai was devastated and broken, angry and hurt, and she took all of it out on Kurt. She left and retreated to his mother’s mountain cabin shutting herself off from everyone. After the haze of heartbreak over the miscarriages faded a little, Kai realizes she destroyed the best thing in her life, her marriage. Or so she thinks.
When Kurt shows up at the cabin, emotions Kai thought she had a handle on break wide open: love, longing, sadness, and fear. Fear to hope and want the impossible: Kurt’s love and forgiveness, because in Kai’s mind she deserves neither.
I could relate to both Kurt and Kai, but I think Kurt captured my heart just a little more. He was so hurt by Kai, and also by the miscarriages, yet he never gave up.
“Kai. What did you think it meant, when I said I loved you? That love was just this bright, happy thing?”
She hesitated and shrugged a little, opening her hands. Kind of, yes. Wasn’t that what it was? Brightness and happiness? Or at least what it was supposed to be?
His hand curved around her face. “So did I, maybe,” he said quietly. “But when it wasn’t so bright or happy—that didn’t mean I wanted to let it go.”
This story brought out a range of emotions in just a short amount of pages. It realistically captured the struggles of a marriage, and it was heartbreaking the pain these two went through. Some parts brought tears to my eyes. But Kai and Kurt’s are at a point where they are ready to work at repairing the damage, and that filled my heart with joy.
After being apart for a year and a half, they can’t keep their hands of each other. As with all of Laura Florand’s stories, Snow-Kissed was sensual and sizzling! All the pent up longing and hurt felt by both Kai and Kurt bubbles up and made for some intensely passionate scenes.
This was a beautiful story of love, forgiveness, and healing all in mere 123 pages. Every page was so entirely lovely!
Check out Laura's pick for Kurt on her Facebook page. Perfect!
I can’t wait to pick up the next book in this series, Sun-Kissed! It centers on Kurt’s mom, Anne, a woman who reminds me of Martha Stewart, and Mack Corey a character from Laura Florand’s Amour et Chocolat series.
You can find this review and more at The Readers Den.
To be honest I was a little scared to read Snow-Kissed when I found out it was about a marriage in crisis. I don’t like to be bogged down by depressing stories and what could be more depressing than a rocky marriage? Well I had nothing to worry about because this story was uplifting, and one of the best second chance romances I’ve ever read.
Kai and Kurt haven’t laid eyes on each other for a year and a half. After suffering through three miscarriages Kai was devastated and broken, angry and hurt, and she took all of it out on Kurt. She left and retreated to his mother’s mountain cabin shutting herself off from everyone. After the haze of heartbreak over the miscarriages faded a little, Kai realizes she destroyed the best thing in her life, her marriage. Or so she thinks.
When Kurt shows up at the cabin, emotions Kai thought she had a handle on break wide open: love, longing, sadness, and fear. Fear to hope and want the impossible: Kurt’s love and forgiveness, because in Kai’s mind she deserves neither.
I could relate to both Kurt and Kai, but I think Kurt captured my heart just a little more. He was so hurt by Kai, and also by the miscarriages, yet he never gave up.
“Kai. What did you think it meant, when I said I loved you? That love was just this bright, happy thing?”
She hesitated and shrugged a little, opening her hands. Kind of, yes. Wasn’t that what it was? Brightness and happiness? Or at least what it was supposed to be?
His hand curved around her face. “So did I, maybe,” he said quietly. “But when it wasn’t so bright or happy—that didn’t mean I wanted to let it go.”
This story brought out a range of emotions in just a short amount of pages. It realistically captured the struggles of a marriage, and it was heartbreaking the pain these two went through. Some parts brought tears to my eyes. But Kai and Kurt’s are at a point where they are ready to work at repairing the damage, and that filled my heart with joy.
After being apart for a year and a half, they can’t keep their hands of each other. As with all of Laura Florand’s stories, Snow-Kissed was sensual and sizzling! All the pent up longing and hurt felt by both Kai and Kurt bubbles up and made for some intensely passionate scenes.
This was a beautiful story of love, forgiveness, and healing all in mere 123 pages. Every page was so entirely lovely!
Check out Laura's pick for Kurt on her Facebook page. Perfect!
I can’t wait to pick up the next book in this series, Sun-Kissed! It centers on Kurt’s mom, Anne, a woman who reminds me of Martha Stewart, and Mack Corey a character from Laura Florand’s Amour et Chocolat series.
You can find this review and more at The Readers Den.
July 27, 2019
I picked this up because it was on the “marriage on the rocks romance” list. Turns out it is a novella about how a woman’s breakdown after three miscarriages destroyed her marriage. Or so she thinks.
The story takes place at a snow-bound cabin, owned by the hero’s mother. Heroine is a food stylist, hero is a lawyer. Heroine is expecting a crew for a magazine photo shoot and is putting finishing touches on sugar snowflakes when the hero arrives.
There is a very labored opening as the heroine muses about her emotional winter and how the powdered sugar is like the obscuring snow covering all ugliness . . . and I realize I just don’t have the patience for extended metaphors in my romances, anymore.
So the gist of the story is the hero is hoping to reconcile with his wife after she left him 18 months before. Heroine had refused therapy and had it in her head that she was destroying the hero by staying with him.
Hero sold their house while they were separated because he couldn’t afford it and it made him too sad to live there. Heroine took that as a sign their marriage was over.
Both the H/h are sad, but they manage to have lots of sex and extended metaphors with snow queens, caves, animals in hibernation and spring crocuses continue apace.
Hero is a great guy and is standing by the heroine no matter what. He is not there for an ultimatum. He has been celibate all this time.
Heroine has lived with her delusional beliefs for so long that she is questioning whether she deserves to ever be happy again, etc. . . This isn’t angst – this is textbook depression. While time has helped ease her hormonal imbalance, the author seems to imply that the love of a good man and a dirty weekend in a cabin has done the rest.
While it’s great that postpartum depression and grief for miscarriages is described so well, I really didn’t like how the author offered no solutions besides the love of a perfect man. Depression can be (hopefully) helped with therapy, medication or some sort of professional intervention. The hero mentioned therapy once. The heroine’s actions prolonged her suffering and the author never pushes back on that. I hate when mental illness is used as drama fodder – especially when it is portrayed as hopeless and inevitable – until it isn’t.
The author actually trots out that the heroine had a happy childhood so she didn’t know how to handle pain. WTH? How about heroine had had too much trauma – physical and emotional – and she needed help from doctors and support groups and counselors? Anyone – happy childhood or no – can reach a breaking point. Trying to fix yourself by yourself is not the answer. Neither is hot kitchen counter sex. Nor hot shower sex. Nor snowball fights. Nor waffles. Nor Christmas crafts. All those things are nice and a sign of recovery, but it’s not the hard work on changing your thought patterns and climbing out the abyss one step at a time.
/steps off soapbox
Most reviewers loved this story so I’m obviously in the minority.
The story takes place at a snow-bound cabin, owned by the hero’s mother. Heroine is a food stylist, hero is a lawyer. Heroine is expecting a crew for a magazine photo shoot and is putting finishing touches on sugar snowflakes when the hero arrives.
There is a very labored opening as the heroine muses about her emotional winter and how the powdered sugar is like the obscuring snow covering all ugliness . . . and I realize I just don’t have the patience for extended metaphors in my romances, anymore.
So the gist of the story is the hero is hoping to reconcile with his wife after she left him 18 months before. Heroine had refused therapy and had it in her head that she was destroying the hero by staying with him.
Hero sold their house while they were separated because he couldn’t afford it and it made him too sad to live there. Heroine took that as a sign their marriage was over.
Both the H/h are sad, but they manage to have lots of sex and extended metaphors with snow queens, caves, animals in hibernation and spring crocuses continue apace.
Hero is a great guy and is standing by the heroine no matter what. He is not there for an ultimatum. He has been celibate all this time.
Heroine has lived with her delusional beliefs for so long that she is questioning whether she deserves to ever be happy again, etc. . . This isn’t angst – this is textbook depression. While time has helped ease her hormonal imbalance, the author seems to imply that the love of a good man and a dirty weekend in a cabin has done the rest.
While it’s great that postpartum depression and grief for miscarriages is described so well, I really didn’t like how the author offered no solutions besides the love of a perfect man. Depression can be (hopefully) helped with therapy, medication or some sort of professional intervention. The hero mentioned therapy once. The heroine’s actions prolonged her suffering and the author never pushes back on that. I hate when mental illness is used as drama fodder – especially when it is portrayed as hopeless and inevitable – until it isn’t.
The author actually trots out that the heroine had a happy childhood so she didn’t know how to handle pain. WTH? How about heroine had had too much trauma – physical and emotional – and she needed help from doctors and support groups and counselors? Anyone – happy childhood or no – can reach a breaking point. Trying to fix yourself by yourself is not the answer. Neither is hot kitchen counter sex. Nor hot shower sex. Nor snowball fights. Nor waffles. Nor Christmas crafts. All those things are nice and a sign of recovery, but it’s not the hard work on changing your thought patterns and climbing out the abyss one step at a time.
/steps off soapbox
Most reviewers loved this story so I’m obviously in the minority.
February 24, 2015
“...She had destroyed the one beautiful thing in her life that she did have the power to cherish and protect, and that unlike all of her other losses, she was the only one who had taken that power away from herself...”
Perfect fix for a winter day!! Passionate, emotional and heartfelt.
As far as novellas go, I have to say Snow-Kissed by Laura Florand just shot to the top of my list. This author knows how to pack a punch with her beautiful writing that doesn’t need pages and pages of space to develop. Florand uses her writing canvas and crafts her characters in such a careful manner that within moments of meeting Kai and Kurt, you’re vested in their story.
In Snow-Kissed, we travel to a mountain cabin where Kai has retreated to find solitude. After being separated from her husband for over a year due to three devastating miscarriages, she’s learned to distance herself from friends and family to avoid the hurt. In the process, she’s destroyed the only thing in her control… the marriage she had with Kurt. However, when he shows up to the cabin and collides with Kai, he forces her to face the aftermath of her destruction. Over the course of a few days, they battle with how to pull themselves together again.
Plain and simple – I just loved this story. It felt real and with each page I turned, my emotions compounded exponentially. I completely fell for both of these characters and was rooting them on the moment they demonstrated their desire to heal. I don’t think I have the right words to describe how I felt about Kurt. The man was absolutely amazing and well... I guess that’s why he’s fictional. :)
“I love you, Kai. Are you ready to love me just a little again?”
Beautiful story that was weaved with a magic pen. My applause to Florand!
Waves of Fiction 2015 Reading Challenge
- Read a book recommended by a friend. Thank you Rachel!
Perfect fix for a winter day!! Passionate, emotional and heartfelt.
As far as novellas go, I have to say Snow-Kissed by Laura Florand just shot to the top of my list. This author knows how to pack a punch with her beautiful writing that doesn’t need pages and pages of space to develop. Florand uses her writing canvas and crafts her characters in such a careful manner that within moments of meeting Kai and Kurt, you’re vested in their story.
In Snow-Kissed, we travel to a mountain cabin where Kai has retreated to find solitude. After being separated from her husband for over a year due to three devastating miscarriages, she’s learned to distance herself from friends and family to avoid the hurt. In the process, she’s destroyed the only thing in her control… the marriage she had with Kurt. However, when he shows up to the cabin and collides with Kai, he forces her to face the aftermath of her destruction. Over the course of a few days, they battle with how to pull themselves together again.
Plain and simple – I just loved this story. It felt real and with each page I turned, my emotions compounded exponentially. I completely fell for both of these characters and was rooting them on the moment they demonstrated their desire to heal. I don’t think I have the right words to describe how I felt about Kurt. The man was absolutely amazing and well... I guess that’s why he’s fictional. :)
“I love you, Kai. Are you ready to love me just a little again?”
Beautiful story that was weaved with a magic pen. My applause to Florand!
Waves of Fiction 2015 Reading Challenge
- Read a book recommended by a friend. Thank you Rachel!
December 24, 2022
This is a heart-wrenching book of second chances and grief. Proceed with caution. I don't love this season, and somehow I felt like this hit the spot as a result. I get very tired of all the "zany" uplifting holiday novels. But this one, while it hit the spot is Florand-level sexy and emotionally written, is heavy.
TW:
TW:
July 8, 2015
I find it really hard to put into words how important this book is to me. I connected to it on such a deep level. I've experienced the pain she goes through and how it breaks you inside. Although it was really hard for me to read, it is also such a relief to see your own thoughts and feelings put into words. Few people truly understand what it's like, and to find a book like this is like finding out you aren't alone. It's a subject people shy away from because they don't get it, and it makes you feel worse because you think you have to keep it all inside. I wish I could give everyone I know this book so that they could try to understand better. It also shows you how important it is to have someone by your side who loves you unconditionally and helps you survive.
A million stars for this book.
A million stars for this book.
September 8, 2013
Well, don't let it be said that Laura Florand can't slay your heart just as much as she makes it palpitate with her descriptions of chocolate! After having read - and loved - five of Florand's novels, I think I am more than qualified to admit that Snow-Kissed is perhaps her most ambitious piece. With every romance I read by Florand, I feel as if I am sucked deeper and deeper into her lush prose. And out of all the contemporary authors out there, only Florand can really bewitch me with her words; which is why, even though I was warned this novel was a heart-breaking one, I simply jumped at the chance to read it as soon as I could. Needless to say, I was far from disappointed.
Snow-Kissed is unlike anything Florand has ever tackled before. I am used to her quiet, but beautiful, romances, all set against the backdrop of Paris and each with a unique heroine. While I find that these novels have more than enough depth, they are primarily a whirlwind of melting chocolate and steamy gazes, which truly mends your heart more than it breaks it. With this novella, however, Florand manages to make the tear-ducts flow using just a few well-timed phrases - and it is slaying. (But so, so worth the read.)
After three miscarriages, Kai is depressed and utterly broken. Although her marriage to Kurt - perfect, caring, and mindful of her every need - is warm and loving, her string of failed pregnancies has driven a wedge between the pair. Unable to cope with having disappointed her husband, Kai leaves, hoping to re-build her life. When Kai and Kurt wind up snowed in, however, on a cancelled trip from work, the two are tense and confused. Can they patch up their marriage or was their perfect happily-ever-after truly too good to last? If Kurt has anything to do with it, though, he's getting Kai back. And this time, he won't let her run away. No matter what.
From the beginning itself, Snow-Kissed is permeated with a melancholy aura of nostalgia and regret. Kai regrets leaving Kurt. Kurt regrets not being enough for Kai to stay. And yet, underneath that, is also the bitterness. Kai is bitter that Kurt cannot understand her feelings, that he cares more for her than the babies they have lost. Kurt is bitter than Kai walked out on him instead of sticking around to make their marriage work. And just with those surface emotions, so much depth in built within this novel. It's gut-wrenching to see Kai and Kurt dance around each other, both so hurt and wary of what to do. And yet, what made me fall so hard for this short story is the fact that it is full of hope. Kai and Kurt, despite their broken pasts, despite the fact that they may never have children, despite the fact that their friends' lives revolve around their children now while their own lives are filled with that gaping hole, despite all that, there is still the hope that they can find a way back to one another.
Moreover, it should be noted that Snow-Kissed is far from a cold, hard novel filled with stark emotion. On the contrary, this book is steaming hot! Seriously. One of the aspects of this novella that I felt really worked was that the sex was such an integral part of the re-growth of this relationship. We are privvy to the perspectives of both Kai and Kurt, so while we feel their emotions and hear their swirling thoughts, we also witness the gradual change in the two of them. Surprisingly, their time away from each other has made both of them ready to do what they were unable to do before: heal together. And while, admittedly, the sex is fan-yourself burning, it's also a very charged, emotional experience that brings this married couple even closer.
Additionally, though, it is impossible not to connect with these characters. Both of them are so well-drawn and realistic that I felt my entire body sag in depression for Kai and similarly perk up at Kurt's burning hope. Kurt, who feels as if Kai is the ray of sunshine in his life with her spontaneity and optimism, is determined to bring back the old Kai - the one who teased him and made him fall so deeply in love with her. And yet, although so much of this novel is focused on Kai's healing, Kurt is never forgotten amid this either. I find that it is so easy to dismiss the father in a novel, merely because he is not the one who undergoes both physical and emotional pain, and while Florand made that distinction, she never disregarded Kurt's feelings either.
And yet, perhaps best - and worst - of all, Snow-Kissed ends off with Kai and Kurt in a better place in their marriage, not necessarily the best one. What Kai and Kurt learn about each other and about their relationship in this novella is incredible, but it is also not everything. We finish this novella knowing that we have only been given a small glimpse into the lives of this couple; a glimpse that does not necessarily reassure us that the future will be better, but does soothe us that the future will have these two tackling its challenges together. Nevertheless, I did feel a certain sense of loss upon completing this novella. I blame Laura Florand's writing - I'm so in love with it that I feel bereft at leaving it all, let alone slightly abruptly the way this one was. However, that small qualm aside, Snow-Kissed is not to be missed for fans of Florand. It may seem unusually heavy - and I certainly have made it seem that way - but truly, there is a pleasant dose of romance side-by-side with the emotional depth that makes this novella so wonderful. If you, like me, are anxiously awaiting your next Florand Fix (yes, her writing is like a drug!), then this will more than sustain you until her next romance novel is out. I, for one, have not regretted my time with Kai and Kurt and know that, once my heart is healed, I will return yet again.
Snow-Kissed is unlike anything Florand has ever tackled before. I am used to her quiet, but beautiful, romances, all set against the backdrop of Paris and each with a unique heroine. While I find that these novels have more than enough depth, they are primarily a whirlwind of melting chocolate and steamy gazes, which truly mends your heart more than it breaks it. With this novella, however, Florand manages to make the tear-ducts flow using just a few well-timed phrases - and it is slaying. (But so, so worth the read.)
After three miscarriages, Kai is depressed and utterly broken. Although her marriage to Kurt - perfect, caring, and mindful of her every need - is warm and loving, her string of failed pregnancies has driven a wedge between the pair. Unable to cope with having disappointed her husband, Kai leaves, hoping to re-build her life. When Kai and Kurt wind up snowed in, however, on a cancelled trip from work, the two are tense and confused. Can they patch up their marriage or was their perfect happily-ever-after truly too good to last? If Kurt has anything to do with it, though, he's getting Kai back. And this time, he won't let her run away. No matter what.
From the beginning itself, Snow-Kissed is permeated with a melancholy aura of nostalgia and regret. Kai regrets leaving Kurt. Kurt regrets not being enough for Kai to stay. And yet, underneath that, is also the bitterness. Kai is bitter that Kurt cannot understand her feelings, that he cares more for her than the babies they have lost. Kurt is bitter than Kai walked out on him instead of sticking around to make their marriage work. And just with those surface emotions, so much depth in built within this novel. It's gut-wrenching to see Kai and Kurt dance around each other, both so hurt and wary of what to do. And yet, what made me fall so hard for this short story is the fact that it is full of hope. Kai and Kurt, despite their broken pasts, despite the fact that they may never have children, despite the fact that their friends' lives revolve around their children now while their own lives are filled with that gaping hole, despite all that, there is still the hope that they can find a way back to one another.
Moreover, it should be noted that Snow-Kissed is far from a cold, hard novel filled with stark emotion. On the contrary, this book is steaming hot! Seriously. One of the aspects of this novella that I felt really worked was that the sex was such an integral part of the re-growth of this relationship. We are privvy to the perspectives of both Kai and Kurt, so while we feel their emotions and hear their swirling thoughts, we also witness the gradual change in the two of them. Surprisingly, their time away from each other has made both of them ready to do what they were unable to do before: heal together. And while, admittedly, the sex is fan-yourself burning, it's also a very charged, emotional experience that brings this married couple even closer.
Additionally, though, it is impossible not to connect with these characters. Both of them are so well-drawn and realistic that I felt my entire body sag in depression for Kai and similarly perk up at Kurt's burning hope. Kurt, who feels as if Kai is the ray of sunshine in his life with her spontaneity and optimism, is determined to bring back the old Kai - the one who teased him and made him fall so deeply in love with her. And yet, although so much of this novel is focused on Kai's healing, Kurt is never forgotten amid this either. I find that it is so easy to dismiss the father in a novel, merely because he is not the one who undergoes both physical and emotional pain, and while Florand made that distinction, she never disregarded Kurt's feelings either.
And yet, perhaps best - and worst - of all, Snow-Kissed ends off with Kai and Kurt in a better place in their marriage, not necessarily the best one. What Kai and Kurt learn about each other and about their relationship in this novella is incredible, but it is also not everything. We finish this novella knowing that we have only been given a small glimpse into the lives of this couple; a glimpse that does not necessarily reassure us that the future will be better, but does soothe us that the future will have these two tackling its challenges together. Nevertheless, I did feel a certain sense of loss upon completing this novella. I blame Laura Florand's writing - I'm so in love with it that I feel bereft at leaving it all, let alone slightly abruptly the way this one was. However, that small qualm aside, Snow-Kissed is not to be missed for fans of Florand. It may seem unusually heavy - and I certainly have made it seem that way - but truly, there is a pleasant dose of romance side-by-side with the emotional depth that makes this novella so wonderful. If you, like me, are anxiously awaiting your next Florand Fix (yes, her writing is like a drug!), then this will more than sustain you until her next romance novel is out. I, for one, have not regretted my time with Kai and Kurt and know that, once my heart is healed, I will return yet again.
October 15, 2016
I really enjoy marriage in trouble themed romance books. It is a different dynamic than boy meets girl and fall in love. These books usually have older characters and always seem more…mature. And the pain – oh the pain. I love to torture myself with a very painful book and hope to be rewarded with warmth at the end. Laura Florand does a nice job with this.
Kai and Kurt were once happily married but three consecutive miscarriages put Kai over the edge. It wasn’t just the loss of three babies, but the sever post-partum depression she started to endure. She starts to lash out at Kurt, refusing any help he tries to give her. She feels unworthy to be loved and eventually walks out of the marriage. With no contact from him for a year (maybe even a year and a half) she winds up at her mother in-law’s cabin one winter day. At this point, her and Kurt are still legally married but he did sell the house and quietly put half of the proceeds into her bank account. Kurt shows up at the cabin, as he expects his mother to also come for a meeting. Kai creates food segments for her mother inlaw’s magazine. But the snow starts to fall and Kurt’s mother doesn’t show up. What unfolds is a day of Kurt and Kai coming to terms with the why’s and the how’s and the what’s next.
What really shines in this book is the way Laura Florand gets us really into the characters heads. Especially into Kai’s. We can feel her pain and her anxiety. Florand really goes deep and it’s very raw in some places. Kai feels like she failed everyone and that too much time has passed to try to mend anything. Her anxiety over being alone with Kurt is so palpable. That feeling that it is just too much emotion for Kai to deal with really comes across.
I also think there is a fine line in this book placing all the blame at Kai’s feet. And I’m not saying that is the case. But a lot of it falls on Kai, and I think this author does a nice job with how she delicately works Kurt’s feelings and his past into the story.
On top of all the pain is hope and a calm that eventually settles. And in between the intense pain and the eventual calm are some super sexy sex scenes.
Laura Florand picks up her readers and gently places them into the extremely turbulent, painful lives of these two characters effortlessly. I feel like I’ve been with these two a lot longer than 130 pages.
Rating: B+
Kai and Kurt were once happily married but three consecutive miscarriages put Kai over the edge. It wasn’t just the loss of three babies, but the sever post-partum depression she started to endure. She starts to lash out at Kurt, refusing any help he tries to give her. She feels unworthy to be loved and eventually walks out of the marriage. With no contact from him for a year (maybe even a year and a half) she winds up at her mother in-law’s cabin one winter day. At this point, her and Kurt are still legally married but he did sell the house and quietly put half of the proceeds into her bank account. Kurt shows up at the cabin, as he expects his mother to also come for a meeting. Kai creates food segments for her mother inlaw’s magazine. But the snow starts to fall and Kurt’s mother doesn’t show up. What unfolds is a day of Kurt and Kai coming to terms with the why’s and the how’s and the what’s next.
What really shines in this book is the way Laura Florand gets us really into the characters heads. Especially into Kai’s. We can feel her pain and her anxiety. Florand really goes deep and it’s very raw in some places. Kai feels like she failed everyone and that too much time has passed to try to mend anything. Her anxiety over being alone with Kurt is so palpable. That feeling that it is just too much emotion for Kai to deal with really comes across.
I also think there is a fine line in this book placing all the blame at Kai’s feet. And I’m not saying that is the case. But a lot of it falls on Kai, and I think this author does a nice job with how she delicately works Kurt’s feelings and his past into the story.
On top of all the pain is hope and a calm that eventually settles. And in between the intense pain and the eventual calm are some super sexy sex scenes.
Laura Florand picks up her readers and gently places them into the extremely turbulent, painful lives of these two characters effortlessly. I feel like I’ve been with these two a lot longer than 130 pages.
Rating: B+
January 16, 2015
You can also find my review at Brandie is a Bookjunkie.
I'm still thinking about this book 2 days later - that is how much it affected me. It is the first book I've ever read by this author, but it definitely won't be my last.
Snow-kissed is about a married couple, Kurt and Kai, who are going through a heartbreaking crisis in their marriage. The issues they are facing are such a common and sad reality for a lot of marriages. After everything falls apart, Kai leaves Kurt, hiding out in her mother-in-laws cabin. A year has gone by, and Kai is starting to finally move past her grief and suffering when Kurt shows up at the cabin.
This story is told in both points of view, and that was so important to the story. To understand how broken they both felt, but how much they still loved each other so deeply. It absolutely broke my heart and brought me to tears. And the tender, intimate moments that they shared were breathtaking and gut-wrenching. I felt everything these two were feeling - it was the most emotional book I've read in a long time and packed quite a punch in 122 pages. Never did the story feel rushed or that I was reading a novella because of the authors ability to tell a story so completely and emotionally. I was totally blown away and left weeping at the end.
Will they be able to forgive each other and move forward? This is a must read and after thinking about it 2 days later - it's one for my favorites shelf. If you're someone who's turned off by novellas or shorter novels (as I used to be) - please don't let that stop you from reading this amazing book.
Thank you to Andrea (http://www.thebookishbabes.blogspot.com) for highly recommending this on her blog and to Rachel (http://www.thereadersden.blogspot.com/) for helping me discover this author. I plan to read more of her books in the near future.
I'm still thinking about this book 2 days later - that is how much it affected me. It is the first book I've ever read by this author, but it definitely won't be my last.
Snow-kissed is about a married couple, Kurt and Kai, who are going through a heartbreaking crisis in their marriage. The issues they are facing are such a common and sad reality for a lot of marriages. After everything falls apart, Kai leaves Kurt, hiding out in her mother-in-laws cabin. A year has gone by, and Kai is starting to finally move past her grief and suffering when Kurt shows up at the cabin.
This story is told in both points of view, and that was so important to the story. To understand how broken they both felt, but how much they still loved each other so deeply. It absolutely broke my heart and brought me to tears. And the tender, intimate moments that they shared were breathtaking and gut-wrenching. I felt everything these two were feeling - it was the most emotional book I've read in a long time and packed quite a punch in 122 pages. Never did the story feel rushed or that I was reading a novella because of the authors ability to tell a story so completely and emotionally. I was totally blown away and left weeping at the end.
Will they be able to forgive each other and move forward? This is a must read and after thinking about it 2 days later - it's one for my favorites shelf. If you're someone who's turned off by novellas or shorter novels (as I used to be) - please don't let that stop you from reading this amazing book.
Thank you to Andrea (http://www.thebookishbabes.blogspot.com) for highly recommending this on her blog and to Rachel (http://www.thereadersden.blogspot.com/) for helping me discover this author. I plan to read more of her books in the near future.
January 30, 2015
This is probably the best "second chances" book I'd ever read. I've read a number of books with the same theme but this one was the most raw, defined and thoughtful. The things I'm always looking for whenever I read something like this - the talks, the confessions, the pouring out of all the true feelings and emotions, and then the understanding, acceptance and finally forgiveness - it was covered here in such a very lovely and heartwarming way. I just have to give this book 5 stars.
I highly recommend this.
I highly recommend this.
September 18, 2013
Oh, that was gorgeous. Very, very different from her "Chocolate" series, but with many of the same wonderful qualities. The ending is utter perfection. Will write more later.
ETA: I make a blubbering mess of myself at Dear Author, while Sunita goes for sane: http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/ov...
ETA: I make a blubbering mess of myself at Dear Author, while Sunita goes for sane: http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/ov...
January 23, 2014
This was so beautiful, it hurts.
September 20, 2013
this review was originally published at the passionate reader
Yesterday I read Laura Florand's elegaic novella Snowkissed. In this work, Ms. Florand tells the story of a couple who, after almost two years of separation, finds themselves alone together in an isolated cabin surrounded by snow. The couple, Kai and Kurt, haven't seen each other or spoken since Kai left the home they shared eighteen months earlier. In that time, Kai has isolated herself from everyone she loved, sheared all joy from her life, and struggled to pull herself out of the profound depression she spiralled into after her third miscarriage.
The two spend the few days before Christmas slowly reconnecting, first through sex and then through the careful sharing of memories. Their reconciliation requires them to work through Kai's pain at the miscarriages and at destroying her wonderful marriage with her anger and grief. Kurt too must explore his pain over losing Kai, their possible children, and his anger she ended their marriage. Snowkissed is only about Kai and Kurt; no other characters appear to shift the focus away from the work the two are doing to find their love again.
Snowkissed is beautifully and sensitively written. Ms. Florand combines telling and showing to great effect. The sex scenes--in particular the first one which is intensely erotic--are presented as physical and emotional acts. The passion between them illuminates where they once were, where they are now, and where they could go.
As I read Snowkissed, I thought about Ruthie Knox's Making it Last. That novella too is about a couple who have lost the passionate love they once shared and has a heroine whose depression over the let downs in her life has pushed her into isolation and sorrow. In both books sex, shown here as an intimate connection between two who have made love many many times, is the venue the lovers use to bridge the distance between them.
Both books are very well written.
And (and I do mean and not but), both read to me as life stories rather than love stories. These stories pack a strong emotional punch. Both left me feeling as though I'd experienced some form of highly crafted couples therapy.
In Snowkissed, Florand uses the device of memory intersecting the present to show that to move past pain in a relationship, you must be able to own that pain and share it with your partner. Though both Kai and Kurt felt agony over the miscarriages, their pain wasn't the same and Kai, in particular, couldn't see Kurt's hurt in a way that made her share hers constructively. Infertility, by its very nature, is more viscerally agonizing to a woman simply because it is her body that is unable to produce a child. I know this personally; four out of my three children are infertility drug babies and the stress that first go round put on my marriage was immense.
In Making It Last, Amber has lost her way in life now that her children are growing up, her husband is working constantly and anxiously (He's in construction and the recession has hit his business hard), and there's nothing she does that makes her feel connected to the self she once was. She knows Tony loves her, but she can't feel his passion. She's alienated from her life and can't find a way back to joy. Tony and Amber have been married a long time and, like many long-term couples, they've forgotten how to be in love. Ms. Knox makes it clear that staying in love, staying passionate, requires work--hence the couples therapy experience. Making It Last is an instructive book both in its cautions and in its proffered solutions.
I am glad to have read both books. These stories struck home for me--I've been married for over 25 years. Snowkissed and Making It Last are life stories more than love stories. Yes, both chart a couple's path to overcoming barriers to reach a place of shared happiness, but that path is instructional in a way uncommon to contemporary romance.
I recommend both books with a caveat. If the idea of the romance novel as emotional work makes you antsy, Snowkissed and Making It Last may not be the life stories for you. However, if using well-written fiction as a way to better understand how we can create lasting love despite loss and depression appeals to you, pick up Snowkissed, Making It Last, and a box of tissues.
Yesterday I read Laura Florand's elegaic novella Snowkissed. In this work, Ms. Florand tells the story of a couple who, after almost two years of separation, finds themselves alone together in an isolated cabin surrounded by snow. The couple, Kai and Kurt, haven't seen each other or spoken since Kai left the home they shared eighteen months earlier. In that time, Kai has isolated herself from everyone she loved, sheared all joy from her life, and struggled to pull herself out of the profound depression she spiralled into after her third miscarriage.
The two spend the few days before Christmas slowly reconnecting, first through sex and then through the careful sharing of memories. Their reconciliation requires them to work through Kai's pain at the miscarriages and at destroying her wonderful marriage with her anger and grief. Kurt too must explore his pain over losing Kai, their possible children, and his anger she ended their marriage. Snowkissed is only about Kai and Kurt; no other characters appear to shift the focus away from the work the two are doing to find their love again.
Snowkissed is beautifully and sensitively written. Ms. Florand combines telling and showing to great effect. The sex scenes--in particular the first one which is intensely erotic--are presented as physical and emotional acts. The passion between them illuminates where they once were, where they are now, and where they could go.
As I read Snowkissed, I thought about Ruthie Knox's Making it Last. That novella too is about a couple who have lost the passionate love they once shared and has a heroine whose depression over the let downs in her life has pushed her into isolation and sorrow. In both books sex, shown here as an intimate connection between two who have made love many many times, is the venue the lovers use to bridge the distance between them.
Both books are very well written.
And (and I do mean and not but), both read to me as life stories rather than love stories. These stories pack a strong emotional punch. Both left me feeling as though I'd experienced some form of highly crafted couples therapy.
In Snowkissed, Florand uses the device of memory intersecting the present to show that to move past pain in a relationship, you must be able to own that pain and share it with your partner. Though both Kai and Kurt felt agony over the miscarriages, their pain wasn't the same and Kai, in particular, couldn't see Kurt's hurt in a way that made her share hers constructively. Infertility, by its very nature, is more viscerally agonizing to a woman simply because it is her body that is unable to produce a child. I know this personally; four out of my three children are infertility drug babies and the stress that first go round put on my marriage was immense.
In Making It Last, Amber has lost her way in life now that her children are growing up, her husband is working constantly and anxiously (He's in construction and the recession has hit his business hard), and there's nothing she does that makes her feel connected to the self she once was. She knows Tony loves her, but she can't feel his passion. She's alienated from her life and can't find a way back to joy. Tony and Amber have been married a long time and, like many long-term couples, they've forgotten how to be in love. Ms. Knox makes it clear that staying in love, staying passionate, requires work--hence the couples therapy experience. Making It Last is an instructive book both in its cautions and in its proffered solutions.
I am glad to have read both books. These stories struck home for me--I've been married for over 25 years. Snowkissed and Making It Last are life stories more than love stories. Yes, both chart a couple's path to overcoming barriers to reach a place of shared happiness, but that path is instructional in a way uncommon to contemporary romance.
I recommend both books with a caveat. If the idea of the romance novel as emotional work makes you antsy, Snowkissed and Making It Last may not be the life stories for you. However, if using well-written fiction as a way to better understand how we can create lasting love despite loss and depression appeals to you, pick up Snowkissed, Making It Last, and a box of tissues.
January 5, 2015
Snowy, painful, perfect.
December 20, 2021
CW: miscarriage
4.5 stars. I asked for books that would make me cry and Emma Barry pointed me in the direction of this novella. The prose was astounding—I highlighted so many lines. It’s heartachingly good with a very earned conflict. Marriage-in-trouble books can be a tricky needle to thread but Florand nailed it. I loved watching them rediscover each other and see how they’ve changed and grown in their time apart. There are also some really tender and hot sex scenes. I will never see powdered sugar the same way, that’s for sure.
However, it did not make me cry, although I felt the potential a couple of times toward the end. Kai and Kurt were both astounded that the other person loved them, believing they brought nothing to the table, and that is always going to pierce my heart at least a little. Alas, my heart stayed as frozen as Kai’s was at the beginning. It’s possible specifically asking for a book that would make me cry messed with my expectations and the story’s ability to affect me emotionally.
The author deftly handled their respective grief and acknowledged the undercurrent of anger that affects them in different ways. Kai had never had anything bad happen to her before the miscarriages (this always floors me about people and characters alike) and this made her ill equipped to grieve. This contrasted with Kurt growing up in a home with a controlling, perfectionist mother who became even more of an ice queen after her own miscarriages, to the point where her husband left. That Kurt chose to do the opposite of his father—that what his father did was never anywhere near the table—was incredibly powerful.
You never know how a romance dealing with miscarriage will end. In this case, I was so relieved about this choice and to see them resolve things but I found the actual ending to be on the abrupt side.
Characters: Kai is a white food stylist. Kurt is a white lawyer. They separated a year and a half ago
Content notes: past miscarriages (FMC, MMC’s mother), grief, past depression/postpartum depression, past suicidal ideation, generalized family planning discussion (including possibility of adoption but they don’t make a plan), marital separation, grief-related weight loss, MMC’s father left his mother after her miscarriages, on page sex, sensation play (snow!), gender essentialism, ableist language, hyperbolic language around suicide, mention of suicide as common in men after the death of their families
4.5 stars. I asked for books that would make me cry and Emma Barry pointed me in the direction of this novella. The prose was astounding—I highlighted so many lines. It’s heartachingly good with a very earned conflict. Marriage-in-trouble books can be a tricky needle to thread but Florand nailed it. I loved watching them rediscover each other and see how they’ve changed and grown in their time apart. There are also some really tender and hot sex scenes. I will never see powdered sugar the same way, that’s for sure.
However, it did not make me cry, although I felt the potential a couple of times toward the end. Kai and Kurt were both astounded that the other person loved them, believing they brought nothing to the table, and that is always going to pierce my heart at least a little. Alas, my heart stayed as frozen as Kai’s was at the beginning. It’s possible specifically asking for a book that would make me cry messed with my expectations and the story’s ability to affect me emotionally.
The author deftly handled their respective grief and acknowledged the undercurrent of anger that affects them in different ways. Kai had never had anything bad happen to her before the miscarriages (this always floors me about people and characters alike) and this made her ill equipped to grieve. This contrasted with Kurt growing up in a home with a controlling, perfectionist mother who became even more of an ice queen after her own miscarriages, to the point where her husband left. That Kurt chose to do the opposite of his father—that what his father did was never anywhere near the table—was incredibly powerful.
You never know how a romance dealing with miscarriage will end. In this case, I was so relieved about this choice and to see them resolve things but I found the actual ending to be on the abrupt side.
Characters: Kai is a white food stylist. Kurt is a white lawyer. They separated a year and a half ago
Content notes: past miscarriages (FMC, MMC’s mother), grief, past depression/postpartum depression, past suicidal ideation, generalized family planning discussion (including possibility of adoption but they don’t make a plan), marital separation, grief-related weight loss, MMC’s father left his mother after her miscarriages, on page sex, sensation play (snow!), gender essentialism, ableist language, hyperbolic language around suicide, mention of suicide as common in men after the death of their families
September 6, 2016
4.5 stars! Kai was suffering from grief and severe depression from three miscarriages in a row. She thought she was defective and not good enough or for her husband, Kurt. Kai had walked out on him just after she visciously attacked him verbally. Kurt wanted her back; he missed her; he loved her; he just didn't know how to help her. Finally, he made an attempt to repair their marriage.
It was a very good read. The half star was for the hero - normal, loving and caring husband. He was committed to his wife and his marriage.
It was a very good read. The half star was for the hero - normal, loving and caring husband. He was committed to his wife and his marriage.
January 5, 2020
Reread in January 2020: my heart rips apart every time I read this. Gahhhh.
May 10, 2022
This romance novella has been recced multiple times for high angst and marriage in trouble. These are two things I love, but I was disappointed and underwhelmed. Probably a combination of the subject matter (check CWs), my mood, and the short length (not enough time to get to know the characters and wallow in their misery). Also, the author starts sentences with "so" a lot, which irritated me.
September 20, 2013
5 Snowflakes (aka Stars!)
Kai has always been happy in her life; she comes from a family of happy people. That was until she ruined all chances of the happiness she and Kurt planned. So Kai ran away. Now eighteen months later she is forced to see Kurt again, she has dealt with the pain, she isn’t at happy and she has accepted she will never be at happy, but she can not face Kurt knowing he must hate her. What she doesn’t know is that Kurt is not the man she left all those months ago.
This novella pulled at my heart strings. The event in their marriage that pulls Kai away from Kurt is one that while each reader may not have personal experience most will be able to empathize. Kai’s pain leapt off the page. Her grief was written with such poignancy that at times I cried even when her character did not. Kurt is a true hero in this book; so many men would have given up. His patience and love for Kai is a constant, it was beautiful to read. He shows great emotion, sometimes it is love and concern, other times it is the deep pain and grief he feels for their lost relationship. It is through that pain and grief Kurt shows how he has been able to move to a place where he can understand Kai’s pain and hopefully help her.
I purposely have been vague about what has happened to Kurt and Kai’s relationship. This is because Snow-Kissed is so much more than what tore them apart; it is about honoring marriage vows, about a couple finding a way back to each other; each in their own way. Kai and Kurt each had to work on themselves independently and now at the perfect moment they are both at the point that they can try, try to get back to happy. Kurt has desire enough for both of them, he has conviction in their marriage vows, and his love for Kai has only grown.
A fantastic read that deals with real life. This is not a hearts and flowers on the way to an HEA book. This is how life deals you that heart-breaking blow after you have found the HEA and the rings have been exchanged - and how a couple who truly love each other to the core can fight back book. The emotion that Laura Florand conveys in her writing truly impresses me. I am planning on ready every word she has ever published. She writes characters you never want to forget. I would love to read the story of when Kai and Kurt met and their budding romance.
I received this book from Laura in exchange for my honest review.
Kai has always been happy in her life; she comes from a family of happy people. That was until she ruined all chances of the happiness she and Kurt planned. So Kai ran away. Now eighteen months later she is forced to see Kurt again, she has dealt with the pain, she isn’t at happy and she has accepted she will never be at happy, but she can not face Kurt knowing he must hate her. What she doesn’t know is that Kurt is not the man she left all those months ago.
This novella pulled at my heart strings. The event in their marriage that pulls Kai away from Kurt is one that while each reader may not have personal experience most will be able to empathize. Kai’s pain leapt off the page. Her grief was written with such poignancy that at times I cried even when her character did not. Kurt is a true hero in this book; so many men would have given up. His patience and love for Kai is a constant, it was beautiful to read. He shows great emotion, sometimes it is love and concern, other times it is the deep pain and grief he feels for their lost relationship. It is through that pain and grief Kurt shows how he has been able to move to a place where he can understand Kai’s pain and hopefully help her.
I purposely have been vague about what has happened to Kurt and Kai’s relationship. This is because Snow-Kissed is so much more than what tore them apart; it is about honoring marriage vows, about a couple finding a way back to each other; each in their own way. Kai and Kurt each had to work on themselves independently and now at the perfect moment they are both at the point that they can try, try to get back to happy. Kurt has desire enough for both of them, he has conviction in their marriage vows, and his love for Kai has only grown.
A fantastic read that deals with real life. This is not a hearts and flowers on the way to an HEA book. This is how life deals you that heart-breaking blow after you have found the HEA and the rings have been exchanged - and how a couple who truly love each other to the core can fight back book. The emotion that Laura Florand conveys in her writing truly impresses me. I am planning on ready every word she has ever published. She writes characters you never want to forget. I would love to read the story of when Kai and Kurt met and their budding romance.
I received this book from Laura in exchange for my honest review.
January 7, 2016
"Kurt brought her wrist to his mouth and sucked the sugar off. She gasped again, collapsing, her other hand smashing into that sugar snowfall to hold her up. Kurt, what are you doing? Kurt—wait, what? He licked her wrist clean of sugar, little sucking sips with his tongue that were so delicate it was as if this tall, controlled, strong man behind her was a butterfly and she was nectar."
His wife runs away after her 3rd miscarriage & in a span of almost 2 years of her being gone he does not cheat,date nor divorce her.
His wife runs away after her 3rd miscarriage & in a span of almost 2 years of her being gone he does not cheat,date nor divorce her.
April 30, 2018
She had become another person and destroyed everything close to her in the transformation. As the closest and the most important [person], he had taken the greatest harm of all. --Kai's thoughts on her self-destruction
4.25 stars
Gosh this book was so hard to finish. Not because it was terrible in any way, but because the topic--the story itself--was so, SO, SO heartbreaking and just SAD. I've never read a book so realistically terrible, so heart-wrenching and something that made me feel so....alive and sad and helpless and sympathetic and hopeful and somehow still wistful all at the same time. It was beautiful.
The writing was very descriptive and snow/frost/frozen-centered (which I expected), but it still took me a while to get used to and fully immerse myself into the story of Kai and Kurt. Their love was sort of a whirlwind adventure of new experiences and joy and laughter. Their marital happiness was interrupted and broken by three miscarriages, which sends Kai into a tornado of grief and despair and guilt and just a profound sense of emptiness. Unable and unwilling to face her reality she pushes everyone away--including (and maybe especially) her husband--and secludes herself in a remote cabin in an attempt to move on and forgive herself. Kurt and Kai are finally brought back together a year and a half after their separation and are forced to face their mutual feelings of hurt, guilt, and abandonment in the hopes of rekindling their love and finally moving forward together.
It really was a beautiful and heart-wrenching book and reminded me of Katy Regnery's Don't Speak, which again is probably why I tend to steer clear of "dark/intense" contemporaries--because when done correctly, they have the power to rip your f*cking heart out. Overall, I really enjoyed it. This novel gave me a new perspective on miscarriages in general and made me grieve anew with all mothers who have gone through this, including my own. I'm glad I finally read this one.
My Kai and Kurt, using the quiet and stillness of a snowy Christmas to heal one another and find love once again..
May 28, 2014
It's heart-breakingly sad, yet somehow optimistic. I even "wrote" my own over-the-top sweet epilogue in my mind. Kai and Kurt totally deserve it.
The story touched me personally and I loved it. Thank you, Ms Florand for making such a beautiful story out of so much pain and guilt!
Full review to come.
This is a novella that can be read as a standalone or as the first book of the Snow Queen series.
I knew from the blurb that it would be about a marriage in trouble and I love this trope in romance but so far I haven't read many books dealing with it. What I didn't know was the cause of the marriage troubles. It touched me on a very personal level and the story as whole affected me deeply.
The story is told in the careful, sensual style of writing of Ms Florand that we know from her other works. What sets this story apart is the profound sadness and pain. Kai's (the heroine) sense of guilt, her inability to deal with the tragedy which struck her marriage was overwhelming.
It a story of two people who love each other very much and who are trying to find the way back to each other after experiencing the worst kind of pain and loss. They are lost in a world of snow and work slowly to rediscover the possibility for Christmas joy and most importantly, hope for the future. Kai and Kurt reconnect first physically presented in exquisitely sensual and intense love scenes. Their true coming together involved some painful confessions and ultimately forgiveness. Kai and Kurt rediscover their love, why and how they love each other.
Despite the short format of the book, we see real growth and development of the characters - the time apart has changed them both and this change makes it possible for them to be together again. Things cannot go back to the way they were before, their loss is irreversible but they can try to find something new and good for them both.
I fell so in love with the characters that I didn't really want their story to end. Since Ms Florand doesn't give us a definite HEA or an epilogue, I wrote one for myself in my head and it's beautiful and magical, just what Kai and Kurt deserve.
I had a minor issue with the names, not liking either Kai or Kurt but when the review in Dear Author brought to may attention the connection with the Snow Queen fairytale and Kai, the boy with the piece of glass in his eye and in his heart making him unable to love, it all made sense. I can't believe I missed the connection and I've been listening to the Bulgarian audio of the fairytale these days with my daughter, I'm truly absent-minded these days. This adds yet another dimension to a story which is already complex and multi-layered.
This is one of my favourite books of Ms Florand and one of the best I've read this year. I can recommend it to everyone but beware it will break your heart before putting it back together.
You can read more of my review and other bookish news on my blog - http://elliereadsfiction.blogspot.com/
A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by author in exchange of an honest review
The story touched me personally and I loved it. Thank you, Ms Florand for making such a beautiful story out of so much pain and guilt!
This is a novella that can be read as a standalone or as the first book of the Snow Queen series.
I knew from the blurb that it would be about a marriage in trouble and I love this trope in romance but so far I haven't read many books dealing with it. What I didn't know was the cause of the marriage troubles. It touched me on a very personal level and the story as whole affected me deeply.
The story is told in the careful, sensual style of writing of Ms Florand that we know from her other works. What sets this story apart is the profound sadness and pain. Kai's (the heroine) sense of guilt, her inability to deal with the tragedy which struck her marriage was overwhelming.
It a story of two people who love each other very much and who are trying to find the way back to each other after experiencing the worst kind of pain and loss. They are lost in a world of snow and work slowly to rediscover the possibility for Christmas joy and most importantly, hope for the future. Kai and Kurt reconnect first physically presented in exquisitely sensual and intense love scenes. Their true coming together involved some painful confessions and ultimately forgiveness. Kai and Kurt rediscover their love, why and how they love each other.
Despite the short format of the book, we see real growth and development of the characters - the time apart has changed them both and this change makes it possible for them to be together again. Things cannot go back to the way they were before, their loss is irreversible but they can try to find something new and good for them both.
I fell so in love with the characters that I didn't really want their story to end. Since Ms Florand doesn't give us a definite HEA or an epilogue, I wrote one for myself in my head and it's beautiful and magical, just what Kai and Kurt deserve.
I had a minor issue with the names, not liking either Kai or Kurt but when the review in Dear Author brought to may attention the connection with the Snow Queen fairytale and Kai, the boy with the piece of glass in his eye and in his heart making him unable to love, it all made sense. I can't believe I missed the connection and I've been listening to the Bulgarian audio of the fairytale these days with my daughter, I'm truly absent-minded these days. This adds yet another dimension to a story which is already complex and multi-layered.
This is one of my favourite books of Ms Florand and one of the best I've read this year. I can recommend it to everyone but beware it will break your heart before putting it back together.
You can read more of my review and other bookish news on my blog - http://elliereadsfiction.blogspot.com/
A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by author in exchange of an honest review
March 11, 2016
"Kai. What did you think it meant, when I said I loved you? That love was just this bright, happy thing?"
Kind of, yes. Wasn't that what it was? Brightness and happiness? Or at least what it was supposed to be?
His hand curved around her face. "So did I , maybe," he said quietly. "But when it wasn't so bright or happy-- that didn't mean I wanted to let it go."
Her eyes filled. "Or let you go." he said very softly.
Oh man this book was INTENSE. Way to be my first Laura Florand book! I heard about her books via Smart Bitches, and then looked through all the books and decided to read this one first because IT MADE THE SNOW QUEEN REFERENCES and everyone who know me knows how much I adore The Snow Queen.
In the end there wasn't that much Snow Queen references BUT christ the angst in this book. And it was not uncalled for. Kai, a food stylist, has left her marriage a year and a half ago after falling into depression after her third miscarriage. This Christmas, her mother-in-law has arranged a job for her, and her husband Kurt has gone down to oversee the job (or something), but a snowstorm forces her mother-in-law to cancel (she knew what she was doing lbr) and traps Kai and Kurt together.
This was so not fun and games, the light and sweet moments were earned, because there is a lot of issues Kai and Kurt need to work out. Kurt was kind of a bit too perfect, but I was really happy that he wasn't an asshole. I really liked him. Most of the issues that needed to be worked out comes from Kai's side and I thought her own inner turmoil made a lot of sense: she was still dealing with her grief over her miscarriages, she felt guilty for leaving him, she felt anger and grief for not being able to bear his children because she wanted a family with him, she didn't think he understood, she felt grief too for destroying her marriage, she didn't think Kurt would take her back, she didn't feel like she deserved Kurt etc. etc. It's a longgggggg list of things she has to battle through.
The time apart allowed for her to heal, and Kurt knew she needed that, which was why he let her go in the first place, but now that--- over the weekend, she's realized how much she loves him, I loved that he pointed out to her that if she wanted back in the marriage--- she had to make the choice by hersel (I loved the scene where she tries to get him to put the wedding ring back on her finger and he tells her to do it herself). Kurt was like an alpha-beta mix, he let Kai go and make her own decisions but at the same time he can be very dominant when he wants to be (like during sex).
Anyway yeah, if you're planning to read this, make sure you have a box of kleenex. It's a short read, but I think it's a great little novella that deals with fractured marriages, grief, loss, love, forgiveness, healing and reconciliation really well.
Kind of, yes. Wasn't that what it was? Brightness and happiness? Or at least what it was supposed to be?
His hand curved around her face. "So did I , maybe," he said quietly. "But when it wasn't so bright or happy-- that didn't mean I wanted to let it go."
Her eyes filled. "Or let you go." he said very softly.
Oh man this book was INTENSE. Way to be my first Laura Florand book! I heard about her books via Smart Bitches, and then looked through all the books and decided to read this one first because IT MADE THE SNOW QUEEN REFERENCES and everyone who know me knows how much I adore The Snow Queen.
In the end there wasn't that much Snow Queen references BUT christ the angst in this book. And it was not uncalled for. Kai, a food stylist, has left her marriage a year and a half ago after falling into depression after her third miscarriage. This Christmas, her mother-in-law has arranged a job for her, and her husband Kurt has gone down to oversee the job (or something), but a snowstorm forces her mother-in-law to cancel (she knew what she was doing lbr) and traps Kai and Kurt together.
This was so not fun and games, the light and sweet moments were earned, because there is a lot of issues Kai and Kurt need to work out. Kurt was kind of a bit too perfect, but I was really happy that he wasn't an asshole. I really liked him. Most of the issues that needed to be worked out comes from Kai's side and I thought her own inner turmoil made a lot of sense: she was still dealing with her grief over her miscarriages, she felt guilty for leaving him, she felt anger and grief for not being able to bear his children because she wanted a family with him, she didn't think he understood, she felt grief too for destroying her marriage, she didn't think Kurt would take her back, she didn't feel like she deserved Kurt etc. etc. It's a longgggggg list of things she has to battle through.
The time apart allowed for her to heal, and Kurt knew she needed that, which was why he let her go in the first place, but now that--- over the weekend, she's realized how much she loves him, I loved that he pointed out to her that if she wanted back in the marriage--- she had to make the choice by hersel (I loved the scene where she tries to get him to put the wedding ring back on her finger and he tells her to do it herself). Kurt was like an alpha-beta mix, he let Kai go and make her own decisions but at the same time he can be very dominant when he wants to be (like during sex).
Anyway yeah, if you're planning to read this, make sure you have a box of kleenex. It's a short read, but I think it's a great little novella that deals with fractured marriages, grief, loss, love, forgiveness, healing and reconciliation really well.
August 6, 2013
Snow-Kissed by Laura Florand is a self-published novel that packs a wallop of emotions in under 130 pages. It’s unlike most of Laura’s books, which are more light and fluffy. Snow-Kissed isn’t that. It begins with the aftermath of a divorce between a couple still desperately in love with one another, but because of some heartbreaking traumas, the wife walks away because she feels responsible for the loss of that something very special that has destroyed her entire being. The message here is all about forgiveness and reconnecting, which the husband and wife do. Kurt, the ex-husband, is beyond perfect. The way he handles Kia, his ex-wife he still adores, is very poignant. This is what you would call a cabin romance because it takes place in a cabin in the woods during a snowstorm. These two are forced together and are alone. You can imagine what happens between these two, and yes it’s pretty steamy.
I did enjoy Snow-Kissed, but… it would have been better as a full length novel. I would have loved to seen the initial courtship that led to the marriage and then the breakdown of the marriage that leads to the divorce. Also certain words were used too many times to the point I started counting them because it was so noticeable. I’m sorry to say that Snow-Kissed needed better editing to make it shine. Also the ending is abrupt and left me confused and somewhat disappointed.
The love scenes are emotional and borderline erotic and should appeal to fans of steamy romance. Even with some issues, especially the need for more editing, Snow-Kissed was a nice read, but it still left me wanting something more. If you are a Laura Florand fan, may want to give this one a read.
I did enjoy Snow-Kissed, but… it would have been better as a full length novel. I would have loved to seen the initial courtship that led to the marriage and then the breakdown of the marriage that leads to the divorce. Also certain words were used too many times to the point I started counting them because it was so noticeable. I’m sorry to say that Snow-Kissed needed better editing to make it shine. Also the ending is abrupt and left me confused and somewhat disappointed.
The love scenes are emotional and borderline erotic and should appeal to fans of steamy romance. Even with some issues, especially the need for more editing, Snow-Kissed was a nice read, but it still left me wanting something more. If you are a Laura Florand fan, may want to give this one a read.
January 2, 2014
It's totally my extreme pickiness about the language used in the depiction of sex that caused me to rate this book only three stars. The story itself was moving and I loved that Their Love Was So True, despite their losses and grief. (It would have had to be, for Kai to get over a few of the things Kurt said to her in his attempts to console her for the miscarriages. Seriously.) They were two genuinely nice people, struggling and failing and struggling again, which is a far more appealing romance story than many.
I feel a bit like the Emperor (?) telling Mozart there are just "too many notes" in that scene in Amadeus, saying that there's just too much sex in a romance. (It doesn't help, though, that one of my two least favourite terms for genitalia is used, a lot. Or that some of the many, many steamy scenes are too far in overblown territory for me.) But this is just by way of explaining why I bounced off a story more 'normal' romance readers will probably find totally to their liking.
Kurt's mother is named - Anne Winter? And is a cold and driven perfectionist running a magazine?? Hunh.
I feel a bit like the Emperor (?) telling Mozart there are just "too many notes" in that scene in Amadeus, saying that there's just too much sex in a romance. (It doesn't help, though, that one of my two least favourite terms for genitalia is used, a lot. Or that some of the many, many steamy scenes are too far in overblown territory for me.) But this is just by way of explaining why I bounced off a story more 'normal' romance readers will probably find totally to their liking.
Kurt's mother is named - Anne Winter? And is a cold and driven perfectionist running a magazine?? Hunh.
September 13, 2013
I don't think there are enough books out there are that are about wanting to make a hard marriage (is there any other kind?) WORK. There is a lot of literary fiction about disillusionment with the whole thing, there are books about divorced or widowed people finding new love, and, of course, there are all the books about fresh new love. I love that Snow Kissed is about a couple is married, has problems, and wants to stay married anyway. YAY! It is a lovely story, but also heartbreaking. Anyone who has suffered the same traumas trying to have children that Kai and Kurt faced might have a hard time with it. It is a beautiful story of fighting for a marriage and what love and forever truly mean. There was a teensy bit more of the sexy times in it than I am normally okay with for a book of this length (which is my ONLY complaint and totally a subjective personal thing-It also could have been the mood I was in when I read it.).
Content: Adult romance novel so...
Content: Adult romance novel so...
October 3, 2015
2/5.0 stars
Snow-Kissed is a novella about a married couple who separates in the wake of despair when they are confronted with the possibility of never having children together. A year and a half later, they find themselves snowed-in and stranded at a place where they are forced to face the inevitable question: is love alone enough for two people to be together?
Told in an alternating third-person narrative, what didn't work for me was the use of flashback, and the storytelling in general, that I found roundabout and slow. While I didn't find anything disagreeable about the characters, they didn't leave me with any lasting impression.
Snow-Kissed is a novella about a married couple who separates in the wake of despair when they are confronted with the possibility of never having children together. A year and a half later, they find themselves snowed-in and stranded at a place where they are forced to face the inevitable question: is love alone enough for two people to be together?
Told in an alternating third-person narrative, what didn't work for me was the use of flashback, and the storytelling in general, that I found roundabout and slow. While I didn't find anything disagreeable about the characters, they didn't leave me with any lasting impression.
May 11, 2017
First read: Sept 2015
Reread: June 2016
As much as I enjoy reading about new love, there is something really satisfying about reading on struggling love, the stuff that happens after the Happily Ever After, the never-ending work that's put in into maintaining relationships, the trips and stumbles, the big falls.
Reread: June 2016
As much as I enjoy reading about new love, there is something really satisfying about reading on struggling love, the stuff that happens after the Happily Ever After, the never-ending work that's put in into maintaining relationships, the trips and stumbles, the big falls.
September 1, 2013
Gorgeous, brave, heart-breakingly beautiful, and written with astonishing insights into grief.
September 18, 2016
I must have a hard heart because this was just way too tragical for me. Some of the sexy times between this reconciling husband and wife made me wince, TMI!
January 4, 2022
4 to 4 1/2 stars
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