Storms to Weather

by Rachel Belrose

Being snowed in for two days with the man who openly despised her hadn’t been on Melanie Roth’s bingo card. Hours after losing her mother, Melanie didn't think things could get any worse. When she'd narrowly avoided a head-on collision, then found herself stranded in a ditch during the biggest snowstorm of the year, she knew she was wrong. The winning bingo number? The driver she almost hit was none other than Holden Walsh. The man who could barely stand the sight of her, and the only one who could rescue her from the storm. She’d rather take her chances in the sub-zero temperatures than spend days trapped with the storm cloud of a man. But he insisted on taking her home. Holden’s emotions caused her more whiplash than the car wreck. One minute his dark, smoky eyes were filled with hatred—and the next, lust. Melanie couldn’t wait to get out of his house and this town for good—even though she couldn’t keep him out of her head. Except Holden had other plans. He wanted her like he’s never wanted anyone else, but he needed her to be his dirty secret, too. Because any relationship with Melanie Roth—daughter of the town drunk responsible for the wreck that killed Holden’s fiancée—would destroy those closest to him. But living without each other? That might destroy them both.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Enemies To Lovers

456 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 27, 2023

Reviews

[Dominique F · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was beautiful. I really loved the plot. Super character driven

I think it could have been shorter In that a lot of scenes had almost too much random info and details about breakfast and stuff I didn’t need that much about

However. The story is so poetic. I love how it ended. Made me tear up!

Cannot wait for Lucy and Tripps book lol

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snowed in seemingly enemies to lovers! Also, love the bingo card comments because I definitely do that. Also, Holden definitely has a way to keep your attention throughout the story.. def enjoyed!

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts/opinions above are my own!

[Danika Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book!

All of my favorite tropes done in a compelling, unique way: forbidden love, enemies to lovers (hard to do in contemporary romance but really felt true here), small town, snowed in, slow burn

I loved Melanie from the very first line and only loved her more as the book went on. I loved her introspection and seeing her growth in her thoughts and actions as the book went on.
Holden, from the very first section of his POV, manages to be gruff and scowling while also being charming and loveable.
Melanie’s pride and sass against Holden’s near compulsive need to save everyone but especially her (often from herself) made for a combustible pairing. And it was hot 🥵.
The author perfectly balanced some really well done spice with a compelling plot. The banter was on point and I laughed out loud more times than I can count.

The friendship between Melanie and Gibby brought tears to my eyes over and over again. Really hoping to see more of Gibby in future Plentiful books.

All in all a perfect winter read. Highly recommend. Definitely a new auto-buy author for me.

[Kristie-Anne Bridges · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 star read for me!!! It was so good...I sometimes struggle with books written in the third person but didn't with this one & I got so invested in these characters.

The book has duel POV'S, I particularly loved reading from Holden's POV, I just loved his personality that came through.
I also loved how Melanie slowly healed from her trauma as the book progressed.

I do wish that when there is a change of POV'S that it had of been a bit more obvious with the characters name listed.

Some of the tropes/themes in this book are:

*Small Town Romance
*Grief
*Forced Proximity
*Hero Complex

I was fortunate to receive an advanced copy of this book & this is my honest opinion.

[Jeanette Dehoyos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this!!! It wasn’t forced whatsoever the love story and the build up to it was absolutely great! I enjoyed this so much! I love Charlie! She was a good character on her own! I loved the loyalty that Charlie had to Mel! Holden was also one of my favorite the struggle of having to move on from someone you were gonna spend the rest of life with is hard but the way he fell for Mel I loved it! Mel was a no nonsense gal! I love when characters are like that! My heart broke for her in of couple of chapters but she was one badass woman!! This book is a must! I loved it and highly recommend it!!

[Sara.Hopeful · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rachel Belrose's Storms to Weather is the next great winter read, so prepare to curl up with a blanket, fire, and hot beverage. This slow burn, forced proximity, enemies to lovers has all the feels, chemistry and man the SPICE (🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶)! FMC Melanie has faced nothing but struggles, pain and unfair judgements from her hometown of Plentiful. MMC Holden lost the love of his life 10 years ago in a car accident caused by Melanie's mother. They've kept their distance, but mother nature has other plans. They both were casualties of a traumatic experience and left with a lot of pain from the past, but can they overcome their history and move forward towards a loving future together? The great character development, plot and hints at more stories to come in the series makes this a must add to everyone's reading list!
I received a free ARC copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice winter vibe . Definitely worth reading :)

[Mrs A · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant debut from this author, it feels like the author has been writing forever. I was hooked in from the first few chapters and couldn’t put it down. I felt so many emotions reading this book! Rage, despair, anger and joy. Both Melanie and Holden are well written characters. I loved their chemistry and the almost forbidden nature of their romance. They have a really messy past to overcome to move forward and to heal. The side characters are really well fleshed out and I want a bff life Gibby! That girl is ride or die. Loved her.

I can’t wait for Tripp’s story next.

Ps- Rachel, keep writing you have a new fan.

[knlbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was beautifully written. Perfectly timed, amazing banter between the characters, and we get true emotional depth from everyone even the side characters. The ending didn’t feel rushed like in many other romances, and I can’t wait for more!

[Kimberly Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melanie Roth is the daughter of the town drunk who wrecked her car into two of the towns most beloved family, which resulted in the death of the daughter and Melanie’s mother being on life support for the last ten years. Now that her mother has finally passed she is going to renovate the house and list it and move out of that town and start fresh. As she’s on her way home her car wrecks into a ditch because of how bad the storm is and how crappy her car is. Who other to rescue her than the man who survived THE accident, Holden Walsh. He is less than pleased to help her get home, but when the storm is so bad making the trip to her home impassible, he must take her to his house where they are stuck together for a few days. Tensions high and the animosity Holden feels towards Melanie make for an interesting couple days. When she’s finally able to get home, he discovers she doesn’t have heat or electricity. It seems weathering the storm together has changed how they feel toward each other. But what happens when the people closest to Holden find out who he is spending his time with. The daughter whose drunk mother killed their precious daughter and his fiancè. Will the secrets ruin the family he has. & Will Melanie finally start over away from the people who were less than kind to her over the years?

📚 Small Town Romance
📚 Enemies to Lovers
📚 Forced Proximity
📚 Slow BURN
📚 3rd Person POV

This was my first outside POV read & my first read by Rachel Belrose and I fell in love with her style. I was nervous at first reading a different POV style but this one read so easily and I flew thru it!! “There’s Plenty of Nice in Plentiful!” 🫶🏻♥️

[Isis · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was such a beautiful story about pain, grief, love and acceptance. This story revolves around Melanie and Holden and how their traumatic past brings them together in a way neither one of them thought of. There was tension, angst, banter. After losing her mother, Melanie couldn’t stand the thought of being there any longer so she decides to leave when a snow storm is about to hit, She swerves and ends up in a ditch. Holden sees the accident and pulls over to help. His mistake was not realizing it’s Melanie.
They have to now storm the weather together. There were moments where I hated Holden like I really wanted to punch him in the throat, some of his words and actions were punchable. About 80% in and I started crying, idk how Rachel wrote theses scenes but girl it was pulling my heart stings and the epilogue?????!!! That was so beautiful ugh I loved it so much❤️

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ugh the angst and pain and emotions this book put me through had me up almost the whole night and I loved every minute of it. Holden and Melanie have such a complicated past and their meeting and forced proximity only complicates their meeting. Seeing them give into their feelings was fun dynamic to watch and the angst 🥰 I loved every minute of this and can’t wait for the next book in the series 🥰🥰

[Sofia (ephemeral_.eclipse) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a cute, enjoyable read! I loved the plot and all the characters. They each had their own part to play in the story, which made it easy to remember all their names. I've always loved small town stories because of that.

Melanie and Holden's banter was so cute and funny! I loved their forbidden romance and enemies to lovers story line.

I was also happy to see the aspects of Filipino culture in the novel since I'm Filipino and I don't often read books that include it.

Thank you for this ARC and I'm sorry I wasn't able to finish the novel before the release.

[Myla Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those emotional & beautiful stories that feel so genuine that I believe I’m living it. The angst in the beginning sucked me in, the spice kept me hooked, and the absolutely beautiful tale of Holden & Melanie is why I will be re-reading this one every winter. I loved it more than words can explain. I definitely recommend it & can’t wait to read more from this author!

[Elizabeth Savage · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a very good book. Love the tropes. It was fast paced enemies to lovers. Only missing one star because I found that they liked each other just too fast. But it is a great book and had many things I enjoyed about it! Definitely worth reading!

[Cyd Underwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Small town
Slow Burn
Forced Proximity
Enemies to Lovers..

These are a hard yes for me❤️.
Holden and Melanie have the perfect chemistry. Melanie has an unavoidable past, and Holden has every reason to hate her.. or so he thinks.. the banter in this book was top notch!! The scene setting was not too busy, and friendships were beautifully done! (The spice wasn’t too shabby either)

I particularly loved the character growth and the way this author transitioned the characters during the story.

All in all a stunning story I would highly recommend!

[Kaely Cain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! It made me grab my blanket and make some hot chocolate. Melanie and Holden get snowed in together and I could feel the tension between them. Their history makes being close difficult but that’s the thing about the past, it should stay in the past. Loved reading this and can’t wait to see what Rachel has for us next!

[Sara Faye · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a read. If you want to read a story that will pull at your heartstrings, Storms to Weather is for you. A small town, enemies to lovers, with some forced proximity, and some spice. Follow along the emotional love rollercoaster with Holden and Melanie. This want another one that I could simply not put down. I want to read it again and again. It’s a great winter read for those who are looking for books to add to their winter tbrs.

[Jacqueline Diaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great winter enemies to lover close proximity story. This book definitely pulled at the heart. My eyes watered a few times, I laughed and a few times I wanted to punch Holden for being a jerk. Both Holden and Melanie had some past trauma they have to figure out. A nice slow burn 🔥 between them. Nothing like trauma and mother nature to tie you to someone you want nothing to do with.

#STWreaders ##STWarcreview

[Alexa Schwartz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The spice was spicy. The vibes were immaculate. Excited to read the next Plentiful book!!

First of all, I rated this three and a half stars but goodreads doesn’t do that 🙄.

Second of all, I am so proud of Rachel on her debut novel! it is so easy feat and you did it!!!

I want to praise this contemporary romance for its world building. You don’t typically see this level of world building in this genre and i really loved that. It added a lot of charm and made me become more immersed with the story. Also the spiceeee. It was hella hot. I also read this book almost exclusively on an airplane so uhhh yeah. fun times. I HAVE NO SHAME THOUGH. hehehehehe

One thing that didn’t make me rate this book higher was because as an enemies to lovers book, I wasn’t completely convinced. This might have to do with the fact that I read the first half of the book, then got so busy that I couldn’t finish with the second until over a month later, but I just don’t know if i’m sold on the enemies to lovers. There was a lot of potential and there were a lot of tension filled moments but it wasn’t enemies level for me, you know.

anyways, so happy I got to arc read for this book even though i didn’t finish before the release :((

thank you rachel for trusting me with your baby and i can’t wait for the next one!! ❤️

[Book.Wolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was really fast paced at the beginning until it came to an abrupt stop and then it became very slow paced
i dont like that there is no clear indication of a pov switch and whose pov it is.
The talk about body parts is really fast and when the smut finally starts it becomes overwhelming its just chapter on chapter on chapter of smut the story just dissapears for a while. There is also a bit of repeat stuff, and some unnecessary parts

The storyline itself i really liked and is very compelling, the end even made me cry a bit. The characters and their actions can be very relatable
The book also has a couple of suprises you dont expect. The small town atmosfeer was really nice, especially how they all came togheter.

overall for a debut book its not bad, not bad at all!

[Kenz Dresser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished this new book by Rachel Belrose and ugh, my heart. SO good. Holden and Melanie are just the cutest. Small-town romance with forced proximity, enemies to lovers type vibes.

5 ⭐️
3.5 🌶️

Wholesome, cute and an emotional rollercoaster. Do yourself a favour and read this!!

[Kiara Yaeger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so enjoyed this romance! I'm partial to storjes of healing and forgiveness! Holden and Melanie's chemistry was to die for! I can't wait to read more from this author! I highly recommend this book!

[Piper Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Storms to Weather is a fantastic and well fleshed out debut novel. With strong character development, utterly believable dialogue, and some of my favorite tropes rolled into one, this was an absolute winner. If you like forced proximity, enemies to lovers and pages that drip with sexual tension, then read this yesterday.

[Maddiereads24 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rachel…. Rachel girl you did the dang thang!!!! wow just wow!!! It is an amazing read! You just get lost in this love story from Rachel! This book pulls on your heart strings and has you laughing out loud! The book follows the love story between Melanie and Holden. A tragic accident has turned their lives and the ones they love lives upside down. What has kept them apart even as friends is the very thing that keeps them apart as lovers till one snow storm changes EVERYTHING!! Will they let the tragic event keep them apart or will they weather the storm together?! Order this book and get lost in the pages and find out for yourself!! Oh did I mention it’s a spicy one?

[EMP · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down. From the moment Holden Walsh said “good girl” to Melanie in a non-sexual setting, I was hooked and dying to hear it again… with them both naked. The author delivered and more. It was such a fun, steamy read but also had great emotional depth and I rooted for all of the characters. I ignored my family for an entire car ride to finish this as fast as possible.

Holden’s fiancé was killed in a car accident and Melanie’s mom has been blamed by the small town they live in. But ever the gentleman, when Mel crashes her car on the side of the road, Holden and what she calls his “white knight complex” come swooping in to save her. They find themselves trapped in his house riding out a snow storm. One bed, anyone? Forced proximity? I’m here for it. But Mel and Holden’s relationship development is so genuine and believable, and as they get to know each other and let each other in… with a sexy game of strip Uno, I might add… *chef’s kiss*

This author has a gift for beautiful prose and creating real, likable, and flawed characters. The friendship between Mel and Gibby is like the one I have with my best friend and that made me love it even more. I also loved all the side characters and hope this author has plans for a series in this world because I want to see everyone get their HEA.

Also, I’ve seriously never found chopping onions and peppers to be a sexy process but damn, Holden in the kitchen… 🌶️

This came out at the perfect time. As fall begins and the weather cools, I’ll be rereading the hotel/sweater scene to keep warm. Had to go back and read that one several times and have my husband help with the reenactment. I seriously can’t believe this is a debut novel, this author should’ve been published decades ago but I’m so glad she’s here now. Hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did!

[BeccaJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love picking up a new author and really enjoying the read. Rachel Belrose (Belrose = excellent romance writer name BTW) gives us a forced proximity, enemies to lovers, contemporary, small-town romance. Set in West Virginia, which I really appreciate because changing up the setting is +++. This is a stand-alone that is clearly the beginning of a stand-alone series with interconnected characters. So no cliffhanger for a pending book #2, but you do get the promise that you can dive back into the world again.

Let's see. I enjoyed it! It's a little more vanilla than my standard fair, but I liked the tension and angst. And then there's the trauma background that gives you good feels when the characters actually work through some of their shit by the end.

My one flag for readers is that there is a quick turn to "insta-lust" early in the book that made me pause. But it works itself out and isn't as insta-lusty as you think once we start getting mental thoughts in the mix. So keep going.

Spice = 2/5. Definitely on page, but nothing kinky.
Burn = med-fast for lust. Yay for not waiting until the end for spice!

I didn't fall completely in love with either character, but I did have a crush on Holden. Love me a little angst. Pretty sure I am gonna fall in love with Will when his book comes around.

Enjoy!

[Kristin]

DNF 20%.

This was too slow moving and boring. Seriously they’re playing cards and there’s a very long explanation on how to play UNO. And another long one about how to cook scrambled eggs. Maybe if you like domestic bliss you’ll like this??

The two main characters had no chemistry. He’s immediately attracted to her but continues to talk to her like an asshole and then try to take care of her. She’s very stubborn and likes to make a mess of things like cooking even if she doesn’t know how to.

Snowed in
Kinda taboo. Her mom killed his fiancé in a drunk driving accident.
Grumpy hero
Small town
Debut novel

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exactly What I Needed

I lost my reading mojo after my dad had a short illness and then passed away. I usually avoid stories that tackle the topic of grief but after sampling 20+ books, this was the only one I could keep reading.

It was healing for me to see these characters emerge from shared tragedy with more love in their lives. I loved the suspense elements in the book as well involving extreme weather.

Overall a good read and I am grateful to the author for helping me through a very difficult time
In my life.

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Storms to Weather was a cold weather book, I was not expecting. I enjoyed the banter between the MCs. The world build Rachel did put me in it with Charlie and Holden. The progression of the story was well written and didn't feel rushed. This book will have you in all of your feels.
It is a great read.