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Snowbound
When a blizzard strands Fiona MacPherson and her students in Oregon's Cascade Mountains, their only hope of survival is to seek shelter at Thunder Mountain Lodge. Their host is John Fallon, a handsome, enigmatic war veteran haunted by secrets and scars that may never heal.
John Fallon never imagined he'd be playing host to this captivating teacher and her eight teenage charges. But when his solitude is shattered by their arrival, his world shifts on its axis. He needs Fiona--but does she need him? There's only one way to find out. The ex-soldier must find the courage to reach out to the remarkable woman who has transformed his life....
John Fallon never imagined he'd be playing host to this captivating teacher and her eight teenage charges. But when his solitude is shattered by their arrival, his world shifts on its axis. He needs Fiona--but does she need him? There's only one way to find out. The ex-soldier must find the courage to reach out to the remarkable woman who has transformed his life....
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 2007
112 people are currently reading
1162 people want to read
About the author
Janice Kay Johnson
289 books191 followersJanice Kay Johnson is the author of over a hundred books for children and adults. Her first four published romance novels were coauthored with her mother, also a writer who has since published mysteries and children's books on her own. These were "sweet" romance novels, the author hastens to add; she isn't sure they'd have felt comfortable coauthoring passionate love scenes!
Janice graduated from Whitman College with a B.A. in history and then received a master's degree in library science from the University of Washington. She was a branch librarian for a public library system until she began selling her own writing.
She has written six novels for young adults and one picture book for the read-aloud crowd. Rosamund was the outgrowth of all those hours spent reading to her own daughters, and of her passion for growing old roses. Two more of her favorite books were historical novels she wrote for Tor/Forge. The research was pure indulgence for someone who set out intending to be a historian!
Janice is divorced and has raised her two daughters in a small, rural town north of Seattle, Washington. She's an active volunteer and board member for Purrfect Pals, a no-kill cat shelter, and foster kittens often enliven a household that already includes a few more cats than she wants to admit to!
Janice loves writing books about both love and family — about the way generations connect and the power our earliest experiences have on us throughout life. Her Superromance novels are frequent finalists for Romance Writers of America RITA® awards. Along with her books for Harlequin, Janice has written the Cape Trouble series of romantic suspense novels, and is about to launch a new series, Desperation Creek, set in rural eastern Oregon.
Janice graduated from Whitman College with a B.A. in history and then received a master's degree in library science from the University of Washington. She was a branch librarian for a public library system until she began selling her own writing.
She has written six novels for young adults and one picture book for the read-aloud crowd. Rosamund was the outgrowth of all those hours spent reading to her own daughters, and of her passion for growing old roses. Two more of her favorite books were historical novels she wrote for Tor/Forge. The research was pure indulgence for someone who set out intending to be a historian!
Janice is divorced and has raised her two daughters in a small, rural town north of Seattle, Washington. She's an active volunteer and board member for Purrfect Pals, a no-kill cat shelter, and foster kittens often enliven a household that already includes a few more cats than she wants to admit to!
Janice loves writing books about both love and family — about the way generations connect and the power our earliest experiences have on us throughout life. Her Superromance novels are frequent finalists for Romance Writers of America RITA® awards. Along with her books for Harlequin, Janice has written the Cape Trouble series of romantic suspense novels, and is about to launch a new series, Desperation Creek, set in rural eastern Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews
December 28, 2010
Snowbound was a very pleasant read. I liked the snowed-in aspect with Fiona, who was a teacher who coached a high school trivia team, and John, an Iraqi war veteran who is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. I loved and felt for John. I mostly liked Fiona, but I didn't like the way she handled John's issues. She was bulldozing him into dealing with his PTSD. I didn't like the ultimatum she delivered. She seemed to think he was supposed to all of a sudden become an open book. It doesn't work that way. Falling in love doesn't wave a magic wand and cause a person to open up and lance their wounds. Especially with men, it's hard for them to deal with that kind of hurt easily. And some people aren't able to share their pain with others so easily, and when others guilt them into it, it really feels wrong to me. I think she was insensitive about it, and that bothered me. I know that John had issues and he was doing the ostrich thing, but time would help him, and I think that Fiona could have been more understanding.
I actually liked the aspect of the kids being snowed in with John and Fiona. I have a love/hate thing with teenagers in fiction (and having taught young adults, I definitely got my fill of their often bad attitudes). Their sullenness can be annoying (although I freely admit I was one of those withdrawn, sometimes sullen teens myself). But Ms. Johnson managed to write a lively bunch. I liked the way that Fiona and John approached and dealt with the eight kids, getting them to work together and get along when they are snowed in at John's lodge. I liked how most of the kids pitched in to help matchmake between John and Fiona.
Although most of this book only has a small part set during Christmas, I still enjoyed the setting, with the snowed-in winter environs, and John and Fiona building a bond between that leads to a lifelong love that starts when Fiona and her kids end up on John's doorstep.
This book turned out to be a weak four star because of the way Fiona annoyed me. But, the other aspects were very good, and I just wanted to give John a hug.
I actually liked the aspect of the kids being snowed in with John and Fiona. I have a love/hate thing with teenagers in fiction (and having taught young adults, I definitely got my fill of their often bad attitudes). Their sullenness can be annoying (although I freely admit I was one of those withdrawn, sometimes sullen teens myself). But Ms. Johnson managed to write a lively bunch. I liked the way that Fiona and John approached and dealt with the eight kids, getting them to work together and get along when they are snowed in at John's lodge. I liked how most of the kids pitched in to help matchmake between John and Fiona.
Although most of this book only has a small part set during Christmas, I still enjoyed the setting, with the snowed-in winter environs, and John and Fiona building a bond between that leads to a lifelong love that starts when Fiona and her kids end up on John's doorstep.
This book turned out to be a weak four star because of the way Fiona annoyed me. But, the other aspects were very good, and I just wanted to give John a hug.
June 5, 2009
This book had an interesting premise - wounded hero suffering from PTSD - but it failed to grab me. I just couldn't "connect" with either John or Fiona, and that's bad when I'm reading a romance. Plus, too much time was "wasted" on endless scenes with Fiona's students, and I couldn't care less about their teen drama. This was almost a DNF for me, but I stubbornly persevered because I wanted to see how John would finally heal. Well, the HEA was quite realistic, I'll give you that, but it was as exciting as watching paint dry.
December 21, 2009
This was a Kindle freebie (still is, I believe) and is a surprisingly nice read, even though serious PTSD is a main topic.
I wasn't expecting much when I downloaded it and I took months to finally read it, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. If nothing else, it has me dying to go to a lodge in the mountains and sit in front of a roaring fire.
John and Fiona are a nice couple. He's a veteran of Iraq, wounded both inside and out. Fiona is a teacher, stranded in a blizzard with eight teenagers at his mountain lodge. Their relationship seems to happen very quickly, but their time together has such a deadline, this seemed pretty natural. Their subsequent courtship over e-mails was a nice development and then their whirlwind romance before the inevitable break-up was also believable.
I have to admit I was worried about the subject matter, but this author didn't take any political sides or try to moralize. She stuck with the two leads and what they needed from each other and I have to stand up and applaud her for that. No doubt she does have an opinion, but I didn't feel like I was hit over the head with it at any point. Other authors could take a lesson. Stick with the personal relationship -- it was refreshing.
Parts of it are a little hard to read. Anyone who's followed the news knows the kind of things he experienced really did happen. John has some powerful demons and he's going to be wrestling with them his entire life, but Fiona is a natural for him. A really nice couple.
I did have a problem with the wrap-up. I don't want to spoil anything, but I was a bit disappointed in her decision at the end. The HEA is lovely, but we are introduced to and engaged by a group of people who need her in other ways and I fear they're forgotten in this conclusion. I can't help thinking they'll be a bit worse off without her. Not that she should have to choose, but ... the author brought us into their world and let us know them. I don't think it's odd to wonder how they'll handle it.
All that said -- I have to confess that I was not expecting much from a Harlequin romance, snob that I am. But this was really pretty darn good. And it was a quick read, so there's no pressure. Just a nice interlude between the Big Books. ;^)
I wasn't expecting much when I downloaded it and I took months to finally read it, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. If nothing else, it has me dying to go to a lodge in the mountains and sit in front of a roaring fire.
John and Fiona are a nice couple. He's a veteran of Iraq, wounded both inside and out. Fiona is a teacher, stranded in a blizzard with eight teenagers at his mountain lodge. Their relationship seems to happen very quickly, but their time together has such a deadline, this seemed pretty natural. Their subsequent courtship over e-mails was a nice development and then their whirlwind romance before the inevitable break-up was also believable.
I have to admit I was worried about the subject matter, but this author didn't take any political sides or try to moralize. She stuck with the two leads and what they needed from each other and I have to stand up and applaud her for that. No doubt she does have an opinion, but I didn't feel like I was hit over the head with it at any point. Other authors could take a lesson. Stick with the personal relationship -- it was refreshing.
Parts of it are a little hard to read. Anyone who's followed the news knows the kind of things he experienced really did happen. John has some powerful demons and he's going to be wrestling with them his entire life, but Fiona is a natural for him. A really nice couple.
I did have a problem with the wrap-up. I don't want to spoil anything, but I was a bit disappointed in her decision at the end. The HEA is lovely, but we are introduced to and engaged by a group of people who need her in other ways and I fear they're forgotten in this conclusion. I can't help thinking they'll be a bit worse off without her. Not that she should have to choose, but ... the author brought us into their world and let us know them. I don't think it's odd to wonder how they'll handle it.
All that said -- I have to confess that I was not expecting much from a Harlequin romance, snob that I am. But this was really pretty darn good. And it was a quick read, so there's no pressure. Just a nice interlude between the Big Books. ;^)
September 29, 2009
This was a free e-book offered by Harlequin and free is a very good price. It is about a teacher who is returning to Portland, Oregon from Redmond with six high school kids when she is caught in an early winter snow storm in the Cascades. They take refuge at a lodge owned by a reclusive Iraqi war veteran who is trying to recover from post traumatic stress disorder. This is a straight forward romance but it is good enough that I enjoyed it and even gave it four stars. And I liked that it is set in my neck of the woods.
I have always been amazed that people ever find someone to love who also loves them. It seems to be a miracle to me. So I enjoy a story that tells how this miracle happens in a realistic believable way. This book is unusually believable and realistic. This book is unusually believable and realistic. It does not rely on distracting gimmicks are weird coincidences. Which helped make it such an enjoyable read.
I have always been amazed that people ever find someone to love who also loves them. It seems to be a miracle to me. So I enjoy a story that tells how this miracle happens in a realistic believable way. This book is unusually believable and realistic. This book is unusually believable and realistic. It does not rely on distracting gimmicks are weird coincidences. Which helped make it such an enjoyable read.
February 8, 2009
The more I dig into modern category romance, it seems, the better the books get. Book four was good, and so is this, book five, which is from the SuperRomance line. I read this one in one sitting.
A read of the bookjacket blurb brought the 1964 movie Father Goose to mind: man living in isolation is lumbered with a teacher and her schoolchildren, and as they struggle to survive and get the teacher and her charges where they need to be, the hero and the schoolteacher fall in love. And except for that similarity, and the happy-ever-after ending, that's all those two stories have in common. Father Goose was set during WWII, and Cary Grant played a civilian (Walter Eckland) pressed into unwilling service; the war that Snowbound's hero John Fallon is a veteran of is the one in Iraq. Eckland's cooperation with the British navy is purchased with carefully rationed whiskey; Fallon has flashbacks and nightmares associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. Leslie Caron's charges were pre-pubescent girls, and Fiona McPherson's are hormonal teenagers of both sexes. Pacific Island versus the mountains of Oregon, etc. and so on.
John Fallon is the first hero in these first five books who isn't almost painfully good-looking or physically perfect, and that was a nice change. He has a scar on his face, and further scars on his hip and leg, from shrapnel wounds. He's emotionally damaged and trying to recover, and his instant attraction to Fiona McPherson made sense for him as a character; that attraction drove him to take tentative steps toward connecting with another person, with a woman, as part of the process of recovery. He's reserved, almost withdrawn to start, and the way this changes is subtlely and deftly demonstrated by both his behaviour and the frequency and length of his speeches. I liked him a lot.
Fiona McPherson is only the second heroine in these five books who has a life and a passion and a purpose; she's a teacher, and a student working on an advanced degree. She has career aspirations, and I could easily imagine her carrying on with them if she'd never met John Fallon. Fiona is an effective combination of authoritative, strong, compassionate, perceptive and sensible, and she has (or develops) good relationships with her eight students (all of them identifiable individuals) and with John. She's perceptive enough to see that all is not right with John, compassionate enough to want to help, and sensible enough to question whether her attraction to him includes any element of thinking she can 'fix' him.
Because they were thrown together, it's inevitable that these two will be separated eventually, and this reader was no more anxious than the principals to see that happen. I had to keep reading, then, to see how they found their way back to each other. (Hint: They did, of course.)
I thought this author treated the politics of the Iraq war, the brutal reality of war in general, the suffering of everyone touched by it, and the physical and emotional wounds of the survivors, deftly and compassionately. She writes about teenagers and their concerns with equal ease and interest, which makes me wonder if she's a teacher or has teens of her own at home.
A read of the bookjacket blurb brought the 1964 movie Father Goose to mind: man living in isolation is lumbered with a teacher and her schoolchildren, and as they struggle to survive and get the teacher and her charges where they need to be, the hero and the schoolteacher fall in love. And except for that similarity, and the happy-ever-after ending, that's all those two stories have in common. Father Goose was set during WWII, and Cary Grant played a civilian (Walter Eckland) pressed into unwilling service; the war that Snowbound's hero John Fallon is a veteran of is the one in Iraq. Eckland's cooperation with the British navy is purchased with carefully rationed whiskey; Fallon has flashbacks and nightmares associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. Leslie Caron's charges were pre-pubescent girls, and Fiona McPherson's are hormonal teenagers of both sexes. Pacific Island versus the mountains of Oregon, etc. and so on.
John Fallon is the first hero in these first five books who isn't almost painfully good-looking or physically perfect, and that was a nice change. He has a scar on his face, and further scars on his hip and leg, from shrapnel wounds. He's emotionally damaged and trying to recover, and his instant attraction to Fiona McPherson made sense for him as a character; that attraction drove him to take tentative steps toward connecting with another person, with a woman, as part of the process of recovery. He's reserved, almost withdrawn to start, and the way this changes is subtlely and deftly demonstrated by both his behaviour and the frequency and length of his speeches. I liked him a lot.
Fiona McPherson is only the second heroine in these five books who has a life and a passion and a purpose; she's a teacher, and a student working on an advanced degree. She has career aspirations, and I could easily imagine her carrying on with them if she'd never met John Fallon. Fiona is an effective combination of authoritative, strong, compassionate, perceptive and sensible, and she has (or develops) good relationships with her eight students (all of them identifiable individuals) and with John. She's perceptive enough to see that all is not right with John, compassionate enough to want to help, and sensible enough to question whether her attraction to him includes any element of thinking she can 'fix' him.
Because they were thrown together, it's inevitable that these two will be separated eventually, and this reader was no more anxious than the principals to see that happen. I had to keep reading, then, to see how they found their way back to each other. (Hint: They did, of course.)
I thought this author treated the politics of the Iraq war, the brutal reality of war in general, the suffering of everyone touched by it, and the physical and emotional wounds of the survivors, deftly and compassionately. She writes about teenagers and their concerns with equal ease and interest, which makes me wonder if she's a teacher or has teens of her own at home.
February 8, 2020
I really enjoyed this book, even though it isn't 'Squeaky-clean'. Just a few curse words from the hero, which includes his favorite is using God's name in vain, and though I am no longer a Christian, I really dislike hearing or reading that. He also has some crude lustful thoughts about the heroine , but mostly towards the last quarter of the book.
I really liked all the characters, except one of the teenage girls, who is a real 'B'! The boys are all great. Had quite a bit about the H's PTSD, which was informative, and illustrates how damaging to one's psyche war is and should be avoided at all costs, if possible.
This one goes on my favorites shelf, and I will be looking for more by this new-to-me author. :D
I really liked all the characters, except one of the teenage girls, who is a real 'B'! The boys are all great. Had quite a bit about the H's PTSD, which was informative, and illustrates how damaging to one's psyche war is and should be avoided at all costs, if possible.
This one goes on my favorites shelf, and I will be looking for more by this new-to-me author. :D
December 3, 2020
I have never read a more "different" book. There is nothing cliche-like in this book.
What I liked the most about the book :
1) It kept me engrossed
2) The feelings were beautifully described and I could feel the female protagonist.
Suggestion :
1) Imagery could have been better - although the male protagonist knew that without snow boots the girls must be feeling cold, I could not feel the cold. That could have been better described.
What I liked the most about the book :
1) It kept me engrossed
2) The feelings were beautifully described and I could feel the female protagonist.
Suggestion :
1) Imagery could have been better - although the male protagonist knew that without snow boots the girls must be feeling cold, I could not feel the cold. That could have been better described.
January 26, 2021
On the way home from a school trip Fiona MacPherson and 8 teenagers get stranded at a winter lodge during a blizzard. The lodge owner John Fallon is not excited about their stay but has no other guests and plenty of room. There are several situations between the teens and a tension between Fiona and John. But as they are getting drawn to each other John is dealing with issues of PTSD and unable to reach out. This was a well written romance dealing with the issue.
February 7, 2010
This was a cute, easy read. Normally I stay far away from contemporary romance, but this one was being given out for free as part of a Harlequin promotion so I figured I'd give it a try.
It's a nice little story and I really did love all the characters with the exception (unfortunately) of the hero, who just. didn't. get it. He's got some issues but they shouldn't be insurmountable, instead, he lets them get between himself and the heroine.
I liked that we did get to see the story from both main character's points of view, but I found that the hero's unfailing ability to turn stoic ruined the levity of the story.
Other pluses: The kids are great. They all have personalities and aren't just backdrop characters. Their presence is important to the point and pacing of the story. The setting is fantastic and Johnson has a way of conveying a space that really feels homey. The plot is fairly believable and it's a pretty basic premise. No need to get fancy when you've got a good idea and good characters to carry it forward. I loved that.
It's a nice little story and I really did love all the characters with the exception (unfortunately) of the hero, who just. didn't. get it. He's got some issues but they shouldn't be insurmountable, instead, he lets them get between himself and the heroine.
I liked that we did get to see the story from both main character's points of view, but I found that the hero's unfailing ability to turn stoic ruined the levity of the story.
Other pluses: The kids are great. They all have personalities and aren't just backdrop characters. Their presence is important to the point and pacing of the story. The setting is fantastic and Johnson has a way of conveying a space that really feels homey. The plot is fairly believable and it's a pretty basic premise. No need to get fancy when you've got a good idea and good characters to carry it forward. I loved that.
October 19, 2013
Teacher Fiona MacPherson and eight of her students are returning from an academic competition when they are stranded in the Cascade Mountains by a November snowstorm. The forecasters misjudged the speed of the storm, and Fiona had expected to be home long before it was supposed to start. Fortunately, one of the students recognizes a half-buried sign that marks the road leading to Thunder Mountain Lodge.
To read the rest of my review, please visit Christina Babbles
Updated: 19 October 2013
To read the rest of my review, please visit Christina Babbles
Updated: 19 October 2013
December 28, 2011
I usually don't read Harlequins because they tend to lack substance and intensity. I really enjoyed this one, though. The story was good, I liked the heroine - Fiona - a lot, and her romance with John moved at a believable pace. It had emotion and passion and they worked their way through their issues in a way that was real.
November 2, 2009
Good idea for a story - it left alot to be desired for me. Slow, uninteresting characters... I've even forgotten most of the book.
December 30, 2009
Shallow characters & predictable. Free download on my kindle so read it in two days.
October 16, 2011
Kind of boring, there were some good parts but I wouldn't recommend.
Read
July 11, 2018This was a book that was free for the kindle when I first got my Kindle in 2007 or so. It was a light romance, and I figured why not—the free books were nothing I’d ever heard of, but Harlequin is a known entity.
I actually liked it well enough to read it more than once. There is the contrived circumstances to put two different people in the same place, the initial attraction of the two characters that is tempered by their personal angst, and a group full of teens for plot interest. The male protagonist’s angst is due to his PTSD and injuries suffered in the Middle East while the female protagonist is burdened by her responsibility for teens, worried her bad decision that forced them to take advantage of the guy’s hospitality makes her look foolish and that she’s imposing on him. These little hurdles seem realistic, unlike some of the other obstacles that often keep two people apart (omg, I have a birthmark, scar, missing finger, etc. no one will ever love me, etc.). The bigger issue of PTSD is not easily solved, but the character realizes and gets ongoing care for his problem.
Yes, it’s not a deep treatment, but it’s a quite serviceable romance and I’ve read it three times over the years.
I actually liked it well enough to read it more than once. There is the contrived circumstances to put two different people in the same place, the initial attraction of the two characters that is tempered by their personal angst, and a group full of teens for plot interest. The male protagonist’s angst is due to his PTSD and injuries suffered in the Middle East while the female protagonist is burdened by her responsibility for teens, worried her bad decision that forced them to take advantage of the guy’s hospitality makes her look foolish and that she’s imposing on him. These little hurdles seem realistic, unlike some of the other obstacles that often keep two people apart (omg, I have a birthmark, scar, missing finger, etc. no one will ever love me, etc.). The bigger issue of PTSD is not easily solved, but the character realizes and gets ongoing care for his problem.
Yes, it’s not a deep treatment, but it’s a quite serviceable romance and I’ve read it three times over the years.
December 29, 2020
This is my second book by this author, and I really liked both of them - I'll definitely try some more. I'm fond of "snowed in" stories, anyway, but the author did such a good job making the teenagers act their age that it made the book a pleasure to read. I also appreciated the way the heroine pushed the hero, insisting they couldn't have a relationship if he wasn't ever willing to open up to her. And in the end her love didn't save him, it just gave him a push in the right direction.
August 7, 2017
Sometimes you just want to read a quick easy get away love story.
August 19, 2018
Just OK
The plot was OK. Grammatical mistakes were distracting. An excessive amount of detail in the beginning was also a distraction.
The plot was OK. Grammatical mistakes were distracting. An excessive amount of detail in the beginning was also a distraction.
December 29, 2019
Sadly I did not enjoy it. There’s not a finished story line for these two. The kids were to much. It took the focus off the couple.
April 7, 2021
I really liked this book.
June 30, 2023
hit the spot.
November 18, 2023
a quick read before bed. the premise is a bit heavy but nothing i can't handle. love the cute interactions.
December 31, 2016
Cute for a freebie. Decent portrayal of PTSD. Could have done without the teen students drama.
December 5, 2017
This was a nice easy read with a very serious topic on PTSD and an unexpected group of visitors who changes the life of John Fallon. See a group of students along with their high school trivia coach, Fiona get stranded in a snow storm at the Lodge that John owns. The story seemed realistic to me and with it being a Harlequin romance, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed it.
I'm new to this author and normally don't read Harlequin romance but I'm a fan now.
I'm new to this author and normally don't read Harlequin romance but I'm a fan now.
April 22, 2025
Subgenre:
Contemporary Romance (with Romantic Suspense Elements)
Tags:
Forced Proximity
Snowed In / Stranded Together
Wounded Hero (Military/Veteran)
Teacher Heroine
Small-Town Romance
Healing & Redemption
Survival Story
Emotional Scars
Janice Kay Johnson
Contemporary Romance (with Romantic Suspense Elements)
Tags:
Forced Proximity
Snowed In / Stranded Together
Wounded Hero (Military/Veteran)
Teacher Heroine
Small-Town Romance
Healing & Redemption
Survival Story
Emotional Scars
Janice Kay Johnson
September 10, 2012
A freebie offered by Harlequin that I FINALLY got around to reading.
The first half of the book takes place over four days. Fiona MacPhearson (Ms. Mac to her students) and her high school academic competition team are caught in a freak early Oregon snowstorm and forced to take shelter in a lodge run by John Fallon, an Iraq War veteran in deep denial about his PTSD. Fiona and John do the dance of attraction, but with seven hormonal teenagers in close proximity they aren't about to do anything that would give the kids ideas.
The first half is well-written; the kids take on fun, distinct personalities. Plus forbidden passion - isn't it the sweetest and the hottest?
Unfortunately, once the kids and Fiona return to civilization, the book takes a nosedive into episodic "and then he did this, and then she did this" land.
Fiona spends Christmas with John, but when he refuses to tell her anything about Iraq without it being dragged out of him, Fiona decides their relationship can go no further. The rest of the book then rushes through several months to get the point where John feels he can see a therapist to deal with his trauma, while Fiona noodles around with maybe dating another guy. While I very appreciate the verisimilitude - it's doubtful a guy as traumatized as John would be able to live HEA at the drop of his trousers, and I applaud the author's restraint in not giving Fiona a magic hoo-ha that cures him - it also draaaaaaaags the story out well past my patience. Perhaps it's because the writing style turned expository and told far more than it showed in the second half. Not a brief reappearance of the kids could save it.
The other problem is that this turned into John's book. Not a huge problem; he's an interesting guy. But Fiona became a cardboard cutout in comparison. What are her goals, her problems, her wants and desires (other than to have John spill his guts to her)? We don't know. There are references to resenting her mom's boyfriend and a bumpy early family life, but that gets blown over quickly. Fiona is a cipher. And in a romance, that's a big no-no.
The first half of the book takes place over four days. Fiona MacPhearson (Ms. Mac to her students) and her high school academic competition team are caught in a freak early Oregon snowstorm and forced to take shelter in a lodge run by John Fallon, an Iraq War veteran in deep denial about his PTSD. Fiona and John do the dance of attraction, but with seven hormonal teenagers in close proximity they aren't about to do anything that would give the kids ideas.
The first half is well-written; the kids take on fun, distinct personalities. Plus forbidden passion - isn't it the sweetest and the hottest?
Unfortunately, once the kids and Fiona return to civilization, the book takes a nosedive into episodic "and then he did this, and then she did this" land.
Fiona spends Christmas with John, but when he refuses to tell her anything about Iraq without it being dragged out of him, Fiona decides their relationship can go no further. The rest of the book then rushes through several months to get the point where John feels he can see a therapist to deal with his trauma, while Fiona noodles around with maybe dating another guy. While I very appreciate the verisimilitude - it's doubtful a guy as traumatized as John would be able to live HEA at the drop of his trousers, and I applaud the author's restraint in not giving Fiona a magic hoo-ha that cures him - it also draaaaaaaags the story out well past my patience. Perhaps it's because the writing style turned expository and told far more than it showed in the second half. Not a brief reappearance of the kids could save it.
The other problem is that this turned into John's book. Not a huge problem; he's an interesting guy. But Fiona became a cardboard cutout in comparison. What are her goals, her problems, her wants and desires (other than to have John spill his guts to her)? We don't know. There are references to resenting her mom's boyfriend and a bumpy early family life, but that gets blown over quickly. Fiona is a cipher. And in a romance, that's a big no-no.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 24, 2013
Contemporary blizzard snowbound story with a teacher and her students at a mountain lodge owned by a hot single guy... As if! I would have to wonder around in the mountains during the storming winter, which will never happen because I do not like the cold, but I do love hot tasty single men!
Back to this story where Miss Fiona MacPherson is on a routine field-trip with her Hi-Q club of 8 teenagers. She makes a mistake by taking a difficult mountain pass while a cold front comes in quickly, too quickly to get through and she is lucky enough to find the Thunder Mountain Lodge with the hot innkeeper, John Fallon. The Oregon's Cascade Mountains is covered with snow and it will be at least a few days to a week before they can get dug out and go home to Portland.
John Fallon is a retired military man that is looking forward to being alone at his mountain Lodge when the sudden snow storm comes to snow him in, but then he is attacked by a group of 8 teenagers and their sweetly hot teacher. So there is definitely an attraction between John and Fiona while there are lots of hormonal adolescent drama going on to distract them. This is not a make-believe unrealistic story where the PTSD damage to John is magically healed from a long weekend with Fiona, there are months of separation and some tough conversations before he actually starts to do somthing to heal himself. The kids in this story were really awesome and realistic.
Very little sexy time, but lots of chemistry.
281 pages and kindle freebie
3 stars for this Harlequin story, which usually only get 2 stars, but this was a good one with tough love
Back to this story where Miss Fiona MacPherson is on a routine field-trip with her Hi-Q club of 8 teenagers. She makes a mistake by taking a difficult mountain pass while a cold front comes in quickly, too quickly to get through and she is lucky enough to find the Thunder Mountain Lodge with the hot innkeeper, John Fallon. The Oregon's Cascade Mountains is covered with snow and it will be at least a few days to a week before they can get dug out and go home to Portland.
John Fallon is a retired military man that is looking forward to being alone at his mountain Lodge when the sudden snow storm comes to snow him in, but then he is attacked by a group of 8 teenagers and their sweetly hot teacher. So there is definitely an attraction between John and Fiona while there are lots of hormonal adolescent drama going on to distract them. This is not a make-believe unrealistic story where the PTSD damage to John is magically healed from a long weekend with Fiona, there are months of separation and some tough conversations before he actually starts to do somthing to heal himself. The kids in this story were really awesome and realistic.
Very little sexy time, but lots of chemistry.
281 pages and kindle freebie
3 stars for this Harlequin story, which usually only get 2 stars, but this was a good one with tough love
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July 18, 2018A high school teacher and the students on her quiz bowl team are caught by a snowstorm and are stranded at an isolated inn owned by an equally isolated Iraq war veteran. In a matter of days, the entire group grows closer, Fiona and John most of all. I found this a warm, believable read about what people need in order to truly connect with each other. (Spoiler alert: good communication, honest listening and honest speaking, is key.)
John, struggling with PTSD, is the focus of change in the story. I did like Fiona, and I could see how touching her ability to truly listen and her non-pitying kindness were to John, but her own backstory and her own changes are overshadowed by John's. Given the seriousness of John's story and his PTSD, I didn't mind this focus, although some readers might find this unbalanced. I found both of them very realistic and their motives always understandable.
I have to admit I also really liked the antics of the teenagers in this story, and I thought they were far more realistic than the teens in a similar snowbound schoolteacher romance I recently read (A Holiday to Remember).
I didn't want this story to end, I was enjoying it so much!
John, struggling with PTSD, is the focus of change in the story. I did like Fiona, and I could see how touching her ability to truly listen and her non-pitying kindness were to John, but her own backstory and her own changes are overshadowed by John's. Given the seriousness of John's story and his PTSD, I didn't mind this focus, although some readers might find this unbalanced. I found both of them very realistic and their motives always understandable.
I have to admit I also really liked the antics of the teenagers in this story, and I thought they were far more realistic than the teens in a similar snowbound schoolteacher romance I recently read (A Holiday to Remember).
I didn't want this story to end, I was enjoying it so much!
April 18, 2013
It's amazing how fast technology can date a book. There were eight rich teens, and only six had cellphones, and flip ones, at that. And then I realized this book was published in 2007, before the iPhone. (Although in 2007, I'd still expect every one of them to have a cell phone.) It seems so strange now to remember how things were before smartphones. (I'm typing this right now on my iPhone, in fact.) If this book were written today, likely the only activities that would occur: every teen sitting around with their phone, playing Angry Birds or Temple Run or something. (And I wouldn't be surprised if one had gone out in the blizzard to find that one place with phone reception so they could get online. I've done that before. Well, not in the actual blizzard. But certainly in the snow to go steal the neighbors' wifi when mine wasn't working.)
Also, my experience of academic competitions in high school was rather different from this. This is possibly due to the fact that approximately 90% of us were Asian, and a large percentage were introverts. And we certainly never meddled in our teachers' love lives. (Although some campaigned for the orchestra director when he got fired for having a relationship with a former student, which I suppose kind of counts, but that was a very public scandal.)
(This review has almost nothing to do with the book, does it...)
Also, my experience of academic competitions in high school was rather different from this. This is possibly due to the fact that approximately 90% of us were Asian, and a large percentage were introverts. And we certainly never meddled in our teachers' love lives. (Although some campaigned for the orchestra director when he got fired for having a relationship with a former student, which I suppose kind of counts, but that was a very public scandal.)
(This review has almost nothing to do with the book, does it...)
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