Stranded in the Snow

Holiday Acres #2

by Noelle Adams

An unexpected snowstorm. The man she hates the most. One very hot night.

Olivia Holiday does not expect to spend the weekend stranded in a romantic cottage during a snowstorm with the one man she resents the most. Scott Matheson is a player and holds a grudge against her family, and she really shouldn’t find him so hot. They share a deep history as well as an attraction, and it all comes out as they’re trapped together for one hot night.

Genres: Romance, Christmas, Contemporary, Holiday, Novella, Enemies To Lovers, Forced Proximity

162 pages, ebook

Published January 30, 2019

About the author

Noelle handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn't stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she teaches English, reads any book she can get her hands on, and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.

She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances.

Reviews

[Lori ◡̈]

No rating, DNF at 13%. I love a good enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity story, but this was not it.

Hero is an unapologetic, arrogant, ons-loving manho that seems to say everything with raised eyebrows as if talking down to someone. It’s quoted that he goes thru women like one goes thru disposable paper cups. 🥴

Heroine hates the hero for whatever reasons, but acts in the most snarky and immature way when around him. Lusting over his perfect face one second, stomping her feet in anger and slipping in snow the next. It wasn’t cute.

I immediately disliked the personalities of both characters and wouldn’t have minded had the blizzard turned them in to popcicles. I also disliked the writing style. It was nothing but short, simplistic sentences. Which is a bummer, because I used to love every Noelle Adams book I picked up. 😩

[Paula (on hiatus) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yet another DNF for me... Hero is a Manho and that is NOT what I want to read these days - especially these lines:


“He goes through women like they’re paper cups, using them once and then discarding them.”
“Yeah, but he never makes promises to them or—”
“You think that makes it okay? I feel so bad for all the silly girls who gaze at him with stars in their eyes, daydreaming of being the one woman who will finally bring him to heel. They’re so stupid, but I feel bad for them. They all end up crushed in the end, and Scott doesn’t even care.”
“Maybe he does care.”
“If he does care, he’d stop sleeping his way through the three surrounding counties. He doesn’t care. He’s an asshole.”


“I’ll bet you’ve slept in all kinds of places.”
"You interested in all the places I’ve slept in?”
“No. Definitely not. I’m sure I don’t have room in my mind for the enormous number of beds that would entail.”
“I’m not sure it’s as many as you think.”
“It’s a lot more than I have any desire to think about. You think girls don’t talk about you afterward?”
Scott knew they did. And he knew they sometimes exaggerated—exactly as men would sometimes do. He’d had a lot of sex in his life—usually one- or two-night stands—but he wasn’t the horndog the small town had painted him as for the past several years. A good number of the women he went out with he’d never had sex with. He only slept with women he genuinely liked and with whom he believed the good time would be reciprocal. He also didn’t have sex with women who had marriage in their eyes. That limited his options considerably.

“And that’s it. You kiss them. You screw them. And then you... just move on?”
“What else am I supposed to do?”
“Treat women like they’re more than something to relieve your physical urges.”
“I always treat women well. I never sleep with anyone who doesn’t want to sleep with me and who doesn’t know my intentions. I never lead them on.”
“And you really believe all the women you screw want nothing more than the one night you give them?”
“I tell them the truth. It’s not my fault if they don’t take me at my word.”
I’m sure they do want to have sex with you. They just also might want even more, and a nice guy might realize that and not treat them like they’re disposable.”
“Disposable?” “I don’t treat women that way.”
“Don’t you? How many women have you slept with in your life?”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. Seriously. How many?”
“I-I don’t know.”
“You don’t know. You can’t even remember. Do you remember their names? The color of their eyes? How they like to be touched? And you’re telling me you don’t treat them as disposable?”
“I don’t... I don’t think I’ve treated them that way. I could remember their names if I thought about it for a few minutes.”
"I’m sure you didn’t treat any of them badly. No one has ever complained about you except a couple of women I’m pretty sure never had sex with you at all. But part of seeing women as fully human is recognizing that women are all different—different from each other and different from you—so none of them are going to be approaching sex with exactly the same attitude you have. Sex is never going to be simple, no matter how much you try to make it so.”

“Fifty-six.”
“What?”
“Fifty-six. My number. It’s fifty-six.”
“You’ve slept with fifty-six women? Fifty-six?”
“Yes. I counted them up. I remembered them all.”
“You remember all of them?”
“Yes.” His face twisted briefly. “I can’t remember all the names, but I remember their faces, what they were like.”
“How long did it take you to count them all?”
“A couple of hours.”
“You did it in the middle of the night?”
“Yes.”
“So you’ve slept with fifty-six women?”
“Yes. Over ten years. Fifty-six women over ten years. Do the math. It’s not as many as you’re thinking.”

"Jane Lawson was your first?”“How old was she then?
“I don’t know. Late thirties.”
“Late thirties? She was in her late thirties, and you were seventeen? And she had sex with you?”
“It wasn’t like you’re making it sound. I wanted to. I was seventeen and still a virgin. Of course I wanted to.”
“But the fact that you were a virgin makes it worse. She was totally in control. You worked for her. You were seventeen!”
“I was old enough to make a decision about sex.”
“Maybe you were. But that doesn’t make it right. Did you... did you come on to her or something?”
“No. Of course not. I can’t possibly overstate how clueless I was with women. I never would have done anything. She came on to me.”
“Stop making it sound so bad. She didn’t force me. She didn’t do anything even close to forcing me.”
“I’m not saying she forced you. It doesn’t have to be forced to still be... really wrong. Did it just happen once?”
“All summer.”“Stop saying that. It wasn’t bad like you’re making it sound. I... liked it. I learned a lot. I was happy to learn a lot. It was just...” “It was. Just sex.”
“You were a shy seventeen-year-old virgin, and she was your boss. She took
advantage of you. You do see that, don’t you? Just because you were a boy and not a girl doesn’t make it all right.”
“And you’re telling me that what happened—that it happened that way—didn’t have any effect on you? You, who just told me he’s slept with fifty-six women but none of them more than once or twice. Except her, I assume.”
“Except her.” LOL 🙄

[Carvanz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread:

This is such a great book with characters that I love. An enemies to lovers story that includes a hero who deliberately digs at the heroine is so much fun. I’d forgotten how much I loved Scott and the way he tended to needle Olivia. Having his point of view really opened up the angst gates for me with this one. I adored knowing how he had felt in the past and how those feelings currently stood. This is such a delicious read on every level.

Original review:

I love a good enemies to lovers so I was ready for Olivia and Scott. Scott has grated on Olivia for years now and the fact that there is bad blood between their families doesn’t help. Although Scott has let go of a lot of the anger from previous years, now he’s such a huge player and Olivia shouldn’t find him attractive. When a snowstorm strands them at one of the Holiday cottages, she finds out that there is so much more to him and that the man she thought she knew him to be is just a façade.





I loved this couple and their crazy bickering ways. Scott knew just how to get Olivia riled and she was always determined to win their verbal sparring matches. I was shocked and heartbroken to learn of Scott’s past and the reasoning behind much of his decisions as an adult. But I loved that this couple’s beginning was actually years in the making and that something as simple as model cars could be a turning point.





This is a fast paced read that’s perfect for an afternoon. The chemistry between these two was obvious and well written. This storm has set up the other characters with the potential for confrontation with their soon to be heroes/heroines and I can’t wait to read how the members of these two families finally find their ever after.

Dual POV
Safe while H is made to be a player, he and h have a convo that reveals he actually isn’t as much of a player as thought; no ow/om drama; h has been with other men
Triggers when H was 17 his employer a woman in her mid 30s introduced him to sex – while he initially accepted this was not wrong, he realizes it now with the help of the h

[hea booktubes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor communication

[Rohina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a quick holiday romance read with the trademark of a Hallmark movie — Christmas, snow, falling in love and stranded in a cottage.

These kinds of reads are usually right up my alley because I absolutely love holiday romances, there is just something about them but this one really didn't hit that spot I was hoping for. But nonetheless, it is still a nice read that took about an hour or so.


2 Stars!

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[Amber (Amber Reads Romance) · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️

This is my first Noelle Adams, although I have read many of her books as Claire Kent. This was a very good novella, that gives all the snowed in vibes. It was a good enemies to lovers, with a pining hero.

Olivia has hated Scott for years and their families had feuded for years. They get snowed into one of their cabins for a couple days and have to finally talk about their feelings. Scott has actually been pining after Olivia since they were kids, but he was shy and didn't know how to talk to her. He decided to change his appearance and personality before college and became a player.

Olivia and Scott had some great conversations and became vulnerable during their time together. I really loved how much they worked through and their connection.

[Leigh Kramer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This antagonists-to-lovers snowed in romance was a nice way to pass the time. I wish it had been longer than a novella so it could have more thoroughly engaged with Scott realizing what happened to him in high school was in fact statutory rape. It was a jarring juxtaposition after the way Olivia slut-shamed him so much and it made the relationship feel rushed.


Characters: Olivia is a 27 year old white Christmas tree farm marketer. Scott is a 27 year old white event photographer. This is set near Charlottesville, VA.

Content notes: past statutory rape (MMC was 17 and worked for a widowed woman in her late 30s), past child emotional abuse, minor snow-related car accident, power outage, slut-shaming, past death of parents (accident, cancer), FMC's nephew resulted from an unplanned pregnancy, on page sex, alcohol, anti-fat bias, casual ableism, gender essentialist language, ableist language

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the best one of this season...but not great

I was enjoying this one up until the middle-end and then it kinda fell apart for me. I thought there was great banter between Olivia and Scott at first. They don't get along due to a family feud and a lot of miscommunication between our h and H. I like a good forced proximity and in a snowstorm? Score!

But, there is too much to unpack between these two for it to be a novella. I think, had the author fleshed this out more, it would have been a better story. The hero, Scott, had a lot of things to unpack and it was glossed over and because of that, he came across shallow and nonchalant. He needed more growth.

[Innocent]

Wow!!! Fantastic, hard to put down... I am looking for the continuation
of this book!!!

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7/8

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute short read. I like how 3 of the sisters all happen to get trapped during the storm. It’s nice to see their stories intertwine with each other. I didn’t read the series in order, but they are great standalone books that interlock no matter which order you read them in.

[Wioletta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Olivia and Scott doesn't like each other, or they think so, until they stuck together in a cabin during snow storm.
I loved Olivia and Scott, enjoyed their story.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stranded in the Snow, book 2 in the Holiday Acres series by Noelle Adams is more of a short novella (100 pages on my Nook) than a fully fleshed out novel.

Olivia Holiday has always been interested in Scott Matheson. But whenever they meet somewhere, Olivia becomes brusque, hard and edgy towards Scott. Scott has always had an attitude towards the Holiday sisters, esp. Olivia, due to an old wrong done between their fathers and Scott feels a need to continue to hold his grudge. But then Olivia and Scott are stranded in the snow together and closest cottage happens to be the fully stocked Holiday Acres honeymoon cottage "Mistletoe Cottage".

Stranded in the Snow could have really been a great 5 Star book if it had been longer, with more time to more fully flesh out all the characters (minor characters included), develop the story more deeply, and not rushed the story. The only angst to Scott and Olivia's love story was Scott's "morning after regret" where he pushes Olivia away.

As I said - nice story, too short, too fast and it would have been more believable if this story had been a fully developed novel. I had already downloaded another "Stranded" story by Noelle Adams, based on how I thought Stranded in the Snow was going to be a really good, interesting story. I'll read the second "Stranded" story but I don't believe I'll read any more stories in Holiday Acres series. I may read any other books by Ms, Adams, if they're longer in length.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pacing of this book was a little odd. Once the main characters got together, it moved extremely fast, but before that it was a bit slow for my taste.
Olivia and Scott get stranded in a cabin in a snowstorm. They have a long, complicated relationship and seem to hate each other. You can guess what happens from here.
This book wasn't as spicy as Stranded on the Beach. It also didn't have as strong of a story between the main characters. Yes, I know Olivia and Scott aren't each other's biggest fans and it all stems from their school days, but I wish it was elaborated on further. And I do know this is a series of shorter stories, but I think if the time was taken to dive into more backstory, I would care more about the characters.
I thought the stranded in a cabin in a snowstorm was done well, and I do like the progression of Olivia and Scott's relationship. The ending could have been strong imo but it was satisfying.
Overall, decent romance story featuring enemies with only one bed. Do what you will with that information.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as one of the stories in the Snowed in for Christmas anthology which is a lovely collection of three brand new contemporary holiday romances. Each story takes place while a couple is snowed in and I can see each as a perfect Hallmark movie. These tales work fabulously as stand alone reads if that is your preference.

Stranded in the Snow (Holiday Acres #2) by Noelle Adams; 4 Wine Glasses
This is a steamy enemies-to-lovers tale. Olivia and Scott have known each other since they were children. Even though they have been mutually attracted to each other, due to misunderstandings, they’ve become adversaries. It doesn’t help that there’s bad blood between their families too. When they are stranded in a cottage during a snow storm, will they be able to tear down the walls between them?

I thoroughly enjoyed the snowed-in fun on each and every page and highly recommend this Christmas anthology!
(less)

[Melissa Salinas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet

Scott seems like a jerk and yet Olivia has had the hots for him for a while, even though she doesn't want to admit it. Scott has also seemed to be wanting Olivia for quite some time but told himself he couldn't have her. They have a history as well as kids, that maybe Scott never really saw. I think this is pretty truthful for how some guys and girls think especially as kids. And a lot of guys seem to hard on themselves and tell themselves they cant have what they really want. But if they just spoke up they'd be surprised I think because girls are just as shy and tend to fantasize about guys more than guys think they do. But this was sweet, standed in a cabin is a great way to make feelings come out.

[Marissa (rissareads13) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Rounded Up

There’s something about Scott Matheson that rubs Olivia Holiday the wrong way. It may be that he’s hot and arrogant, but who knows? When Scott comes to the Holiday Acres to scout the place for a wedding shoot, Olivia is forced to show him around and then take shelter in one of the suites when a snowstorm hits. While they’re stuck together they have the chance to work through their issues.

Although the hatred between the main characters feels forced, I’m a sucker for enemies to lovers. The backstory sheds some much-needed light on the current feelings but I’m not sure if reading the first book in this standalone series would have helped. The writing was descriptive and I did feel as if I was in the cabin with them. A nice winter story with some snow-melting scenes.

[adeela_books ❁ཻུ۪۪ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 stars

This made for a cute and fun holiday snowed in romance! Olivia & Scott share the perfect lingering tension towards each other and Scott's silent pinning for her all these years was a nice touch towards the "its always been you" trope.

They did enemies to lovers well. The spice was sprinkled in the right amount. The writing style/prose was easy to fall into and enjoy.
Overall, this made for a quick & enjoyable read. It's a great pick if you want a short but sweet holiday romance or a book to bump up your reading count.

Olivia's other sister's have their own respective books so it was cool to catch glimpses/foreshadowing of who they'll end up with/be paired with when you read their story.

[Morgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Respectfully don’t read this book. I love a good stereotypical enemies to lovers troupe and involving Christmas time even better. This was just not good. The only reason I finished the book is because of how short of a story it was. The male main character is cringy and unbelievable you can’t not know how to talk to women but then sleep with almost 60 LOL. There really was no actual personality for the main characters that really made you want to care about them. I just kept saying to myself get to the happy ending so this book can be over.

[Phylis Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Olivia and Scott have known each other for a long time. Olivia is very snarky when he is around. He is a photographer and he needs to see inside one of the cabins that she owns. In the midst of a really bad snow storm they head out to look inside the cabin.

It is a short novella that has a lot of story tucked inside it. I really enjoyed it and it was a fast read. Check it out I think you will enjoy it.

[starr ⟡˚˖]

Overall a very enjoyable experience! I just didn’t enjoy when they got intimate after a very vulnerable moment between them. I just feel when you hear of how the mmc was a seventeen year old boy and got taken advantage of by a woman in their thirties, you don’t automatically get intimate with them after they just realized that they are a victim to the situation. He barely got time to unpack that trauma before we had smut and it bothered me. Anyway, we move!

[Thena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick little holiday read while I waited out a winter storm. It felt a little rushed, but both of these characters had an extensive backstory and childhood connection, so it wasn't as if they were strangers. This is part of a series and I am intrigued enough to read the additional books that feature supporting characters.

[Mary Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

The snow storm that changed their lives

They finally realized that they really did like each other. Although he's liked her all his life. Their families have hated each other for years not they were stranded together in a cottage because big a snow storm. It's well written and a bit sexy. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Gemslilbooknook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every part of this read and I binged it within a few hours, enemies to lovers with forced proximity, Snarky main characters with a tough exterior and a gooey centre they try to keep hidden what's got to love about it.
I read the book out of order and loved it enough that I'll read the other books too

[Jane Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Olivia and Scott’s story was intense and fun. I loved how Scott had a crush on her since they were kids and Olivia always thought he didn’t like her. It was a cute story with a few deep passages. I really enjoyed this book.

[Janeiowa · Rating 1 out of 5]

VERY disappointing. Olivia, the heroine is a complaining, whining, spoiled b*tch, in my opinion. I don’t know anyone, male or female, could put up with her for 10 minutes. It’s the same whining, arguing, b*tching page after page.

[Lynda Wexelbaum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stranded in Snow

Second in Holiday series. Olivia and Scott, though today appear to be on each other’s nerves constantly, have been secretly admiring the other since childhood. Cold, wind and snow combine in a dark, cozy cottage to ignite those hidden feelings

[Leyns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awww

This was so much better than I expected. I thought manwhore hero = ugh, but it was more than that. Well done. The epilogue was a slight miss for me, not the moment I would’ve picked for the epilogue, but overall I enjoyed this book.

[Sydney S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t like either of these characters, and the story felt very surface level. I’m starting to think this series just isn’t going to be for me. I still enjoy the feel of being in a Noelle Adams book, but these just aren’t hitting. I'll finish out the series because they're short, but I have a feeling this is going to be very formulaic and maybe I wasn't supposed to read them back to back like this. They're still scratching that pre-Christmas-feeling itch though.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

The story was captivating and the characters were delightfully humorous. Their antics had me laughing out loud. By the end, I was left with a smile on my face. This is the kind of engaging and entertaining book I enjoy reading.