Dashing Through the Snow

by Debbie Macomber

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Savor the magic of the season with Debbie Macomber’s newest Christmas novel, filled with warmth, humor, the promise of love, and a dash of unexpected adventure.

Ashley Davison, a graduate student in California, desperately wants to spend the holidays with her family in Seattle. Dashiell Sutherland, a former army intelligence officer, has a job interview in Seattle and must arrive by December 23. Though frantic to book a last-minute flight out of San Francisco, both are out of luck: Every flight is full, and there’s only one rental car available. Ashley and Dash reluctantly decide to share the car, but neither anticipates the wild ride ahead.

At first they drive in silence, but forced into close quarters Ashley and Dash can’t help but open up. Not only do they find they have a lot in common, but there’s even a spark of romance in the air. Their feelings catch them off guard—never before has either been so excited about a first meeting. But the two are in for more twists and turns along the way as they rescue a lost puppy, run into petty thieves, and even get caught up in a case of mistaken identity. Though Ashley and Dash may never reach Seattle in time for Christmas, the season is still full of surprises—and their greatest wishes may yet come true.

Praise for Dashing Through the Snow and Debbie Macomber
 
“Wonderful and heartwarming . . . full of fun, laughter, and love.”—Romance Reviews Today
 
“This Christmas romance from [Debbie] Macomber is both sweet and sincere.”—Library Journal
 
“There’s just the right amount of holiday cheer. . . . This road-trip romance is full of high jinks and the kooky characters Macomber does so well.”—RT Book Reviews
 
“Macomber’s name is almost as closely linked to Christmas reading as that of Charles Dickens.” —The Romance Dish , on Mr. Miracle 




From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Christmas, Romance, Fiction, Holiday, Audiobook, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance

270 pages, Paperback

First published October 6, 2015

About the author

Debbie Macomber is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of today’s most popular writers with more than 200 million copies of her books in print worldwide. In her novels, Macomber brings to life compelling relationships that embrace family and enduring friendships, uplifting her readers with stories of connection and hope. Macomber’s novels have spent over 1,000 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Fifteen of these novels hit the number one spot.

In 2023, Macomber’s all-new hardcover publication includes Must Love Flowers (July). In addition to fiction, Macomber has also published three bestselling cookbooks, three adult coloring books, numerous inspirational and nonfiction works, and two acclaimed children’s books.

Celebrated as “the official storyteller of Christmas”, Macomber’s annual Christmas books are beloved and six have been crafted into original Hallmark Channel movies. Macomber is also the author of the bestselling Cedar Cove Series which the Hallmark Channel chose as the basis for its first dramatic scripted television series. Debuting in 2013, Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove was a ratings favorite for three seasons.

She serves on the Guideposts National Advisory Cabinet, is a YFC National Ambassador, and is World Vision’s international spokesperson for their Knit for Kids charity initiative. A devoted grandmother, Debbie and Wayne live in Port Orchard, Washington, the town which inspired the Cedar Cove series.

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 - Errrr....... Star.

DNF @ 55%

I really am at a loss as to find anything positive to say about this book. Debbie Macomber is a huge, huge author, with dozens and dozens of books to her name, and to be honest I was expecting Dashing Through The Snow to be one of my Christmas hits in the reading department, this was so much of a miss it is not even funny.

To be honest I am actually struggling to believe that this book has been written by this author. I was expecting a heart-warming story-line, likeable and relatable characters in a Christmassy setting. Not-so-much, Dash and Ashley came across more of a father and daughter combo, and personality wise I could not see them coming together as a couple at all. There was no chemistry, and no perceivable connection between them.

The whole FBI scenario... I have no words, but to bring terrorism (even suspected, and in a slightly comedic way) into a book, and a Christmas one at that... at this point in time, just left me cold.

I know this sounds harsh, but I think the author has seriously let herself down here, this book needs serious revision, and rewriting to make it resemble something in the realms of the high level of quality reading material that I would expect have Debbie Macomber's name attributed to it.

ARC generously provided via Netgalley, I am sorry I cannot offer a more positive review on this occasion.

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Romance develops when two strangers, Dash and Ashley, share a rental car on a roadtrip from San Francisco to Seattle. The trip is pretty typical except for the fact that, unbeknownst to her, the FBI is on the hunt for Ashley. Bungling teens, mistaken FBI agents, and an eccentric car mechanic offer some light humor and add interest to a slow plot. I didn't find the characters very interesting; the most memorable are Dash's mom and the puppy, Little Blade.

The cover calls this a Christmas novel, but I don't agree as there is almost no Christmas element. Ashley is trying to make it home for Christmas and she buys her mother a Christmas gift, but other than that, nothing. I always enjoy more seasonal elements in these quick holiday reads but this fits the bill as a light escape or in-between read.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ashley Davison is trying to get to Seattle for Christmas to visit her mother. Dash Sutherland needs to get to Seattle before Christmas for an important job interview. When all the flights to Seattle are booked and there’s only one rental car available, the two strangers decide to share the car since their destinations are the same. Ashley and Dash at first start off on the wrong foot with much head butting, but the more the trip progresses, the more they find they are enjoying each other’s company and are attracted to each other.

This book was a lot of fun. I thoroughly enjoyed Ashley and Dash’s road trip. Along the way they rescue an abandoned puppy, have the FBI on Ashley’s trail, and many other adventures with interesting characters they meet on their way. It was a really cute, fast-paced, and entertaining romantic comedy set during the holiday season. And I couldn’t resist the adorable puppy, Little Blade.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

DASHING THROUGH THE SNOW was one of my favorite Debbie Macomber Christmas rom coms. Ashley and Dashiel find themselves at the same airport ticket counter, trying to book a last-minute flight home to Seattle. When there are no more flights available, and they also find there is only one rental car left, they agree to share it for the drive. The romance was cute as always, but what made this one especially hilarious was the subplot where the FBI believed Ashley was a terrorist because of someone with the same name as her. So throughout the book, they are chasing her. It put a cute, fresh spin on a Christmas book.

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

www.melissa413readsalot.blogspot.com

This was a sweet little Christmas read :)

Dash and Ashley are both trying to get to Seattle before Christmas, yet both of them wait until the last moment to try to get a plane. We all know there is not flights available so after some arguing they decide to share the last rental car and drive from San Francisco area to Seattle. Dash has an interview he has to make on the 23rd and Ash just wants to get home and see her mom for Christmas.



They run into issues along the way. Dash loses his phone which makes him grumpy. They pull into a rest stop and a vet is there giving out drinks and snacks, he tells Ash that someone dumped a box of sweet puppies in a box at the rest stop. He was able to find homes for three of them, but he had one left and was going to have to take it to the shelter. Ash wanted to get the little dog for her mom because they had just lost Pickles, their own rescue dog and her mom wanted another one. Ash decides to take the sweet little puppy, but Dash is being a butt and doesn't want to take him. They have a fight, he drives away, Ash has a conversation with Blade, a man with a motorcycle group, thus giving her the idea to name the puppy 'Little Blade'. Soooooo, Dash comes back and gets her and the puppy and they are on their way.



They are going to run into a snow storm, so they drive as far as they can and stay a night in a motel that accepts Little Blade.



In other places, the FBI has targeted Ashley as a terrorist! Really? They are tracking her and Dash and when they finally catch up to them they are detained for 24 hours. They find out they were stupid and have the wrong woman and let Ash go. Dash waited for her and missed his interview. Needless to say because they were falling in love. Yep, that was quick, but it was sweet and I don't care!

They make it to Ash's moms house and come to find out her mom has a boyfriend, she falls in love with Little Blade and Dash. They all have a wonderful Christmas together. The End :)

Okay, I didn't give out too many spoilers, there is a lot more to the book and it was a great book I thought.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

After watching this Hallmark movie, I had to go back and read the book. I got the audio from my library and devoured this in one day. Ashley has to get to Seattle for Christmas to visit her mom, but she can't get a flight. She grabs the last rental car, but she runs into Dash, who is heading to Seattle for a job interview and needs to get there asap. The two share a car and drive together. They bicker and banter along the way and their romance was really sweet! It's definitely insta-love, but I didn't mind because it was just a fun romance. I loved how there was a dog in here and there was a little mystery thrown in. It read like a hallmark movie, but in a good way! I will say, I did like the movie more because of the changes it made, but this was still a fun and sweet holiday romance!

[Trina · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book irritated me so much. Shallow, trite plot and writing. Undefined characters that contradicted themselves in the same scene. Rushed romance with zero chemistry. The whole FBI plot was.... not good. This was just not good. (This is totally subjective of course! And keep in mind that this is not my usual genre.)

[Merve •Kitaptelvesi• · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Yahu bu kadar kısa bir kitap beni nasıl şoktan şoka soktu anlatamam.😂 Bir de sürekli ikilemde kaldım kime inanacağımı şaşırdım. Kısa, eğlenceli,garip ve çabuk okunan bir kitaptı.😃 Çok beklentisiz başlamıştım. Belki de o yüzden bu kadar sevdim. Hayır, hayır gerçekten sevilecek bir kitaptı. 😃Böyle uzun kitaplar okumaktan sıkıldıysan araya sıkıştırabileceğiniz mükemmel bir çerez. 🙊 Bir şey diyim mi, bu senaryoya böyle 500 sayfalık kitap yazılabilirdi. Biraz ona üzüldüm konu heba edilmiş gibi geldi neyse yine de keyif aldım.😋

[Elaine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Debbie Macomber is an author who has been on my radar for some time now. One I have been meaning to check out but never got round to until now but on the strength of this read I don’t know whether I would bother again.

When the airlines are fully booked up before Christmas, Ash and Dash (yes, really) are forced to share a hire car to drive from San Francisco to Seattle in this road trip story that is a quick, light, easy read. We know exactly what is going to happen from the first moment they meet and even when it becomes apparent that they are being followed by the FBI, we know exactly why. Without being told, it is easy to figure out.

The whole FBI part of the story, to be honest, is very weakly executed and implausible from the start with a pair of FBI agents who are more reminiscent of Boss Hogg and Roscoe. We know that at some point the paths of the FBI and “Ash and Dash” are going to collide and when they do, after such a long build up, it comes as a huge anticlimax as it all just fizzles out quicker than a wet weekend in Morecambe. This really isn’t one that I could recommend at all. Thanks to the publisher via Netgalley for the review copy.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this book!

It's cheesy, unbelievable plot, over the top loony romance. But it is an easy cheerful holiday story, short and fun. Made me giggle at myself for enjoying it.

[Jeffrey Caston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever take a pint glass, fill it up with corn syrup, and then chug it down, all the while NOT minding that it was cloyingly sweet?

Yeah....I didn’t think so. Well, me neither. But…

Reading Debbie Macomber’s Dashing Through the Snow was what I would imagine that would be like. But that’s not a bad thing, here, really. At least it wasn’t for me.

This was the first time I had "read" Debbie Macomber's work. For me, it was cool to experience a Washington writer's work. The story is a rom-com sort of story where the two main characters (Dash & Ashley) are thrust into a situation where they rent a car together because they can’t get last minute plane tickets from San Francisco to Seattle. Neither one is particularly keen on the behavior of the other, but they both seem physically smitten by the other. So it starts out as a “not quite enemies” to love interest trope. The story is told primarily from Ashley’s point of view. Ashley wants to get up to the Emerald City for a surprise visit to see her mom for Christmas. Dash has got a “really important job interview.”

They get started on their trip and what follows is a completely absurd sequence of events, but completely sweet. Let’s see, so between setting off for San Francisco, these two go through: (1) adopting a puppy (because I mean why wouldn’t you take a puppy from a veteran running a coffee stall at an airport?); (2) getting into an altercation with a drug-dealing biker gang; (3) having an FBI agent (who just happens to be a complete buffoon) hot on their trail in a case of mistaken identity; (4) having one person lose their cell phone; (5) unwittingly allow two kids who are supposedly smart but talk like Beavis and Butthead to switch your license plates from their car onto your rental car; (5) get pulled over because of the switched license plates; (6) argue over karaoke then share a life-altering kiss; (7) striking up a conversation with a dude who claims to have been abducted by aliens and then fathering an 7 foot alien lady’s kid instead of running away like a normal person would; then (8) get caught by aforementioned buffoonish FBI dude, get hauled in and then interrogated (while Ashley still seems—very sweetly I might add—more concerned about what will happen to the puppy during her arrest).

And all that’s BEFORE Dash and Ashley cross the border from Oregon to Washington! But it all works out! (Oh sorry, that might be a spoiler, but not really. You gotta know nothing really bad is going to happen.)

You just can’t think too hard about the plot. The premise was ridiculous and completely unrealistic. But that did not matter to me. This story was so light-hearted and so so innocently sweet and I could not help from groaning while still laughing at the funny dialogue and internal thought narrative. I found this one very entertaining. With all the blood and guts comprising my normal reading and writing predilections, this was such a wonderful change of pace.

[Allison Junkans · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I was in elementary school, I thought I was a great writer so I wrote stories for my teachers and parents. If I read any of those stories today, I would be embarrassed. However, this book is so much worse than anything I ever wrote. I don't believe Debbie Macomber wrote this. I think her ghost writer needs to get fired for writing this book. This is one of the worst books I've read in years. I usually rate books pretty high.
The characters were one dimensional. The big conflict of the book was resolved in one sentence with very little further explanation. The dialog between the 2 main characters made me cringe. However, the low point of the book was the mechanic who was married to an alien. The only thing that could be worse than this book would be the movie. I've read many Debbie Macomber books but I'm going to think twice before picking up her next book.

[Tina Loves To Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Christmas Romance. I read this book for the first time in 2019. I really enjoyed the romance in this book. This is all about two strangers that need to get Seattle, and they decide to take the trip together. So, You can say this is a Christmas Road Trip Romance Book. I found this book to be fun and cute at times, and it also has some light suspense and action. This is not my favorite Debbie Macomber Christmas book, but this is fun book with some great characters. This is one of those books that the characters as to grow on you.

I did re-read this book by listening to the audiobook for this book. I really enjoyed the audiobook, and the narrator was good.

[Amanda Hupe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now, THIS is a fun read! Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie Macomber is a light-hearted holiday read! Ashley Davidson just wants to get home and surprise her mom. She didn’t expect to get time off from school and work, but now the airline is REFUSING to sell her a ticket. Dash Sutherland is also trying to buy an airplane ticket to get to an important job interview, but the best they can offer him is standby. Both Ashley and Dash end up at the rental car area and there is only one car left. There is only one option, for them to share the car. After much negotiation, they are on their way. Meanwhile, the FBI arrives at the airport determined to find Ashley Davidson. She is on the no-fly list for terrorism and she has managed to escape them time and again. But now that she has either a hostage or an accomplice, she will be much easier to track, but what they can’t figure out is why she would use her real name and not an alias?

This is a delightful Christmas romantic comedy! I just found out it is also a Hallmark movie, so I need to check it out. It is cheesy and unbelievable like most Hallmark stories but the characters are amazing! Dash is ex-military, Ashley is a grad student, and both completely stubborn. Their road trip does not go as expected especially with a little tag-along! Dogs always make a story better. I have to say, I laughed out loud more than once. I had to pause the audiobook during the karaoke scene because I could not stop laughing. Debbie Macomber has a way of really setting a scene!

Now the FBI part is where the cheesy part comes in. So many rights were broken, but it also led to many chuckles and gave the story a little extra zing! Allyson Ryan is the narrator and she does a wonderful job and bringing each personality to life! I rate this quick, holiday read 4 out of 5 stars.

[Dana (Dana and the Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 This review can also be found on my blog, Dana and the Books.

Those who know me well are aware that I’m not big on Christmas cheer; some go as far to call me a Grinch.

Why the hell is she reading a Christmas novel, you ask? The reason I requested Dashing Through the Snow book from NetGalley was not because it was a Christmas story, but because the plot looked like fun and cute (and it just so happened to take place during Christmas).

And I was right. It was one of those stories that you need to read in one sitting because it’s so friggin cute.

Basically, complete strangers Ashley and Dash both need to get to Seattle by December 23. All flights are full and there’s only one rental car left, so they decide to rent it together and start the drive from California. An adventure against time ensues, there’s a snow storm, a case mistaken identity, and a cute puppy. Throughout the peril-filled drive, the two of them get to know each other and maybe a romance blossoms?

Yes, you have to go into this book with a sense of suspended disbelief – no way would the FBI be that incompetent – but it was adorable and had some genuinely funny moments. Throughout reading this I kept thinking how it would make a cute movie, and it turns out I was right! According to IMDB it will be released December 13 as a TV movie.

I had actually never heard of Debbie Macomber before, but a quick browse through her Goodreads page tells me she’s quite a well established author. Next time I want a cute and quick story, I’ll be looking through her works!

I received an advance reading copy from NetGalley for an honest review.

[Jonel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Macomber had me in stitches throughout this entire novel! It was priceless to the n-th degree. The plot was unforgettable. The story that she has created not only bought the hectic vibe of the season to life, but she took me on an unmistakable journey. The plot twists and turns had me wondering how it would all turn out. She has developed a fantastic world in which characters come to life and adventure abounds, even if it is an unexpected one.

The relationship between the main characters was hilariously ridiculous while also completely natural. I loved getting to know then as they got to know each other. The situation which Ash & Dash find themselves in really highlighted who they really are on the inside. The intricate character development left me feeling as if I really knew them.

Macomber is the master of Christmas! This is the must read holiday novel of the season.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm two for two on Debbie Macomber Christmas books (the only ones I've ever read from her). They are cheesy, delightful, and so much fun for the Holidays. I love the characters in this one and their funny banter.

[Meltem (ruyalarkitapligi) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Çıtır çerez Noel temalı Debbie kitabı 😌 Debbie’nin kısa romanlarını seviyorum doğrusu Hallmark aşk filmi izlemek gibi diyebilirim❄️ Sadece sonunu pek beğenmedim açıkçası olay örgüsünü neden bu kadar saçma yazdığını hala anlayamadım gerek var mıydı gerçekten 😂 Direk tüm uçuşlar iptal olduğu için aynı arabayı kiralayabilirlerdi böyle saçma bir kurguya bence gerek yoktu :( Neyse zaten oldukça kısaydı ondan sorun yok 😌
Edit : Kitabın gerçekten Hallmark filmi varmış 😂 İzlemek isteyenler mutlaka izlesin ben sanırım izlemiştim tam hatırlayamasam da🙄

[Deanne Patterson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf. This is not your typical Debbie Macomber Hallmark type Christmas book. Main characters are not to my liking and the FBI is after them. Just not enjoying it :(

[Heather Adores Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐
Genre ~ holiday fiction
Setting ~ San Francisco to Seattle road trip
Publication date ~ October 6, 2015
Est Page Count ~ 218 (19 chapters)
Audio length ~ 4 hours 31 minutes
Narrator ~ Allyson Ryan
POV ~ multiple 3rd
Featuring ~ insta lust, no steamage

Ashley (24) & Dash are strangers that travel together in a rental car when they can't catch a flight to Seattle. Gosh I hope my daughter doesn't ever get in a car with a stranger, even if he is dashingly handsome. And then we find out 2 FBI agents are hot on their tail since apparently Ashley is on the top 10 most wanted list for terrorism. She adopts a cute puppy along the way to keep things interesting.

Dash takes a minute to warm up to since he's cranky that he might be late to a job interview and he lost his phone. He gets nicer as the landscape goes by. Ashley was a sweet and I loved her relationship with her mom.

This is my first experience with this author. I found it an okay read, so I'd probably give her another try.

Narration notes:
She did fine.

Connect with me ➡ Blog ~ Facebook ~ X

[Sibel Gandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 / 5

[Suz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fluffy Debbie Macomber read, though being a Christmas themed novel I was expecting more 'Christmas', not exactly the FBI chasing an alleged terrorist plot! It was a little funny the dialogue of the FBI agents, they were far from switched on, but I guess it fit within this type of book. Dash and Ash (a little sickly?!) meet at the airport during peak Christmas time and there are no flights left. How will they get to their destination with all this snow and no airline seats available? They share a rental car and thus begins an adventure, albeit a little contrived! It isn't Christmas without a Macomber read, although I did much prefer the Cedar Cove Christmas themed books. I am still happy with four stars - light, syrupy and neat.

[Sue Gerhardt Griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Super cute Christmas rom-com.

Tis the season for laughter and these delightful characters, Ash and Dash, and a rescue puppy, a bikie gang, two scheming teenagers, Stan the man the mechanic, FBI agents on a chase make for a fun and hilarious read.



Listened to the audiobook on BorrowBox
Published by Cornerstone Digital
Read by Allyson Ryan
Duration: 4 hrs, 32min. 1.50x Speed

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one I actually regret reading, which is rare for me. Dumb characters, idiotic plot...the only thing going for it was the puppy. And the way the characters treated that poor puppy made me crazy!

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

Overall, cute and funny. I could have did without the five instances of cussing and four/five mentions of things that I didn't care to hear about... Due to that, I think I liked the movie better. ;)

[Simge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bir araba içinde didişerek yolculuk yapıp sonunda aşık olan çiftler kalp ben gerçekten. Enemies to lovers'tan sonra en sevdiğim tema bu olabilir. Ne olsa okurum, çerezlik uzun kısa farketmez. Bu da güzel örneklerinden biriydi😌 Karakterler daha derinlemesine yazılarak kurgu uzatılabilirdi ama olsun. Beklentisiz okunduğunda keyif alınabilecek güzel bir kış tatili kitabıydı

[Obsidian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well at least this book counted toward something. Dash is ex-Army intelligence. He is also very stupid. So is Ashley. But that is neither here and there. Look I love romantic comedies. You know how many times I have watched "To All the Boys I've Loved Before?" I laughed and weeped my way through "Crazy Rich Asians" and "The Big Sick." This book tried so hard, and it just didn't work.

Dashing Through the Snow has Dashiell Sutherland and Ashley Davison trying to fly out of San Francisco to get to Seattle. When Ashley is weirdly told that she can't get a flight, but Dash is being told he can, Ashley leaves in a huff talking about sexism and just because Dash is "eye-candy" doesn't mean he should get prioritized over her. Usually I would be all rah rah for the sister-hood but I loathed Ashley throughout this book. From there Ashley goes to a car rental place and runs into Dash again (they offered standby, he said no) and she is encouraged to rent a vehicle with him via the car rental agent. Why the hell a stranger would tell a woman on her own to get in a car with some dude she doesn't know baffled me. Eventually Ashley is forced though since she is 24, she can't legally rent a car to drive (which has never made any sense to me). Dash agrees to take her, though Ashley demands to speak to his mother first. Of course Ashley can't believe that Dash is not married and that is the first question she peppers his mother about and why doesn't he have a relationship.

GAHHHH!

Anyway, the story moves slowly and poorly from this plot point. I maybe screeched at one point that these two idiots didn't even think about taking a train from San Francisco to Seattle. Recall me saying that they are not that smart.

Anyway Ashley acts butt-hurt that a total stranger doesn't want to talk about his personal life with a 24 year old woman (she acts 12) that he just met. And Ashley spends most of this disastrous road trip trying to get Dash to admit he is attracted to her and she's upset when he doesn't seem to be. This fool also decides to adopt a puppy when they get to a stop just because. The person trying to offload the puppy is a Vietnam vet, and it's weird that it was a thing in the book, but moving on. And frankly I was not on Ashley's side at all, because who does shit like this?

GAH!

Things get worse when Macomber transitions over to two FBI agents who are hot on this duo's trial and I can't even with this whole story-line. One of the older agents has a case of I am older and wiser than you and denigrates the younger agent the whole time.

We also get a motorcycle gang that is just there that makes my head hurt.

Ashley and Dash are chemistry rejects. They had no type of chemistry with each other. It didn't help that though I think Dash is 30, he is written to sound even older and Ashley acts like a hare-brain half the time.

The writing was so-so and the flow was awful.

"By age thirty Larry and I had had both our children. These days kids don’t feel the need to make a commitment.”

Ashley lowered her voice. Really, this wasn’t any of her business, but she was curious. “He isn’t involved with anyone?”

Why is this any of her business? Seriously. Anyone?

“Well, I’m not, either.” Ashley bristled, refusing to admit she was disappointed. The men she met at school and the diner were often not worth the effort.

Yep, Ashley is angry that Dash isn't attracted to her. We go back to this a billion times in this book.

“You named your dog Pickles?”

She brightened. “Cute, isn’t it?” She didn’t mention that she’d been the one to choose his name.

He shook his head. “It’s ridiculous. Poor dog probably died of embarrassment.”

That was a nasty thing to tell someone who just told you their family dog died. Gah.

Dash hadn’t been any better.

The bottom line, she realized, was that she’d wanted Dash to like her, to enjoy her company because she’d enjoyed his.

She took it personally that he hadn’t felt the same way about her.

Like I said, she's 12.

When the FBI eventually catches up to them, the whole book just stops and we had a FBI agent asking Dash is he in love with Ashley and keeps pressing the point and I felt embarrassed for this mythical character.

The setting of the book moves around a lot, though Seattle ends up being the final destination. No place really sounded real though. Most of the book is just terrible dialogue between Ashley and Dash, the two FBI agents, and jumps back and forth.

The ending was hilarious (to me) and not in a good way.

[☆Angel☆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ashley Davison finds herself in quite the predicament. The clerk at the airline counter won't sell her a plane ticket to Seattle to surprise her mom for Christmas, and she is too young to rent a car. But salvation comes in the form of ex-soldier Dash Sutherland. Who was trying to convince Ashley to let him ride with her, since it was the very last car and they were both going to Seattle, but Ashley refused until she was told she wasn't old enough to get a rental. Then she changed her tune and found herself on a long drive with a handsome, somewhat frustrating man.

Ugh...I really hate when I have to give lower ratings, but I cannot honestly give this book more than two stars. I was disappointed too because I was looking forward to reading this.

The storyline was fine, but my complaint was the writing. None of it seemed to connect for me. If there is such a thing as over simplifying, it happens in this book. Some things that didn't really need to be explained were elucidated thoroughly. There were other instances that did need more details, but they weren't provided.

Ashley really takes those Snickers 'you're-not-you-when-you're-hungry' commercials to heart because every time Dash gets cranky or upset she convinces him that he's hungry. Like he can't just be frustrated? It was starting to get annoying.

The Hallmark Channel did make a movie of this that premiered last night and is waiting on my DVR to be watched. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but the movie may actually be a better experience for me than the book was. (Update: It wasn't.)

One thing I really liked about this book was the cover.

There are a lot of people who love this author's work and I would probably read something else by her just to see if it was this story alone that I can't connect with. So, if you're already a fan, you may like it and it doesn't take that long to read.

I won this book through Goodreads Giveaways

[Wendi Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t generally read romance novels. Let’s get that right out of the way. I read many genres, but my knowledge of romance novels is confined to a bodice-ripper I read when I was 16, and more recently, a collection of Amish romance stories (I liked these a lot better than the bodice-ripper, but I’m still not convinced romances are for me).

But ... I was in the mood for holiday fiction, and my mom is a diehard romance fan. Not the x-rated stuff, but the cozy romance books, like this one. I’m also in a repentant daughter phase - let’s just say that I teased her a lot over the years about the books she read. Now that I’m older and am embracing everyone-read-whatever-they-want, I feel bad. So I arranged a mom-daughter buddy read for the holidays, and she picked this book.

It took some getting used to. I read a lot of thrillers this year, and was still in the thriller mindset when our protagonist decides it’s both safe and prudent to share a rental car with a strange man. I did some shouting and waving my hands. But eventually I suspended my disbelief, and enjoyed the story.

I have to admit, I spent 80% of the book disliking Dash. My mom read faster than I did, and assured me that he got better, and alas, he did. The puppy helped. Puppies always help!

But most of all, this book gave my mom and I something fun talk about, and that is golden.

[İlkim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kitabı daha önceden okuduğumu buraya girmek için geldiğimde fark ettim. Tam bir çerez, asla aklınızda dahi kalmıyor okuduğunuz.