Too many things about this didn’t work for me.
***Mild Spoiler Alerts***
Cora’s fiancé is acting strangely the day of their engagement party. Afterward he confesses he’s gay and in love with his bf, and they ride off into the sunset (with Cora’s blessing, basically).
I found Cora a bit too understanding about the whole thing. I mean, he couldn’t help being gay but he COULD help having lied to her (for who knows how long bc we didn’t get the details on the length or their relationship) and proposing when he knew his heart wasn’t in it. She wasn’t happy about it, but she wasn’t all that angry, either. I guess the author wanted us to feel that she was really okay about it so she could move on to his dad.
When Cora goes off to her family cabin to lick her wounds, her almost-FIL comes to retrieve the priceless heirloom engagement ring (and also because he has feelings toward Cora). Basically, what we get is a forced proximity romance where they’re trapped together due to a storm. That part of things was… fine. I wasn’t feeling much heat honestly. There was still a bit of that almost-DIL/FIL dynamic going on between them—not sure if that was a conscious effort on the part of the author to make it feel more taboo? And while we’re talking taboo, the author decided to sneak some unexpected somnophilic play in there where the hero violates her while sleeping—well before they’ve established a physical relationship with one another. Take that as you will.
Other criticisms:
I don't love when authors lean into gay stereotypes, and I don’t like it when they beat me over the head with descriptions of the main characters. How many times did I have to read about how handsome he was, with his blue eyes and black hair. Or worse, how Cora is just full of curvy curves with an ample ass and bosom. Every time the hero looks at her, he’s admiring her “full, womanly figure” or “full breasts” or “full hips.” Did the author think I was going to forget she was a curvy girl?
It’s just so unnecessary. I don’t need constant reminders of what the characters look like. I think a lot of readers would agree that after some initial description, less is more! We will fill in our own stuff and don’t need the repetition of words like slim, toned, muscular, curvy, full, ample, huge, tiny, voluptuous, whatever thrown in there all the time.
Overall, it was a quick, somewhat predictable read. I’d maybe try this author again if it was free but I wouldn’t go out of my way to look for it.