Lovely book of short stories from lots of my favourite authors. Recommended read 

 Who doesn't love a little wintery forced proximity fun? This anthology is a collection of stories that all include being 'snowed in' and it was fun to see how each story had that play out. A couple of my auto buys authors were in this, so was extra excited for those stories, and always cool to try out new authors too!

 If I Had the Chance - EM Lindsey 4 stars
Lindsey is one of my faves and this was a super sweet, lower angst read from them. Magnus is a super, smart, semi socially awkward scientist and Adam has had a not so low key crush on him for awhile. When Adam covers for a sick co-worker to liase with Magnus on a presentation and gets snowed in... it's really a dream come true.
TL:DR - Blind rep. Two hot nerds. Magnus & Adam. (standalone in existing universe)

 The Room I Paid For - Crea Reitan 3.5 stars
Gabe, a soccer star and Edries, an "eccentric" billionaire are both going through break ups and decide a solo vacay at a mountain resort is a great place to re-group. Just to be stuck in the cabin, with a stranger due to a hotel mix up. They say heartbreak can be healed by the sea.... but maybe a hot, caring, supportive stranger and a roaring fire will do the trick??
TL:DR - Age gap. Hotel mix up - one bed. Billionaire/athlete. Very spicy. Gabe & Edries (stand alone in existing universe)

 Texas Snow - Kelly Fox 4 stars
This is the darkest of the reads, with a detective and the man he helped put away for organized crime. This gave me some 'in medias res' vibes and I would have happily read more from this one.
TL:DR - blood/knife play, morally gray/cop Jesse & Rafferty (standalone)

 Merry Scroogemas - Kiki Clark 4.5 stars
Grumpy/Sunshine is my fave and Clark delivers.
TL:DR - Grumpy/sunshine. disability rep. size diff. adorable. West & Ashley (fully standalone)

 Snowdrifts and Secrets - AM Johnson 3.5 stars
The shortest read in the antho yet still packs a punch. It's got besties Gary and Shiloh secretly pining for each other when they get their car trapped in a snow drift. The vibes are sweet, very spicy, but I still felt like I got context/plot which was nice.
TL:DR - friends to lovers, trapped in a snow drift. Sweet & Spicy. Gary & Shiloh (existing universe)

 Christmas Pipe Dreams - Lark Taylor 5 stars
Owen and Rory are both awkard and with crushes on each other, but for reasons both think they other doesn't like them... that way. Luckily (?) Rory's landlord is lame and he's forced to call the only tradesman in town willing to come out in the snow -- Owen. Taylor easily gives us their history without slowing down the story, and their interactions, missed communications and misunderstandings were super relatably awkward! And so much fun! #stopcock #iykyk
TL:DR - Mutually assured awkwardness and pining. Shy - squared tradesmen/barista. Owen & Rory (fully standalone)

 Winter Blues - Nicole Dykes 3.5 stars
Brother's best friend. I've got a crush. Cabin together. jock/nerd. Simon & Hunter

 The Holidate Rescue - Dianna Roman 4 stars
Uptight/easy going. co-workers. only one sleeping bag. 'fake date' for you, dream come true for me. Marshall & Ronny

 Mistle Foe - Cora Rose 4 stars
Buttoned up/Bad boy. first time/socially awkward vs bitter experience. family/external homophobia. Owen & Christian (standalone)


Snowed in is a charity anthology with proceeds for A4TE: Advocates for Trans Equality. An organization that needs our time, donations, and awareness even more than ever. So I'm very happy to signal boost this anthology! 

**review based on the following stories**

Tropes: snowed in, only one bed, mutual pining (sort of)

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Barista Rory has had a crush on local plumber, Owen, for months. When he arrives home from a shift to find his kitchen flooded, the only person who can help him is the very man who flusters and turns him into a bumbling fool.

When Owen arrives at Rory's apartment to fix his pipes, the last thing he expects is to get snowed in on Christmas Eve with the adorably shy barista—but after months of these two tiptoeing around each other, fate has other plans. 

Gah this was too cute! I loved how Rory turned into an absolute mess every time he was around Owen, because honestly same 🤣 Their story was equal amounts sweet and steamy and I loved every minute of it!

Tropes: snowed in, brother’s best friend, jock x nerd, insta-love (ish)

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

As if being forced to ride home with his brother’s annoying best friend, Hunter, for winter break wasn’t bad enough, a blizzard has them taking shelter at Hunter’s family cabin in the middle of nowhere. 

As Simon spends more time with Hunter, he realizes that maybe Hunter isn’t so bad, and when learns how Hunter really feels about him, sparks fly. 

This was steamy and to the point. Would have liked a bit more from Simon, as Hunter seemed way more into him than he was into Hunter, and he did a completely 180 in no time, but 🤷🏻‍♀️

Tropes: snowed in, only one bed, virgin, opposites attract 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️

Caught in a snow storm on the way to their friend’s wedding, Wren and Christian are forced to ride out the dorm in a run down motel room with only one bed. 

Not Christian’s biggest fan, Wren isn’t happy about the predicament they’re in, but one thing leads to another. 

Honestly, this was just whatever. 

This anthology is all about being snowed in together and the novellas all occur around the Christmas holiday. What’s better, the proceeds of this anthology are being donated to a really important cause - Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE). I loved each of the novellas in this anthology - seriously - how many amazing authors can fit into one collection?! Here are a few highlights:

❄️ “Mistle Foe” by Cora Rose ❄️

These MCs get snowed in while trying to attend a wedding. Wren dislikes Christian because he wants him so much and is under the impression that Christian doesn’t like him. Christian has an air of innocence around him and Wren has that of a misunderstood bad boy. Christian is a virgin. Wren has never been in a monogamous relationship before. Christian comes from a conservative and religious household. Wren has been overlooked by family and friends. It was really interesting seeing Wren develop feelings for Christian. Christian is so sweet and guileless, I was excited to see some of his sunshine ebb away at Wren’s grumpiness. Things move at a fast clip once the two become entangled, but every moment is captivating. 

❄️ “Texas Snow” by Kelly Fox ❄️

Rafferty is a cop and Jesse is the one who ends up in jail after he investigates him. Despite a volatile moment in the courtroom and after his sentence is commuted, Jesse ends up at the cabin that Rafferty’s grandparents left to him. Jesse is on the run from his family and finds himself relieved to be in Rafferty’s presence. A snowstorm hits and both MCs get stuck. It’s a toss up if Jesse will cash in on his fantasies of killing Rafferty. Things heat up between the MCs and while they are compatible physically, it is a surprise to both of them how they complement one another emotionally as well. I loved this story of a good cop and a morally gray “bad” guy. Both men make it through an ordeal and find a way to be together. Even though lust comes first between this pair, the “I Love You” they share is pretty sweet too.

❄️ “Merry Scroogemas” by Kiki Clark ❄️

West is sent up a mountain by his boss and ends up slamming into a tree trunk after a big brown animal runs out in front of his car. Ashley lives alone in a mountain cabin after being discharged from the Army. He is dealing with PTSD and past trauma. Ashely is not a fan of Christmas, for very valid reasons, but West loves the holiday. Ashely gives West the gift of joy when things take a bad turn for him professionally. This is a really sweet age-gap romance. The MCs are adorable. I can’t wait to see more from them!

4.25/5 ✨🌟

* * * SPOILERS * *

“𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘰,” 𝘈𝘥𝘢𝘮 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵. “𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵…𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦.” “𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐’𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶,” 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥.

This was the first book by this author and I devoured it so quickly. It was so sweet and it was just what I needed. I loved how they both were with one another, loving how they got to spend time together. I absolutely loved the disability rep. It made this story super sweet. I loved the grocery story’s scene. Totally adorable. Adam and Magnus were so precious 

“𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘦,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩, 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯. “𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘴 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”

Gabe and Edries were so perfect together. They’ve both been hurt and even though they were strangers, I loved how they leaned on one another. The fact they had to share the place together because they both got booked for the same place, I knew this was going to be a good one! I love how they confide in another and eventually fall for one another. Just what I needed.

𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.

Cora never ceases to amaze me when it comes to her books. I loved Wren and Christian so much. Eren didn’t know why Christian gets to him and poor Wren doesn’t understand why he doesn’t like him. They eventually spend time together at a hotel and it’s simply perfectly. I loved how poor Wren started to get jealous but it worked out in the end.

I received a copy of this book and this is my honest review.

Snowed in together - can you get more holiday romance than that?! And I love all the diverse takes and styles.

*If I Had the Chance - EM Lindsey

When this started I thought maybe I had read it already but then I remembered they were side characters in a previous story, and I’m so pleased to see them get a christmas love story.
Super sweet and cozy - our uber intelligent nerds find love and coziness


*Merry Scroogemas - Kiki Clark

Our mountain recluse gets unexpected, but not entirely unwelcome guest for the holidays after a car crash in a snow storm.

Think a man in need of some tenderness and care, a lot of coziness and a heartwarming future. And there are llamas.  We are also promised a full length version to come!

*Texas Snow by Kelly Fox

Morally grey Christmas. Yes, please.

Running away from a family trying to kill him, he runs to the cop who put him away. It’s a fast-paced romance, stuck in a snowstorm, they get to see past their job titles. Superb. And I really love their ending, totally fit their vibes.

*more to come…