Review – When Snow Falls by Brenda Novak

Publisher: MIRA
Publish Date: Out Now
How I got this book: NetGalley

After growing up in cheap motels, moving from town to town with her sister and mother, Cheyenne Christensen is grateful to be on her own. She’s grateful, too, for the friends she found once her family settled in California. But she’s troubled by the mystery of her earliest memories, most of which feature a smiling blonde woman. A woman who isn’t her mother. Although Cheyenne has repeatedly asked for explanations, the people who could help aren’t talking. Cheyenne is set on finding answers, but without so much as a birth certificate, it won’t be easy.

Things get even more complicated when her closest friend is attracted to the man Cheyenne has secretly loved for years. For Eve’s sake, she decides to step aside—which lands her right in the arms of Dylan Amos, oldest and baddest of the hell-raising Amos brothers. He’s the kind of guy she’s sworn to avoid. She can’t afford to make a mistake, not when she finally has a chance to learn who she really is and change her life for the better. But… maybe there’s more to Dylan than she thought. Maybe letting him go would be a bigger mistake.
*Blurb from Goodreads*

I’ve long enjoyed Novak’s romantic suspense novels and despite the very lackluster novella that introduced the Whiskey Creek series, I’ve stuck with this contemporary romance series, and I’m so glad I have!

Cheyenne loves everything about Whiskey Creek. It was the first place she called home, the first place she made friends, and the home of her heart. But she’s always wondered about her mother, the woman who raised her, because Cheyenne is no longer sure Anita is her real mother. Between early memories that won’t fade and nagging suspicions, Cheyenne just doesn’t know what to believe anymore. But it doesn’t keep her from sticking around and taking care of Anita while she is on her deathbed.

Dylan is the bad boy of Whiskey Creek from the wrong side of the tracks and a reputation for breaking hearts, laws and faces whenever he can. But it’s a reputation he doesn’t necessarily deserve. He long ago set his sights on Cheyenne, so when she finally takes notice things between them go from icy to steamy in no time flat. While Cheyenne deals with her dying mother, drug-addicted sister, and mystery surrounding her past, Dylan is ready to stand by her side and support her – regardless of any obstacles that come their way.

I have to admit that this book was like a Lifetime movie – only absolutely crack-a-licious! Bad boy hero who is misunderstood by the whole town, crazy insane family drama, devastating secrets, and so much more filled this book to the brim and had me flipping pages long into the night.

There was one thing that somewhat annoyed me about this book, and that was the beginning and the way that Dylan was introduced into the story. In most romance novels, we meet both the hero and heroine at the same time, in the beginning of the book. However, Dylan doesn’t appear in this story until almost 120 pages in! Novak spent numerous pages and chapters cultivating a secondary character and love triangle, Joe. Had I not read the blurb and knew that Dylan was going to be the hero, I would have felt jipped when Cheyenne finally met and started a relationship with Dylan. At the same time, I was annoyed with the whole beginning and how Joe and Cheyenne almost strung each other along throughout. It was weird and awkward and the one part of the book that really, REALLY bugged me.

Other than that, I have to admit I loved everything else. I was a total sucker for the kidnapping/abduction aspect of the story. I’m not sure why, but there was something about it that just drew me in and kept me engrossed in the story. I thought Cheyenne was such a believable character. She struggled so much with Anita and her sister Presley – yet she also was so loving and supportive of them both. When it came to romantic relationships, she was naive about her feelings and throwing sex in the mix. I liked the dichotomy between the strength she showed with her family and the sense of immaturity in her relationships.

I loved Dylan. LOVED! He definitely needed more page time in this story (BOO for missing the first 120 pages!). He was so protective and loving with his brothers, and he put up with way more drama from Cheyenne than any normal man would even consider. Dylan had a bit of an Alpha streak, all while being gentle and caring and supportive with Cheyenne. Seriously, I loved him.

Their romance was great too, once it finally got started. The sexual chemistry was off the charts and I loved that they didn’t hesitate to share with each other how quickly they became addicted to one another. Although Cheyenne was very wishy-washy at times, she also seemed to know, deep down, how great they were together.

All in all I think this is the best book in the series so far. Despite my disappointment with the beginning and the introduction of Dylan late in the story, I loved everything else. The drama and nitty-gritty aspects just made it that much more enjoyable for me!
I give When Snow Falls a B+

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