Dr. Holland Lake is a woman in desperate need of a new beginning. Determined to remap her future, she and her four footed Guardian move to the wilds of Alaska to join her grandfather’s veterinary practice. Her plans for a peaceful, drama-free existence go up in smoke when it becomes clear to her that Alaska’s gender imbalance problem is now her problem! And then the ground really shifts beneath … beneath her feet when she meets Solveig’s most eligible, and persistent!, bachelor…
Ivan Volk knows exactly what he wants and has no qualms about doing whatever it takes to acquire it. Or Her. The moment he meets Holland he knows that she’s the One. However, convincing that wary redhead that her destiny does in fact lie with him turns out to be a challenge. Obstacle after obstacle gets thrown in the way of his courtship and he decides he might need to revert to an ancient Volk tradition to get the woman of his dreams.
But he has more problems than love going sideways. When Ivan picks a fight with a ruthless enemy, it’s not just his own fate that is put in jeopardy, but also his family’s, and the entire town of Solveig, Alaska.
more
I have to start out this review by saying this whole trying a “new” or “new to me” author challenge I set for myself this year is working out a treat. I enjoyed this book a lot. It had a couple issues which I will talk about in a bit that stopped it from getting 5-Stars, but overall I was super impressed by this author’s storytelling ability.
description
So onto the deets…I found the writing in this one to be excellent. It is a LONG book (400 pages), which was both a plus and a minus. On the positive side it gave the author ample time to build the backdrop, and flesh out both the plot and the characters. The setting of this story had SO much depth, that you will feel you are living in Solveig, Alaska right along with these characters. The same goes for the characters themselves who all have distinctive personalities of their own. Now, unfortunately the length also had a downside. This is very much a meandering tale, and a slow burn romance which made it slow going in places. However, the plot itself remained very engaging, and I never felt the need to skim. That said, even though the romance itself was slow it was also insta-love on steroids for the hero. He was ALL in two minutes after seeing the heroine. (lol) There is also a mystery element that weaves its way through the plot adding an extra bit of intrigue to the story, and which isn’t 100% resolved by the end of this book. So I assume that aspect will carry over to book two.
description
I wouldn’t say this one was overly angsty. The heroine pushes away quite a lot, but the hero is an extremely over the top caveman, so her reaction was probably normal. (lol) There wasn’t any OW or OM drama. The sex scenes were smokin’ hot. I ADORED Ivan. A 6´5 hairy beast of an alpha. SIDE NOTE: It is not too often you read about a hero that doesn’t do manscaping and in uncircumcised. So bonus points for originality in that regard. Holland and I had a love/hate relationship. Overall, I liked her, but sometimes I think she came across like a bitchy shrew. There was also a fantastic group of secondary characters in this book. I loved Ivan’s brothers. Holly’s grandmother and Grandfather. Her friends. The dogs, who were characters all unto themselves. There was a diverse community of people that made up this town and I can’t wait to read more about everyone. Last, the final 50 pages of this one were CRAZY.
Overall, this was a fantastic read and I can’t wait to dive into book two.
This is Holland and Ivan’s story. Ivan is persistent in trying to convince Holland to take a chance of him. They had many obstacles to overcome in order to have any relationship. This is a beautifully written story, which is written with such depth, that I felt as if I was in Alaska with them. This story is emotional, steamy, and with drama, which all had me totally captivated throughout. Looking forward to read the next book in this series.
Ivan is a MESS!! Head strong, determined, stubborn as a mule and a FREAK!! Yeah ol’ boy has come kink up his sleeve for sure!!! Alright alright. Anyway this is a wonerful read and yes I read them out of order but it didn’t detract from the story or the potency of the read. This author does a darn good job of setting this all up with Ivan being the head of this gang of guys. He has done well by his brothers as the eldest he denied his needs to make sure they had all they need. When he meets the hot new vet he makes it his business to stake his claim and make sure there is no doubt he is in it to win. When a disgruntled employee sets his eyes on Ivan and family they take hit after hit which puts each of them in jeopardy. It’s a story filled with laughs, action, intrigue and a big strong guy who doesn’t understand he can’t have his way all the time and that with Holland brute force will get him no where. Can’t wait to see the rest of the gang submit to the strong wonderful women that have a chance of taming them. These really are a standalone with a common back story and common characters.
This was a pretty good story. I enjoyed it but felt it moved a little slow at times. It also made me laugh and I absolutely loved the dogs!