In Alaska, it’s always a white Christmas—but the sparks flying between two reunited friends could turn it red-hot…
If there’s one gift Erika Sheraton does not want for Christmas, it’s a vacation. Ordered to take time off, the workaholic surgeon reluctantly trades in her scrubs for a ski suit and heads to Wild River, Alaska. Her friend Cassie owns a tour company that offers adventures to fit every visitor. But nothing compares to the adrenaline rush Erika feels on being reunited with Cassie’s brother, Reed Reynolds.
Gone is the buttoned-up girl Reed remembers. His sister’s best friend has blossomed into a strong, skilled, confident woman. She’s exactly what his search-and-rescue team needs—and everything he didn’t know he craved. The gulf between his life in Wild River and her big-city career is wide. But it’s no match for a desire powerful enough to melt two stubborn hearts…
Look for Jennifer’s newest book, Stars Over Alaska!
An Alaskan Christmas
By jennifersnow
An Alaskan Christmas is the first book in Jennifer Snow’s new series, Wild River, which takes place in Wild River, Alaska. When Dr Erika Sheraton, gets sentenced to a mandatory two-week vacation, she decides to head back to her hometown and her childhood best friend, Cassie Reynolds. When Erika arrives in Wild River, she and Cassie quickly realise how much they’ve changed over time, but after reuniting with Cassie’s brother, Reed Reynolds, the two best friends finally start to get their groove back.
Speaking of Big Brother… Sparks are flying every which way between Reed and Erika. The pair have an immediate connection despite their rocky start. They butt heads as much as they flirt, which, for me, is so entertaining. I like my romance pairings to have various sparkings, okay? A little strife to add some spice to life. Growing up, Reed had a complex about proving himself to his little sister’s stuck-up best friend, they didn’t really interact aside from this one time one time they got lost overnight on a camping trip.
One of the things I truly enjoyed about An Alaskan Christmas was the research Jennifer Snow put into this book. Not just in the medical mumbo jumbo that I know absolutely nothing about but also in the search and rescue field which I’m happy to say I’m a fan of. So, when I say Ms Snow did research, I mean it! The one thing I didn’t really like was Erika was dogsitting and had the chance to put the dog’s shoes on but her response was “you’re a dog”. Ahem. Soap box time.
If you feel the need to protect yourself from the cold, including your feet, put the shoes on the dog because dogs can get frostbite too! I live in Florida, the complete opposite of Alaska, but my dogs wear boots so they don’t burn their feet. If you feel the need to wear shoes to protect your feet from something, put boots on your dog. It bothers me so much that we have this educated character presented with the option of taking the precaution of protecting a dog from needing medical treatment and instead, she opts for “why would a dog need boots? so ridiculous.” Why not educate your audience through your story and help put shoes on other dogs out there whose owners have that mentality through subliminal messaging? Instead, Jennifer Snow put dog boots in the story and made them seem ridiculous.
Moving on, An Alaskan Christmas is about love, connection, and discovery. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this book (like I’m ever sure about anything), but as I read Erika and Reed’s story, I found myself enjoying it. Did I hope Erika would fall down the stairs for not putting the boots on the dog? Maybe. But other than that, I found this book a great read. I got my emotions all twisted about and tugged every which way just right and I really enjoyed the storyline.
This book contains alcohol consumption, bar scenes, a father with an alcohol problem, life-threatening situations in the wild, and medical procedures performed in less-than optimum surroundings, and loss of parents.
Overall, I’m giving An Alaskan Christmas 4 stars and 5 flames. This book was well researched, entertaining, and absorbing. I look forward to reading the second book (hopefully Cassie’s!). I received a copy of An Alaskan Christmas from Harlequin as a part of their 2019 Holiday Blog Tour and as super excited as being a part of Harlequin’s blogging community, this does not influence my rating or review. I’m an overly opinionated heifer and, after thirty years on this planet, I’m stuck in the zone. But the FTC demands I make you aware of my connection to Harlequin so I’m connected to Harlequin as a voluntary blogger and reviewer.
This has been a review from Once Upon a Time, I Read a Book (dot-com), and if you enjoyed this review, come visit my site where you can find me in all of my weirdness.
An Alaskan Christmas is more holiday adjacent than what I expect in a holiday romance. Nevertheless, the setting in Alaska always intrigues me, so I curled up to see where this one would go. I admit I had a bit of trouble getting into this romance mostly because it didn’t feel much like a romance to me. Erika isn’t very likable in the beginning, and I’m not sure if the back and forth between her and Reed is supposed to be fun banter or not, but I wasn’t a fan. That said, she does redeem herself, and as the story goes on, the reason for her prickly nature is explained. The middle of the story is a bit more sex than substance, and I did end up skimming some of that. I have no problem with some steamy goodness, but this one was a bit of overkill for me. That said, the conclusion did win me over as far as rooting for this couple, and it’s hard not to like Reed. He’s much more considerate in the beginning than I felt like Erika deserved. In the end, there were things I liked, and things I didn’t about this romance, but this couple did make for an interesting opposites attract romance.
Love….love it, a perfect holiday read. A holiday theme enemies to lovers read. A search and rescue leader and a surgeon, a mountain man and a city girl, oh yeah they’re so different and they can’t stand each other, they want to strangle each other whenever they meet, but they’re so perfect for each other, yup it’s complicated, sweet and adorable and successfully warms my heart, so many emotional moments and it’s all full of love.
Beautiful story and wonderful characters, yes this one is a perfect holiday read, and you MUST read it.
An Alaskan Christmas is the first book in a brand new series called Wild River by Jennifer Snow. I knew before I even cracked this book open that I would enjoy it. Set in a rural Alaskan town, An Alaskan Christmas follows the story of Dr. Erika Sheraton and search and rescue team leader Reed Reynolds. If you enjoy holiday romance, I highly recommend it.
The story opens on workaholic Dr. Erika Sheraton. Seriously, she is like a robot, going through the daily grind with little thought about the feelings of her coworkers or patients. She is driven by the lingering grief from her mother’s death years earlier and the need for her own father’s approval. When the board of her hospital recommends a vacation, she has no choice but to take it. Unsure of what to do with herself she reaches out to her estranged childhood best friend Cassie and winds up on a two week stay in her hometown Wild River.
I like Erika, at least I try to like Erika. She isn’t an easy person to like. She pushes people away and has walls built around her heart stronger than those at Fort Knox, but despite all that it is easy to see where her heart lies. Erika may play the tough, no nonsense surgeon, but in truth she is just protecting herself from ever being hurt again.
Enter Reed Reynolds, Cassie’s older brother and tormenter of Erika’s youth. Though I say that loosely. Reed remembers Erika as Cassie’s annoying, snobbish friend growing up. Now that he is all grown up, he has a desire to prove to her that he is more than she thinks he is. Where the desire comes from he doesn’t know. He can’t have a thing for her, can he? She’s not his type. The more Reed denies his feelings for Erika the more evident they become to the reader. At times I wanted to reach through the pages and smack some sense into him or at the very least yell at him to go get the girl. Reed is kind, protective, loyal, and loving to everyone that knows him, and Erika may just lose her heart to him if she hangs out in Wild River too long.
The plot of the story revolves around Erika and Reed. I don’t feel like this fits into any romance trope that I’m aware of. It isn’t really friends to lovers or enemies to lovers, nor is it second chance. What it is is entertaining, steamy and sweet all at the same time. I rooted for them from the first page and found myself anxious as the explored the Alaskan wilderness with the search and rescue team.
Overall I really enjoyed An Alaskan Christmas. I love Reed and Erika, and I know you will too! The setting was a bonus, making me want to don skiing gear and wrap up in a blanket while reading to ward off the cold the characters were in. If you enjoy holiday romance, I highly recommend you grab a copy asap.
*I received an eARC of this book via the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.*
It’s amazing how much a job can change you as a person. Forced into a vacation, she felt like her world was ending. Little did she know it was just beginning! Reconnecting with old friends, maybe falling in love, and learning new passions. I loved this journey!
This is a new-to-me author and I’m so excited to read more of her books. A few weeks ago I was invited by the publisher to participate in a blog tour for some of their Christmas titles. I’ll be honest, I probably would have missed this one if that wasn’t the case. I love holiday romances, but I have a lot of books to read right now and this was an unknown author to me. I really liked the description though, so decided I had to make room on my schedule. I’m so glad I did.
Erika is a compassionate person, but she doesn’t really know how to show that compassion. Losing her mom as a teen and having a dad that withdrew into himself made her inability to express her emotions even harder for Erika as she progressed in life. Not only did she throw herself into school and then work, she also let any personal connections she had fall by the wayside. The only personal connection she craved was one from her father, the one she was chasing to no avail.
While Reed’s upbringing was much harder that Erika’s in some ways, his single mother struggled to pay the bills and give her kids all they wanted, he had the love and support of his sister and mom no matter what. This makes Reed better able to handle emotions. But he still has his own issues he hasn’t dealt with that are perhaps unhealthy. His father disappeared years ago. Most people assumed the man took off on his family, but Reed couldn’t accept that explanation and always held out hope of finding his dad while out on one of his search and rescue missions. Like I said, not so healthy.
Somehow Reed and Erika round each other out perfectly. He teaches her to let go a bit and she helps him to understand that there’s more to life than an occasional hook-up. Not only are they good for each other, they also entered each other’s lives at the right time. Or, I should say, re-entered. Growing up in a small town, Erika was Reed’s sister’s best friend. Although Cassie and Erika haven’t spoken in years, the time eventually melts away when Erika comes back to town to take a forced vacation.
There is a lot Erika and Reed have to go through before they can have their HEA. They are both extremely stubborn so need to learn to compromise. Cassie calls Erika out on her need to please her father more than once, and that needed to be done. But Erika has to come to certain realizations on her own. And Reed has to exercise patience…something he didn’t know he had.
While there is a thing or two that I didn’t feel got a full wrap up, I can’t help but think that may come in another book. After all, I’m sure (hoping, pleading) Cassie will get her story told. All in all, I’m happy to have found a new author and hope to get to some of her back library very soon.
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**
Erika Sheraton is a character that I definitely a lot of myself in – a workaholic that puts her career first and never takes time off, always trying to prove her worth. She spends more nights on a cot in her office than in her condo and doesn’t really have any close friends.
When Erika is being “forced” to take a vacation, she decides to visit her old hometown and reach out to her childhood best friend. After a 10 year estrangement, Erika and Cassie wonder how they are going to survive the next 2 weeks. When Cassie takes a group out camping for 3 days, Erika finds herself in the company of Cassie’s big brother Reid and the sparks begin to fly.
When it’s time for Erika’s vacation to end will she go back to the city or will she stay in Wild River with the only man that she has ever loved?
This is an amazing Best Friend’s Older Brother romance!! I loved that Erika & Reed still have the chemistry even though it’s been years since they’ve seen each other. Reed keeps trying to break through Erika’s cold-hearted persona, and as they get back to into their rhythm she starts to warm up. I loved that he brought her on rescues and helped her see that she can do something with her medical degree in Wild River.
This is an amazing start to a series, and I can’t wait to see what Jennifer writes next for this town!!!
Fans of opposites attract and best friend’s brother tropes will want to dive headfirst into An Alaskan Christmas. I enjoyed this one from page one. Erika and Reed were the perfect reminder that there is more to life than your job.
Steamy enough to melt the snow in Wild River, Alaska
Dr. Erika Sheraton is a talented general surgeon and also incredibly dedicated to research into a new antirejection drug for transplant patients. What this means is that she is a workaholic to the max.
When she is told that she has to take a mandatory two week vacation to provide some balance in her life, she has no idea what she’ll do or how she’ll cope.
She ends up leaving Anchorage and going back to Wild River, Alaska where she grew up, hoping that her childhood friend Cassie will allow her to stay with her. Then she sees Reed, Cassie’s brother, all grown up. He’s the head rescue leader for Wild River Search and Rescue and to say he’s changed since she last saw him is an understatement.
This is a story of finding out what and who are really important in your life and then going after it, even if you’re two strong willed people like Erika and Reed.
I loved the story, the location (I always appreciate stories about Alaska), the sexy protagonists – and it was a Christmas story (kind of).
I received this book from Harlequin Books through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.
Thank you to Inkslinger and NetGalley for an advanced copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
An Alaskan Christmas
By: Jennifer Snow
*REVIEW*
An Alaskan Christmas. Sounds cozy, blanketed with snow and just plain awesome! Erika is a doctor/workaholic who is on a two week mandated vacation. She returns to Wild River, Alaska to visit her best friend Cassie. While there, old flames rekindle with Erika and Cassie’s brother, Reed. They have a natural chemistry, not to mention lust. As something grows between them, Erika also helps Reed with search and rescue missions because, as a doctor, her skills are needed in those situations. Erika begins to feel alive again, and perhaps even happy? It’s never that easy, though. She faces obstacles, but Erika starts to realize that she can face whatever and still have people who care about her. She is worth more than just her profession. Erika, Reed, Cassie and a host of quirky secondary characters make for an excellent and complimentary community. Erika is an intelligent persistent and diligent woman who learns more than she could imagine about herself. Reed is the sexy bartender hero type, and he’s totally swoon worthy. They are dynamic and likeable as a couple, and things get hot between these two. The entire setting is so lovely and gorgeous. The writing makes you feel warm and fuzzy with a dash of hot and spicy. I loved the Alaskan atmosphere, the characters’ journies and the sense of magic and home that only comes from a feel good story like this one. Can I go to Alaska now?