A full-length, standalone holiday romance with a guaranteed HEA from USA Today Bestselling Author J.H. Croix! If you like romance with alpha men and sassy women, you’ll love this series! Gage Hamilton. Smoldering and single.Entirely uninterested in anything resembling romance.His hot new neighbor is definitely not part of his plans. Marley Adams is way too distracting for Gage’s own good.Control … distracting for Gage’s own good.
Control is the name of the game for an ex-military operative like Gage.
Yet, he finds control hard to come by with Marley.
In fact, he’d like nothing more than to get his hands on every inch of her.
Just once and that might be enough.
The last thing on Marley’s mind is romance.
She’s returned home to Alaska and is busy trying to forget the past.
Yet, the past comes knocking and puts her safety at risk.
Gage finds he’ll do anything to protect her.
He never considered his own heart might be at risk.
*All novels in this series are full-length standalone novels with an HEA.
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The story is well written. Very steamy. I how found it lacking. There is very limited interaction between the two outside of the bedroom. How can love develop? Just didn’t work for me.
You never know what someone is of has gone through. Could happen to anyone making choices not so we!l,or knows some one that has had. in the end full of hope !
OK, I learned a new term today. HEA! Never thought an author would offer happily ever after upfront. With alpha male Gage and his new neighbor, Marley, you have no idea of how things are going to end up. Marley is haunted by her nightmare in Seattle and moving back to Alaska was suppose allow her to forget all things bad. Gage steps up the protection when he falls for Marley. JH Croix write a believable story with real characters and brings them together with a page turner.
Alaskan landscape adds to the strong storytelling.
The story-line is a good one! The recent move of Marley back home in Alaska and the newly inherited ski lodge that had been closed for twenty years, were the basis of the book. Gage, a now retired SEAL, renovated the old lodge while Marley did the web business for him. There is some mystery, a bit of intrigue and family interaction. That being said, the sensual scenes were constant and more of the cut and paste sort of interaction. To be honest, towards the end, I merely skipped those pages containing black lace, bra hooks, lowered jeans and ……
I have read all of J.H. Croix’s books in this series and fell in love with the characters, the location (Alaska), as well as the stories of each couple in the books. I highly recommend this book and series.
Great read!
Easy to read love story.
This was a good book. Wonderful characters, beautiful scenery and a bit of mystery. I loved this book.
I enjoy all of her books. Very good stories.
Good
A must read, sexy, loving. I don’t like the cold and the snow but reading this book makes you want to go to Alaska
Loved it couldn’t stop reading. romance suspense
Enjoyable, contemporary romance set in a quirky, small-town community in a scenic portion of Alaska
Thirty-year-old Marley Adams was raised in the small, quirky town of Diamond Creek, Alaska, but she hasn’t been back except for flying visits since she was eighteen and left for college in Seattle, Washington. She worked as a well-paid code developer for an app company ever since she graduated from college, typically putting in 60-70-hour weeks at her job. As a result of her workaholic schedule and being an introvert, she rarely dated. Then, suddenly one night, her apartment was broken into, and the intruder robbed her at gunpoint. The traumatic experience left Marley too fearful to concentrate at work or stay in her apartment. In order to overcome her PTSD, she has left her job and apartment and sought safety and family support in her hometown, returning there for an indefinite stay. She is currently living in a little cabin on her parents’ property.
Thirty-four-year-old Gage Hamilton is a retired Navy SEAL who has inherited, jointly with his siblings, his grandparents’ ski lodge, the Last Frontier Lodge, in Diamond Creek. Gage was born in Diamond Creek, but his parents moved to Bellingham, Washington with him and his three younger siblings when he was a child. He had not been back in Diamond Creek since his grandfather died when he was a teenager, and his grandmother came to live with his parents until she recently passed away. During his years as a SEAL, Gage avoided committed romantic relationships, because of the high probability that the risks of his career would destroy it. His last mission as a SEAL was so traumatic that it prompted his retirement and, like Marley, he is seeking peace and sanctuary in Diamond Creek. He is also very excited about fixing up the dilapidated ski lodge and holding a grand opening by Christmas, which is only a couple of months away.
Marley and Gage are very near neighbors who both like to run on the scenic trails in Diamond Creek, so it is inevitable that sooner or later they would meet. And when they do, they are instantly, strongly drawn to each other. Since they are both physically fit, gorgeous, intelligent people who share a love of the outdoors, the mutual attraction is quite understandable. However, each initially tries to resist the other, because neither is looking for romance. But when Gage offers Marley a job setting up a website for the lodge and handling online promotion and reservations, they are thrown into each other’s company every day, and the sparks flying between the two of them prove to be an irresistible temptation.
I really enjoyed this contemporary romance novel. The story is told from the point of view of both romantic protagonists, which is the classic format for adult romance fiction. It allows the reader to get to know both Marley and Gage very well. They are strong, active, very sympathetic protagonists. Though there is plenty of romantic conflict, and a bit of romantic suspense thrown in as a subplot, this is not a novel filled with melodrama. Which is a big plus as far as I’m concerned.
I love the fact that these protagonists earn their requisite beautiful bodies through actual exercise, which is all too often not the case in romance novels. I also enjoyed the fact that the sex scenes are not crude or kinky and are “slow burn,” that is, they occur later in the book, after the protagonists have had time to get to know each other and form a solid friendship. The sex is also both hot and tender which, for my taste, is the perfect combination.
I also strongly commend the author that Gage is NOT a cliche billionaire business executive! What a relief in the midst of the endless CEO tycoons flooding the romance marketplace these days.
I enjoyed the many colorful, well-drawn subcharacters in Diamond Creek, which is set in a very scenic part of Alaska. The locale is so vividly presented, in fact, it made me want to hop on a plane and fly there for a visit.
This book is part of a series, but the books don’t have to be read in order. I’ve currently read this book, which is the first in the series, as well as book 2, and book 7. I am looking forward to reading the book which features Gage’s younger sister and his best friend as the romantic protagonists.
I rate this book as follows:
Heroine: 4 stars
Hero: 5 stars
Subcharacters: 4 stars
Setting: 5 stars
Romance Plot: 4 stars
Writing: 4 stars
Overall: 4 stars
I picked this book up back in late summer of 2017, getting lined up the coming holiday season. Needless to say, I just got to read it this Christmas season. So the title on the book I have is “Christmas on the Last Frontier”.
Regardless of the title, this is Marley’s and Gages story. Marley was a computer nerd, Gage was an ex Navy Seal. Marley moved back to her home in Diamond Creek, Alaska after she had walked into her apartment in the middle of it being robbed and the robber beating her. Gage, had left the Seals after his best friends death, and in returning home his grandmother had passed leaving the Diamond Creek ski lodge to him and his siblings. He had loved it in Diamond Creek and the lodge. Wanting some direction in his life he wanted to restore the ski lodge back to working order. Neither Marley or Gage had lasting relationships, mostly because of their focus on their work. Both were working to get their lives back on track, and neither had much to do about relationships, let alone a lasting relationship. So when the two meant, neither could understand the electric draw they had to one another and questioned if it was real. And, a added bonus, their life’s work ended up helping each other too.
Before I give up too much, reading how Marley and Gage work through many things will keep the pages turning. It’s a fast, entertaining ,with a little mystery that it is really good read. Fair warning, It was A little strong on the sex and a little repetitive on the physical description of Gage, but he was Hot and interesting and I adjusted that I didn’t miss out on a great story, with a really good ending.
This is a sweet Christmas romance with lots of characters to meet and fall in love with. Some of the characters are from the Diamond Creek series and it was nice to link the two series. Gage is a sexy ex navy SEAL and Marley is a quiet computer nerd they have chemistry and there are some very steamy scenes. I look forward to more of this series.
When Marley returns home to Diamond Creek after being attacked in Seattle, her only goal is to find peace and security again…she wasn’t looking or expecting to fall in love. After retiring from the military, Gage moves to Diamond Creek to reopen his grandparents ski resort, The Last Frontier Lodge. He also wasn’t looking or expecting to fall in love, he was just trying to find peace from the war and fulfilled a life long dream of running the lodge. However from the moment they meet, sparks fly between them like crazy, but neither of them know how to handle it. Things only get more intense between them when Gage finds out about her attack and is determined to find out who did and see that justice is served! Great characters and awesome story line. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series!
I have read several of the Ladt Frontier Lodge and The Diamond Creek Alaska Novels. I have enjoyed getting to know many of the couples and following how their stories overlap!
Nice story with great characters and a mystery to boot! Makes you want to read more in the series.
This was a good story but had to much detailed sex scenes, Would have been more interesting leaving so much of that out. I found myself skipping many pages as it was the same old, same old!