SPOILER ALERT! I'm not in the business of ruining books, so if you haven't read this book yet, turn back now!
Author: Susan Stoker
Series: Game of Chance Series Book #1
Category: Romantic Suspense
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
While there were elements of the book I enjoyed, overall it wasn't my favorite romantic suspense romance. This book was much too long considering the lack of strong plot points. While I enjoyed Carlise and Riggs relationship in the beginning, the lovey-dovey sweetness grated on me by the end and 80% of the writing feels like filler fluff until the ending when our stalker shows up.
Honestly, I would have dropped another star for this book review if it weren't for Baxter, the hero dog who we all should be so lucky to have in our lives. Such a good boy!
"'That dog saved you. He got my attention and made me go out in the storm to see what he was so worked up about. If he hadn't done that, you might not be here right now. I have a feeling I'd do anything for that dog.'" - Riggs
Despite the stupid decision to get lost in a snowstorm and then leave her car in search of help, literally the only shelter from the elements she had going for her, Carlise surprisingly doesn't come off as TSTL throughout most of the book, just someone who makes bad decisions. She is running from a bad situation but finds herself in an even more precarious one, stranded in a cabin with a man she doesn't know. Quickly though, their instant connection bleeds into instant love, and as she reveals her secrets she comes to find out that Riggs may be the perfect man to keep her safe.
"Carlise was a practical woman. She didn't believe in love at first sight. She was wary of men in general. Their motives and their hidden intentions. But this man was getting under her skin without even trying." - Carlise
Riggs has some demons of his own, but with the support of a loyal group of friends he considers brothers, he has mostly healed. He has a strong moral code and instantly sees Carlise as his dream woman. Despite their unconventional meeting, he is all in and hopes to convince her of his love.
"'But...I'm a protector, Carlise. It's who I am.'" - Riggs
'Clues' as to who the stalker was were obvious misdirects. Due to the lack of secondary characters, it was easy to figure out. Who was stalking Carlise, making her so frightened that she disappeared and ran away? Susie, Carlise's best friend, not Tommy the ex-boyfriend. In Susie's obsessive love with Tommy, she attempts to punish Carlise for hurting his reputation and wants to get Carlise out of the picture so she can be with Tommy free and clear.
The ending was anticlimactic because there was only one way it could have been written based on the storyline. If you show a damsel in distress a perfectly safe underground bunker and mention multiple times that the weather conditions are perfect for an avalanche, said damsel in distress is obligated to use said bunker to escape from her stalker during the inevitable avalanche.
Tropes and Themes: Romantic Suspense, One Bed, Forced Proximity, Military, Stalker, Abuse, Animal Sidekick, Mystery, Small Town, Instalove, Men in Uniform.
Blurb
Riggs “Chappy” Chapman didn’t expect to be disrupted at his remote cabin in the woods. But when a stray dog arrives on his porch, he winds up finding a stray woman, too, trudging through the snowstorm in search of shelter. His military days may be behind him, but Chappy is hardwired to protect her from the storm and whatever it is she’s running from.
Carlise Edwards didn’t expect her car to break down in the Maine wilderness. All she wants is to escape whoever is stalking her back home. There’s no way anyone’s going to find her and Chappy deep in the forest, especially not in dangerous weather. But she finds it hard to mind the circumstances when the company is this stimulating.
As the snowstorm rages, Chappy and Carlise find that, despite the cold, they can generate plenty of heat of their own…but there’s more than just natural dangers lurking in the woods.
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