Review: Snowflakes on the Sea

Snowflakes on the Sea  (*Reprint*)by Linda Lael Miller

Publication Date: 10/28/2014
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: HQN
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 368
ISBN-10: 0373779933
ISBN-13: 978-0373779932

(Received for an honest review from Harlequin HQN)

Purchase: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indiebound, itunes

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Excerpt from, Snowflakes on the Sea, courtesy of Amazon's Look Inside feature.

Synopsis:

Christmas 2014: 

Nathan and Mallory McKendrick remember the troubles and triumphs they faced in the early days of their marriage. But their love story is far from over! It's a story they tell each other often…especially at Christmas. 

Winter 1984: 

International singing sensation Nathan McKendrick had it all—the looks, the talent, the charisma. It's not surprising that half the world was infatuated with him! No one more so than his wife, Mallory. The success of their marriage had always defied the odds—and the rumors. Then, suddenly, the bond between them was damaged, and Nathan and Mallory had to choose—fight for the love they still shared or let circumstances destroy it. 

In the end, there was only one choice. They had to save their marriage. 

And now, every year that goes by, every Christmas they spend together, reminds them that their love is everlasting….

Thoughts:

Snowflakes on the Sea is a Christmas time reprint from Linda Lael Miller's backlist. Readers looking for some vintage writing from an author they know and love will find this book enchanting. This one isn't the typical Miller western romance, it involves two high profile people whose marriage is feeling the strain of their tough schedules and finite time for each other. Ever wondered what it would be like to be married to a rock star? It might be a little harder than you think!

What I liked:

I probably shouldn't have picked a reprint for my first book by this author. This book is from Linda Lael Miller's early career and probably doesn't do justice to her writing today. I think I was expecting the western type setting that Miller is known for and was surprised when this one was cut from a different cloth, but that didn't deter me. I wanted to find strong characters and depth in the story, and I struggled a bit to find it but in the end I'm glad I picked this one up. It was unexpected and sometimes that exactly what I want to read.

Not your typical romance either. The couple in this book is already married. This was something I found very refreshing. It's life after the happy-ever-after. And in this case it's not quite what Cinderella had in mind. Mallory and Nathan have defied the odds and stayed together even though he's a high profile recording artist. But it's definitely not smooth sailing for these two. Trouble is on the horizon and it takes a lot of fight from both characters to pull this one out. 

I really wanted to like Mallory, but I had some issues with her. She was a bit simpering and whiny. Now, I understand that there's trouble in paradise, but a lot of times you can either cry about it or fight for it and she did a bit too much crying to suit me. There was a lot of up and down with her character. She made me like her one minute and want to shake her the next. Not quite what I'm used to where the heroine is concerned.

Nathan was the fighter of the two. He seemed determined to make it work, whatever he had to do to make it right. I appreciated the fact that he knew things were screwed up and he wanted to fix it. It's Christmas... who wants to break up at this time of year? Not this guy, he was his game. I wanted Mallory to have that same fighting spirit. Life's not easy and marriage takes a lot of hard work. I thought Miller did a good job of portraying that.

One of the things that was kind of a miss for me on this one was the back and forth. It seemed like once Nathan and Mallory got one issue solved, here came something else. You expect that a little bit in a good romance, but not the kind of onslaught these two characters had to deal with. I didn't want it to be easy to work out, but geez! This one was tough!

Bottom Line:

I never judge an author by the first book I read. I'm glad in this case. I liked the book, but I know from what others have told me, that this author is top notch and I look forward to reading other works by Miller that show that. Too much drama for me in this one and the heroine just didn't do it for me. I did like the fact that they were already married, but it didn't make up for a lot of issues I had with this one. 

Snowflakes on the Sea is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 3 out of 5 apples from my book bag!

About the Author:

The daughter of a town marshal, Linda Lael Miller is the author of more than 100 historical and contemporary novels. Now living in Spokane, Washington, the “First Lady of the West” hit a career high when all three of her 2011 Creed Cowboy books debuted at #1 on the New York Times list. In 2007, the Romance Writers of America presented her their Lifetime Achievement Award. She personally funds her Linda Lael Miller Scholarships for Women. Visit her at www.lindalaelmiller.com.