Sapphire Ridge by Aileen Harkwood
Published by Indie
Published on: December 2, 2013
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 80
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Amazon | GoodReads
Still grieving the loss of her fiancé and best friend in a car accident on Christmas Eve at Sapphire Ridge, Niki Lusk returns to the popular Lake Tahoe ski resort one year later to find closure and make sense of a stunning betrayal following their deaths. If only the snow, pine trees and holiday cheer at Sapphire Ridge could help her heal and reclaim her Christmas spirit.
Niki isn't counting on the massive avalanche that roars down the mountain in the middle of the night to bury alive dozens sleeping in one of the resort's lodges. Nor does she expect devastatingly sexy Bryce McInnis, whose mysterious accent is impossible to pin down, to show up on her radar, demanding she help him save one of the avalanche's victims.
What Bryce must never know is that Niki has a secret. She was born with a special gift she's spent her entire life concealing from others. Yet it's this unique talent she'll need to call upon to rescue not just those in danger, but her own critically damaged heart.
Sapphire Ridge as a name doesn’t invoke Christmas images, but this book takes place mainly on Christmas Eve, and was billed as a Christmas novella. Since I have been trying to read one a week during this season, it fit the bill for me.
Niki has made the trip back to the resort at Sapphire ridge this Christmas season in order to get closure. The previous Christmas, during a visit there with her fiance and best friend, Iris, the two were killed in an accident. Since they were the family of her heart, she was understandably devastated. Her only other family is a mother that no one wants to have, much less spend Christmas with. Her mother has the ability to make people do what she wants them to do, so Niki doesn’t want to be anywhere near her. Niki has her own abilities, some she isn’t even aware of-yet.
When Niki wakes up to the sound of an avalanche heading straight for the resort she’s at, she knows things are getting ready to get scary bad. As rescuers descend on the ski resort by way of helicopters, Niki walks away from the devastation as she waits for a call for her turn to help. She meets Bryce, a man that asks her to help him find someone who was buried farther up the mountain, away from the devastation of the resort, and likely not to ever be found.
This story ended up being an adventure with a twist I didn’t see coming, which is always a good thing in any book for me. Since this is a novella, I am not sharing anymore of the story. But I will say that it also is a romance.
The one problem I had with this novella was the lack of any reasons for the special abilities of Niki and her mother. Even a short back story would have been welcome. I was left wondering what they are, what else can they do, and why wasn’t her mother more of a character since she is mentioned so many times.
All in all though, it was a good adventure and romance. I enjoyed the twist, and the two main characters. I just thought a few extra pages with more explanation would have made for a better story.
I’m Lorna and I live in Maryland. Since retiring, I spend my time mostly reading and reviewing books. My favorite reads are Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, and Young Adult. I read a lot of indie books in addition to traditionally published books. Favorite paranormal creature? Vampires, but I am really liking werewolves more everyday.
Yeah, bummer that it wasn’t more developed. I get curious about that sort of stuff too. I do love the idea of paranormal Christmas romances though. I’ll have to check this out, Lorna!
Sophia Rose recently posted…Countdown to Christmas #Giveaway #6 #RomanceBooksGiveaway
The author just tweeted us to tell me that she is writing a book about these characters, so there will be more to the story. I wish I had known that! I probably would have rated it higher 🙂
That’s cool! That happened to me with a recent review book too. I wasn’t told there would be more so when the ending came and it felt rushed and unfinished I was disappointed.
Novellas can always be so hard because you always want just a little bit more with them but I am glad that overall this was a pretty good read. I never would have guessed it was Christmas themed.
kindlemom1 recently posted…Review: Marked by Sarah Fine
Me either! The only way I found it was by entering paranormal Christmas novella in the search line of Amazon. And I just found out there will be a book about these characters, so more of the story should be in that one 🙂
I don’t get that many chances to do a lot novellas since I hardly ever find them on audio. Novellas can be tricky, the authors better know how to write a compact story that leaves you satisfied, but it sound that wasn’t the case here 🙁 I’d have never guessed this was a Christmas story.
Thanks Lorna.
Lupdilup recently posted…12 Days of Book Blogmas Challenge – Holiday Traditions
The author did get in touch today to tell me she is writing a book about these characters, so hopefully all my questions will be answered then. I wouldn’t have guessed Christmas either if I hadn’t specified what I wanted to read in the search bar on Amazon.
I have seen some novellas on audio but I really don’t want to pay that much for a short story 🙂
And I am all out of xmas novellas :/
blodeuedd recently posted…Book Blog Walkers: Weekly Check-In December 19 2014 + 2 reviews
Well maybe this one will work for you 🙂
Lorna recently posted…Review: Sapphire Ridge by Aileen Harkwood
You know what, I’ve not been reading any holiday themed books at all! Maybe that’s why I’m not feeling the christmas spirit! LOL.
This one sounds like it has it all: adventure, paranormal and romance. And the fact that it’s a novella is good too since it’s short but sweet even though it has a few flaws because of it’s length. Will definitely check this out Lorna, I love it when fellow bloggers read and review indie books too! Gives me the chance to discover indie authors! Awesome review 🙂
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It’s a shame about the lack of explanation but I’m pleased you enjoyed this overall Lorna 🙂 the adventure with a twist has me intrigued.
A great review.
Sharon – Obsession with Books recently posted…Review: Wicked (A Wicked Saga #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
I’m glad you enjoyed this one overall, Lorna. It’s always nice when you get a twist you weren’t expecting. But I agree with you in wishing there’d been more explanation of the MC and her abilities, along with her mother’s. I understand leaving some questions if the author wants you to move on in the series. But too many questions just leaves a reader frustrated. Great review!
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