A KISS IN WINTER

Author: Susan Crandall ISBN: 0446616400 1/2007 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: WARNER

Six years ago tragedy struck and Caroline Rogers had to make tough decisions to sell the family farm and put her life on hold to raise her younger siblings. Now that they're entering adulthood and her long-delayed photography career is taking off, she can almost taste the freedom. Shaken by self-doubt, Dr. Mick Larsen turns his back on his big-city psychiatric practice and settles for the small-town quiet of Redbud Mill, where he can hide his past successes and failures. To Caroline, he shows only a man who wants to put down roots and start a family—good reasons for her to stay away. Then someone starts vandalizing local landmarks she has photographed. Now Caroline must convince a man with little faith in his own abilities that he can help her find the disturbed mind in their midst. But even as she teaches him to trust himself, she must fight the temptation to trust him with her future and her heart.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I simply fell in love with Susan Crandall's new release, A KISS IN WINTER. It is an emotionally charged romantic contemporary taking place in a small Kentucky town. This character driven romance is a breathtaking read from the first page to last.

It is hard not to fall in love and become emotionally attached to the characters in A KISS IN WINTER. Each of the main characters—Caroline, her younger sister Macie, Macie's boyfriend, Caleb, and Dr. Mick Larson—are all wonderful and inspiring. Each of them is struggling through a difficult phase in their lives. If that isn't enough, it seems someone is playing a dangerous came of cat and mouse with Caroline and Macie.

For me, it was the relationship between Caroline and Mick that I loved most about A KISS IN WINTER. Each of them can give the other what they need, physically and emotionally, but too many obstacles stand in their way. It's only until they are willing to fully trust each other, can their relationship begin to grow. Again, Caroline and Mick are so likable, that you truly want them to fall in love and live happily-every-after.

I have to admit that Susan Crandall made me cry, but I'll forgive her. She wrote the most touching scene involving Caroline and the moment when she realized she couldn't live without Mick! I loved it!

I thoroughly enjoyed Susan Crandall's A KISS IN WINTER. I definitely recommend you read it!

Julie Kornhausl