Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Snowed Inn
AUTHOR: Maya Boyd
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 139 pages
RELEASE DATE: December 16, 2019
BLURB:
CEO Gordon Wyckoff lives for work and certainly has no interest in Christmas. When a blizzard runs him off the road, he ends up stranded in a picturesque mountain town that is the polar opposite of his fast-paced world. The Snowed Inn is the definition of the Christmas kitsch he hates.
Innkeeper Elliot Osterman can barely keep his quaint B&B afloat but has never been able to say no to a guest. One snowy night, he makes room for a stranded executive who knocks him out of his comfortable rut.
As the holidays take hold, the magic of the little town begins to restore their spark and unlock their hearts. Together these two mismatched men might be able to build a future, if they can just dig through all the history that’s kept them frozen in place.
REVIEW:
Gordon is on his way back to Manchester NH from a corporate retreat. Not his favorite thing by any means, but then he’s suddenly caught in a blizzard and runs off the road in a small mountain resort town, he’s even more unhappy. It’s 9 days until Christmas and he’s got an incredibly important meeting to prepare for. He’s working to patent his design on a tablet that will make the cost of ownership of necessary tech within the reach of the average Joe. Why he’s so hellbent on this becomes clear as the story moves on.
Without snow tires, he can’t go anywhere. The local tow truck takes his car to the single garage in town – which is of course closed and the proprietor won’t be in until the next day. Because of other events, all the hotels in town are full. The manager at one hotel finally calls a local B&B to see if he has any room. Elliot, said proprietor, tells the person no – he’s got several rooms under repair and nothing that is “full service” available. When it sounds like the situation is desperate, Elliot relents and offers a room that has no TV to the stranded traveler.
When Gordon arrives, he’s shocked to get actual keys to the room. He’s happy there at least is an en suite and he couldn’t care less about no TV. He needs to have a bed and a place to work. Sadly he discovers that the internet is not really “available” outside of the lobby and dining room, so he makes do. He offers to help Elliot with the router and tech issues to see if he can make wi-fi access available to the whole building. He and Elliot come to an arrangement and Gordon continues to offer his expertise in areas that he can. He even manages to help Elliot with some employee issues.
The more time Gordon spends in the small town, the more he is charmed by the people and the place. He and Elliot have a lot more in common than he first assumes. While the holiday happenings are going on around town, Gordon and Elliot take some time away from work to enjoy the fun. They get closer nd share more about their pasts. Elliot begins to understand why Gordon is so driven. His motives night not be pure but they are admirable.
When things finally look like Gordon can get back to his life, he makes some mistakes and hurts the people he’s begun to care about. If he can figure out a way, maybe everyone can get what they want. And Gordon can finally build the life he didn’t even know he needed.
I enjoyed this story. It appears to be the first book published by this author. It has that small town holiday feeling with the grumpy business guy and the more laidback local who are thrust together for an extended period due to weather and circumstance – the only room left in the Inn scenario. And of course the town is populated with quirky folks who have some ties to Elliot. I enjoyed how both men were able to learn from each other. Their assumptions were misplaced although understandable. Elliot appreciated Gordon’s help and Gordon appreciated Elliot’s views on life even if he did think he needed to be a little more forceful in his dealings with others. The secondary characters were both fun and funny. This is a fairly low angst feel good holiday read that left me smiling and happy for Elliot and Gordon to get their HEA. Recommended.
RATING: 
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