"An intriguing idea, but lukewarm and a bit frustrating"

Think of being stuck for a whole weekend with a handsome, wealthy, and very sexy man. Cynthia Kenward is, but all she can think about is her friend Anne. Michael Bolten is, after all, trying to stop Anne's marriage to his brother Neil! A freak snowstorm traps them both in Cynthia's small wedding shop/home, where they discover a very mutual attraction. All good things much come to an end, however, and on Monday, the snow clears and Michael is on his way.

Anne's wedding rolls around and they meet again. Of course, Cynthia and Michael find their happy ending along the way as well.

Bonde's strength is clearly within the clarity of her writing. Her prose is so detailed it is easy to "see" the story unfold. The characterization is good, too. Bonde shows lots of potential.

It was an interesting idea, and one that allows for much heat! Too bad this book reads like a second-rate category novel. While an intriguing idea, I found myself waiting for Snowbound to kick into high-gear -- something that never happened. The blurb is also a bit misleading, leading one to think that Cynthia and Michael's weekend is just a starting point, and that the real romance comes afterward. Most of the story does, in fact, take place during that one weekend.

Cynthia seems to drift into love with Michael, though we are never shown her (evidently) strong feelings for him. The love scenes read like a series of hit-or-misses, leaving the reader a bit frustrated because the characters never quite seem to connect.

Sensuality-wise, it is a rather tame story. The one-and-a- half "real" love scenes are hot, but marred by circumstances. It should be noted that if one prefers sex scenes to be examples of mature, loving interaction between the characters, perhaps this story should be skipped.

I would have loved to enjoy this story -- and Bonde had plenty of opportunity to make it a great one -- but I found myself disliking Michael's behavior and never really believing in their romance to begin with. Lukewarm and a bit frustrating, Snowbound simply never coalesced into the story it could have been.

Originally published 1998 by Dreams Unlimited; ISBN 1- 892520-06-0 Now available from LTD Books under author name Lois Carroll; ISBN 1-55316-926-3; PDF format (download or disk).

Reviewed by Ann Leveille
Courtesy Sensual Romance
Posted January 2, 2002