[Blog Tour] Review: Snowed Over + Giveaway

Snowed Over
by Angie Stanton
Kindle Edition, 126 pages
Published October 12th 2012 by Vanguard Management, Inc.
Source: AToMR (Blog Tour host)
Purchase here: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

To college student, Katie Brandt, ‘Home for the Holidays’ sounds like hell. When her parents separated, their holiday traditions shattered like a dropped ornament. What could be worse than celebrating Christmas with her suddenly single mom and mom’s new boyfriend?

Alex Walker, an engaged 20-year-old, dreads going home for his own reasons. He has a daunting task ahead of him and wishes he could skip the holidays altogether. So when a friend of a friend needs a ride north, Alex finds that having beautiful Katie seated by his side proves to be just the distraction he needs.

A simple ride home for Christmas turns into a nightmare when light snow rages into a full-scale blizzard. Katie and Alex find themselves stranded, and a vacant cabin becomes a haven from the storm. Under different circumstances, time alone with Alex would be the ultimate Christmas gift, but Katie knows Alex is engaged and she must hide her growing attraction.

However, Alex harbors a secret that just might change this holiday from the worst Christmas ever, to the best.

Snowed Over is the sort of short story that everyone would enjoy more if read in a more appropriate environment. Like for example on a cold Christmas night while sitting near the hearth, wrapped in a comfortable blanket with a hot chocolate on hand. Honestly, I was almost guilty for reading this without the aforementioned non-requirements! But that aside, Snowed Over is a feel-good short story and no type of surrounding could have stopped all the grins that kept creeping up to my face on the entire course of my reading this.

Snowed Over, though leans more on the romantic aspect, also tackles familial relationships albeit underdeveloped. I like that Angie incorporated backdrops of Alex and Katie's families. Katie's parents are facing divorce and she has been having a hard time accepting that fact as well as the fact that her mother is currently dating Not a Boyfriend. Alex has things easier with his family with a fun and supportive younger brother, and parents who both seemed caring. His relationship with his family is tight. The only downside in his life is his current fiance, Trina, whom he has been trying to break up with but to no avail.

Katie is a very rational character and I love that about her. I notice in most books that characters tend to abandon logic when faced with possible hot makeout session so I admire Katie because despite being attracted to Alex, she didn't set aside the fact that he is engaged to another girl and actually calls him out for kissing her. She doesn't only know, but she also acknowledges that no one deserves to be cheated on, even if that person is the ultimate bitch fiancee. I only wish she was consistent on this train of thought.

Alex, on the other hand, despite kissing another girl even when he's about to be married, is not entirely an asshole. He's actually an incredibly nice guy who was forced to be committed into a difficult relationship with a manipulative girl. And I was ultimately pleased by how he handled things with Trina toward the end. It was harsh, but even I couldn't see a better way to do things the way he did.

As a short story, I feel like there are a couple of points that Angie did not cover. Moreover, some parts also lacked in depth descriptions that could have given the important scenes more impact. But ironically, I'm also grateful for that because I have only ever pegged this to be a soul-soothing novella and I don't think it could have managed that had Angie included way too much drama.

If you're into cute and romantic reads, Snowed Over is the perfect novella for you. It has chocolates, wine, mice droppings, and, dude, SNOW! 

Rating: 4/5 stars!

Disclosure: A copy was provided by AToMR as part of the Snowed Over Blog Tour for review purposes only. No compensation of any kind was received for this review and my opinions are all honest and mine.

Giveaway

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About the Author

Angie Stanton never planned on writing books, she wanted to be a Rockette. However, growing up in a rural setting with her brothers' 4-H pigs as pets, dance didn't work out. Instead she became an avid daydreamer. After years of perfecting stories in her head she began to write them down and the rest is history.

She loves dipping french fries in chocolate shakes, natural disaster movies and Broadway Musicals. When not writing, Angie is concocting ways to make more dreams come true, whether it be tickets to a Broadway show or convincing her family they should rent an RV and travel the country. She's still working on that one.

Angie is a proud double finalist of the 2011 National Readers Choice Awards for Love 'em or Leave 'em, as well as a finalist for the Golden Quill Awards.

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