Taylor Lipin has made it her life’s mission to leave her hometown and its ridiculous, century-old feud with the Porters behind. But when her sister needs help running the family inn, Taylor agrees to return to Helen, Alaska on a temporary, definitely not longer than two weeks, basis. Or so she thinks, until she’s quite literally swept off her feet and into enemy territory by three happy huskies and their drool-worthy owner, Dr. Josh Krane.
Though Josh didn’t grow up in Helen with the rest of his Porter cousins, he’s heard the stories: Porters rescue huskies. The Lipins are cat people. Keep to your pack. But Taylor is too tempting to give up–plus, his dogs love her.
As Taylor and Josh grow closer, tensions in the town escalate and the need for secrecy starts taking a toll. Soon they’ll need to decide whether their newfound love is just a summer fling or if they’ve found their forever home.
Release Date: Apr 27, 2021
Series: Hearts of Alaska
Book: 1
Heat Level: Sensual
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley
Price: $7.99
Small town romance? Check. Sexy doctor who loves dogs? Check. Forbidden romance? Double check.
Helen is your idyllic Alaskan town where everything seems too good to be true. That is until you learn about the feud between two major families in the town: the Lipins and the Porters. This feud dates back centuries with the real cause unknown, but that does not stop either one of these families from doing what they can to agitate each other. A chance meeting between Taylor Lipin and Josh Krane gives rise to an all-out war between the Lipins and Porters. Each one trying harder to break the new couple up. Can they survive it?
This book makes you want to sit by a fire, drink hot chocolate, and snuggle with your dog while reading it. It has such a cozy hometown vibe to it with an added bonus of three extremely adorable Huskies. I am a sucker for a story about an animal lover hero, and Josh Krane is no exception. He is very thoughtful hero, and really goes out of his way to assure Taylor that their relationship is important to him even at the expense of making his family unhappy. He refuses to let them ruin their budding romance. It was enjoyable to watch their connection grow into love, and to watch them stick it to their families for the sake of their happiness. They are grown adults who determine their own destiny without regard for the feud between their families.
“After building a life around seeking stability and avoiding unnecessary risk, he was fresh and ready for this battle. He’d found Taylor, and she was a risk worth taking.”
They really do have so many struggles to overcome though with so many family members adding difficulty into their life. I kept thinking throughout the story that something has got to give. These people are adults, and they are going to stop acting like petulant children and just accept this relationship. Nope. It never happened. I really felt for this couple because it went from simple things like tearing up flowers to someone trying to cause bodily harm. It was hard to believe that someone’s family would not give them a chance because of something that happened hundreds of years ago. Honestly, I missed that in this story. At the end, neither family truly accepted their relationship. I wish we had gotten to see some growth from these other characters because it would have added another layer of depth to them than just their anger.
If you like a story that gives you a small town feel like Robyn Carr’s Virgin River Series or Susan Mallory’s Fool’s Gold series then check this book out.
~ Michelle
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