One Snowy Night (Sweet Home, Alaska)

Our Review

ONE SNOWY NIGHT is the first book in the Sweet Home, Alaska series, and I can’t wait for more. The writing has a richness to it and is vivid in its descriptions. The small town of Sweet Home rises to the occasion of putting on a Christmas Festival that rivals the one Donovan’s grandparents used to hold. Donovan is only back in Sweet Home to ready the lodge for sale. Will his memories and those he loves keep him there, or will he be off to Florida, where he plans to settle? The story has a wonderful flow, and the characters, while guarded, seem to lay everything on the line and let their hearts shine through.

Hope and Donovan were childhood friends who dated until a fateful night when her sister and his brother died in a car accident. Seventeen years have passed, and Donovan’s in for a surprise when he returns to town. Hope’s daughter, Ella, has a lot of issues, though she and her mom have a good relationship, mostly. Unfortunately, she and some of her friends are headed down the wrong path. AA and alcoholism are woven throughout the story nicely without being preachy.

The story is filled with heartwarming moments as well as emotional challenges, and the Christmas holiday pulls everyone and everything together. I love when characters can look past the heartbreak to what is good and healing. Several secondary characters stand out. The owner of the Hungry Bear, a combination grocery store and diner, has a heart of gold (and has feelings about the future, which always, eventually, come true). The quilters in town are also a feel-good addition.

The characters are well drawn, and the plot is filled with secrets and surprises. I thoroughly enjoyed the happily ever after. There’s an excerpt of the next book in the series, ONCE UPON A CABIN, which only whet my appetite for more. And I truly love the cover for ONE SNOWY NIGHT.

Ms. Griffin is a new-to-me author, and I look forward to reading more of her books and not just those in this series.