ARC Review: In Case of Emergency by Keira Andrews

Blurb:

After years alone, Daniel Diaz is finally ready to shake up his orderly, solitary life. He's about to leave for a cozy Christmas getaway with his new man when he gets the call from the ER that his former stepbrother has been admitted with a concussion and a broken hand—and Cole put him down as his emergency contact. Why the hell would he do that? Daniel barely knows the guy. After all, their parents' marriage lasted less than a year and it was a decade ago!

But Cole has no one else to look after him and strict doctor's orders not to be left alone. So fine, Daniel will bring him along on vacation to make sure he doesn't starve or fall into a coma. This is supposed to be Daniel's chance to explore romance again after locking down his feelings for too long—except it turns out his could-be boyfriend is more interested in partying and being an obnoxious jerk. Daniel sends him packing, and now he's stuck with a virtual stranger in an isolated mountain cabin.

Cole Smith crushed hard on cranky Daniel when they were teenagers. Alone with him in a romantic winter wonderland, those feelings roar back to life. Glimpsing the caring, vulnerable man under Daniel's frosty shell, he yearns to get closer. Christmas is a time for surprises, and Daniel and Cole discover a scorching connection that just might melt their hearts.

Dani's rating:

Two former stepbrothers meet again in this sexy holiday story by one of my favorite authors, Keira Andrews.

Daniel and Cole lived together for a few months when Daniel was 18 and Cole 13. Daniel was resentful, wrapped up in his new boyfriend, and basically ignored Cole. But Cole worshiped Daniel.

Ten years later, the men are thrown together during the holidays at a luxurious chalet Daniel rented for himself and Justin, a colleague he's sort of seeing who turns out to be a grade A douche canoe.

The story includes some very steamy scenes (two words: HOT TUB), which I really appreciate, as most holiday stories are more pristine than newly fallen snow.

While the MCs move from awkwardness to a fierce connection very quickly, I chalked that up to the constant togetherness. Cole is no longer a kid, and sometimes people just click. There's also an element of hurt-comfort, as Cole has a concussion and broken hand.





I had a couple niggles with the story. For one, Daniel acts like an arrogant, disdainful asshat when he first sees Cole. He acts sooo put out that Cole needs his help.

We later find out that Daniel was wounded by an ex, and I warmed up to him, albeit slowly.

The second issue is that the way Daniel was described (as an uber successful, stoic, distant HR director) didn't jive with his actions toward Justin. I get that Daniel was lonely, but what HR director allows an employee to give him head in the work parking lot? It's incredibly unprofessional, bordering on unethical.

Plus Justin (who thankfully is never really in the picture) was a little OTT in the douchenozzle department. He was so obnoxious as to be almost a caricature.

Despite these relatively minor niggles, I really liked In Case of Emergency. I love Andrews' writing style and the "cabin in the mountains" feel of the story. Cole was such a sweetheart, and the epilogue warmed my heart.

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An ARC of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. Download links are provided as a courtesy and do not constitute an endorsement of or affiliation with the book, author, publisher, or website listed.