ARC Review: Warm Heart (Search and Rescue, #1) by Amy Lane

Blurb:

Search and Rescue: Book One

Survive the adventure. Live to love.

Following a family emergency, snowboarder Tevyn Moore and financier Mallory Armstrong leave Donner Pass in a blizzard… and barely survive the helicopter crash that follows. Stranded with few supplies and no shelter, Tevyn and Mallory—and their injured pilot—are forced to rely on each other.

The mountain leaves no room for evasion, and Tevyn and Mal must confront the feelings that have been brewing between them for the past five years. Mallory has seen Tevyn through injury and victory. Can Tevyn see that Mallory's love is real?

Mallory’s job is risk assessment. Tevyn's job is full-on risk. But to stay alive, Mallory needs to take some gambles and Tevyn needs to have faith in someone besides himself. Can the bond they discover on the mountain see them to rescue and beyond?

Jewel's rating:



Warm Heart, while an Amy Lane book that starts with a catastrophic event, was surprisingly fluffy. Is my angst meter that broken? I enjoyed the story, but man I wish we could have experienced at least some of that UST from the 5 years previous to the story's beginning.

Tevyn Moore is a champion snowboarder -- think Shaun White. He's young, cocky, and confident; at least when it comes to snowboarding. He's also been in love with his money guy for ages, but he doesn't think his feelings are returned. Tevyn also has a bit of a reputation. He's kind of known as a bit of a player, but everyone loves him, and the people he has taken to his bed leave with smiles on their faces.

Mallory Armstrong is Tevyn's money guy. Ever since Tevyn walked into his office, more than 5 years ago, Mallory has been enthralled by Tevyn's drive and energy. Mallory is in love with Tevyn, but being a decade older than Tevyn, he is cautious. Mallory isn't looking for Mr. Right Now and he's not sure if Tevyn is ready to settle down.


There is nothing like a catastrophic event to put people's priorities in perspective. Being faced with your death and/or the death of someone you care about has a way of opening your eyes to what you almost lost. That's exactly what happens in Warm Heart. I can't say that the story is entirely angst-free, but everything happened too fast for my tastes. I like to feel some tension between the MC's, but I didn't get that. 95% the angst came from the survival aspect of the story, which was 2/3 of the book, and the rest from Tevyn's grandmother's impending death. None of it was relationship angst or tension.

Did I enjoy it, anyway? Yes.

I loved that getting down the mountain took effort and that it wasn't just the two of them. That did give me something to chew on and the fact that all three of the characters had knowledge and skills that contributed to their rescue, made sure that no one was "just" a prop. I can't say I was unhappy they made it off the mountain, though, because did I mention 2/3 of the book?

I'm looking forward to Damien's story, next. I enjoyed getting to know Damien quite a lot in this story and Preston looks like a tough cookie to crack.


-------------------
ARC of Warm Heart was generously provided, by the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Get the book:

Happy reading!