DEAD OF WINTER (Whistlemore 1) by Samantha Wilde-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 19, 2022.

Acupuncturist and healer McKenna Winters avoids the townspeople of Whistlemore when she’s not treating their various ailments. Her remote cabin keeps her safe from the prying eyes of the community. She’s learned not to trust the men in town, but there’s one man whose gaze lingers with intrigue rather than judgment. And he’s exceptionally yummy. There’s no way she’ll get involved with anyone in town, though. Then one stormy night a cry from outside shakes the walls of her cabin and fear strikes her—He’s back.

Walking in the woods in the middle of a storm in the dead of winter isn’t Jaxon Murtaugh’s idea of a good time. His head is still pounding from a cougar attack, and if he doesn’t find shelter, he’ll be the beast’s next meal. Spotting McKenna’s cabin nestled in the woods, he knocks on her door. Something about the crystal-wearing, vegan healer has always excited him. Her hands-off persona keeps men far away, so he’s shocked when she opens the door, shotgun in hand, and is willing to give him a place to wait out the storm. Her gentle hands and flaming,dark-blue eyes do more than heal his body—she sparks a fire inside him that can’t be extinguished.

As the storm wages, weird things begin to happen. It seems they’re not as alone in the woods as they thought. And it’s not just the cougar skulking in the trees outside the cabin. As the heat brews between McKenna and Jaxon, a killer closes in on them.

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REVIEW: DEAD OF WINTER is the first instalment in Samantha Wilde’s contemporary adult WHISTLEMORE erotic, romantic suspense series. This is Jaxon Murtaugh, and healer McKenna Winters’ story line.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Jaxon and McKenna) DEAD OF WINTER follows Jaxon Murtaugh as he struggles to escape a winter storm . When his truck breaks down on the side of the road, wondering in the snow, Jaxon finds himself at McKenna Winters’ cabin, battling the flu and the winter elements. Needing a few days to recover at the hands of the woman with whom he would fall in love Jaxon would soon discover that someone is stalking our story line heroine, determined to take down McKenna Winters. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between McKenna and Jaxon, and the potential fall out as McKenna’s stalker gets too close for comfort.

Jaxon Murtaugh left the big city and his brother for the peace and calm of Whistlemore, Colorado but never expected to find himself guardian and protector of the local healer. Waiting out the storm and the winter flu, our couple will encounter a hungry mountain lion, not one but two potential ‘stalkers’, and an attraction that has been growing for close to two years. McKenna Winters is the Whistlemore healer, often with a reputation as the local witch, a woman who uses alternative medicines and processes for healing. Not everyone accepted McKenna’s unorthodox medicine but for Jaxon, McKenna is about to heal his body and soul.

The relationship between McKenna and Jaxon is one of immediate attraction but Jaxon is sick, and the storm is about to trap our couple together in the cabin. Injured and sick, Jaxon finds himself falling for a woman who is about to face the madness of a man determined to take her down. The $ex scenes are intimate without the use of over the top sexually graphic language and text.

The secondary and supporting characters are limited as our couple spend most of the story line trapped in the cabin. We are introduced to Dr.Lots, and McKenna’s neighbors Mr and Mrs Watson.

DEAD OF WINTER is a story of obsession and madness, desire and friendship, relationship and love. The premise is engaging; the romance is insta-lust to love; the characters are dynamic.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy