Month: November 2015

Two lives collide in A Kindled Winter by Rachel Demeter and they will never be the same.

About A Kindled Winter

A week before Christmas, Jeseca Reed sets off for Blue River, Oregon, her childhood home and a vault of tender memories. Fate takes an unexpected turn when she’s left stranded in the mountains’ vast and untamed wilderness. Desperate and alone, she seeks shelter at a cottage and finds herself in the arms of a mysterious stranger.

Dr. David Drake was once a renowned cardiovascular surgeon. But a devastating tragedy has left him scarred both inside and out, unable to use his hands to operate again. For the past five years, his Blue River cottage has been his sole escape—a safe haven where he can shut out the world and bury himself in his grief.

Together they are summer and winter. Fire and ice. And yet a poignant connection forms between them. Jeseca awakens David and thaws his heart with a romance hot enough to melt snow. But before David and Jeseca can fully embrace each other, they must wade through darkness and confront the ghosts of their pasts.

My Thoughts

I absolutely LOVE the way Rachel writes. She pulls you into the story and immerses you in their lives, their pain, their hope and their love. A Kindled Winter does all of this and more.

David has experienced a pain that no person should ever have to (telling you would give away the hardest part of the book and you really want to read it to find out!). He forces seclusion on himself so that he can almost punish himself for his past. His past has left him physically, emotionally and mentally scarred. No matter how hard he tries to escape his past, he feels tormented by it but almost wants to feel the pain as he feels that he almost deserves it. This is the type of pain so many can relate to when they have suffered a great loss. You feel alone, you feel like you should be punished and all you want to do is almost feel pain.

Jeseca is a breath of fresh air, almost literally as she lands on his front step after an accident during a snow storm. While she has her own painful past that sometimes surfaces throughout the novel, she has learned to move forward with this pain (even though she has not fully accepted her past).

Jeseca and David are both scarred and in pain but it is this pain that draws them together and helps them work through the worst of it and move forward. They need each other in order to move forward, to accept the past for what it was, to treasure the good and bad and to hope for the future. The ending was full of such hope that you almost don’t want it to end! I wanted more of their story. A Kindled Winter will leave you wanting and wishing for more (hint hint Rachel!!!). Well written, great story full of emotion that leaves you craving more – you can’t ask for a better read!

You can purchase a copy of the book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Rachel L. Demeter lives in the beautiful hills of Anaheim, California with Teddy, her goofy lowland sheepdog, and her high school sweetheart of eleven years. She enjoys writing poignant romances that challenge the reader’s emotions and explore the redeeming power of love.

Imagining dynamic worlds and characters has been Rachel’s passion for longer than she can remember. Before learning how to read or write, she would dictate stories while her mother would record them for her. She holds a special affinity for the tortured hero and unconventional romances. Whether crafting the protagonist or antagonist, she ensures every character is given a soul.

Rachel endeavors to defy conventions by blending elements of romance, suspense, and horror. Some themes her stories never stray too far from: forbidden romance, soul mates, the power of love to redeem, mend all wounds, and triumph over darkness.

Her dream is to move readers and leave an emotional impact through her words.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.