Hot Winter Nights is a combination of brother's best friend and office romance! Lucas has known Molly for years-she is his best friend's sister and the office manager for Hunt Investigations, where he works as well. He would NEVER let his man whore ways swing her way. He knows her brother would kill him. So, when he wakes up naked, in bed with Molly, he is certain his days on earth are numbered.
Molly engages in a bit of a lie by omission to force Lucas to help her and keep his mouth shut. I liked Molly! She has been smothered by over protective men for too long. Her brother Joe feels responsible for the injury that cost her dreams of a track and field scholarship and has been a bit of a helicopter brother ever since. Molly is very bright and resourceful so I enjoyed seeing her stand on her own and help her neighbors solve this bad Santa case. The elderly elves add some fun to the story and I enjoyed them a great deal.
I wasn't a big fan of Lucas right away. I'm over the man whore trope, so that was strike one. Also, I hate the whole "I'm too damaged to tarnish her" martyr routine. If Lucas wanted to be serious about Molly, he could have gone to her brother like a man and talked to him. I found Lucas' handling of the whole thing super immature and annoying. However, Molly's behavior regarding their relationship wasn't always mature either, so I couldn't really hold a grudge. I liked their banter and that Lucas respected Molly's talents.
The mystery of the story is around what the heck is going on at this Santa Village. Molly and Lucas realize pretty quickly that Santa is stealing money, but it turns out its much deeper than that. The climax of the book finds Molly and Lucas in real danger and I thought it was an engaging plot. Hot Winter Nights is perfect to get you into a touch of Christmas spirit, get some hot banter, and catch up with the previous couples from Heartbreakers Bay!
You can read Chapter 1 on Jill's Website!
- POV: 3rd
- Tears: no
- Trope: Brother's Best Friend, office romance
- Triggers: no
- Series/Standalone: stand alone within an interconnected series
- Cliffhanger: no
- HEA: yes with cute epilogue
Contemporary romance series like Hope series by Jaci Burton, Bayside Summers by Melissa Foster, Montana Heat by Jennifer Ryan...then you will probably like Hot Winter Nights!
See full review on The Book Disciple