This particular Rec League request came to use from not one, but two readers who wanted some forced proximity romances on account of bad weather. Bonus points for snowed in plots with cozy cabins. Here are the requests:
Sarah: The recent Shalvis novella – One Snowy Night.From Reader Emily:
This is quite a specific request, but could you recommend some books that involve scenes where the two main characters are stuck in a cabin or inn together, either due to inclement weather or some other plot twist? Examples include She Went All the Way by Meg Cabot, the first story in the Baby It’s Cold Outside anthology, Nocturne by Syrie James, and Ransom My Heart by Meg Cabot.
From Reader Curlygirl:
I’m looking for something along the lines of a stranded trope…you know, like forced proximity (and doesn’t that just sound absolutely wretched? We couldn’t have come up with better wording?). Then again I am a huge Beauty and the Beast fan (which could probably be it’s own Rec League if it isn’t already). Anyway back to stranded… I just revisited Laura Kaye’s North of Need, and with winter looming in my home Land of Ice and Snow, I like that woods/cozy/cabin sort of feel, and was thinking others might as well. Any and all suggestions appreciated!
Radio Silence by Alyssa Cole ( A | BN | K | AB ), but that’s dystopia and not snow.
Sylvester by Georgette Heyer! ( A | BN | K | AB )
Elyse: I reviewed and enjoyed A Pirate for Christmas by Anna Campbell ( A | BN | K | AB ).
Sarah: Snowbound with the CEO by Shannon Stacey ( A ).
Snowbound with a Stranger by Rebecca Rogers Maher ( A | BN | K | AB ).
To Scotland, With Love by Karen Hawkins.
There’s a Balogh too – Simply Unforgettable ( A | BN | K | AB )
Amanda: Elyse and I reviewed and mostly enjoyed At Wolf Ranch by Jennifer Ryan ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au ).
I haven’t read it, but I’ve heard good things by Coming in from the Cold by Sarina Bowen ( A | BN | K | AB ), which has an athlete hero.
Plus Miracle on 5th Avenue by Sarah Morgan ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). No cabin, but a penthouse with an enigmatic writer.
What books would you recommend to Emily and Curlygirl? Any genres will do, but cabin scenes seem to be preferred!
I was going to recommend the Sarina Bowen. It’s great.
“Shelter Mountain” by Robyn Carr kind of fits the bill.
“Perfect” by Judith McNaught.
Can’t think of any others.
“Snow Falls” by Gerri Hill – contemporary lesbian romance – a grouchy, reclusive heiress and a plucky (man, I wish I could think of a different descriptor right now) self help writer are trapped in a Colorado cabin together. There’s lots of snow.
Tessa Dare plays with this trope in Lord Dashwood Missed Out. My Google Play obligingly opened itself to the page where the heroine reflects that she is “stuck in a bare, humble hut in some unnamed bit of countryside, miles from help or civilization.” Check. And yes, there’s also snow 🙂
(I loved all of the below!)
The Lady Most Willing by Julia Quinn, Eloisa James and Connie Brockway. HIstorical. Laird kidnaps brides for his nephews – plus a duke by mistake – before all are snowed in.
Let it Snow by Heidi Cullinan – m/m, Contemporary. #1 Minnesota Christmas series. Hairdresser rescued by 3 lumberjacks, falls for one while all are snowed in.
In the Middle of Somewhere by Roan Parrish – m/m Contemporary. Tattooed professor and shy woodworker stuck in cabin. Plus a dog is rescued!
A Fortunate Blizzard by L.C Chase – m/m, Contemporary. Artist and lawyer snowed in at hotel.
Frigid by Jennifer Armentrout – 2 best friends get snowed in at a cabin on a ski trip. Forced proximity and loads of sexual tension, loved it!
Unbound by Cara McKenna features a snowbound situation, but be advised that the hero in this book has a humiliation kink that might put some people off.
Contemporary: Stranded with a Billionaire by Jessica Clare, stranded at a resort in the Bahamas due to a hurricane.
Historical: What a Wallflower Wants by Maya Rodale, stranded at a country inn (trigger warning for rape in the heroine’s past)
Fantasy: The Prince of Ebon Rih by Anne Bishop (novella in the Dreams Made Flesh antho), storm traps hero and heroine together at a critical time
PNR: Untamed Wolf by Heather Long, hero and heroine shelter together during a thundersnow storm
Not A Romance: Arrow’s Flight by Mercedes Lackey
Frozen by Meljean Brook–snowbound paranormal novella, but not cozy
Love on my Mind by Tracey Livesay–interracial romance, tech billionaire with social issues reluctantly engages the services of driven PR expert to improve his ability to deal with other humans.
Enjoyed them both, though I prefer my forced proximity in a balmier clime.
“The Hostage” – Susan Wiggs; historical; includes elements of a Revenge plot. H/h are stuck in a cabin on an island in the middle of the Great Lakes during winter, where they’re the only residents (everyone else safely evacuated to the mainland). There is probably an element of Stockholm Syndrome in here, too.
How about Snow-Kissed by Laura Florand? Estranged married couple who are snowbound at a cabin. VERY ANGSTY but fab!!
@LisaC – THANK YOU! I have been trying to remember the name of that book so I could do a re-read for weeks now!
I’ll second PamG’s Frozen, and offer a classic Linda Howard: White Lies. Cabin in the woods plus spy with amnesia.
Ah, just remembered a couple more!
Black Ice by Anne Stuart for a romantic suspense feel.
Dance with the Devil by Sherrilyn Kenyon. It’s paranormal romance and has a blind heroine. I really enjoyed it.
Gabriel’s Angel by Nora Roberts. Grumpy artist rescues a pregnant woman from a car accident and they get snowed in at his cabin. Trigger warning for abuse in the heroine’s past.
They’re not exactly accidentally trapped together, but I feel like Tamara Morgan’s In the Clear novella scratches this itch (and is a lovely friends to lovers, “he’s been in love with her for a while,” beta hero story).
Elyssa Patrick also has a friends-to-lovers snowbound novella called While it was Snowing though I kind of felt like it was missing a scene at the end to really feel complete.
Linda Howard also had a novella called “White Out” in the Strangers In The Night anthology. It’s an oldie but a goody 🙂
“In the midst of an Idaho blizzard, Hope Bradshaw offers shelter to a stranger-and an instant, hungry passion flares between them. When a radio bulletin warns of a dangerous escaped convict, her blood runs cold: has desire blinded her to the risks of trusting a man who is an expert at covering his tracks?”
-The notorious rake – mary balogh (a major favourite)
– Anne Stuart has few of them – to love a dark lord, ruthless, the devil’s waltz.
– The spinster’s secret – Emily larkin (very different story and themes from the usual, they are not alone, but do end up spending time alone)
– Bride and the beast – teresa mederios
I wrote one. 🙂 Season for Desire is a holiday historical with a Christmas Eve blizzard that traps the characters at a Yorkshire inn.
Grace Burrowes’s Lady Sophie’s Christmas Wish is one of my *favorites* by her. IIRC, the characters are snowbound together for the first part of the book.
I’ll add:
Let it Snow by Jeanette Grey. Trapped in a bookstore by a Christmas Eve snowstorm with only the coffee bar pastries and a bottle of cheap vodka to survive on. Fun, quick read.
Snowbound by Janice Kay Johnson – high school teacher and some of her students snowed in at a veteran’s lodge. Veteran suffers from PTSD. High school students a fairly believable bunch too.
I see that Theresa Romain posted above about her book Season for Desire, which I liked, but that reminded me that actually the second book in that series, Season for Surrender (Desire is number 4), probably also satisfies the same cravings for a forced proximity/snowbound kind of romance. Surrender is my favorite in that series and I’ve reread it many times, and I think it was a Smart Bitches book club pick? or at least came highly recommended by the Bitchery?
Kristen Ashley The Gamble.
Carolyn Brown’s upcoming Wicked Cowboy Charm has a really fun take on the “stuck in a cabin during a blizzard” theme. The characters just happen to find some paperback romances… 🙂
And I’ll echo the rec for In the Middle of Somewhere by Roan Parrish. My book club was just discussing last night and we ALL loved it (so rare!)
Not a romance suggestion: The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
All I will say is that it has many elements of this trope and it is good.
The Parfit Knight by Stella Riley….it’s a wonderful book. Susan Wiggs Willow Lake series has a few snowbound stories. Dinah McCall’s The Survivors is terrific!
If you would like a little romantic (criminals involved) suspense with your forced proximity, I recommend “Ice” by Linda Howard. I thought it was great.
I seem to recall Susan Krinard’s “Prince of Wolves” was set in a remote mountain town in winter. There was a cabin, snow, and the hero was a werewolf. It was a paranormal before paranormal became a big, separate subgenre.
I don’t like this trope generally, but love Meljean Brook’s “Frozen.” Probably because I find snowstorms to be full of menace, which that book is.
I’m seconding Kathleen’s mention of Snow-Kissed by Laura Florand. Soooo good! I have to be in the right mood for angsty stuff (my life is angsty enough at the moment, thanks), but this sucked me in, chewed me up and spat me out in the best way. Made me want to find more by this author when I’m already drowning in TBR titles.
Anne Gracie’s The Winter Bride has a section where they are trapped in a cabin by flooding. It’s my favorite of her Chance Sisters series.
Carla Kelly wrote a book called Softly Falling in which the people of a tiny town have to deal with an early winter that starts with a terrible blizzard. Warning: Kelly leans in real hard on how awful and difficult this situation would be and I would put it in the survival genre and not romance (even though there is a couple that gets together).
I second The Gamble by Kristen Ashley! I finished it last week and am still swooning. 5 stars all the way.
Ooh, this is one of my favorite tropes!
The ones I could think of off the top of my head do not necessarily center around forced proximity, but do have such scenes in them.
Bewitching by Jill Barnett, which gets bonus points from me because the heroine is a witch and the cabin is a magic one that mysteriously disappears once the snow melts.
An Offer from a Gentleman by Julia Quinn has a stuck-in-a-hunting-lodge scene.
A couple of old-school Mills & Boon/Harlequins by my beloved Betty Neels: The Fifth Day of Christmas begins in a snowbound Scottish manor house/castle; and An Old Fashioned Girl in a snowbound cottage in Norfolk UK.
Level Up, by Cathy Yardley – really fun romance about a video game programmer and her roommate. I think I got the recommendation here! I remember a power outage playing an important role. Only available as an e-book.
Also – Heroes Are My Weakness, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Set on an island off the coast of Maine in the winter. 🙂
And the obviously titled Snowbound with a Stranger, by Rebecca Rogers Maher.
Storm Season by Pene Henson! It’s coming out in Febuary, definitely a match!
Absolutely adore Coming in From the Cold by Sarina Bowen. They’re trapped in a car in that one, and the sexytimes in the car are surprisingly well, sexy.
Maisey Yates’ Hold Me Cowboy has this trope, with the added enemies to lovers. She also has Snowed in at Copper Ridge, which I haven’t read.
Another recommendation for Middle of Somewhere by Roan Parrish, which is MM.
Surprised no one has yet mentioned A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong by Cecelia Grant! The hero and heroine get snowed in at an inn on their way to a house party.
I’ll add An Officer and a Rebel: An Accidentally in Love Novella by Cindy Madsen. It’s a contemporary with mis-matched lovers snowed in together. I believe there is a cabin for shelter.
A favorite of mine is Winter at Mustang Ridge by Jesse Hayworth. The hero is a veterinarian. (swoon) He and the heroine, who usually lives someplace warm, have to deal with a blizzard. The series is set at a guest ranch where I wish the family would just adopt me already.
STORM SEASON by Pene Henson is so good. F/F romance set in Australia: rock star turned park ranger rescues an adorable fashion and music blogger, and they’re stuck in the park ranger’s cabin due to a storm. It’s so sweet and steamy, and has some amazing character development.
The second novella in the Sugar Cookie Sweetheart Swap features as blizzard that strands a couple in a cabin.
The first book in the #Gaymers series by Annabeth Albert might satisfy this request. The heroes end up together in an RV after one of them was abandoned mid-road trip by a guy he’d been vacationing with–I believe there’s a snow storm and they have to take their time to get to their destination. The second book in the series follows a similar trope.
The only other one I can think of is part of a novella that was published some time in the early 2000’s. Authors included were Fern Michaels and Brenda Joyce. I believe it is the Fern Michaels novella that was “forced proximity”. The heroine is driving out to a function on Christmas Eve and gets stranded in the middle of nowhere during a blizzard when she happens upon a cabin and its owner, a brooding wheelchair bound man. I loved this novella, but the Joyce one was my favorite as it ended with the hero getting the heroine all 12 gifts from the 12 Days of Christmas. I lost the book somewhere between NY and CA a good decade+ ago, but don’t remember the name of it. The cover was white and purple with glitter on it, I think.