Published August 2023 via Berkley
★★★
Welcome to Cold World, where the AC is always on at full blast, the snow is just barely hanging on, and it might take a minor miracle to keep the books balanced...and for Asa and Lauren to find their way to each other.
It's a cute book. I love the setting—a past-its-prime cold-themed tourist attraction in Florida—and some of the deeper themes the book explores. The romance is also fun and sweet, though I'm pretty tired of...well, the super slimy version of Karl from <i>Love Actually</i>, inserted as conflict. Slimy villains/romantic competitors (of a sort) are super common in romance, of course, but...I suppose the way I see it is that if there's going to be a love triangle, I'd rather the options be 'good vs. excellent' or 'excellent vs. excellent' rather than 'total dirtbag vs. better than a total dirtbag'.
I wouldn't be surprised if this were the start to a series, as a number of the side characters (Asa's roommates in particular) seem to be being primed for their own dramas. Not sure I'd read further if that's the case (just because it's not a genre that I read a ton of), but I'd be curious to know who might be next up with a book.
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