Why I read it: I received a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Adrian Blackstone built a million-dollar business with hard work and determination—and by remaining professional at all times. Denying his longtime attraction to his beautiful executive assistant hasn’t been easy but it’s necessary. She’s indispensable, and he can’t stand the thought of losing her if things didn’t work out.

For more than a year, Rachel Carter has been quietly dreaming of all the ways she’ll never seduce her sexy, buttoned-up boss. She’s worked too hard to get where she is to cross that line, no matter how badly she’d like to act on her fantasies. But then a wicked snowstorm leaves them stranded in a romantic winter wonderland…

What begins as a single kiss and a few bad Santa jokes turns into a weekend full of breathless passion and hopes for something more. But with Monday comes a return to their complicated reality—and Adrian must prove that promises made are promises kept, especially at Christmastime.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): This fairly short novella starts with the trademark easy style I’ve come to expect from Shannon Stacey’s contemporaries. The set up of a CEO and his executive assistant each having the hots for one another but afraid to do anything about because of the potential damage to their professional relationship (which each values very highly) was believable and I could see how eventually the sexual tension was going to have to be resolved somehow. Snowed in in a romantic resort seemed the perfect place. There was certainly a lot of chemistry as the steamy scenes demonstrated. But they also liked each other, and that was clear too.

The problem for me was that the story is so short. It’s only about 40 pages long and it seemed to wrap up quickly. Once Rachel and Adrian return to “real life” a big misunderstanding keeps them apart. Regular readers will know that this is my least favourite trope. However because the story was short, it didn’t last very long. I wouldn’t have minded finding out how they navigated a work and romantic relationship in the intervening period between the main story’s end and the epilogue – perhaps I’m unusual in that but I think that kind of relationship is inherently difficult.

Still, it was a fun evening’s read and enjoyable enough. I do prefer her longer stories though.