Baby, It's Cold Outside by Cathy Yardley

Slow paced and sexy Blaze romance

4 Stars

Jet-setting Colin Reese escaped from small town Tall Pines as soon as he was able - but not without setting a few tongues wagging before he left. But now, years later, rumour has it that he is home for the holidays. And he is desperate for something only sweet, wholesome Emily Stanfield - the town's golden girl - can provide: a room at her inn.

But Emily is bored with her wholesome reputation and is determined that, as a present to herself for Christmas, she will indulge in a sexy, delicious holiday fling. Colin is the perfect candidate - but what will happen when their night of passion is over and everyone in the small town is gossiping about the bad-boy and the town sweetheart? But Colin and Emily soon decide that they aren't quite finished scandalising the town.

I do enjoy a story when a good girl and a bad boy find they are perfect for each other - and this story didn't disappoint.

Emily is, despite being from a small-town, not as wholesome as everyone believes which worked well as she didn't then turn into a stereotype. Colin too was a bad boy alpha male but was very real and someone you would definitely want for yourself! Together the pair were perfect for each other and really scorched the pages with the delicious sex scenes of which there were many.

I liked the small town setting and the many secondary characters although I did feel, like Colin, that Emily was far too nice to those meddling town folk at the end of the book!

And of course this is billed as a Christmas story. While a lot of the story takes place after Christmas, the beginning and end of the story, and the sweet romance is perfect for a festive read.

What made this slightly more unusual compared to other Blaze novels I have read was that the story was a lot more drawn out and slower paced and at times the romance took a little bit of a back seat to the other things that were going on. This isn't necessarily a complaint but it did surprise me slightly in a Blaze romance.

Overall, this was a fun, slightly slower paced romantic story with plenty of heat. I doubt you will be disappointed if you pick up this for a quick, festive read. 4 stars.