Winter's Solace by Heather Anne Demars

Ryan Winters is a broken man. Guilt and grief over the death of his wife have driven him to a life of seclusion. Haunted by nightmares, he refuses to move on, refuses to forgive himself, and refuses to love. Brianne Morgan can’t remember a time when she wasn’t in love with Ryan — or a time when she didn’t hate herself for it. He’d always been in love with her sister, and that didn't change after Laura's death. Though her heart has been his for years, how can she allow herself to love him? Three years after the tragic car crash, an unexpected encounter with Brianne has Ryan wanting her to disappear from his life once more. She’s a constant reminder of the love he lost, and she's breathing new life into feelings he assumed long dead. Feelings he has no intention of reviving, especially with Brianne.

I saw this one yesterday and thought I'd download the sample to see if it'd be worth reading, I ended up getting sucked in and was unable to put it down. I love stories that have a unique twist on the whole "boy meets girl" thing.

The story picks up three years after a car accident that took the life of Ryan's wife, Laura. Brianne is Laura's sister and an artist living in New York, she returns to Seattle for her best friends wedding. She was an easy character to like, she is nice and fun and can hold her own. She's secretly had a crush on Ryan since they were kids, but accepted long ago that he would always belong to her sister Laura. She is not prepared for those feelings to come back when she sees him again. Of course, they do have unusual reunion! ;) Ryan runs a successful company with his best friend, but has closed himself off from everyone else. I liked Ryan, especially those glimpses of his playful side. He is NOT expecting for Brianne to stir feelings he thought were long gone. Both struggle with guilt for their mutual attraction and are both still missing Laura. It was an interesting dynamic that I tried not to overthink. I really enjoyed watching their story unfold. Brianne and Ryan had great chemistry and some really fun scenes together. While I did feel like Ryan loved Brianne, I couldn't help wondering if part of the attraction had more to do with reconnecting with an old-friend and his old life, and also if he was just lonely and she was an easy fit. The whole thing takes place over a two-week period so their feelings were a little fast for me. Especially for all the things they're both having to work through.

I thought this was well written and moved along nicely. It was a tad long, I think it was a little overly descriptive at times which slowed it down a bit for me. Overall, I really liked it though and will be keeping an eye out for what Ms. Demars writes next.

Content
Romance: Squeaky Clean
Language: Mild
Violence: Mild An attempted rape, not overly descriptive and is interrupted
Re-read: Yes, I would totally read this one again

Source: Amazon Kindle

This has been nominated for a 2015 Swoony Award, you can vote for it here.