Review: The Secret of Snow by Viola Shipman

 

The forecast is calling for a reluctant homecoming and regrettable decisions with a strong chance of romance…

When Sonny Dunes, a SoCal meteorologist whose job is all sunshine and seventy-two-degree days, is replaced by a virtual meteorologist that will never age, gain weight or renegotiate its contract, the only station willing to give the fifty-year-old another shot is the very place Sonny’s been avoiding since the day she left for college—her northern Michigan hometown.

Sonny grudgingly returns to the long, cold, snowy winters of her childhood…with the added humiliation of moving back in with her mother. Not quite an outsider but no longer a local, Sonny finds her past blindsiding her everywhere: from the high school friends she ghosted, to the former journalism classmate and mortal frenemy who’s now her boss, to, most keenly, the death years ago of her younger sister, who loved the snow.

To distract herself from the memories she's spent her life trying to outrun, Sonny throws herself headfirst into covering every small-town winter event to woo a new audience, made more bearable by a handsome widower with optimism to spare. But with someone trying to undermine her efforts to rebuild her career, Sonny must make peace with who she used to be and allow her heart to thaw if she’s ever going to find a place she can truly call home.

 

My Review:

A beautifully told story about starting over.

This is one of those books you just fall in love with.  The characters, plot and setting work together to make an unforgettable story.  Sonny Dunes was on top of the world, working as a popular meteorologist, in sunny Palm Springs when her world came crashing down.  She lost her job and ended up moving back home, to her mother’s house, in the middle of the cold snowy Michigan winter.  Sonny hated snow and the painful memories it brought back.  As Sonny picks up the pieces of her life, she learns forgiveness, to trust again, makes new friends and even falls in love.

Not only was this book entertaining, but I learned a lot from it.  There was so much great wisdom in it (mostly from Sonny’s mother) and it gave me advice on things I didn’t even know I needed.  I had a hard time closing this book at the end.  I wasn’t ready for it to be over.  I highly recommend reading this book.  I would love to see this book made into a movie.  

 

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.