Join me in an excursion to Alaska to follow the shenanigans of Lucy Monroe's characters in her modern romance. Modern romance is not always a happy genre; many really bad authors have done loads of damage to it. But this is Lucy Monroe, no categorizing necessary. Let's get into the nitty-gritty of Hot Alaska Nights.
The set-up in Alaska is not as gratuitous as the reader may think. The remoteness and strangeness specially for US Americans is a necessary ploy to develop the characters. Only in these special circumstances can the main character find a way to analyze herself. As a consequence she changes, and her surroundings have to deal with that while she has to redirect her ambitions to her new self.
The main character is Deborah Banes, a not quite failed actor at the tail-end of her young looks career. She has dealt with family estrangement and loneliness for 15 years and isn't even aware anymore that it is stressing her out. The move to Alaska introduces her to a highly dysfunctional family. Or that is what it seems like at first glance; she learns that this family is the opposite of dysfunctional despite first appearances.
The introduction of a gay character into the story is done without fuss. Readers are spared any prejudice in characterization; there is no cheap comedy, no unnecessary drama, and no clichés to distract from the main story. It's a most refreshing way of dealing with it; the way it should be in reality. Here, Lucy Monroe is way ahead of the times, I'm afraid.
Normally when I review books with explicit sex scenes, I recommend 'you can skip them or read them, they have no bearing on the story'. Some writers seem to live by the standard that they have to introduce one sex scene every four or five chapters; these scenes feel artificial and copy and paste. In Hot Alaska Nights, they are part of the story and if you skip them, you might lose the thread of the story.
The introduction of a mystery thread into the story of the romance is a bit thin and it's resolution even more so. But it is either this or a complicated pre-story that would disrupt the main story and its natural placement in the chosen location. It's not a major drawback, but it did tug at my mind while reading. And no, I haven't come up with a better plot for the mystery.
Hot Alaska Nights by Lucy Monroe was first published in 2019. This review was written after I received a free copy of the book from the author. The book is available on Amazon for Kindle and on several other platforms.
Further reading
Lucy Monroe
Regency Charade Mystery
Regency Murder Mystery
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