A MelanieM Review: Jens & Elliot (Storming Love: Blizzard #1) by Sara York

Rating:  3.5 stars out of 5

A sudden blizzard shuts down the airport in Boston leaving two men stranded.  Writer Jens Arnesen in town for a now cancelled workshop is only looking for a taste of the city, a place to experience Boston. When a friend offers a room in a house he owns for the night, Jens thinks he’s in for a lonely if uneventful night.  Then a naked man steps out of the bathroom in what Jens thought was an empty room.

Elliot Matthews flight home to Atlanta is cancelled due to snow and needs a place to stay until the storm is over.  A friend of his co-owns rentals in the area and offers Elliot one of the rooms for the night.  What could possibly go wrong?  Stepping out of the bathroom and finding a gorgeous and shocked man staring at your naked body.

But what started out as an awkward, embarrassing introduction turns into something more as the storm rages on.  When the storm throws them together, can Jens and Elliot make the most of the situation?

Jens and Elliot (Storming Love: Blizzard #1) by Sara York is a very sweet short story with a few surprising quirks that elevated it above other cute stories of the same trope.  I have to admit I do love a strangers thrown together by adversity theme.  And given current weather conditions here in the eastern  part of the US, this story and series feels very current. Poor Boston indeed.

Two men in town for meetings/conferences are stranded by a blizzard when the Boston airport shuts down.  Each knows someone who rents out rooms in houses they own and each makes arrangements for the night…for the exact same room as each had talked to a difference half of the partnership who owns the houses.  All reasonable, all believable plot elements which I liked.  Sometimes these types of stories can get far fetched in the plot mechanisms that throw people together, but this absolutely works.

But the interesting bits start as Elliot walks out of the shower (naked of course) and finds Jens staring away, shocked to find someone else in the apartment.  Turns out that Elliot is “grower”, not a “show-er” to use the vernacular.  Elliot is embarrassed over the small size of his penis when flaccid.  When was the last time you saw that little character development in a romance story? Hmmm?  Not often, I’m betting.  With this unexpected dimension to Elliot’s character and physical makeup, Sara York gives this situation and subject  a delicate and compassionate treatment. And with a slight (no pun intended) bit of humor. I thought this was the nicest element here and it helps add depth and realism to the intimacy and developing relationship between Jens and Elliot.

Can a storm and close contact develop into something lasting?  Perhaps.  Sara York makes a very good argument for the continued feelings that Jens and Elliot have and the burgeoning relationship born out of a blizzard.

Need a short, lovely little story?  Perfect for your winter time (or any time) reading?  Then pick up Jens and Elliot, the first of the Storming Love: Blizzard collection. It’s a recommended read!

Cover art by Kris Jacen:  Same cover throughout the series, just the names of the couple switched out. Does well to brand the series. Brrr.

Sales Links:   MLR Press LLC      All Romance (ARe)         Amazon          Buy It Here

Book Details:

Published January 2015 by MLR Press
ISBN13MLR1020140365
edition languageEnglish
seriesStorming Love: Blizzard #1

Books in the Storming Love: Blizzard series are:

Jens & Elliot (Storming Love: Blizzard #1)
Kimo & Mike (Storming Love: Blizzard #2)
Seth and Casey (Storming Love, Blizzard #3)
Layne, River & Damion (Storming Love: Blizzard #4) by Vicktor Alexander (release date: 2/13/15)
Gavin & Morgan (Storming Love: Blizzard #5) by Nicole Dennis (release date: 2/20/15)
Stokes & Ford (Storming Love: Blizzard #6) by Jackie Nacht (release date: 2/27/15)