A Hot Time in the Cold Town

I was curious that book 6 and 7 in this series have become available on audible before book 5 but as I mentioned in another review these books are all stand alone around each author so it does not interrupt the flow. Each author in the series will always write about their protagonist individually and all stories happen to be occurring in the town of Holiday Haven. Bella writes about Aurora "Rory" Hart and this is the second book in her journey. The first book, "Sleigh Spells" was the first book in the entire series. This one picks up with Rory still with her dear friends, the Humbugs, a blooming career, and a developing relationship with her boyfriend-bear shifter bartender Wyatt. We have a definite mean girl nemesis that arrives in town hosting a major magical summer event in the North Pole region and Rory is quickly sucked into the chaos this gal causes. Rory and her friends are quickly on the hunt to figure out the real story behind the drama that is heating up. I enjoy the camaraderie with Rory and her friends, the slow burn romance with her boyfriend (there is a steamy kiss but no sex scenes and no cussing), and the more reasonable reactions of the characters. These books never cause me to eye roll with characters taking insane actions that put them in danger and their reactions to inappropriate behavior feels much more realistic than most in the supernatural cozy mystery genre. I will say this is not an intensely detailed or developed story but it is light and entertaining. Think Hallmark formulaic and you know everything is going to work out. But the crew of characters are quirky and sweet and I enjoy seeing the characters grow and develop. I am curious to see as this series continues how the authors will manage to avoid or address overlap since it would make sense with Santa and Mrs Claus being in the mix of Holiday Haven other story lines might include these characters. If you enjoyed Bella's first volume in this series you are sure to like this one. I am not really a fan of the narrator but she is far from the worst and I notice it bothers me less when I listened at a faster tempo.