This is a classic example of the old cliche, "never judge a book by it's cover". When I see a book cover showing a semi-clad man and woman in a moment of passion, it gives the implication of a hot, passionate romance from beginning to end. This is indeed a story of romance and passion, but it is also the story of two lonely people, Stone Man and Devon, who have suppressed their respective painful pasts, while co-existing in the adverse elements of a brutal winter in the Yukon, in the late 19th century. As the story evolves we come to know these two people's inner thoughts and desires through how they relate to one another.
This a book to be read by the fireside or snuggled in a warm blanket, lest you get chills (literally) while reading Ms. Hannah's vivid descriptions of the Yukon wilderness in winter.
Hannah writes of strong heroines who seem to overcome adversity resiliently and are very much in control. Still, I just could not get into this story. Sometimes I felt like I was reading a Harlequin romance, which is not what I was seeking to read - oh well. I felt that Ms. Devon was not quite the believable character I had come to expect from Ms. Hannah.
I have quickly become a die-hard Hannah fan and eagerly await her next book due out early next spring. Hannah's books will not disappoint you and it just depends what kind of "love-story" one is seeking to read. But nonetheless, Hannah remains a true hopeless romantic and this shines in all of her books!