With Love, from Cold World
by Alicia Thompson
She has a to-do list a mile long and falling for her coworker isn’t on it–yet somehow he’s become her top priority in this romantic comedy from the national bestselling author of Love in the Time of Serial Killers.
Lauren Fox is the bookkeeper for Cold World, a tourist destination that’s always a winter wonderland despite being located in humid Orlando, Florida. Sure, it’s ranked way below any of the trademarked amusement parks and maybe foot traffic could be better. But it’s a fun place to work, even if “fun” isn’t exactly Lauren’s middle name.
Her coworker Asa Williamson, on the other hand, is all about finding ways to enliven his days at Cold World–whether that means organizing the Secret Santa or teasing Lauren. When the owner asks Lauren and Asa to propose something (anything, really) to raise more revenue, their rivalry heats up as they compete to come up with the best idea. But the situation is more dire than they thought, and it might take these polar opposites working together to save the day. If Asa thought Lauren didn’t know how to enjoy herself, he’s surprised by how much he enjoys spending time together. And if Lauren thought Asa wasn’t serious about anything, she’s surprised by how seriously he seems to take her.
As Lauren and Asa work to save their beloved wintery spot, they realize the real attraction might be the heat generating between them.
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
Not for the first time, Lauren couldn’t help but notice that he smelled good. Like, really good. It was one of life’s true mysteries, because she felt like she’d know his scent anywhere, but she couldn’t quite place what it was. Some mixture of cedar and citrus, not overpowering, never burning her nose like some colognes did. But always present whenever he was nearby, and sometimes she’d catch the tail end of it when she entered a room he’d just been in. She lived in fear that one day he’d catch her inhaling a big whiff whenever he was close, and she’d have to quit her job and move to North Dakota.
Even thinking about it now made her wish the beach beneath her would suck her into a quicksand vortex and spit her back out at her apartment.
…the beauty of special underwear… You never know when it will be called into service.
You’re going to have to make up your mind about me… Because you used to think I was some hedonistic slacker who only cared about a good time, and now suddenly I’m this altruistic philanthropist giving out orgasms like UNICEF went into sex work.
Do you have cream and sugar, or do you keep your kitchen on some Soviet food rationing system?
My Review:
I enjoyed this tale. It was well constructed and populated with a plethora of complicated and quirky characters, who were well nuanced and endearing despite being a bit difficult. The storylines were engaging and the writing style was involving, unique, easy to follow, and tricky enough to keep me reading well past my bedtime.
Alicia Thompson graduated from the New College of Florida in 2006 with a degree in psychology and wrote her debut novel in between pulling all-nighters on her senior thesis. Her short stories, “Abby Greene for President” and “Stealing Mark Twain,” have appeared in Girls’ Life magazine. Currently, she is working on an MFA in fiction writing at the University of South Florida, where she still pulls the occasional all-nighter.
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