GRR Reviews Northern Lights - A Novel by KB Winters

Northern Lights is a novel about going against expectations for things you really want, and how it will ultimately work out if you'd just have faith. Too bad the villain in the book was just too cartoon-ish, and the MMC was described as a former US Navy SEAL yet it never entered into the story.

Taylor Vanderfelt had a great upper crust life in LA until her father committed suicide when his company went bankrupt after being scammed. Taylor's brother had move to South America to start a family. Now all Taylor's mother can think about is get Taylor married off to a rich bachelor, and Taylor started an online profile on a "date a millionaire" website, and found two prospects... Davis, who was an investment banker but to whom Taylor felt no spark, and Blake, who operates out of Alaska, a former navy SEAL, who gave no further background, but Taylor felt a connection to Blake. Mother wanted Taylor to immediately latch onto Davis and Godforbid "should you screw this up, you ungrateful daughter...", as well as denounced Blake as an ingrate uncouth fisherman. Taylor reluctantly agreed to go with Davis to a society fundraiser. But the day before that, Blake showed up in LA, and woo'ed her of her feet (including into his bed). Taylor already promised Davis the society fundraiser, so Taylor feigned a "family obligation". When a photo of her and Davis at the fundraiser appeared in print, Blake stormed back to Alaska, but not until after sending her a scathing Dear Jane letter about her two-timing him. Taylor, totally distraught, sought advice from her best friends, who advised her that they'll drag her along to a wedding in Seattle, then they'll cover for her while she went North to Alaska and find Blake and beg him to take her back...

The romance is fine, and having the girl to make a grand gesture to find the guy was great, and perfectly fitting within the context! Obviously nothing ever goes right, and things get exciting involving a bear... then both Davis *and* Taylor's mom arrive in Alaska hoping to take her back to mainland!

So why am I giving this 4/5 instead of 5/5? Two reasons. One... the plot, despite the fresh twists in the middle, was a bit of a cliche ending. And Two... there's nothing about this guy that says ex-SEAL. It's just a label, and it did not seem to have affected the way he acted. He could have been any generic alpha guy. It's almost fashionable trope for romance authors to label someone either SEAL or ex-SEAL, and when the label was randomly thrown on an alpha guy without using it in some way, that's just lame trope-ing. Also, the part about the bear seems a bit uncalled for.

Still, the book is enjoyable enough to read.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Girl was pressued to court a rich guy but had her heart set on a different guy, who may or may not be filthy rich...

Tropes: SEAL, triangle, different worlds, family pressure

Overall Rating:  4/5