Cabin Fever by Addison M Conley is a contemporary romance set in small town Idaho where a handsome handywoman can come in very handy.
Fired for complaining about sexual harassment? Check. Hours later your father dies? Check. Days later your girlfriend leaves you? Of course, check. Kate Minton doesn’t bother with the reading of the will because she knows her brothers will inherit everything, except she unexpectedly gets her father’s old hunting cabin in Idaho. If she lives there a year she’ll also inherit a lot of money. Does the place desperately need a lot of work? Lucky for Kate, it really does.
Riley Anderson owns a local renovation business, but the big city woman who breezes in one day immediately gets on her nerves. The woman is super femme, just her type, and will probably run away screaming the first time it snows. The women she’s dated always have. But Kate surprises her, and the first order of business after replacing the sagging roof is to remind herself she shouldn’t fall in love with a client. The residents of Merrick are rooting for sad Riley to find a good woman, but first she’ll have to finally deal with a youthful trauma.
Writing
There are a number of time jumps during the story, but since there is so much to unpack that worked fine. The reader gets all the seasons with corresponding adventures and dangers, while Kate and Riley get a lot of reasons to spend time together. They are a well matched couple who become trusted friends before falling in love, giving the romance a solid grounding.
The very small town of Merrick, Idaho has a large co-starring role. It is especially important to Kate, who finally finds a home. I found that romance to be just as heartwarming as falling for the troubled Riley. Her trauma has a lot to do with that part of the U.S. and the real life possibility of that trauma had the chill of a slow motion avalanche.
For a small town, there are a lot of characters in the book, and they are varied in gender, personality and levels of antagonism. The variety and strength of their depictions gave the book a larger, stronger sweep than if the story had concentrated more on Kate and Riley.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
Rural Idaho is an interesting and somewhat unusual choice for a setting. The rural lifestyle would be a daunting challenge for a city girl to move into cold turkey. It would be daunting for me and I live out of the city. It felt like a lesson plan unfolding to watch the cabin and the women go through a lot of changes in a relatively short time. Even seeing what’s needed to live in a secluded Idaho cabin I’m fairly certain it would be beyond me, and it made me admire the characters all the more as they adapted.
Jumping ahead time and again can be a tricky proposition for an author, but I liked how it gave a lot more nuance to a setting that could have been rendered one note. Between the enormous amount of work to simply make Kate’s cabin livable and a large number of bonding activities, time management was more important than usual and I liked how it was done in this book.
There was no shying away from political and religious issues. For instance, Kate doesn’t like to see guns being carried, and will never even hold one, much less own and carry one. Riley never goes anywhere without a gun and repairs them at her shop. This issue is especially explosive in this country no matter which angle you approach it, and I really liked the level-headed treatment.
Heads Up
Depictions of religious homophobia and child abuse.
The Conclusion
From sections that make you grit your teeth in frustration to edge of your seat action and a great romance, there are a lot of ways this book will make you feel. Set in an unusual and rural area of the U.S. there are a lot of great co-starring characters, including the fictional very small town of Merrick. Religious and political issues are dealt with in a level-headed way. Time skips forward a few times because a lot happens in a relatively short period of time, but the story in no way suffers from it.
Excerpt from Cabin Fever by Addison M Conley
Kate lifted her hand in a weak wave. “So, I’m Kate Minton, and you must be Riley Anderson. I wanted to thank you for everything you did at the cabin.”
“You’re welcome. We could shake hands, but you’re standing nearly twenty feet away.”
“Oh, sorry.” Kate moved closer.
Riley stepped out from behind the counter and held out her hand. Surprisingly, it was soft and not rough as Kate had imagined.
“Can I have my hand back now?” Riley grinned.
Kate laughed and released her. “What other items do you think I’ll need?”
“The water containers I dropped off should last at least a week if you’re frugal. You can pick up more from the store or have some delivered.” Riley casually leaned back against the counter. “There’s nothing wrong with the well. It’s over six hundred feet deep, but the old generator gave out. I have a duel-fuel one in the back that would work nicely. You’ll need it for renting. August and September are the months for elk and deer hunting. But there are – “
“I won’t be renting. I’m going to live there.”
“Pardon?” Riley blinked, and her mouth hung open. “I thought you were only going to be there a month.”
“Nope.” Kate laughed. Goosebumps crawled over her skin under Riley’s stare. “I need the cabin hooked up to electricity. How soon can you do that?”
“Impossible.”
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Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 978-1-915009-31-9
Publisher: Butterworth Books
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