Twice
In A Blue Moon
Contemporary
romance novella
About
48,000 words
Publish
Date: 1/19/2015
Can true
love strike twice?
After the
death of her first love, Melanie Michaels buries her grief in the risky demands
of a reality show, where her extreme stunts leave her teetering on the edge of danger.
That’s exactly where she wants to be—until she arranges for her crew to
traverse the Swedish Lapland in the dead of winter. It’s the one place she
shouldn’t go, on the one day she should avoid—her would-be wedding anniversary.
Instead of
romantic nights spent in the Ice Hotel or under the Northern Lights, Melanie is
stuck with Joe “Buck” Wright, a snarky loner tour guide who loves his sled dogs
and nothing and no one else. But Buck is also trying to numb a painful past.
Can two people skilled at pushing others away find warmth at the edge of the
Arctic?
Casting Call Who did Cate imagine as these characters? Find out here.
Reviews
The
setting in Twice in a Blue Moon really got me - I soooo want to go see the Ice
Hotel and the Northern Lights now. The whole arctic wilderness was a
fantastic setting for this romance. Both characters love the wilderness -
but for different reasons. They thrive under very physical conditions.
How you can you not love sleigh dogs? A few of them even had a
very distinctive personality. It was fun to see them worked into the
story (along with a couple of real life reindeer).
Jasmyn at Bitten by Romance – 4 stars
http://www.bittenbyromance.com/2014/12/arc-review-twice-in-blue-moon-by-cate.html
The story is a great read. It is fun, it is romantic, it is moving. I’m
just sorry that it was so short, I would have loved to have been lost in it for
another couple of days.
I believe you will enjoy it.
Dan Curnett – 5 stars https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1136611948?book_show_action=true&page=1I believe you will enjoy it.
I loved how deep Masters ventured into the minds of the two main characters. Not only were the chapters being written from their personal perspectives very fun and amusing to follow but they also added a very personal touch. I loved that, just for that I would be willing to read more of the author’s works.
Maria - 4 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1102058571?book_show_action=false&page=1
Twice in a Blue Moon was a satisfying and enjoyable read. The cover
alone is very tempting. This story was very well written and the characters
were well developed. Speaking of the characters Melanie and Buck, made for
interesting reads. They both have baggage and once you get to know them, you
will adore them. This is a good romantic read for those winter nights. No
explicit sex in this book, which I thought was refreshing. It didn't need it,
for me to feel a connection between the characters. Overall a good read!
Jennifer - 4 stars
I really liked this book! It had a unique setting and a hero with a lot
of baggage.
JoMarie - 4 stars
Excerpt
Buck
tried not to drool. “Perfect.” He loved making new friends, especially of the
female variety. So long as they didn’t complain about his modus operandus: all fun, zero ties. Repeats happened if the girl
abided the rules. And if he didn’t get too attached. Such foolishness led to
all manner of drama and heartache. He’d had enough of both. His life had become
about survival, and he’d taught himself not to let anyone get close. Not to
make himself vulnerable to pain. To live alone and like it.
Klaus
set two mugs in front of them and deftly removed a bill from the stack Buck had
left on the bar.
Something
made him glance up at the television. Maybe Kenny had implanted a subliminal
suggestion during their conversation. Damn if the name at the bottom of the
screen didn’t read Melanie Michaels. A man spoke into a microphone, then
stepped closer to hold it near her.
“No
way. That’s her?” He waved at the bartender. “Turn up the volume, will you
please, Klaus?”
The
camera zoomed in on her face. Features delicate but strong, beautiful but
serious. God, that mouth—lips full and wide, and the way they moved as she
spoke, he could hardly tear away his gaze. Her large eyes, dark and luminous in
the way that had always struck him to the bone. Just like Poppy. She’d turned out to be anything but sweet. More
like poisonous, the opium behind the flowery facade an instant addiction that
took him years to overcome. He still carried the scars from her acid nectar.
Anything and anyone reminding him of his former lover ranked the lowest of low
on his shit list.
Melanie
Michaels just claimed that spot.
And
now he’d have to deal with her every day for almost a week. “Oh man, it’s going
to be a grueling six days.” Five, technically. Tomorrow’s meet-and-greet was
strictly a formality, though the preliminaries helped him size up his guests so
he could better prepare.
Klaus
glanced from Buck to the screen and back again. “She’s taking your tour? You
lucky bastard.”
Lucky?
No. Bastard? Yes, according to some. “Oh yeah. Skol.” He raised his mug and gulped. And gulped.
The
blonde assessed him. “You’re a wilderness guide? For which company?”
He
tried to sound proud and manly as he said, “Arctic Adventures.”
“I’ve
heard about them.” An arch of her brows, and her demeanor turned glacier-cold.
He
could only imagine what, exactly, she’d heard. Kenny insisted they stretch
their expenses as far as possible. Translation: second-rate accommodations. And
hey, it wasn’t his fault if the sled dogs took a dislike to certain clients.
They should know better than to leave unpackaged foods unprotected and stow
their backpacks away from the team. The dogs had few enough trees upon which to
relieve themselves, and he didn’t blame them one bit.
Klaus
shot the blonde a dubious, don’t-make-trouble look.
“What?
They’ll be famous.” She hid a laugh behind her hand. “No Boundaries will make you a star in America.”
“America.”
Ah, hell. Why hadn’t it occurred to him? His family would see him, the friends
he’d left behind. And Poppy. Shit. Short of them traveling to Sweden, there’d
been no way for any of them to bust him on the lie he’d told. Now they’d know
he didn’t work for the prestigious National
Geographic tours, but a crap company based in Kiruna. In his last email,
he’d boasted of almost having saved enough money to build a log resort better
than the world-famous Wilderness Lodge. Fat chance, on his salary.
Me, a star? More like
an outcast. Buck
heaved a sigh. “I’ve suddenly lost my appetite.” For drinking or anything else.
He
grabbed the cash from the bar, left a generous tip, and nodded goodbye to
Klaus. He strode to the exit, ignoring the blonde’s taunting calls to come
back. The laughter in her lilting tone churned his gut.
Whether he returned
to the job at all depended on how badly Melanie Michaels and crew shamed him on
video. He’d spend the next six days avoiding the camera, and afterward, crawl
into some isolated igloo a dismal failure. He might stay there until global
warming melted away the polar ice cap.