Rambling About.. What Happens in the Alps... by T A Williams

Title: What Happens in the Alps... Author: T A Williams Publication: 21 March 2016 -- Carina UK Amazon Description: A sparkling romantic comedy guaranteed to beat the winter blues, What Happens in the Alps… is one story you don’t want miss in 2016! UP IN THE MAGICAL, SNOW-KISSED MOUNTAINS… Two years ago, Annie Brewer’s life was turned upside down when her adrenaline-junkie husband died in a tragic climbing accident. So she’s hoping that moving to the beautiful village of Santorso in the Italian Alps will finally put her life back on track! …ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN! She might be going into business with her oldest friend – notorious lady-charmer Matt Brown – but men are definitely out of the question for Annie! That is, until she bumps into tall, dark and delicious Alessandro Lago on the ski slopes…and spontaneously says ‘Yes’ to a date! It must be the crisp, mountain air but suddenly, anything seems possible. The only trouble is, chivalrous Matt is looking more gorgeous than ever…

(please note that since I'm reading an ARC the following quotes may differ in the final publication)

First Line: 'Don't look down.'
Favorites on 4s: 4% - An expression of heightened interest spread across Matt's face. Before he could comment further, Annie leapt in to lay down the ground rules.
34% - Outside it was so cold that it took her breath away, as did the unimpeded view of the night sky, now ablaze with innumerable stars.
64% - She was just starting to scan the slope to see if he had fallen when there was a loud whoop of joy and he appeared, skis opened wide, arms opened even wider, flying off the roof and through the air twenty feet above her.


Ramble: I feel pretty rotten about how pessimistic I first was about T. A. Williams. You see, the "T" is for "Trevor" and what in the world is a MAN doing writing Chick Lit?!?  I'd first heard of Williams back in December when I started my obsession with UK-based Chick Lit publishers and authors but it wasn't until What Happens in the Alps... became available to request on NetGalley that I did more than just follow him on Twitter. Silly, I know. After all, I would (almost) never hem and haw over a woman writing a book with a male lead. Besides, some of my all-time favorite love stories and female heroines have come from the minds of men -- Shakespeare gave me Beatrice, Capote gave my Holly, Hughes gave me Watts, Whedon gave me Buffy.

It's been two years since Annie's husband died and she's finally starting over with a new business in a new place and a new lease on life. She doesn't believe herself to be interested in finding love again but, of course, that soon changes. Thanks to a labrador named Leo, Annie meets local hotel/ski resort owners Alex and his father right around the same time that her husband's best friend, Matt, re-enters her life. Alex's father dotes on Annie and helps her find a cottage to rent. Alex wines and dines her and whisks her off for nights on the town in his Ferrari. Matt is her knight in shining armor (or, as the case would have it, faded blue jeans) and helps her get her business and home situated over pizza (and more wine).

Annie has known Matt for a long time and knows that he always had a habit of being a cad when it came to women. He swears that he's grown out of it ... but has he? After all of this time of seeing him like a brother, does it matter? She and Alex have a great time together when they go out when he isn't running off to answer his cell phone. She's only just gotten to know him .... but does she really know him and are those calls all business?

You'll have to get it yourself and find out once it's released in just a few more weeks.

This was a delightful read and I'm hoping to get my hands on more of Williams' books soon. Annie might not be as life-changing for me as Beatrice, Buffy, Watts and Holly .... but she did come from a fantastic mind -- even if that mind does happen to inhabit a man's head.