North of Need: Hearts of the Anemoi, #1 by Laura Kaye or “To Hell with Frosty, Just Give Me Owen and a Loincloth”

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

Published: 11/01/2011

Buy here or buy here

Rating: Entrée











Megan Snow was spending another Christmas alone in the isolated mountain cabin she used to share with his husband. Though he has been dead for two years, the grief is still fresh and stark. When she begins making snowmen outside, she realizes she has created a snow family and falls into tears mourning the loss of her dream. Awakened by the widow's tears, Owen Winter is called from his god realm to answer her plea. He didn’t realize how much he missed being corporeal or the touch of a soft female. He is drawn to Megan, but with a warm front quickly approaching, his time with Megan may be far less than either want or need.

North of Need is like a steaming mug of hot cocoa after playing in the snow all day. It's dark, sweet and will absolutely raise your body temperature. I just loved this book. It is magnificently suited to the season, with it's messages of love, trust, hope and healing. The only villains to battle are the inner demons of fear and loneliness. Owen has his own past traumas to overcome, and as a god, he had a bit longer to work on his issues so he was ideal in helping Megan battle hers. Unfortunately time and climate change play a factor in his game plan. The reader is given a brief glimpse into the world of the Anemoi and the roles they each play. I was thrilled with this new and unique aspect to the paranormal, and even though this book is not classified as paranormal, it still fulfilled my craving for things not of this world.

 Laura Kaye definitely brought out the big guns when plotting out the more amorous scenes in North of Need. The snow cone scene in the igloo, *sheesh* let's just say it's a good thing I wasn't reading this in public. And sneaky girl that she is, Laura even manages to work in a relevant message or two in this sweet story. Nicely done, Ms. Kaye. If you're looking for something that will help you wind down from the stress of the holidays and make your season a little brighter, you couldn't do better than this book. And the best part is that it's the beginning of a brand new series, which is a huge plus in my opinion. Starting a good new series like falling in love, it's exciting and fun. Just what I needed during this hectic time of year. I just got a little taste of these new gods and their world and I'm ready to feast on more of their tale.