Melanie Michaels presents a TV programme of reality chases
off into the wilderness - called No Boundaries. In fact
she
has set up strong boundaries for herself. Her fiancé died
a
few years ago and ever since she has been following his
dream of exploration and experiencing danger. Men are off
her to-do list. TWICE IN A BLUE MOON follows Melanie into
Swedish Lapland, with a reluctant tour guide called Buck
Wright of Arctic Adventures.
Modes of transport in the freezing top of Europe include
small plane, sleigh, dogsled and snowmobile. Melanie can't
wait to try them all, with her cynical production team.
Buck is less enthusiastic. He loves it here, but his
American family thinks he's working with National
Geographic, and the programme will show his less
prosperous
reality too. Getting close to a smart attractive lady
visitor wouldn't be the wisest thing to do, but he can't
stay away from her on this trek.
A good contrast is provided by the viewpoint of a teenage
student. Isa, from the local Sami people, has known
nothing
but ice and reindeer all her life. She wants to travel to
places she would find more interesting. Between the
Northern Lights, a hotel carved out of ice blocks and a
wary mother lynx, Lapland seems pretty exciting to me. The
more so with the heat generated by the two main characters
who need each other more than they realise. I found TWICE
IN A BLUE MOON by Cate Masters a great fun romantic
novella, full of atmosphere and personality.
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 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?