A winter's tale set in Star Harbour, where the townsfolk commemorate decorating their original balsam fir Christmas tree with strung popcorn and cranberries. Theo Grayson, successful fiction writer, has come to spend winter back with his brothers in search of inspiration away from his San Francisco base. A wreck off shore lures him into doing research for his next plot.

Avery Newbridge has taken leave from her job in a Boston rehab centre in order to help her aunt, who is undergoing chemotherapy, with running the local inn. Theo shows up looking for a room for an extended stay, and Avery knows right away that he will be trouble. Sure enough, Theo and his brothers used to play pranks when they were young, but he can't possibly be behind the picked door lock, the footsteps in the snow, the cold draughts around the inn... Meanwhile Avery is getting back in practise with her violin and joins the local orchestra to rehearse a Christmas concert.

The two get thrown together just by being singletons at the local events such as ice skating and sparks begin to fly. But neither of them wants to stay in Star Harbour, so how can they make a commitment? Then a draught from the cellar makes Theo realise that the historic inn has been secretly used to store a consignment of drugs, which are being smuggled out to sea, and peril intrudes on the town in the frozen north....

I liked reading the descriptions of the town, with people eating pumpkin muffins and drinking hot chocolate at social events, wrapped up in puffa jackets or work trousers with fleece linings, planning family celebrations. I did find that there was sometimes too much conversation and too many references to earlier books, so a fan of the series might enjoy BLAZE OF WINTER more than someone reading it as a standalone.

BLAZE OF WINTER is worth reading to get into the spirit of Christmas, with an enjoyable romance and plenty of snow.