Review of ‘Snow Falls’ by Gerri Hill, Audiobook narrated by Sara Hawthorne

I’ve read this lesbian coming out book years ago and it wasn’t my favourite by this author. I’ve wanted to give it another shot with the audiobook version but I kept postponing it as I didn’t know the narrator Sara Hawthorne. I thought the narrator did a good enough job but I still have issues with the story itself.

Jennifer Kincaid was on her way to a writer’s workshop when she gets stranded by an avalanche in the mountains of Colorado. She is rescued by Catherine “Ryan” Ryan-Barrett who lives in an isolated cottage escaping from her family and her past. Stranded in the middle of nowhere, both women are forced to share the small place for two months. A tight bond is formed between them but by the end of Winter, Jen has to return home to her life with the man she’s supposed to marry…

In my mind, this story is divided into two parts. The first one is when the main characters are forced to live together sharing a small house for 6 weeks, and the second one, when Jen goes back home and the mains remain separated for a long period of time. For me, the former worked better than the latter. Somehow, the build-up of intense chemistry between Jen and Ryan during those weeks of isolation, in which they only had the constant presence of each other, got weakened later when they parted ways. It felt like a proverbial bucket of cold water in the bond they formed which, for me, never picked up with the same intensity again.

My other issue with this novel is that I wasn’t too invested in the main characters. I wasn’t sold on their potential of a happily ever after either. Maybe because of the amount of time they remain separated, each in their own headspace. Character-wise, Morgan and Reese from Hill’s ‘No Strings’ saved the day. They are a lovely couple, though I missed their original voices, performed by Abby Craden.

Having said that, I love how nature is another character in Gerri Hill’s books. Nature and animals are always protagonists in her novels and this is no exception. In this case, as the title suggests, the landscape is the mountains in Colorado during Winter. Ms. Hill’s depictions of the solitary frozen landscape are one of the highlights of the story.

This seems to be the only book narrated by Sara Hawthorne or maybe this is a pseudonym and I couldn’t find her real name. I thought she did a good job though I wasn’t blown away by her performance. This audiobook wasn’t my favourite in Gerri Hill’s catalogue, but it’s a good story anyway. Overall, 3.5 stars.

Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins

Available with a Scribd subscription and Audible Escape