A Winter's Vow

Aster Ridge Ranch, Book 1

By: Kate Condie

Narrated by: Stina Nielsen, Roger Wayne

Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

A wanted woman. A haunted man. Can a fake marriage save them both, or will their secrets tear them apart?

Della Hampton answers an advertisement for a mail-order bride in the isolated mining town of Kirwin, Wyoming. Her hasty decision turns desperate when she arrives to find her intended dead. Della is determined to do whatever it takes to remain in Kirwin and find a new name for herself.

Bastien Graham is a brand-new foreman ready to prove himself. Within days of stepping into the position, a mail-order bride is abandoned in town. Bastien, now assigned to take her down the mountain and into town, soon discovers the lady has other plans.

Bastien chose this lonely mountain for a reason, and helping one woman doesn’t change the past. As for Della, a few months of kindness can’t replace a lifetime of hurt. Can they part ways when the winter is over? Or will their lies bind them tighter than they expected?

©2021 Kate Condie (P)2023 Podium Audio

I couldn’t stop listening!

I love audiobooks and when I saw this book came out on audio I was so excited. I accidentally read the later books in the series first, but maybe that made it more fun, because I loved reading the story of a couple I had already learned to love.

Della is running from the law when she is wrongly accused of murdering her awful husband. She is disappointed when the man who ordered a mail order bride passed away before she could get there. Not able to return home she talks Sebastian into pretending to be her husband for the winter as she waits out the search.

I love forced proximity, especially when combined with a fake relationship. This books adds those two favorite tropes to the Wild West and kept me wanting to know more. I couldn’t stop listening. The narrators were male and female and I thought their voices matched well with the characters. I truly enjoyed it! I will definitely listen to this one again! And of course now I hope the other books come out on audio someday.

Wonderful story

I really loved this book when I read it and listening to it brought it to life. This story is full of wonderful characters, I loved the story line and I loved the slow moving relationship between Bastian and Della. Della had been so mistreated by all men, she had a hard time believing that Bastian would be any different, but with them needing each other to care each other at different times, a beautiful relationship formed. This is such a fantastic story!

Fantastic beginning to a great Western series!

Thoroughly enjoyed listening to the audiobook version of A Winter’s Vow. I did things backwards and read the last few books in the series before reading the first book! I was thrilled when I had the opportunity to listen to how this fantastic series began.

A Winter’s Vow has it all: a fake marriage, a woman fleeing from a wrongful murder conviction, opposites attract, one bed trope, and an enemies to lovers arc. It immediately drew me in and I couldn’t wait to see how it all would turn out.

Della is running from the law after being accused of murdering her husband. With the help of her aunt, she journeys to a small Wyoming mining town to marry a stranger. Unfortunately, the man she was supposed to marry is dead. Feeling a responsibility towards her, Sebastian takes her in and agrees to a fake marriage. Both are escaping from their pasts. When winter is over though, will they stay together or will Della keep running, especially with a bounty hunter on her trail.

I enjoyed the way these two were at odds at first. Della came from an abusive situation and doesn’t easily trust men. Sebastian has an intended in Chicago, but is also running from his past. As the two share a small cabin, they begin to appreciate and care for one other. They recognize each other’s admirable traits and talents. I was surprised by some of Sebastians secrets, yet Della is able to work through them. Though there is some misunderstanding, I loved the fast paced ending and the way Sebastian proves his love for Della.

Loved the dual narration! Both voice actors did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life. The emotion was just right and made it so hard to put down. Would definitely recommend the audiobook version!

It’s a slow burn, romantic, sweet story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Highly recommend to Western and historical romance fans. I received an advanced listeners copy from the author but also purchased the ebook copy. All opinions are my own and voluntarily provided.

CW: clean with only passionate kissing, mentions of physical abuse, prostitutes, mild violence.

fantastic

I listened to this one on audio. I love how this audio was done with a male and female voice narrating the chapter for which character it was about. They did a fantastic job.

This story is great. I loved how realistic the emotions were for these characters. You can relate. You can empathize with them. This author writes very well and you just want to read more of what she writes.

I look forward to reading more in this series.