Eileen Aberman-Wells
Weather Girl by Rachel Lyn Solomon, book one in her Fortunes of Lost Lake series. Ari and Russell are the most lovable characters; separately and together they are true magic. They were friendly coworkers until they decided to scheme to make their work environment more bearable by nudging their divorced, argumentative bosses together; setting up Ari and Russell to notice each other as more than coworkers and friends. Ari, a weather reporter, struggles with depression and feelings of inadequacy stemming from her childhood and her mother’s refusal to deal with her own depression. Russell, a large, overweight sports reporter, who became a dad as a teen, hasn’t dated since separating from his daughter’s mother; which has been years. While they each had baggage and issues to deal with before they could successfully work as a couple, they were quite clever about bringing their bosses together; trying to rekindle their love and marriage. Their main objective was to improve the work environment, but so much more was accomplished. Ari and Russell shared a strong attraction and off-the-charts chemistry that you couldn’t help but cheer for them to be together. I thoroughly enjoyed reading my first, but not last, book by Ms. Solomon and highly recommend Weather Girl to other readers. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
Sandy S.
WEATHER GIRL by Rachel Lynn Solomon is a contemporary, adult, romance story line focusing on twenty-nine year old single father/ sports reporter Russell Barringer, and twenty-seven year old TV meteorologist Ari Abrams’. NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers. Told from first person perspective (Ari) WEATHER GIRL follows the building romance and relationship between co-workers at KSEA Seattle news station twenty-nine year old single father/ sports reporter Russell Barringer, and twenty-seven year old TV meteorologist Ari Abrams. Life at KSEA Seattle is no longer what Ari Abrams once thought it would be since the break up of her boss, Seattle’s weatherwoman Torrance Hale, and her ex-husband and KSEA’s news director Seth Hale. The tempestuous fall-out of a twenty year marriage is affecting everyone at the station, and in this, life has been difficult for everyone involved. At the KSEA Christmas party everything goes from bad to worse, and after a drunken sit down with her co-worker, sports journalist Russell Barringer, our couple devise a plan to push the former couple, back together. As Russell and Ari begin their journey of reconciliation, they find themselves growing closer together, looking forward to a possible future but all is not well in Ari’s life, and demons from the past are about to take hold, when our couple’s plans are discovered, and Ari takes a long hard look at what happened and why. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Ari and Russell, and the fall-out as Ari is unable to let go of the past, believing she is not worthy of her own happily ever after. Like her mother, Ari Abrams struggles with depression but a good therapist and the right medication have helped our heroine get on with her life but secrets revealed find Ari second guessing her relationship with Russell, and in this, words and actions are misunderstood, and Ari finds herself walking away from the man that she loves. Russell Barringer is a single father, whose first priority is his twelve year old daughter Elodie. Falling for Ari was never in the plans for a man who never expected to fall for anyone else but work place romances make for awkward relationships especially when secrets reveal something or someone else has been working behind the scenes. The relationship between Ari and Russell is a co-workers to friends to lovers relationship that is pulled together by our couple’s need to reunite their embattled bosses. With each endeavor to reconcile the people in charge, our couple find themselves pushed towards their own inevitable and unavoidable paths. Ari struggles with trying to keep her depression at bay, and Russell’s home life was never meant to be workplace gossip. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text. The secondary and supporting characters are energetic and fun. We are introduced to Seattle’s weatherwoman Torrance Hale, and her ex-husband and KSEA’s news director Seth Hale; Russell’s daughter Elodie, and his ex Liv; as well as Ari’s twin brother Alex, his husband Javier, and Ari’s mother Amelia Abrams. WEATHER GIRL is a story of family and relationships, friendships and love. An emotional story of struggle and commitment, acceptance and understanding. The premise is playful and impassioned, and a little slow going in the beginning; the characters are flirty, fun, animated and real; the romance is spirited and captivating.