Book Review: Oh, the Weather Outside is Frightful by Susan May Warren

She kept him alive in his darkest hour…
CJ St. John never dreamed his epic summer as a smokejumper would end with a harrowing plane crash—one that crushed his pelvis and rendered him nearly an invalid. He wouldn’t have made it through the dark night of pain and danger without brave fellow smokejumper Hannah Butcher. In fact, if he were to admit it, he probably fell in love with her that night.
He gave her the courage to reach for her dreams… Hannah Butcher had dreamed of being a smokejumper for years—but dreaming and doing are vastly different. During rookie camp, she would have given up if it hadn’t been for CJ St. John urging her on. She probably fell in love with him then—but especially when he held her hand and kept her calm during their terrifying survival.
A winter storm awakens their memories—and fears… When Hannah discovers that CJ plans on skipping out on their mutual friends’ wedding, she knows he’s been lying to her about his recovery—and determines to give him the same stubborn encouragement he’s given her by forcing him to attend. But when a blizzard detours them, and worse, they’re run off the road, they’ll have to face their darkest fears to survive. A Christmas story about the miracles that happen when the weather outside becomes frightful.
Note: If you picked up this title in the Candy Cane Kisses Christmas Anthology, this is an extended version! Discover how CJ and Hannah fell in love…and continue their story after the storm is over!

My Thoughts: This novella fits into Warrens A Montana Fire series. I was able to understand it as a stand alone but I can see how it would fit snuggly into the other stories of the series.
I’ll be honest, I was a little surprised to meet the characters and find them spending so much time in a saloon. It just seemed off for a Christian novel but having read Warren enough, I trusted her enough to continue. In hindsight, I can say that the characters were acting appropriate for the setting and their personal beliefs. And things never got out of hand.
As I’ve come to expect from Warren, I found a beautifully penned message weaved into this wintery novella. I found her message on relying on God during a crisis edifying.
Aside from the message was a really well crafted story about a branch of emergency workers that I’ve never read into before. Portions of the story was focused on their jobs as smokejumpers. Action lovers will enjoy this a great deal. I was surprised by how much I did. I expected a cozy snowed-in story and found something even greater inside.

Rating and Recommendation: I’m giving it 5 stars and highly recommending it to anyone who enjoys Christian Contemporary Fiction or for those who enjoys more action with their romance.