Lizzy Spooner and her family lost their home in Georgia during the Civil War. After the war, what is left of Lizzy's family (her Grandpop, pregnant sister, and 5-year-old brother) decide to start over in a new place. It's on their journey west to California that a blizzard strikes and their wagon is damaged in an accident. Lizzy sets off in the snowstorm seeking help. It comes in the form of handsome mountain man Cody Martin. Cody invites her family to stay at his cabin until they can repair their wagon. An attraction develops between Lizzy and Cody which they both try to fight--Lizzy, because she knows she will be moving on as soon as the wagon is repaired, and Cody, because he feels he has nothing to offer Lizzy.

This was just an okay read for me. While it had very likable characters and provided some lovely and heartfelt moments and a couple of sweet secondary romances, there were just too many other times that the story didn't hold my interest and my mind was wandering off. Much of the story took place at Cody's cabin while waiting for the snowstorm to pass and it just seemed to drag on and on after a while. I thought the story got better when they spent time in the town of Commencement, and probably would have been better overall if more time had been spent there instead. But that happened far too late in the book. As for Christmas, it only figured in about the last 50 or so pages. Although this book wasn't for me, others may find it a sweet and heartwarming read. ( )