Sloth Goes Places is a feature where I share books I have tracked from the Literary Escapes and Read Around the USA reading challenges.
Today we are looking at books set in ....
Alaska
Any Trope But You by Victoria Lavine
Published by Atria Books on April 1, 2025
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Goodreads
A bestselling romance author flees to Alaska to reinvent herself and write her first murder mystery, but the rugged resort proprietor soon has her fearing she’s living in a rom-com plot instead in this earnestly spectacular debut by a stunning new voice.
Beloved romance author Margot Bradley has a dark secret: she doesn’t believe in Happily Ever Afters. Not for herself, not for her readers, and not even for her characters, for whom she secretly writes alternate endings that swap weddings and babies for divorce papers and the occasional slashed tire. When her Happily Never After document is hacked and released to the public, she finds herself canceled by her readers and dropped by her publisher.
Desperate to find a way to continue supporting her chronically ill sister, Savannah, Margot decides to trade meet-cutes for murder. The fictional kind. Probably. But when Savannah books Margot a six-week stay in a remote Alaskan resort to pen her first murder mystery, Margot finds herself running from a moose and leaping into the arms of the handsome proprietor, making her fear she’s just landed in a romance novel instead.
The last thing Dr. Forrest Wakefield ever expected was to leave his dream job as a cancer researcher to become a glorified bellhop. What he’s really doing at his family’s resort is caring for his stubborn, ailing father, and his puzzle-loving mind is slowly freezing over—until Margot shows up. But Forrest doesn’t have any room in his life for another person he could lose, especially one with a checkout date.
As long snowy nights and one unlikely trope after another draw Margot and Forrest together, they’ll each have to learn to overcome their fears and set their aside assumptions before Margot leaves—or risk becoming a Happily Never After story themselves.
This book was tons of fun earning its rom-com label. How could I resist a book that features a romance author who fakes the HEAs and plays up tropes. I couldn't ! And Forrest was a wonderful person to teach Margot about happy endings. I had a great time with them!
[review]
Published by Ballantine Books on May 9, 2023
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Fiction
Rating:
Goodreads
An indie musician reeling from tragedy and a public breakdown reconnects with her father on a weeklong cruise
Right after the sudden death of her mother—her first and most devoted fan—and just before the launch of her high-stakes sophomore album, Greta James falls apart on stage. The footage quickly goes viral and she stops playing, her career suddenly in jeopardy—the kind of jeopardy her father, Conrad, has always predicted; the kind he warned her about when he urged her to make more practical choices with her life.
Months later, Greta—still heartbroken and very much adrift—reluctantly agrees to accompany Conrad on the Alaskan cruise her parents had booked to celebrate their fortieth anniversary. It could be their last chance to heal old wounds in the wake of shared loss. But the trip will also prove to be a voyage of discovery for them both, and for Ben Wilder, a charming historian, onboard to lecture about The Call of the Wild, who is struggling with a major upheaval in his own life. As Greta works to build back her confidence and Ben confronts an uncertain future, they find themselves drawn to and relying on each other.
It’s here in this unlikeliest of places—at sea, far from the packed city venues where she usually plays and surrounded by the stunning scenery of Alaska—Greta will finally confront the choices she’s made, the heartbreak she’s suffered, and the family hurts that run deep. In the end, she’ll have to decide what her path forward might look like—and how to find her voice again.
This is my favorite type of story, and I adored seeing one of my favorite young adult authors crossover. This book was funny and touching, and I cannot resist a great healing journey like the one Greta took. She had professional setbacks to overcome, but she also had to deal with the loss of her mother. JES captured all the emotions perfectly and took good care of me and Greta along the way.
Published by Wendy Lamb Books on February 23, 2016
Age/Genres: Young Adult, Historical, Fiction
Rating:
Goodreads
In Alaska, 1970, being a teenager here isn’t like being a teenager anywhere else. Ruth has a secret that she can’t hide forever. Dora wonders if she can ever truly escape where she comes from, even when good luck strikes. Alyce is trying to reconcile her desire to dance, with the life she’s always known on her family’s fishing boat. Hank and his brothers decide it’s safer to run away than to stay home—until one of them ends up in terrible danger.
Four very different lives are about to become entangled.
I think Hitchcock is an incredible author, and this really showcased her skill at weaving lives together. Stories of connection are my catnip, so I was all in on this one. It was a very emotional tale, but there were glimmers of light that led to a hopeful ending.
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