Snow Bird

The romance novelist Lass Small, who wrote more than sixty titles for genre publisher Harlequin Press (sometimes under the pseudonyms Cally Hughes and Callie Hugher), specialized in books featuring Southern—and particularly, Texan—male protagonists with the uncanny ability to sweep women from the northern parts of the US off their feet. One of Small’s long-running series was Western Lovers: Denim & Diamonds, a group of books linked by their Texan setting, but with unrelated plots and characters. In 1987, Small published the twenty-second novel in this series, Snow Bird, the very short story of an uptight Midwestern woman who moves to Texas only to face a growing attraction to a seemingly obnoxious neighbor.

Bridget Taylor is a charming, but no-nonsense young woman whose placid life in Indiana is turned upside down when her father is diagnosed with a serious health issue. Leaving behind her mother and two younger brothers, Bridget rushes her father to Texas to escape the frigid Indiana winter, in the hopes that the dry air and warm weather will help him recover.

After settling in, Bridget encounters her new neighbor, Jeremy Robert Winsome (known as J.R.), a dashingly handsome and well-built man who manages to immediately get on her wrong side. In their first meeting, what he tries to get across as southern hospitality strikes Bridget as overly familiar and generally arrogant.



Still, because of their physical proximity, Bridget and J.R. end up bumping into each other quite a bit. Often, this happens when Bridget encounters yet another terrifying example of Texas wildlife and J.R. comes to her rescue. Over time, his outrageous flirtation, lazy drawl, and clearly expressed attraction work their magic on Bridget.

Their burgeoning relationship is filled with witty banter, funny moments. Bridget starts imagining what it would be like to stay in Texas forever, rather than returning to Indiana after the cold weather has passed.

As months go by, and Christmas is around the corner, Bridget prepares for her mother and two brothers to make their way to join them for the holidays. The book seems to be setting J.R. to meet Bridget’s full family, with the potential that their relationship will turn even more serious with a proposal and maybe even a wedding.



Instead, readers complain that the novel ends somewhat abruptly, with Bridget finally agreeing to be with J.R. for good just before the rest of her family arrives.