*4.5 stars*

Beautiful Alaska was a brilliant backdrop for love…

City girl and country boy. An age old trope put on its ear with this modern retelling. Nothing was black and white, in fact things were very pink indeed…

I loved, loved, loved how Violet tackled everything she faced with such hope and earnestness. Whether an Alaskan blizzard or a thieving Englishman, she didn’t let anything knock her down for long. Honest with herself, and others, her baggage met Quinn’s in a family-laden courtship…

Quinn recognized all of Violet’s good qualities even while labelling her an Outsider. He admired her pink-reliant way of tackling life. Of tackling him. Together, they bumped brains and mind-sets in a battle of wills that was full of emotion and Alaskan charm…

This was a fun, heart-warming read. Can’t wait for Quinn’s brother’s story next!

BOOK REVIEW: Bold Fortune by M.M. Crane
Series: The Fortunes Of Lost Lake | Book 1

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

T.I.M.E. Favorite Books To Read
T.I.M.E. Most Anticipated Books Of 2021

Brief Review: One of my favorite romance female leads of all-T.I.M.E.... Great story. Great romance. Great insight… A rare romance with tons of story to boost this book on to my T.I.M.E. Favorites list!… Can’t wait for Book 2… ✨😎✨

Pages: 288
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Sub-Genre: Alaskan Romance | Small-Town Romance | Community Connection | Simple Living Theme | Steamy Romance
• T.I.M.E. Jalapeño Rating: 🌶 🌶 (Medium Spicy)
Time Period: Present Day
Location: Alaska

CONNECT WITH THIS BOOK | T.I.M.E. Simple Living Tip...
Being very happy & very optimistic does not mean you are any less serious & capable of managing big challenges… Be brave & bring the light… ✨😎✨

IF YOU LIKE THIS BOOK THEN TRY…
Book: Match Made In Paradise by Barbara Dunlop (A Paradise, Alaska Romance Series | Book 1)
Movie: Cross Creek

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All my reviews can be seen at This Is My Everybody | Simple Living | Denise Wilbanks at www.thisismyeverybody.com

♡ Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

Happy Tuesday y'all and happy release day to Bold Fortune by M. M. Crane (and I 100% had to go into my calendar to see what day of the week it was today- being on holiday break means that I 100% cannot keep my days straight). Thank you so much to Berkley Books and Netgalley for letting me read an eARC of this book!
Bold Fortune 5/5 Stars
Summary from Goodreads:
Opposites burn hot enough to melt the snow and ice of an Alaskan winter in this all-new series from USA Today bestselling author Megan Crane.
Quinn Fortune is the official protector of all the unspoiled beauty in Lost Lake, Alaska, as the head of the community trust. A rugged frontiersman through and through, he doesn't do soft. But he can't help his fascination with the pink-clad professor who shows up in Lost Lake seeking his approval for her cheerful outsider's proposal about land that isn't hers. Still, he agrees to consider it--if she can handle a month of good old-fashioned Alaska living. He's betting she'll head back to the safety of the Lower 48 within the week.
Violet Parrish is a thinker, not a doer, but desperate times call for extraordinary measures--like taking on the Alaskan wilderness. In January. Off the grid. With a mountain man hot enough to melt a glacier. The frozen Alaskan tundra should be no match for Violet's determination, but the sheer immensity of the Last Frontier takes her by surprise--as does her attraction to gruff, impossibly handsome Quinn, and the unexpected heat that burns between them during the freezing Alaska nights...
I love small town Alaskan romance novels and so when I got an email from Yazmine over at Berkley about reading/reviewing Bold Fortune, I jumped on that opportunity so fast! Bold Fortune was different from the other small town Alaska romances that I've read because the town was even smaller than anything I've ever read about- I think they even mentioned in the book that it was too small to count as a real town, so it was a commune. That's so different from my world, which isn't big city life or anything (your girl lives in the suburbs and loves it), but I love the idea of other people living like that. I really liked the way the story came together and the way the author wrote the characters. Quinn and Violet were so great on their own and then you brought them together and there was so much amazing banter and such great chemistry. Plus the rest of the Fortune family is so fun, so I'm really excited about this being the beginning of a series! Pacing and plot wise, I thought everything happened at a good pace and I was never bored or feeling like I had whiplash because things were moving too quickly. Overall, this was a really solid, super cute small town romance that I cannot wait for y'all to read!

If you have been following me for a while at this point you know that Alaska is one of my favorite settings for a book and this absolutely did not dissapoint. I loved this book.
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This had a bit of Virgin River vibes, but set in Alaska. Brilliant Violet is a professor looking to escape to the Alaskan Wilderness. Here she finds Quinn, the unofficial mayor of Lost Lake, Alaska. The two of them clash immediately but have enough chemistry to melt all of the snow in Alaska.
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I flew through the pages of this book invested in these two. It took going to the loneliest place on earth to find a family.
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This is the start of a new series and I am all in.
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This comes out today!
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Huge thank you to @berkleyromance for an advanced copy
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I have decided that I really like Alaska as a setting for novels.

Bold Fortune, by M. M. Crane is the first in The Fortunes of Lost Lake series, and I will definitely read more of the series!

Violet shows up in Alaska, bent on talking to Quinn Fortune about preserving the land he protects, all while wearing a pink snow suit, LOL. So of course Quinn is all rugged and stand-offish, so he makes a deal with her, before he will listen to her proposal.

What ensues basically made me laugh, as he tries to take her to a remote cabin with no running water and an outhouse. She takes it like a champ though, and I loved meeting his siblings, parents, and hearing more of Violet’s background.

Of course there’s past drama that shows up, and the Alaskan weather to contend with, which is a great character in and of itself!

I liked this one a lot, and if you like the Alaskan setting, are looking for some Simple Wild vibes, and enjoy a headstrong female lead, you will like this one!

Thank you to @berkleyromance for the #gifted copy in exchange for my honest review!

I loved Violet and Quinn’s amazing opposites attract romance in Bold Fortune by M.M. Crane, book one in her Fortunes of Lost Lake series. This story had lost within their stories, and not able to put this book down, as I drank in each page. This quirky, funny, snarky, steamy, and totally enjoyable tale, takes the reader on a journey to an off-the-grid, small town in the middle of Alaska.

Violet Parrish might be naïve and awkward, but she is a very intelligent person, with numerous degrees, and always trying to make lemonade out of lemons. But most of all, she is lonely. After her boyfriend, rather ex-boyfriend, stole her research and started spreading nasty rumors about her, Violet valiantly travels to an off-the-grid town in remote Alaska to discuss preserving the surrounding lands with a conservation trust. Quinn Fortune is a big, strong, hunk, who looks exactly what one would expect of a person living in remote Alaska. When Violet shows up in Lost Lake unannounced, in the middle of an Alaskan winter, all wrapped up in bright pink snow gear, Quinn looks like he wants to toss her back out into the snow; wondering if she might have been a bit hasty in booking her flight. Quinn simply doesn't take her seriously, and they end up betting that if Violet can last a week with him in the Alaskan wilderness, he will discuss her proposal. Whether or not he is really agreeable, she will need to wait and see but Violet can’t resist a challenge and stays. Quinn figured he would scare off the city girl by taking her to a rough cabin with no running water and an outhouse. Violet was determined to excel at anything Quinn tossed her way, but it turned out that Violet was excited about living out her Little House on the Prairie fantasy. Every challenge Quinn throws her way, she meets with her intelligence and a smile, and each smile frazzled the stoic Quinn more and more. Quinn couldn't figure out why his family, who usually threw out the un-welcome mat for strangers, was being so welcoming to Violet until he realized his own attitude towards Violet showed that he was hoping to keep her. Violet never imagined how moved she would be by the beauty of the land, and it is not only the draw of the man challenging her that makes her want to make Lost Lake her new home. Now if only she can convince Quinn that she wants to stay.

Ms. Crane wrote an intense, emotional and love story that should not be missed. She provided a tale rich with sizzling chemistry, magnetic attraction, wonderful dialogue, and a rugged community of characters along with vivid descriptions of the intense weather and beauty of Alaska. This story grabbed me and did not let go until I reached the end. I highly recommend Bold Fortune to other readers and look forward to the next book in this series.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

Bold Fortune is the first book of The Fortunes of Lost Lake series. This is the first book I’ve read from M.M Crane. Bold Fortune takes place in Alaska, contains grump/sunshine and forced proximity tropes, and is extremely slow burn. The plot of the book is intriguing and some elements kind of reminded me of The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker. I enjoyed the storyline, but I felt that the characters were under developed for my liking. The main characters, Violet and Quinn, each have an interesting backstory, however, the building their relationship and their chemistry seemed off and a bit too forced. I couldn’t really get a sense of them getting to know each other fully. Quinn kept saying how Violet was always dressed in pink, so small, and a professor while Violet kept saying Quinn was so big and such a wildnerness type of guy - there was nothing really about their personalities that got them to fall for each other. Overall, I don’t think this book was the right fit for me and don’t think I’ll be reading the rest of the series.

Bold Fortune by M. M. Crane is the first in a new series set in Alaska. Filled with troupes I love, snark, and delicious chemistry, I devoured this one! Grab a hot cocoa as I take Bold Fortune on coffee dates

Coffee Dates With Bold Fortune

First Date– When Violet Parrish is duped, desperate times call for desperate measures. She sets out for the Alaskan village of Lost Lake. Grumpy meets Brainy in this environmental romance. Quinn Fortune will sit down with Violet- but only if she can survive a month. The beautiful landscape, its danger and the well-developed characters have me all in. I laughed at their first met cute.

Second Date: The romance is a slow burn, but you’ll appreciate the banter, sizzling chemistry and intense moments as these two get to know each other. I loved how the land, water and heck, even the stars were characters in this story. It was beautifully done.

Third Date: Danger, passion, fear, and reconciliation await you on this last date. There is conflict from outside forcing the couple to look at their own personal baggage. I loved their passion and growth. Secondary characters were wonderful, from siblings to neighbors.

This is the first in the Fortunes of Lost Lake and I l cannot wait for the next one! If you love romances set against the beauty of the Alaskan wilderness, you’ll fall hard for Quinn and Violet.

This was a good read. This book is an opposite attract romance that takes place in Alaska. I enjoyed books that take place in Alaska because it always feels like a vacation when I can imagine myself there with the snow. I enjoyed the overall plot of the story and the pacing was perfect for the book. Even though the plot was great, I do have to say that I wish there were a lot of entertaining scenes. Or not even that but that the author had more word choices instead of mentioning pink in every single page. So the MC wears pink and it's described a lot in the book which got annoying at times. So sometimes I would lose interest because it made the story seem childish at times instead of mature.

This book is written in both Violet and Quinn's pov. I enjoyed both characters in this story but sadly they didn't have much of a character development in the story. I did enjoy their stuck in the cabin scene (I mean who doesn't) and how the whole story is kind of about opposite's attracting. There are side characters in the book but I have to say that they aren't majorly involved in the story. The romance is obviously grumpy and sunshine trope and there is a 1.5/5 level of steaminess.

The ending was well done but some parts of the book could have been better. I wish pink wasn't mentioned so much in the book because let me say that it would really annoy me at times. Some parts of the book could have been so much better but there were a lot of scenes that I did enjoy. I did enjoy the romance as it was cute and involved one of my favorite tropes. I think some readers will enjoy this book if they love Alaskan grump and sunshine novels.

I am a sucker for books set in Alaska and this one was exactly what I needed. It is such adorable romance what has great characters and dialogue. Violet is a strong heroine and Quinn is a lumberjack hero. This is the first book in the new series and I'm already looking forward to the second book!

Living in the remote wilds of Alaska, Quinn Fortune has all the attributes of a mountain man who is more grizzly bear than gracious or welcoming host. Especially when an intellectual female researcher from California arrives looking quite ridiculous to his eyes in a cloud of pink determined to tell Quinn how to preserve his rural town of Lost Lake and its surrounding hinterlands. The area has a centuries old gold mine that the corporate types would like to see opened again putting at risk all the unfettered and pristine beauty even if it would provide income for the locals, many of whom live close to the bone during the ten months of harsh winter. Quinn sets a challenge for Violet Parrish that if she can survive one month in the frozen and at times, deadly environment he will listen to her proposal. Violet has no idea how rugged and bare bones living in the frozen wilderness that is an Alaskan winter can be.

Violet Parrish lives mostly in her head where facts, figures, and people can be controlled. She grew up with adversarial parents who only knew how to fight over Violet so she is quite amazed and even overwhelmed by the strong community and family ties of Lost Lake. Violet is determined to win Quinn’s challenge for a number of reasons including her career being on the line after a false boyfriend stole her research and besmirched Violet’s reputation. Violet’s enthusiasm and can-do attitude slowly start to melt the frozen tundra of Quinn’s grumpy and gruff attitude. No matter what Quinn throws at Violet intending to derail her plans, she perseveres with an enthusiasm and determination that throws Quinn off his game.

While Violet’s interior life can at times seem over the top, it is emblematic of her way of being until now and is a coping strategy for someone who has kept her emotions in check in order to survive her families’ ill treatment. Quinn has responsibilities for his community that weigh heavily on his broad shoulders to which he has felt a grim sense of duty to uphold. Quinn and Violet’s opposites attract story is very well done and was quite a pleasure to read for their relationship as well as the quirky and rugged community of characters who are part of the landscape. The author’s skill in describing and bringing to life the intense weather and beauty of Alaska is a bonus to this first in a series, which I highly recommend.

I love Violet!

Violet Parrish didn’t consider herself to be stupid. She was a scientist. With degrees. Plural. But maybe she was a little lonely which is how she fell for Stuart’s charming lies and talked all about her Institutions big research project and how he ended up posting all their findings as his own. Violet needs to redeem herself before the annual conference. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

And that’s how she ended up standing in the remote (really remote) Lost Lake, Alaska looking into the hard eyes of Quinn Fortune. She wanted to discuss preserving the surrounding lands with a conservation trust but he wouldn’t talk about it unless it was over a beer in his favorite bar. In Lost Lake, Alaska. Challenge accepted! But while Quinn looks at Violet all wrapped up in her bright pink snow gear like he wants to toss her back out into the snow, Violet wonders if she might have been a tad too hasty in booking her flight.

Now that she is here, Quinn ups the challenge. If Violet can last a week with him in the Alaskan wilderness, he will discuss her proposal. Whether or not he is really amenable, she will need to wait and see but Violet can’t resist a challenge and stays. Except Violet never imagined how moved she would be by the beauty of the land, and it is not only the draw of the man challenging her that makes her want to make Lost Lake her new home. Now if only she can convince Quinn that she wants to stay.

I really loved Violet and her there’s-no-stopping-me attitude. Quinn figured he would scare off the city girl by taking her to a rough cabin with no running water and an outhouse. Violet was determined to excel at anything Quinn tossed her way but it turned out that Violet was so excited to live out her Little House on the Prairie fantasy. Every challenge Quinn throws her way, she meets with her intelligence and a smile, and each smile frazzled the stoic Quinn more and more.

While I personally would never enjoy this wilderness life, it was fun to see Violet blossoming and falling for the harsh beauty of Alaska and taming the grouchy mountain man.

A promising new series. I love the setting. The cover is very appealing. Quinn and Violet are at odd from the very beginning. However, they come to understand each other better and a relationship forms. Anything is possible in the cold tundra of the last frontier.

Review: This was a great Contemporary Romance! Violet and Quinn's romance was fun! And I loved how quirky Violet was (the description of her pink outfit in the beginning when she first went to Alaska made me laugh, and it is also something I would totally wear!). Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who thinks it sounds interesting!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

Over the past couple of years, some of my favorite authors have been setting their novels in the wilds of Alaska, a place I'd love to visit, and the same is true of this first novel in a new series by M.M. Crane (aka Megan Crane). I love a good opposites attract romance, and this one is a quirky, funny, snarky, steamy, and a totally enjoyable read, and it get 5 stars from this reader.

Violet Parish, the heroine, works at a San Francisco think tank, and her research on mineral rights and land conservation in pristine places, such as Alaska, which was supposed to be presented at a symposium, was stolen by her sort-of boyfriend, Stuart, with whom she shared her research--by the time she learns of it, he's already presented it as his own and is busy spreading nasty rumors about her. To say she feels betrayed is putting it mildly, but she's no shrinking violet, and to save her job and her reputation, she heads off to Lost Lake, Alaska, a tiny, former gold mining town in the middle of nowhere, to talk with the one man that no one has managed to even meet, Quinn Fortune, Lost Lake's de facto mayor, whose family has been in Lost Lake for generations.

Quinn Fortune is a big, strong, hunk of a man, who in many ways seems a lot like wild Alaska in human form. When Violet shows up in Lost Lake unannounced, in the middle of an Alaskan winter, all dressed in pink, he simply doesn't take her seriously, and they end up betting a beer on Quinn's belief that she'll be gone in a week. The intrepid, defiant, and feisty Violet extends that bet to include the entire winter, and Quinn certainly doesn't make it easy for her. He first takes her across the frozen lake, and on a long, uphill hike to a one-room shack with no running water, no electricity, an outhouse, few provisions, and pile of animal furs for a bed.

After the initial shock, Violet's sunny, can-do, optimistic attitude hasn't changed a bit, and she can't help her ever increasing attraction to Quinn, and he's equally attracted to her. By weeks' end, he moves her to the larger cabin he built by hand--one he had hoped to share with the woman he loved, a woman he'd met in law school, and one who was born in Alaska, and whom, within a year, left to visit her family and never returned to him, leaving Quinn bitter and convinced down to his bones that "Outsiders don't stay." Violet sets out to prove him wrong, and is every bit as drawn to the stark beauty of Alaska as she is to rugged, sexy Quinn, his family, and the profoundly quirky people of Lost Lake.

What follows is a slow but steady, sexy attraction between these two compelling characters, one that is about to be tested in a deeply emotional and angsty way that this reader certainly didn't expect, and since I don't do spoilers, you'll just have to grab a copy of this engaging, well-written novel and find out for yourself. I highly recommend that you do, especially since it's the first book in a series, as I mentioned, and I am eager to read what Ms. Crane comes up with next.

I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy of this novel. The opinions stated are my own.

Bold Fortune by M.M. Crane is the first book in her new The Fortunes of Lost Lake series. We meet our heroine, Violet Parrish, who finds herself in a dilemma; her boyfriend was using her to steal information on a project that Violet was working on. Facing embarrassment, Violet comes up with a different idea to make up for the fiasco she caused; she decides to head for the Alaskan wilderness, in the midst of winter; especially since the man in charge refuses to talk to her. When Violet arrives in Lost Lake, a small town, and comes face to face with a huge mountain man, who is hot and rugged. She meets Quinn Fortune, the man who ignored her, and the entire town watching inside the lodge she enters.

Quinn is the leader and protector of their town, Lost Lake, and he is determined to force this lady in pink, to leave. Violet is a strong, fierce, smart and independent professor, who loves the color of pink, and does not plan to allow Quinn to force her leave, until she can present her proposal. All the townsfolk watch as Violent manages to hold her own against Quinn. He eventually makes a deal with her that she can’t last a month in living in the deep winter weather of Alaska; she accepts, much to his surprise. Quinn finds himself intrigued by Violet, as she continues to prove him wrong. He begins to find himself attracted to her, as she is to him, but he has no plans ever have a permanent relationship, having been burned before.

What follows is a wonderful delightful adventure, with Quinn trying everything to make Violet want to leave Alaska, with all the snow and cold. I loved how Quinn knew he was falling hard for Violet, slowly opening his cold heart. Violet was the perfect match for Quinn, as she stood up to him against so many odds. The banter between them was amazing, and I so wanted them to be together; even if they were very different, yet so great. The secondary characters of this series are awesome.

Bold Fortune was a wonderful, cozy, fun, book to read, even in the blustery cold Alaska weather. Bold Fortune was very well written by M.M. Crane, and look forward to what she has in store for us in future books of this series. If you enjoy romance, great couple, wonderful characters, then you need to start this series.

Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for an advanced copy of Bold Fortune by MM Crane.

I was sold at Alaska romance! This is the first book in the new series -- The Fortunes of Lost Lake and I'm already looking forward to the second book!

This has everything you want in this fun contemporary romance! Alaska, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, witty banter, only one cabin and a great cast of characters!

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟 4/5 stars

An adorable romance set in Alaska featuring great characters and dialogue. The grumpXsunshine trope is one of my favorites and M.M. Crane writes it amazing in Bold Fortune. The book tells the story of Violet, a professor who shows up in the town of Lost Lake, Alaska to convince Quinn Fortune to listen to her proposal about his land.

I just love romances set in Alaska apparently. The forced proximity, the grumpy “mountain men”, and the emphasis on whenever someone removes their coat. I love it all. Violet was an excellent lead character and “sunshine”. Her and Quinn had top notch banter and the “only one cabin” was a nice touch. I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series.

Overall, Bold Fortune is an entertaining, heartwarming Alaskan romance.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Full review to be posted closer to release date.

I’m not sure what it is about Alaskan romances, but I am so here for them. Bold Fortune was an absolute delight to read. Violet Parrish and Quinn Fortune are the definition of opposites attract. The banter between them was wonderful. This book was cozy and warm; a perfect winter romance. Violet is spunky, fierce and just everything you want from a heroine. Quinn is the legitimate definition of a lumberjack hero. Never in my life have I ever wanted to go to Alaska in the dead of winter and stay in a dry cabin. But if I was snowed in with Quinn Parrish, I would walk through the Alaskan wilderness to get there.

Some tropes you can expect:
* Grumpy/Sunshine
* Forced Proximity
* Outsider/Local
* STEM Heroine
* Only One Cabin
* Accidental Cuddling

CWs: Toxic Ex-Relationships (for both leads), cheating

Thanks to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for the e-galley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Yes! I really enjoyed the original premise and characters of this book. It allowed me a few blissful hours of escape form 2021. Heartily recommend this book!