Marcella Bell’s Snowbound in her Boss’s Bed makes the same mistake I’ve seen in a few books lately – focusing on the wrong part of the story.

Miriam Howard, event planner, is the daughter of a Black pastor and hasn’t fit in with her family since she converted to Judaism. Temporarily hired to replace a scandal-tainted gala coordinator, she has to knock a Jewish foundation’s annual fundraiser out of the park to win the job of her dreams on a permanent basis. That means appeasing Benjamin Silver, billionaire megadonor – even if he insists she fly to Aspen on the first night of Hanukkah. Where they are promptly stranded by a snowstorm, and of course tempted to reproduce the exact boss-employee scandal that gave Miri a shot at her job.

Miri has a fascinating background that could have driven an original, compelling, and challenging plot that confronted inclusion and validation of converts to Judaism, discrimination against Jews of color, holiday conflicts in multifaith families, the hope of her family that she might marry Christian. Instead, the author has Miri come into the book having fully and confidently resolved all of her issues and with an established (if off-screen) found family. So what does the author choose as the main conflict? Benjamin’s fear of opening up to love after loss. The same conflict that drives a solid half of billionaire and Harlequin presents books. A conflict that forces Miri to spend the entire story as Benjamin’s therapist. Oy.

A book that could have hit a trifecta of under-represented religion, under-represented ethnicity within that religious group, and under-told holiday story instead becomes yet another generic billionaire-with-commitment-issues book that took me two months to finish. Save yourself the trouble and give it a miss.

I just didn't get enough of the chemistry between the two. This book took me a long time to read and I wasn't sure I would finish it. I did like Miri & Ben I just didn't get into this story or their romance.

The Hanukkah romance seemed to have been buried in the sea of information about the key characters, their backgrounds, and lives. Other than that first night, there was no yearning or even a slight attraction. The atmosphere and its role in the narrative were appealing to me. I was dissatisfied since I couldn't relate to the characters. I found it to be one-dimensional and flat till the very end. It was strange even then. Miri suddenly felt the need to depart Benjamin's snow sanctuary after a reasonable talk. They had been together for six nights and were having a great time. Her response, in my opinion, was excessive and immature. Her behavior fell short of what she had said she cared about in terms of individuals. Even though the weather was still terrible, she puts others in danger rather than talking to Benjamin. Benjamin does make a significant gesture to the reader at the conclusion.

Heat Factor: Not even a kiss in the first third

Character Chemistry: Lust—but it’s *forbidden*

Plot: Miri gets stranded in Aspen after a meeting with her billionaire boss

Overall: DNFed this one

One of my reading goals for this year was to more aggressively DNF books, and it’s made my reading life much better. While I only read the first third of this book, there are some elements of it that other readers may be interested in (or may want to aggressively avoid), so here I go with my review.

You might be wondering, why did I stop reading this one? I could not handle the writing style. There are tons of big fancy words and the whole thing felt very overwritten. None of the words is used incorrectly (this would be a great book if you want to build your vocabulary!), but the end result felt wooden, particularly the dialogue. I don’t recall having this reaction to the other book by Marcella Bell that I read, so it could be that she was going for something more erudite with these characters and it didn’t quite hit—or it could be that this book is suffering in comparison because the few books I read before it were quippy and fast, so I wasn’t in the headspace for this slower style.

On to the good! I liked the Bell went all-in on the Jewish content here, without getting too insidery. Miri works for a large Jewish non-profit in LA, and Benjamin is the Board Chair, so it’s understood without saying that they’re both Jewish. When they begin to have conversations about their identities and what being Jewish means for them (such as eating jelly donuts—sufganiyot—during Hanukkah), that means that they can go deeper and talk about their families and how their familial losses are intertwined with their faith. (Benjamin is an orphan; Miri is a convert whose family doesn’t quite understand.)

The other good is the tension inherent in their relationship. Not only is Benjamin the Board Chair of the non-profit where Miri works, but the previous person who did Miri’s job had an affair with the former Executive Director which caused a big ole scandal—so bedding the boss here is super-double-ultra forbidden. Juicy!

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the irritating: Benjamin is an extremely irritating billionaire hero. There are hints that he might be reformed because Miri finds some of his high-handedness extremely irritating as well…but she also is all gaga over his fancy house and his good looks, so the jury’s out on this one. Just…how could he not see how incredibly inconvenient and thoughtless it was of him to insist that she fly to Aspen from LA just to have a meeting where they hammered out the logistics for a party? This is what videoconferencing is for. (I mean, this is a Harlequin Presents, so I should not have expected something else, but it was really too much for me.)

Look, I am vaguely interested in how Miri and Benjamin square the impossible circle of their work relationship, but not enough to wade through clunky prose and Benjamin being kind of annoying. But if you’re looking for a Jewish-centered holiday special and don’t mind billionaires and adjectives, you might enjoy this one.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

2.5 stars.

As the new events director for the Los Angeles Jewish Community Foundation, Miriam "Miri" Howard needs Benjamin Silver—her billionaire and sexy as hell supervisor—to give official approval for her plans for the Foundation's annual fundraising gala. Because he's in Aspen and she's in Los Angeles, he insists that she go to Aspen in his private jet to get the job done. What they didn't expected was that a blizzard would stuck her at his home, and they would be alone...while the blizzard lasts. Not to mention the increasing and inconvenient attraction they feel for each other, since the Foundation's rules makes clear that fraternizing between employees is strictly prohibited.

Miri's family has some issues with her. Or is her the one with issues? She loves them and they love her but her loved ones doesn't understand why she became Jewish, so she spends little time with them (or so that's how I perceived it) because their family reunions are a bit awkward. Benjamin, on the other hand, was born Jewish but he didn't involves a lot in Jewish life (with the exception of the Foundation) because he lost both his families—biological and adoptive—very early in his life. He couldn't stand to lose another person and that's why he prefers being isolated from the world.

I found Benjamin's character more alluring than Miri's. His troubled past defines his personality makes him more interesting. As for Miri, she looks like she's living in the "my way or the highway" motto, which I dislike, almost 90% of the story. And a bit immature towards the end. Did I mentioned that I'm not a fan of this character yet?

Their romance? I could tell something about that if I felt there was romance between them while I was reading the book. Not even with a Hanukkah twist. Their interactions are odd sometimes. Although they speak A LOT to make a deep connection, they don't have it. Nor they connect with the reader, in my humble opinion. No chemistry, no credible argument, but lots of sexual attraction we see here. I didn't believed Benjamin's change of heart when Miri leaves, either. Lust at first sight? Yes. Real love? Not so much.

Since they're "trapped" in a luxurious Aspen villa, there's not so many secondary characters in this book. Maybe if they were in a physical form this story could work? That's something we will never know.

I picked this book from Netgalley because I never read Ms. Bell's books before. And this one in particular didn't gave me a good vibe. At least I finished it, and that's something I have to credit the author for and maybe—just maybe—give her another shot.

Thanks to Harlequin and Netgalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

For some reason, I couldn’t get into this book. The H seems too arrogant at the beginning. There was too much introspection and not enough conversation between the two main characters.

In the wake of a scandal, events director Miriam gets snowed in at CEO Ben's luxurious home. Their organization has a strict non-fraternization policy—can the two resist temptation?

I loved Miri and Ben. They were so perfect together—it was understandable that they weren't able to help falling for each other. Sweet and steamy holiday romance!

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Presents for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I found this book pretty unrealistic, but still ok. Quick/insta love. I did like the characters individually, but did not feel any chemistry really between them. I thought Miri acted a bit immature but then Benjamin was a bit of a jerk. I would read this author again, and even try another Hanukkah romance. 3 stars

Quick Summary: An insta-love romance all wrapped with a beautiful multicultural bow

My Review: Snowbound in Her Boss's Bed by Marcella Bell was a mixed bag romance. It was 2/3 informational and 1/3 first love vibes.

What I Liked:

- I really liked the diversity between the characters. Benjamin and Miri were an unexpected couple. Part of what made them interesting was their backgrounds. (I love a multicultural approach to relationships.)

- I liked the fact that Miri was no pushover. She had a firmness or grit about her. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind. Still, she remained professional when it came to her work.

- I liked Benjamin. His tragic past helped to explain his apprehension about connecting. In seeking to control matters, he was protecting his heart, in a way.

- I thought the renewal of Benjamin's cultural heritage and the new found experience by Miri,who was embracing her new heritage, was sweet.

What I Did Not Care For:

- The conflict was unbelievable. I found it rather difficult to make sense of the couple's final scene before Miri's departure. Next thing you know, Benjamin made a life-altering decision after six days. It seemed to negate the very situation that led to Miri leaving. The dots did not connect for me on that.

- Much of the beginning was weighed down with educational verbiage. It was too much and was entirely lulling.

- I did not care for the loss of innocence scene. The end.

My Final Say: This romance will either have a hit or miss response with readers.

Rating: 2.5/5
Recommend: +/-
Audience: A

I voluntarily read this title. Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley, who provided access to this work in exchange for an honest review.

I was looking forward to this holiday romance because I haven't read a Hanukkah romance before. There was a lot of information regarding the main characters, their lives, and their background but somehow the Hanukkah romance was lost. There was no pining or even a mild attraction except for that first night. I enjoyed the atmosphere and how it played a part in the story. I just didn't connect to the characters and that disappointed me. It fell flat to me and was one-dimensional until the end of the book. Even then it was odd. The conversation that led to Miri's sudden need to leave Benjamin's snow oasis was reasonable. They had spent 6 nights together and were really enjoying themselves. I found her reaction over the top and immature. For someone who cared so much for people, her actions didn't follow her words. The weather still was horrible but instead of having a conversation with Benjamin, she endangers others. The reader does get a grand gesture from Benjamin at the end.