Dark & Stormy

A Rivers End Romance Novella: Maddy+Dawson / Kelsey+Jason

By: CJ Hunt

Narrated by: Brenda Scott Wlazlo

All bets are off when the lights go out one dark and stormy night in Rivers End....

The Maker’s Market New Year’s party is the most important night of the year for event planner; Maddy Jones and her best friend caterer Kelsey Armstrong. But they’ve got things well in hand...until a power outage plunges everyone into darkness.

Never mind professional catastrophe-Maddy’s suffering a worse fate. She’s stuck in the elevator with the building owner, Dawson Sellers. He’s a reminder of the loving relationship she might have had.

But for Dawson, Maddy is strictly and heartbreakingly off-limits.

Down in the kitchen, Kelsey sees the blackout as a curse, but sexy artist Jason Thorne sees it as a chance to get into the sassy chef’s good graces. She’s convinced he’s out of her league, but he’s ready to show her just how beautiful she really is.

Total darkness might be exactly what these four friends need to step out of their comfort zones and take a chance on love.

Because for a building without power, there sure are a lot of sparks flying on this dark and stormy night in Rivers End.

Dark & Stormy is a short and sweet romance novella which braids together the stories of two different couples-both couples get their own HEA. It's a standalone story woven into the world of Rivers End.

Come home to Rivers End....

While all the Rivers End stories can be listened to as standalones, you may want to read each mini-series in order to preserve any plot surprises and get the full picture of how the characters lives weave together! Dark & Stormy can be listened anytime, with no spoilers.

©2019 CJ Hunt (P)2019 CJ Hunt

Critic reviews

"CJ Hunt writes morsels of delight, filled with vivid relationships. They are my comfort food-reading." (Mary Robinette Kowal, Romantic Times Award-winning author)

Truly elegant

Truly elegant romance novel
Interesting and a listening pleasure by the narrator. They are great team.

When the lights go out

Living out in the country, we’re frequently subjected to power outages – trees falling, occasionally someone wrapping their car around a pole, etc. It’s one thing to be homebound when you’ve got candles, hurricane lamps, and a gas fireplace. It’s entirely something different when you’re in the middle of a city and the power goes out. What is normally lit by all those artificial lights goes dark and it feels more ominous. And when there’s a storm, it can be hours before power is restored. Sometimes longer.

Kelsey is catering a party Maddy has organized. Both women are launching their businesses and this New Year’s Eve party is their chance to make an impression upon art lovers in Rivers End. A power outage is the last thing that’s either expected nor is it welcomed.

Of course there are further complications. Maddy has been avoiding the building owner, Dawson, because she made a fool of herself in front of him. She’s also now stuck in an elevator with him and opening a belated Christmas present flays her open in a way she doesn’t want. She’s a strong woman, but there’s something about sharing her burdens – if only until the power comes back on – that makes her feel a little less alone.

Kelsey is left trying to keep the art sales coming, even without power. Artist Jason is there to support her, in more ways than one. What had begun as a night of professional encounters becomes something far more personal.

This is a great novella. It packs a lot of power and a ton of romance in a small package. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Brenda Scott Wlazlo narrated this story and I enjoyed her performance. Another great CJ Hunt listen.