Sunset on Turtle Lake by Carol Lynne

Winter isn’t the only chill in the air on Turtle Lake.

When Sam Burgman’s mother, Gloria, nears the end of her battle with cancer, Sam makes the hard decision to leave his job as a corporate lawyer in Miami to take his mom home to Turtle Lake, Minnesota.

Ian Mendoza takes his job as Gloria’s caregiver very seriously, but unlike the assignments he’s taken in the past, Ian fails to maintain a professional distance when it comes to Sam. Unfortunately for Ian, Sam refuses to open his heart despite their mutual attraction.

Born and raised in Miami, Ian isn’t prepared for the frozen landscape that is Minnesota in the winter, but the chill he wants to erase is the one coming from Sam.

Reader Advisory: This book deals with maternal illness/death.

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Pride Publishing

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆
M/M Romance
Triggers: Terminal illness

This was a hard book for me. Ian was a great character. He was compassionate, kind, but not a pushover – he stood up to Sam when it was necessary and even stood up to Gloria when she needed an extra push.

Minnesota in the winter time can be magical. Lynne does an amazing job at describing the surrounding area – she truly captures the essence of what winters can be like.

The magical moments in this book were between Sam and Gloria. Their relationship needed to be repaired before Gloria's illness took her, and Lynne did a great job at showing those tender moments that are normally behind the scenes.

I so wanted to love this book, but it was so short and there were really only glimpses into the world that was Gloria, Ian, and Sam. It felt too short to really develop anything between Ian and Sam – their relationship seems incredibly superficial.

Overall, the tender moments were great, but the story itself lacked for me.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is a really moving short story, for which I recommend a tissue to hand. Sam is a man who has been living in denial for a long time, but as his mother is nearing her end, he has to finally come to terms with things. His mother's live-in nurse, Ian, is a man on a mission to help him, and watching the barriers come down is very rewarding. For such a short story, it was incredibly easy to get invested in the outcome.

Ms. Lynne has once again got to the heart of the matter in this lovely read.

An avid reader for years, one day Carol Lynne decided to write her own brand of erotic romance. Carol juggles between being a full-time mother and a full-time writer. These days, you can usually find Carol either cleaning jelly out of the carpet or nestled in her favourite chair writing steamy love scenes.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Sunset on Turtle Lake by Carol Lynne to read and review.