Mountain Mechanic

Mountain Mechanic is the latest short story to be checked off my to be read list. It is a short story from author Lilah Hart, who is easily one of my favorite short story authors.

Mountain Mechanic can be read as a standalone story, or as part of an eight story multi-author series called Tinsel and Timber. I’ve never heard of the other seven authors who are writing for this series, but I may give them a try in the future.

This post contains affiliate links

You can read Mountain Mechanic as part of the series, or simply on its own. It is written as part of a series, but also meant to stand alone as well. I always think every single book or short story should be able to stand alone, even when in a series, so this was important to me.

I am personally choosing to just read Lilah Hart’s story, Mountain Mechanic, at this time. Because my to be read list grows at a rate that makes me think I need to be immortal to get it all done. Sometimes I have to make certain authors more of a priority than others.

At the time of publishing this review, all of Lilah Hart’s short stories, including Mountain Mechanic are available via Kindle Unlimited. All seven other books in this series are as well. This makes them easily accessible to readers without breaking the bank, and that is something I really appreciate.

Kindle Unlimited was how I originally discovered Lilah Hart. I was searching for romance stories that could be read in an hour or less and free on Kindle Unlimited. Short stories are what I tend to read the most during the holiday season because life is just too busy to allow me the attention span to read a full novel. Once I realized how much I enjoy her short stories, it became my goal to read all of them.

There are several authors who I want to read everything from. Do you have any favorite authors like that? If so, let me know who they are in the comments.

Have you read Mountain Mechanic? Come on in and let me tell you about it!

About Mountain Mechanic

She came to sell cinnamon rolls for a weekend. He gave her a reason to stay forever.

I didn’t believe in Christmas magic.

I believed in deadlines, performance reviews, and the glow of my laptop screen at 2 AM. That was my world—safe, predictable, mine.

Then my parents guilt-tripped me into covering their cinnamon roll booth at some small-town Christmas festival, and everything went sideways.

The borrowed food truck died on a mountain road during the busiest weekend of the year. I blocked traffic. I panicked. And then he showed up.

Torch—because of course that was his name. All flannel and forearms and the kind of confidence that came from knowing exactly who he was. He fixed engines for fun, lived alone in a cabin that looked like a Christmas card, and had absolutely no use for technology.

We were opposites in every way that mattered.

Except for the heat between us that made no sense and every sense all at once.

He towed my disaster of a truck to his place. Made me lunch in his perfectly decorated kitchen. Told me about the family he’d built a home for but hadn’t found yet. And when I looked at those empty stockings on his mantle, something cracked wide open inside me.

I’d spent twenty-three years playing it safe. Working harder, climbing higher, proving I belonged in a world that barely noticed me.

But in his garage, under vintage neon signs and Christmas lights, I stopped being the girl who lived for her career.

I became the woman who finally understood what she’d been missing.

He was a mountain man looking for his forever.

I was a city girl who didn’t know she was lost.

And we had exactly one weekend to figure out if Christmas magic was real.

Get tangled in tinsel and wrapped in holiday romance. Tinsel & Timber is a spicy short multi-author mountain man holiday romance series set in the snowy wilderness where strangers become soulmates, and unexpected love burns brighter than a bonfire. Expect merry and bright happily ever afters with no cliffhangers and no cheating.

Thoughts on Mountain Mechanic

“Product-launch Demi had color-coded contingency plans. Festival Demi was one minor inconvenience away from a meltdown.”
Lilah Hart, Mountain Mechanic

In Mountain Mechanic we meet Demi and Torch. Demi is just here in Wildwood Valley to help her parents by selling cinnamon rolls from a food truck during the Christmas festival. Torch rescues her when the food truck dies on the side of the road and blocks up traffic.

He manages to get the truck back to his place, and things heat up quickly from there.

First off, I just want to take a moment to gush about how much I love Lilah Hart’s stories that are based in Wildwood Valley. Somehow, those are always my favorites. I’m not even sure how, given Wildwood Valley is a fictitious place. But we see Bobbi again, busy saving the day. She is easily my favorite side character in these stories, and when she makes an appearance, it is like visiting an old friend again.

What I like most about Mountain Mechanic is the character development in the story. These were both memorable characters, who made an impact on the story. I loved when Demi was cooking in Torch’s kitchen, and then baking cinnamon rolls together so that Demi could achieve her purpose of being in Wildwood Valley.

Stories that begin like that are the ones that are built in love that are meant to last a lifetime, and the kind of stories that you tell the grandkids. It’s the kind of thing that makes you believe in Christmas magic.

Final Thoughts on Mountain Mechanic

“I came to Wildwood Valley to sell cinnamon rolls. I was staying for a future.”
Lilah Hart, Mountain Mechanic

I’m calling Mountain Mechanic a five star read. It was the perfect balance of character development, spice/sex/smut/whatever you want to call it, and magic that is the holidays. Demi and Torch were so perfect for each other, and that just made me happy.

This is a story that I will return to and read again in the future, which is one of my personal criteria for any five star rating.

I’m also now inspired to go bake some cinnamon rolls. Which is something I’ve never done before. But now I want to, and I know my husband would love that.

Discussion

Have you read Mountain Mechanic or any other writing from author Lilah Hart? Are you a fan? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

About the Author

Lilah Hart has been writing and publishing for more than a decade, both for traditional publishers and independently. She writes short, steamy reads with plenty of heart. When she’s not writing, she loves binge-watching reality TV shows while sipping moscato. She lives in Knoxville with her husband and her pet Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

Purchasing Mountain Mechanic

If you are interested in buying the Kindle version of Mountain Mechanic, click here.
Click here for my favorite Kindle I currently own.

Amazon Notice

The Reading Wife is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com, at no added cost to you.

Mountain Mechanic