Scrooged by the Mountain Man

Scrooged by the Mountain Man is the latest short story to be checked off my to be read list. I just finished the Wildwood Valley Christmas series from Lilah Hart, and it’s definitely put me in a mood to go and read all of her Christmas centered stories.

I’m still trying to figure out how it is November, and the holidays are right around the corner. But they are, and it is almost time to start decorating. My husband shocked me yesterday by wanting to listen to Chrimstas music while we prepared dinner.

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This made me start thinking… because holiday themed books aren’t really any different from holiday music. Why not get into the spirit of things early? I decided to embrace it and enjoy it.

I have become an avid Lilah Hart fan over the last five months or so, discovering her writing over the summer when I started reading the Wildwood Valley Brides series. From there I was hooked and have made it a goal to read all of her writing.

Scrooged by the Mountain Man is part of a large multi-author series called Log Cabin Christmas. Each story is meant to stand alone, or you can read the entire series. It is totally up to you. You can choose your own adventure.

I’m choosing to only read Scrooged by the Mountain Man as a standalone story, because at this point, it’s only Lilah Hart stories I want to read. But at some point in the future, I may go back and read others from this series. Right now my to be read list is long, and I have to be a bit pickier. How you choose to read stories from this series is all up to you.

At the time of publishing this review, Scrooged by the Mountain Man, and all of Lilah Hart’s short stories are available via Kindle Unlimited, making them easily accessible to readers without breaking the bank. This is becoming more important than ever as inflation continues to rise, and I even have to watch my book buying budget a little more.

Which is one of the things that makes Kindle Unlimited amazing. Readers can discover new authors and try books we wouldn’t necessarily pick otherwise.

Have you read Scrooged by the Mountain Man? Come on in and let me tell you about it!

About Scrooged by the Mountain Man

“The hot guy with the perma-scowl was definitely annoyed with me. Or maybe flat-out furious. Hard to tell with men who looked like they’d been carved out of mountain rock and taught to communicate exclusively in grunts.”
Lilah Hart, Scrooged by the Mountain Man

She brought Christmas to his mountain cabin. He was determined to stay a Grinch forever.

I show up at my Christmas cabin rental with a decorated tree, twelve boxes of vintage cards, and dreams of my big break at Wildwood Valley’s festival.

There’s just one problem.

The cabin isn’t a rental. It’s home to the grumpiest, most gorgeous mountain man I’ve ever seen, and he wants me gone.

Chase Matthews doesn’t do Christmas. Doesn’t do joy. Doesn’t do anything that remotely resembles holiday cheer. He lives alone in these mountains for a reason, and that reason is to avoid people like me—the kind who hum carols and believe in happy endings.

But when the sheriff convinces him to let me stay, everything changes.

Three days, he says. That’s all I get.

Three days in his cabin. Three days of stolen glances and simmering tension. Three days of discovering that beneath all that gruff exterior is a man who’s been hurt, who’s lost everything, who’s convinced he doesn’t deserve a second chance at happiness.

I should keep my distance. Should focus on my business, my meetings with store buyers, my carefully planned future.

Instead, I fall for him.

Hard.

Fast.

Completely.

But loving Chase means understanding his scars. It means accepting that Christmas—my favorite time of year—is the season that broke him. And when I push too hard, when I try to bring light into his darkness too soon, I might lose him forever.

Unless he’s brave enough to believe that some things are worth fighting for.

That some people are worth the risk.

That maybe, just maybe, this Christmas can be different.

Because I’m not giving up on him. Not on us. Not on the possibility that a girl who loves everything about the holidays and a man who can’t stand them might just be exactly what each other needs.

Scrooged by the Mountain Man is an OTT age-gap holiday romance featuring an alpha hero and V-card heroine. It’s a forced proximity holiday romance with lots of steam that’s designed to be read in only 1 hour. It’s part of the Log Cabin Christmas Multi-Author Series.

Thoughts on Scrooged by the Mountain Man

“Because having this sunshine-in-a-Christmas sweater girl under my roof for three days? With those curves and that smile and all that relentless cheer? Yeah, this was going to be a disaster.”
Lialh Hart, Scrooged by the Mountain Man

In Scrooged by the Mountain Man we meet Chase and Sariah.

The first couple of chapters had me cracking up. This is the kind of story you tell your grandchildren about how you two met. It was hilarious.

This story reminded me of The Grinch, when he first meets Cindy Lou Who, and then when his heart starts growing in size. It made me laugh, but at the same time, it was relatable. I think we’ve all known or gone through our own phases of being super enthusiastic about the holidays to being a total grinch.

It reminded me that the holidays are meant to be happy, meant to be about traditions and family and making memories, not everyone feels that way. That the holidays can make grief just seem that much worse.

When I look deep at Chase, I am reminded to be kind to everyone during the holidays, especially. Because we never know what silent battles people like him are facing. I might be looking too deep into this story, but that happens and I appreciate when any story causes me to pause and reflect. Those are helpful moments in my own personal growth.

It also inspired me to start pulling out the Christmas decorations. I’m ready to bake and decorate. There really is nothing like a good book to get me into the holiday spirit.

Final Thoughts on Scrooged by the Mountain Man

“You walked into my life carrying a Christmas tree, and in less than twenty-four hours, you made me feel things I didn’t think I’d ever feel.”
Lilah Hart, Scrooged by the Mountain Man

I’m calling Scrooged by the Mountain Man a 5 star read.

Between this story and the Wildwood Valley Christmas stories, I need to start decorating and baking. I’m planning on reading the Rosewood Ridge Christmas series next.

If you’re looking for a quick and fun read on a busy day, Scrooged by the Mountain Man is perfect for you. All of Lilah Hart’s short stories are because they can be read in an hour. That was actually how I discovered her writing originally. I was searching Amazon for hour-long romance reads on Kindle Unlimited.

Discussion

Have you read Scrooged by the Mountain Man 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 Scrooged by the Mountain Man

If you are interested in buying the Kindle version of Scrooged by the Mountain Man, click here.
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Scrooged by the Mountain Man