What worked for me: It's a contemporary, and I like those. Interesting situation, setting, premise. There's a ton of sexual tension that starts right away and builds and builds until finally the protags and the reader are as het up and primed as can be. The protagonists were charming, and their particular neuroses meshed and complemented each other as well as their sexual appetites and tastes. The very small secondary cast - there's only a double handful of characters overall - is good, though the female characters are better-illustrated than the mail ones; I could have done with a bit more differentiation between Cameron and his brothers. Perhaps that will come in future books; this is the first in a trilogy.

Katie Kramer is a mild-mannered accountant who, having been the only survivor of a horrific bridge collapse, has adopted a new motto for her life: Live it balls out. Cameron Wilder is a longtime champion extreme snowboarder whose career comes to a shattering end as a result of one spectacularly injurious fall while competing. They come together working at his family's wilderness adventure company, and both teach each other and learn a lot about courage, bravery, honesty, forgiveness, acceptance, and moving on.

Their attraction really is instant, and immediately recognized (individually), though slowly acknowledged, and even more slowly acted upon. The sexual tension builds steadily, and even their first couple of attempts at breaking it succeeds more in increasing it. The sex is adeptly written, without awkward euphemism or impossible feats of strength or flexibility.

The prose is easy to read, the dialogue feels realistic, and the reader gets invested in the relationships. I liked Katie, and wanted her to succeed, in overcoming her own demons, in helping Cameron find his own solutions, in finding her happy ending.

What didn't work for me: A certain lack of realism with regard to outdoor activity - clothed or naked - in the winter in the Sierra Nevada. Snowmobiling in four feet of snow without benefit of a snowmobiling suit over one's jeans? Uncomfortably cold and wet at best. Getting nekkid at thirty degrees Fahrenheit (about minus one Celsius) and shivering only from unslaked lust? Improbable to laughable.

Overall, though? I really enjoyed this book, and will look for more by this author.