When She Thaws

by Lily Craig

Sadie Powell is going on an adventure. After her beloved mother has a health scare, Sadie decides it’s finally time to see the world. So, Sadie crosses the Atlantic to work as an au pair for a year. Austria’s supposed to be nice: chocolate, beer, and scenic mountain ranges beckon. She’ll figure out teaching and living with an Austrian family along the way.

Inga Weber trusts only herself. Ever since her husband of twenty years left her for an Instagram model, Inga’s opted to homeschool her three children. Better keep them close so they can’t get hurt. Except it turns out it’s hard to keep an au pair on staff when Inga’s expectations tower higher than the Alps. Exercises, punctuality, and rigor grind down even the best candidates.

When Sadie arrives at Inga’s doorstep, her fate seems clear. She’ll be sacked like the rest of them, inadequate in the face of precise demands. Except something about Sadie’s warm smile and caring green eyes makes Inga falter. Though the two diverge in their approaches to life, maybe this time, it’s different.

Maybe this time, Inga’s met someone who can melt her frozen heart.

Genres: Romance, Audiobook, Lesbian, Lesbian Romance, LGBT, Erotica, Contemporary Romance

228 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2019

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasn’t expecting much from this book but was pleasantly surprised when the story ended. Book was well-written and the plot was interesting; story of an ice-queen with wide age-gap, about 18 years, between the 2 MC (Inga and Sadie). Very little angst between Inga and Sadie but some teary moments - so if you are as sappy as I am, good to have some tissues with you. Secondary characters were just as wonderful and Helmut definitely has my vote :) Adding ‘Visiting Austria’ in my bucket list :))

Solid 4 🌟

[Guerunche · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this was an interesting listen. See if any of this sounds familiar. Sadie, a young woman in her mid 20s, travels to a wealthy single person's (in this case, woman's) home in Austria to be an au pair for her children. Inga, a very strict, icy, beautiful woman in her mid-40s, has her children on a very regimented schedule where they are home schooled and playtime is considered frivolous. The kids initially play pranks on their new au pair, but Sadie soon wins them - and eventually their mother - over. Any wild guesses? :-)

So the similarities to The Sound of Music (sans the group breaking out into catchy tunes) kind of made me squirm initially because of the generally wholesome nature of the movie, in comparison to the very sexual nature of this book. That could have been intentional - who knows? - but it took a minute for me to settle into it. Even then, while it was admittedly very hot at times it all seemed to be a bit too easy. Narrator Gabra Zackman had to voice Inga's accent as a combination of German with some English influence (it was hit or miss, but that was tough to pull off) and the children all had German accents. Sadie was American so hers was easier to handle. Zackman's work on this was fine, but it didn't really grab me. It helped that I could picture Inga like the cover art because her voice wasn't one that would be considered appealing necessarily. I was able to listen to this through my library and I liked it okay, but probably not enough to buy it. 3.5 stars

[Kexx · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't quite work for me- the starchness (is there such a word?) of the main character came across in the writing- as well as the cover. Seemed a bit too much like The Sound of Music for my liking - and I missed the songs!

[Lisa R Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The bulk of the story is a rewrite of the Sound of Music, however there is only one incident of the family singing together.

A young women leaves America to work as an au pair in Austria. Hired for a year, she is working and living with a host and her three children. The women she is working for is recently separated from her husband (who left her for a younger women) and is a high powered business executive.

The story -
Austria, catholic single parent with wealth and standing, live-in nanny. The children trick the nanny when she first arrives, she wins them over. The mother is very strict and regimented (the children present themselves for inspection/introduction, they have workout sessions at 6:00 every morning, school work is paramount) but through the nanny’s influence the parent lightens up on the kids. The kids make a animated movie (instead of a puppet show) and the family and friends have a viewing that’s a rousing success. There is an attraction between the parent and the nanny. In a crisis moment the nanny goes back to see her mother (not the Mother Superior) to check if this relationship is ok. Her Mom says go for it, your old enough to make up your own mind. The parent (20 years older than her employee) and the nanny fall in love (just like in the movie).

The only twist is the parent/Mother is bi, the nanny is a lesbian, one of the children is gay, and, the parent and the nanny have been meeting in the parents bedroom for romantic liaisons for months. Julie Andrews (the nanny in the flick) never has sex before the wedding in the movie. Happily, we are spared that nonsense in this retelling.

I’d bet money many of this books audience have never seen “The Sound of Music” and I know many lesfic authors are writing clever retellings of old stories (fairy tales) with a lesbian slant, but is this a cleaver retelling or something else?

In the spirit of sisterhood I’m going with “cleaver retelling”, you decide.

[Lorraine Rusnack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sadie is trying step outside her comfort zone by working abroad for a year. Inga
Is trying to protect her children and her feelings from being hurt. The two are drawn to each other almost from the start. While Sadie is teaching the children Inga learns a few things too. Gabra Zachman has a warm and gentle voice that adds so much to the story. I love a good age gap romance and this one is excellent.

[CJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 *

[Best Lesfic Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

…or when The Sound of Music becomes a lesbian romance. Having seen The Sound of Music like 16.72 gazillion times, it was disconcerting, to say the least, to find it in this book.

Read the full review @ https://bestlesficreviews.blogspot.co...

[F. · Rating 1 out of 5]

A loose retelling of the Sound of Music. It was so terrible I had to give up on it.

[XR · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the gist of the story, but it all felt rushed. Sure physical attraction is instant, but when did the two actually spend enough time together to care more for one another? One moment Sadie's working with the kids, they take one weekend together with the family and she's suddenly in bed with Inga and then they're in love?

It reminded me of the Sound of Music, but a rushed and quick version... without the cool songs to go with it.

[lauraღ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Can a person not have layers? Tradition is a part of me, but so is rebellion.”

The Sound of Music, but make it modern and sapphic!! That's pretty much the summary for this romance, and I enjoyed it so much. Sadie gets a job in Austria as an au pair, looking after the education of two teens and a young child. Inga, their mother, is a gorgeous, commanding, ice-queen of a business woman who, after her separation from her husband, has a very strict sense of how her children should be brought up. That's pretty much as far as the SOM similarities go (I actually haven't seen that movie in uh. 15 years?) but the romance that follows, as they butt heads and attraction flares, is so so good.

There's aspects to this that aren't the most realistic, I suppose, but I quickly got over that in the face of how much I enjoyed the characters. Sadie is sweet and a little shy, but still has a backbone, and I liked how she fought to get closer to the kids and implement her own teaching methods. Her relationship with her mother is also a great part of her backstory and character, and I found it so touching. Inga as a character ticks ever single box that I have; I loved her so much, even when she was being stubborn and frustrating. I understood her perspective though, and even though she doesn't always handle things perfectly, it never gets to the point where I want to shake the characters because the conflict is dumb. They're both really mature, and acted like it. Also, without giving spoilers, I'm really appreciative that certain plotlines were handled believably, without making other characters into OTT villains or caricatures. 

I would have liked this to have burned a bit slower, given the age gap and the host/au pair dynamic. Not that they jumped into bed, not by any means, but slow burn is my fave thing, and I'd have really liked it here. That said, they had so much great chemistry and the steam was perfect, so I'm not complaining, lol.

Listened to the audiobook as read by Gabra Zackman, and really loved it!! This is one of those books where there was nothing that wowed me about the writing, but because it was performed so amazingly, it really helped me to enjoy it. Zackman has such a great voice, and idk how accurate her Austrian accents were, but Inga's voice in particular was 👌🏿✨😍. This was just super good, totally recommend it. I'm looking forward to reading more from Craig!

Content warnings: discussions of cancer.

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this one. I was intrigued by the reviews stating the similarities to the Sound of Music - I've never seen it, but this may have been a good thing in the long run as it kept things fresh for me.

I enjoy a good age-gap romance and this was a quick read, dealing with underlying historical issues sensitively. The additional storyline with the son was dealt with well.

My only real gripe with the book was the lack of in-depth sex scenes - just when they were getting good they were done, opting for a wake up next morning approach. This may be just what other people are looking for though.

I would definitely read Lily Craig again - I just need to find another one of her books with a storyline that appeals.

[currentlyreadingbynat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm the first to admit that I have a favourite trope - the ice queen. Inga fits the bill as a loveable ice queen, but I did not feel the chemistry of her and Sadie, plus the story felt a little superficial to me.
A decent read recommended to those that can't get enough of those ice queens like me. :)

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars. I read this because it was like 75 cents or something. The book was pleasantly surprising - great writing and I only found one error. It is like The Sound of Music loosely but overall it’s just a nice easy read. The plot felt a little flat as far as the level of angst because conflict seemed to be resolved quickly. The scenes between the two main characters were very fresh so that bumped up my rating. Also I don’t think the cover and title portray the contents of the book very well. It is an ice queen story but I think the other plot points shine through more than is implied.

[Katia M. Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought the paperback of this in June because I like ice queen and age gap stories. I also liked the cover, it reminded me a little bit of the pulp fiction lesfic covers back in the 50s and 60s like Ann Bannon's Beebo Brinker series. So I finally got around to reading it.

Unfortunately, this was almost a DNF for me. If I hadn't bought it and it had been KU, it would have been returned. It rubbed me the wrong way immediately. Sadie is an American who flies off to Austria to be an au pair for a year. She can't speak German. Thing is, to be an au pair in Austria, you have to provide a certificate of adequate German language skills. You don't have to be fluent, but Sadie can't even string two words together. The only reason she can do her job at all is that the entire family, including the six year old, speak pretty awesome English, even among themselves.

Sadie falls for her ice queen boss, Inga, who is less ice queen and more hurt/damaged wife whose husband ran off with a younger model, leaving her with 3 kids who were bullied at school about it while he plastered his exploits all over Instagram. I'd be a bit standoffish too.

Sadie also manages to get into Germany and France with her US passport without having to deal the any visa waivers or paperwork. She'd be registered as a resident of Austria after 90 days as an au pair, but that's not the same as having an EU passport and being able to travel unhindered over borders. Maybe I am being picky, but it just seemed unrealistic.

I felt the attraction between Sadie and Inga was pretty fast. It doesn't take them too long to end up in bed. I didn't feel I knew the characters deeply enough by this point, so I couldn't connect with their attraction. We do get some backstory, most often in the form of info dumps. Sometimes intense dialogue was broken up with a paragraph of info dumping. That detracted from what the characters were saying and made me skip through to find the dialogue in the prose. Sometimes we got a couple of pages of info dumping. A lot of it could have been cut entirely or shifted to snippets in action tags if absolutely needed. That would have ramped up the tension of a lot of scenes, especially those where Sadie and Inga had differing opinions or where they were exploring their attraction.

Back to the ice queen thing; fair enough, Inga is strict and has a routine, but she easily backs down and seemingly changes her ways very quickly. She does not fight to preserve her facade as a true ice queen would, imo.

Overall, I think this could have done with a fact check and a developmental edit to tighten up the writing, make the characters 3D, and the events more realistic.

[Rae Storey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I almost REALLY loved this book. But the colors were dull where the colors should have been punched in right up to the line. Marieke and Helmut, two of Inga's children, had more concrete personality than the main characters, Inga and Sadie. Inga was supposed to be an ice queen, but she was mostly just hurt and afraid to be vulnerable. I might call her a chilly queen. And Sadie, sweet sweet Sadie, lacks dynamic depth.

Ok, while that's all pretty negative, I still enjoyed the book. I enjoyed watching how Sadie helped Inca and her family find each other again. And I enjoyed the love that Inga came to accept from Sadie.

[Abiesha Abiola Budiman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fire & Ice

Sadie and Inga’s romance was a beautifully carved one. The incorporation of the interactions surrounding the children: Helmut, Marieke, and Lina, heightened the familial intimacy and warmth. Indeed, the positive portrayal of a woman - an ice queen filled with everything good, bad, and ugly - who was able to let the light in her guide her to someone suited to help her navigate the tumultuous traversing of life was enthralling from start to finish. Sadie’s fire and warmth was just enough to thaw the ice surrounding Inga’a heart.

Novels like these, I yearn for sequels. But, for now, I’ll relish in the beauty that was this read.

[Zingari · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading this it felt like I've read it before. The beginning was a little off putting/predictable for me, but it got better as the story went on. I found it hard to concentrate and got distracted multiple times through out, but it was saved by the level of maturity in these characters. Lily Craig could have easily fallen into multiple tropes, and taken the easy way out with petty arguments, but that wasn't the case and it was a breath of fresh air.

Also, I do wish there was something... warmer about Inga before the end. I craved a little more visible personal complexity.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be well written and I liked the characters. Especially Inga, who was ice queen-lite. I did find that the romance could have had a better foundation. Considering the circumstances (age gap, boss/employee) it seemed very rushed and that was a big draw back for me. But I did like how the story progressed from that point and enjoyed it overall. This was my first Lily Craig book, and I’ll probably pick up another one of her books soon. 3.5 stars.

[Mummy's Naughty Corner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this. There were a few moments that can be improved but it was very enjoyable. I liked the gradual thaw of Inga was nice to watch. I felt Sadie and her mum were very accepting straight away and I think the story could have done with a bit more of a chase in the beginning. I liked the way we saw Inga change and the family come together more.

[Mathias Eriksson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice story feelt a little rushed especially the ending

[Rey Hawke · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Paulina · Rating 4 out of 5]

.

I honestly enjoyed it more than I expected. I loved that it was a modern lesbian version of the sound of music and I'm completely in love with Inga. I wish there was more development before the main characters got together but still it was a funny light read. Perfect for holidays.

[charlotte, · Rating 3 out of 5]

(2.5)

[moxieBK · Rating 3 out of 5]

When She Thaws — Lily Craig (20 chapters) March 5-8, 2020

Note: This is female-on-female with sexy bits story. Move along if that makes you squeamish.

This story had an interesting premise, with an au pair going to Germany and falling in love with the host. The getting there could have been unique, but it wound up falling a little short.

Sadie, in her late 20’s, has reached a point in her life where after her mother's medical issue forces her to take a step back and analyze her life, she decides to become an au pair to a German family with three children. When she gets to Germany, she meets Inga and nothing is as it seems. Inga, an older woman, is harsh and strict and Sadie is laid back but approachable by the children. Sadie slowly peels the layers away from Inga. Sometimes the plot works, sometimes it doesn't, especially when it is hard to figure out how Inga comes to the conclusion she has. It makes sense later on, but the writer's approach is a bit rough.

There are a couple of sexy bits in the story, but it didn’t really add to the story so it can be skipped if not your couple o’ tea.

Somewhere after the first sexy bit and somewhere before the heart of the story pick up, I lost general interest in the story and felt icky about it. Icky about the plot, icky about the characters….icky all over, but I can’t really say what it was. After a while of reading through this part, the plot came out of this darkness and I was able to finish it in a happier state.

There was maybe one typo in this story, but it made me laugh, so no harm, no foul.

A decent read that I think many will like for its difference in the plot.

Three stars.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

When Sadie Powell travels to Austria to work as an au pair for a year, she finds she was not as prepared for this job as she thought. She's not ready for the uncooperative children, the strictness of their curriculum, nor their extremely attractive mother. Besides attractive, Inga Weber is also cold and aloof, even with her own children. But Sadie soon has her dropping her defenses and letting herself feel again.

This was an okay read. The beginning dragged a bit, but it was more interesting in the second half. I have to say, the first part of the story felt awkward and clunky. A lot of it seemed unrealistic, and I definitely did not buy the initial hookup. Inga is the stereotypical ice queen with the high-ranking job and the jerk ex-husband. And I was not convinced that she would risk a relationship with Sadie. There's a weird power dynamic there and I wish Sadie had been the one to make the first move, even though there was consent from both parties.

After I got past that weirdness, the second half of the book flowed more smoothly. After I accepted that Inga and Sadie were a thing, they were a really cute couple. There were great feelings talks and angst and sexy times. Their HEA also didn't seem super realistic to me, but fine.

Again, this was an okay read. It was not my cup of tea, but it might be yours. Would not recommend paying money for it, but if you can borrow it for free using Kindle Unlimited or something, go for it.

[Gayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sadie Powell, an au pair is hired to care for and teach the children of Inge Weber, the frosty, staid CFO of a large bank, and separated mother of:

• Helmut Weber, her eldest son, and at first glance, a bit of a malcontent, and

• Marieke Weber, her closed-up, rebellious teen aged daughter, and...

• Lina Weber, six years old, the youngest daughter, apparently unaffected by her mother's divorce.

Sadie travels from Chicago to Vienna to take the position as an au pair for the children of Inga Weber. Fräu Weber appears icy and unapproachable. The children have been affected by their parent's divorce and are distrustful of Sadie at first.

Sadie is immediately attracted to the buttoned-up Inga, but cannot see how her attraction will ever be mutual. Sadie is, after all, in Vienna to do a job, not to find a mate. She is determined to be all business.

There is angst and there are problems that arise between Sadie and Inga and between Sadie and the children. Will the passage of time change the dynamic among this group?

I really loved these characters! They were well-drawn and realistic! This story was crafted with care so that I felt like I was there, going through all the events and the emotions of the people in this book. The book was flawlessly edited and it flowed so easily!

[Evalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this up to a point but there are some issues that leaves this book with an unsatisfactory ending imo. First, Inga is a *fantastic* character with a lot of growth and I love to see it. Sadie however, is the complete opposite and doesn't do much if any character growth. She has a paranoia relationship breakdown 3/4 of the way through the book, runs off to the US with the excuse of "home sickness", comes back and it is never resolved, never actually proper addressed, just kinda half heartedly resolved by the separated-husband in a complete about-face. It's a quick unrealistic solution to the problem that is made worst by the fact that Sadie and Inga had been openly communicating about everything else up to that point.

[MissAlice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went for the Audible for this book and good gracious- that was top 3 best narrated book of the darn year!

Honestly, I don't have a clue if it was the writing or the narrating that made this book 10,000 stars for me, but some combination of them dropped my eyeballs right outta my head. An Austrian accent, age gap, deeper female vocal timbre, ice queen sunshine trope, power dynamic..... excuse me while I mop up the buckets of drool. And for the love of all that is holy, do not listen in your car with other people because those steamy scenes will fog your windows and pink your cheeks. 10/10 would recommend over and over and over! Buy it, rent it, borrow it right now- not a flaw to be found.

[Haywood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an A-tier novel, my only gripe with it is that it was too short, another 500 pages would have been bliss going forward from this ending but one can only hope.
The au pair role was a fun trope that I haven't encountered so far and especially not in a f/f romance novel. Sadie was sweet and Inga was just adorable, the kids also had a fleshed out personality that some novels of this length would've left in the wayside.
The story felt realistic and everything wasn't just fairytales and sunshine(though almost no drama either) it just worked and I'm gonna check out other novels by Lily Craig as this one really lived up to expectations.

[Janice H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story although it was unlikely to happen in my world but that made it fun. It was the Sound Of Music plot with a lesbian twist. I was so looking forward to a more robust ending. This is the second book that just plopped the ending down in one sentence without any real foundation or taking it beyond the final opportunity to make their relationship work. This was an age-gap romance that made feel deflated at the end and asking soooo many questions. I am going to try this authors other books on Audible since they are provided with my membership but I hope she does a better job ending those two romance stories.