SLOW

We're chapters in before the two main characters even meet, but I will say they were an exciting couple of chapters. However, from there, everything is just slow. We have this incredible religious debate between the characters that I personally could have done without.

I found Mallory to be pretty immature despite her independent career. She constantly wanted to change Michael, expecting him to change for her. She felt that she knew what was best for him, because her own marriage failed. I did feel she redeemed herself at the end, but it took forever to get there.

** ARC received from Netgalley **

*** 2.5 - 3 Disappointing Stars ***

Under the Northern Lights by S.C. Stephens begins with a young woman named Mallory. She is a professional wildlife photographer and decides to take a trip to Alaska to get some nature shots. Soon her trip takes a turn for the worst. . . a disastrous storm comes out of nowhere and her plane crash lands.

Tired, scared, and injured she fears the worst. . .
Till she is saved by a handsome stranger, named Michael.

He takes care of her, tends to her wounds. And when she is better he will take her back home.
What started as friendship turns into more. One they least expected.

Michael can't feel. With a past he would rather forget he closes himself off from the world. That is until Mallory comes crashes into his life. Quite literally.

. . .

I am a fan of S.C. Stephens writing, and was excited to read Under the Northern Lights, but what bugged me about this book was the amount of religious aspect that was thrown at us readers from the very first page. It dragged the majority of the book, and was very heavy on the insta-love.

This book was not at all what I expected from SC Stephens. I had previously read the Thoughtless series and loved it! The characters were multi-dimensional and the plot was well-developed. In my opinion this book had none of that. After Mallory's plane crashes and Michael saves her from a wolf pack attack at just the right time, she finds herself stranded at his isolated cabin for the entire winter. And as predicted, they fell in insta-love. Now I get that living in close quarters and having to work to survive can facilitate that, but this happened almost immediately. And it seemed for no reason. Mallory adapted extremely well to being off the grid and fell into an easy life of chopping wood and fetching water. Aside from the occasional bear and a night lost in a snow storm, life seemed pretty easy. Michael, of course, was living in the middle of nowhere due to circumstances that had happened 5 years prior. I was mildly interested in what had happened and when revealed my thought was "THAT'S what made him move to Alaska off the grid?" All in all, it wasn't my cup of tea. This story has been done before and I knew exactly how it would end after the first couple of chapters. I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

There’s something about a survival story that always piques my interest. Give me a survival story that is written by one of my favorite authors and I am over the moon.

Nature is the most unpredictable, formidable adversary. Let’s be honest, you would have to be a brave person to fly solo to a remote location to photograph wildlife, and Mallory Reynolds was definitely a brave woman. Despite her family’s concerns, she was living her life the way she wanted to and pursuing her life’s passion. Her bravery was put to the test when her plane crashed, leaving her seriously injured, cold, alone, and in an area that could be rife with animals looking for easy prey.

S.C. Stephens did a great job of describing every detail in this book. I felt as though I was right there alongside Mallory as she fought to keep herself alive. Even when doubts crept in with the gravity of her situation, her faith and her love of her family and her life kept her from just succumbing to the elements and her injuries. But luckily, she wasn’t as alone in the wilderness as she had assumed.

Michael Bradley was a man of few words, but then again, he was accustomed to living in complete isolation. He was definitely a welcome sight for Mallory. He took her back to his cabin, tended to all of her injuries, and took care of her. Mallory was more than a little curious to know more about the man who saved her life. What would make a man in his thirties want to live all by himself, essentially cut off from all human contact? I wanted to know, too.

I was settled into the book, watching the characters develop a comfortable routine and camaraderie together. It was easy to become invested in the characters and their story. They were likable, and I found myself rooting for them very early on.

Under the Northern Lights was a slow-burning romance. The author took her time to develop the relationship between the characters. I always enjoy the anticipation that comes with a slower paced romance. I prefer to witness the interactions between the characters, the push and pull that helps to build the chemistry. This book handled it just right.

Really enjoyed this book it is something a little different set in the beautiful Alaskan wilderness.
Perfect read for a cold snowy day. I would recommend going in blind

I have seen some comments about the religion in this book. Putting in to perspective what happens to the lead character I think she has a right to believe in whatever she wants. It doesn’t distract from the book.

Mallory is on her way to the Alaskan wild. She does that every year. She goes up there to take pictures of wild animals. That's her job and her passion.

But this year the weather is not on her side - an unforseen storm makes her crash the plane.

She has to fight injuries, bears, wolves, and the horrible cold for a very dangerous while. But then she's saved by Michael. He heard the plane go down and made his way through the snow to see what's what.

He's been living out here for five years.

But why?

Mallory is fascinated by the man. She doesn't want to ask him, but since they have to stay in his cabin until spring, she might get him to talk about his life .... and she might fall for him - but he's never going to leave this place - or can she convince him to start living again?

WHAT WiLL HAPPEN TO MALLORY & MICHAEL?
WILL THERE BE A HEA?

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I'm such a huge #KellanKyle fan - he's still my number one book boyfriend of all time - so anything that follows in his footsteps will have a hard time with me ... But I will definitely try ... almost anything.

I'm the biggest hater of anything to do with religion! And since I unfortunately read some reviews of this book on goodreads, I was pretty sure I was going to hate this story.

And yeah, the praying and touching-her-cross-necklace starts pretty early into the story and it pretty much never stops - it only gets worse once she tries to find out how Michael lost his faith .... I didn't like it. Not one bit.

BUT - I also really wanted to keep on reading because I wanted to know why Michael checked out of his old life and what happened to him and how they would fall for each other and how the story would end.

It was hard - there was a lot of praying and faith talk. It would've been too much for me with almost any author, but it's a book by Kellan's mom and it was somewhat exciting here and there, so I didn't want to stop reading. But I constantly felt like some missionary wanted to recruit me for their cult. Ewww.

But when we look past the whole faith sh*t. The story wasn't really all that amazing either. Nothing I haven't read in dozens of wilderness/snowed-in romance books before. Yes, it definitely had its exciting and suspensy and dangerous and romantic and heartbreaking and adorable and fun moments. But I was expecting so much more. So much more emotion and love and surprise. There's almost nothing here. No real sexiness, just some church-camp kind of tame kissing. The whole quiet and serene atmosphere has this 'holy' kind of feel to it. Ugh.

The end was better - once Mallory finally leaves, it got a bit better. I even cried some tears.☺

If I had to say anything about how this book would be sold/marketed, I would either sell it exclusively as a Christian Romance (ewww). Or have a very atheist editor go through it again and remove most of that praying and god stuff and add a bit more excitement and love and chemistry, maybe even a few chapters from Michael's POV.

OK. I don't want to make future readers run away screaming. Please read this book. It's a pretty ok snow adventure romance thingy. There were definitely good moments. But for me, today, there was just not enough to fall in love with this book and the people in it. Sorry.

► UNDER THE NORTHERN LIGHTS was a sweet & exciting Alaska snow romance! Run to your nearest amazon for your own Michael!

... another thing that bothered me - and it's just me being weird again, I know that ...

Some authors use expressions that they learned back home, from grandma etc. and it's totally ok to use them in your books, BUT if you do, I think only one character should use them, not all of them. Especially when they're strangers from different parts of the country and haven't grown up together!
In this case (like in all of her books) it was EVEN STILL & SO LONG AS. Ugh, I hate these two expressions!

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC to read and give my honest opinion.

Mallory Reynolds Is a photographer flying herself to a remote location in Alaska to photograph wild game when her plane stalls then crashes. She is rescued by a mysterious mountain man, Michael Bradley and months ensue.... their ordeal, stuck in the winter on this mountain until spring. Michael is a man struggling with a past and a disbelief. Mallory is a woman with strong beliefs and together they learn to survive. This was a enlightening read, with some powerful themes of faith and love.


What did I like? This is a story of faith. Everyone lives with trials and tribulations that are unique to themselves, so this one shows us that we can make it through things, we just need that belief. Being stuck in the wilderness at God,s mercy and the trials these two go through are heart felt and powerful. It kind of reminded me of The Shack.

Would I buy this book? Yes, I happen to love this author and this is definitely a book I'd refer to many of my friends. The only time faith is done with us is when our last breath leaves us.

Thoughts for the author? I haven't noticed the author going into the faith direction before this read but I liked it. Four stars of faith here. This was an incredible book.

I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Looking at the cover and reading the description, I thought I'd really enjoy this. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case at all. The writing felt amateurish, the relationship seemed to develop out of nowhere, Mallory was fairly annoying as main characters go, and the "scary moments" didn't pack any kind of punch. I was thoroughly let down on all counts. I just kept thinking to myself, "I've read fan fiction very, very similar to this," and I wanted to put the book down and go read that fan fiction again.

This was a big swing and a miss for me.

SC Stephens, is a go to author for me, so naturally I went into this not knowing what to expect. First thing, I went to Colorado over Christmas and I am so glad that I did not read this before my flights. As a wildlife photographer, one has to go to where the wildlife is and for Mal, that was Alaska. Alone and with a plan she sets out to capture these creatures in their natural habitat. Danger is waiting an unsuspecting Mallory, but she forges on, into the sky.
The plane crash was told in vivid detail and you really were afraid for Mallory. But yet I applauded her spirit to go and live her dream. Facing death with little more than her backpack, gun and her faith, Mal, has to survive one night and then go in search of help.
Michael, is a social recluse and all alone in his Alaskan wilderness. Tired of the world and it's people constantly letting him down Michael, leaves a career as a physician and the streets of New York. He is on a mission to have little to no contact with people again. His reasoning is solid, in his mind and he believes he is far enough out to accomplish just this. Until, one day he sees smoke rising into the Alaska wilderness . He sets out to see what has interrupted his exile. Finding Mallory, hurt and in danger, he rescues her from the very wilderness that they both love so much.
I would classify this story as NA to YA story more along the action and adventure line. There is innuendo, but nothing graphic. This is a beautiful story of two people in dire circumstances that lean on each other as a way to survive. Both Michael and Mallory, are injured in different ways. Michael, is broken by a single traumatic event in his life 5 years ago. And Mallory, her body is beaten and she is away from everyone she loves and is worried about her family thinking she is dead. Her spirits are low but her faith never weavers.
This story for me, was about finding your courage and strength you didn't know you had. It's about overcoming things keeping you from your happiness. Choosing to live when it would be easy to just lay down and die. Faith, plays a big role in this story and it was quite refreshing to see a book with a clear message, that was not beating it down your throat.

Exciting adventure for Mallory turns dangerous after her plane crash. I enjoyed this part of the book as it was filled with drama, imagery she excitement.

Second half of the book, unfortunately Michael's part, just didn't resonate with me at all.

This story is beautiful. I'm addicted to a slow burn romance. I don't want people who were crazy about Thoughtless to go into this blind. It's a completely different style of writing. I love it though when an author branches out. Personally, I don't have a problem when a storyline involves religion. I do think it could've been more evident in the blurb. I enjoyed reading and I look forward to whatever S.C. Stephens brings us in the future.

My rating is a 3.5

This was the reclusive hero story that I've been wanting. Finally a hero that is reclusive not because he has a disability or is misunderstood by his community but a hero who has lived through a tragedy and gave up on humanity. Decided to leave civilization to live off the grid and survive off the land. This was actually a really refreshing read. Michael's past still haunts him but living alone only having to be accountable for himself is what he needed to survive. Going to a crash site to scavenge for plane parts he never imagined there would be a survivor. And if Mallory is anything it's a survivor. What I loved about this story was the survival aspect. It wasn't just over once these two get together. No there are many occurrences while living in the wilderness that these two come to grips with their immortality even then that's still not enough to make Michael ever want to leave the seclusion for the hustle and bustle of civilization even if it means letting Mallory go. This is definitely slow burn and slightly angsty. The bond that grows between these two is really organic and not forced. I enjoyed this story and was thrilled with how it all came together.

Mallory is a photographer who likes to be lost in the forest to take the best pictures. It does not matter that no one of her Family accept her job, until something bad happens and she is lost.
UTNL is a slow really slow book, nothing really happens that we are catching or breathe besides the wild animals. The relationship between Mallory and Michael is unbelievable and lovely, but the reason why Michael could not be her was weak just saying.

I really thought that would be more after she goes back to her and the is The End.

Mallory's plane crashes in the Alaskan wilderness and she's left wondering how long she can go on with her meager supplies and the injuries she sustained. During a scary encounter with some wolves, a man, Michael, appears and takes her to his remote cabin to recuperate and wait until warmer weather. The story focuses on the remote life and the type of relationship that develops between Mallory and Michael. This was a page Turner for me as I was eager to find out what developed between the two. Some reviewers mention the religious aspect in the book. While religion does come up, it is brief and I didn't feel that it was a strong or distracting push of particular values.

Under the Northern Lights starts off with a bang and will keep you captivated from the very first page. Under the Northern Lights follows the story of Mallory and Michael. Mallory's passion in life is her photography. She loves seeing nature and animals in their natural habitat. Every year she journeys deep into Alaska. Everything has always gone to plan until this last trip. The unexpected happens and causes her plane to crash. Mallory suddenly finds herself injured, alone and vulnerable to the Alaskan wilderness. Just as Mallory's worst fears come to light, Michael enters the picture. This mysterious mountain man saves her life and gives her shelter until it's safe for Mallory to return home. Mallory and Michael are stuck together and have to make the most of their situation. Fate put these Mallory and Michael together and soon an unforgettable bond forms. When Spring comes, will Mallory be able to return to the life she once knew or will she throw it all away for the mysterious mountain man, Michael??? There's only one way to find out....

Under the Northern Lights is an extremely well written tale of survival and hope. From the moment I met Mallory, I was hooked. Her story gripped me instantly. I felt like I was experiencing her pain and despair right along with her. I was on pins and needles, wondering how her story was going to play out. It was exciting and intense and definitely had me burning through the pages. Michael was also a very intriguing character. I wanted to know why he lived in isolation? Why did he choose to stay in Alaska? How did he learn to survive all on his own? He was complicated and guarded and I for one couldn't wait to see his walls crumble.

I loved the slow burn and friendship between Mallory and Michael. I loved the feeling of hope despite the intense circumstances. I loved the sense of survival and seeing what you can accomplish when you really put your mind to it. My only complaint was that I felt like the ending of the story was a bit rushed. I would have liked to have seen more from Mallory's return home and how she was adjusting to life back in civilization. I would have also enjoyed getting Michael's point of view during the time that they were separated. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled with the way things turned out, I just wanted a little more from the last few chapters of the book. 

Overall, Under the Northern Lights was an enjoyable read.

Forced to live with a stranger, scared for her life and missing her family Mallory is awakened by the fact that she survived a plane crash. The burly mountain stranger lived in a remote isolated part of Alaska. Mallory learned to live a simpler life without the common luxuries.

This story was a pleasant change of pace from SC Stephens other books. I’m familiar with the Thoughtless series, the Conversion series, and the Furious Rush books. This book is nothing like those. This is a breathe of fresh air. It’s unique and doesn’t fit the typical formulaic writing of a romance.
SC Stephens wrote a beautiful story depicted with illustrious words. I felt the snow, I felt the danger, I felt the pain, and I felt the passion. She had me enveloped in her words hugging me tightly within the pages.

This was a book about two characters surviving the harsh winter storm in Alaska. While stranded for months in a cabin the chemistry between them blossomed. The subtle innuendos of desire reminds me of simpler times when people had very little distractions. Living off the land with the basics and no outside influences helped enhance the mood.

They built a solid foundation of friendship trusting in each other. They worked together as a well oiled machine. They developed a partnership of shared roles and chores.

I enjoyed the balance of surviving and bonding. The transitions were smooth. While this was written from Mallory’s perspective I felt Michael expressed himself well. I liked that this story had no supporting characters it simply focused on these two individuals with no outside disturbances or drama. Focusing on two characters in an isolated environment allowed the reader an in-depth access to reach inside their souls. Removing all outside influences and focusing on the basics stripped these characters to their rawest form.

I love the slow steady pace of the story. The dangerous activities that they encountered was typical for those living in an isolated area populated by wild animals. I love everything about this story.

I was given this book for free to provide an honest review. I must say that this was one beautiful story, a fantastic book! Once started I could not put it down. The author paints a truly realistic picture which makes the reader feel scared, teary eyed and in love at the right moments. The interaction between the main characters is too sweet and I kept on trying to think of a way how these two could end up together in their impossible situation. Although I never would want to end up in that situation, I almost felt jealous of the peace and quiet in their remote world! Recommend this!

It was a very slow book. To much detail and to be honest it was not interesting to me and I usually love this type of story. Nice try though but I can't rate it any higher.

Generally, I avoid books written in first person. Due to the description, I made an exception with this title and I'm glad I did! The author evoked such emotion in the characters. I enjoyed the story line, although it finished a bit too quickly for me. It was a great read and a wonderful way to end my day!

I have been a fan of S.C. Stephens since Kellan Kyle (I mean who hasn't been), so of course I was excited to start a new book from her.

This book, much like some of her others, is a slow burn. But, I actually enjoy that- sometimes rushed storylines are too much too soon. There were some emotional moments that really caught me up. I enjoyed this book a lot. It is a beautiful story about survival, faith, and love.