The time it was about Caged in Winter

I think I’ve made it perfectly clear that I’m a huge fangirl for Brighton Walsh.  I’ll brag forever that I’ve known her for a while, been able to read her early stuff, and lovingly refer to her as my nCBB.  When I saw that she was getting published, I was so excited for her and basically told her that I was going to have her on the blog as much as possible.  I may or may not have invited myself onto this tour.

Before we get to the awesome guest post that Brighton indulged me with, let’s check out her book.

In this emotional and sexy New Adult debut from Brighton Walsh, the only thing more frightening than commitment is hope……

Aspiring chef Cade Maxwell is immediately, viscerally attracted to Winter Jacobson. But it’s not her mouthwatering curves he’s drawn to—it’s the strange emptiness in her eyes. When Cade saves her from a drunken customer with grabby hands, he’s shocked at her response……

Winter doesn’t need Cade’s help. After a lifetime of getting by on her own, she’s happy to rely on herself. She’s exactly seventy-six days away from graduating college, and if she can hold it together that long, she’ll finally be able to rise above the crappy hand she was dealt.

But now, every time she turns around, Cade is there, ready to push her, smile at her, distract her from her plans. Winter knows she can’t afford to open up—especially to a man she’s terrified to actually want….

Sounds good, right? {It totally is.}

When Stacee started tossing out ideas to me on what she wanted me to talk about on the blog, we went through several before one really clicked. When she mentioned doing something on Cade and Winter’s top dates if money wasn’t an issue, I knew that was the winner. Who doesn’t want to think up dream dates, amirite?

Without even really thinking about it, I had Cade’s answer. He’s not complex, when it comes down to it. What he loves most beyond his family and Winter is cooking. It’s been his dream to travel to Italy and train at a restaurant there. Getting two out of those three things he loves most at the same time would be a no-brainer for him. He’d jump at the chance to hop on a jet and take Winter to Italy. No place specifically. I think he’d want to wander a bit (dream dates don’t have to end, right?!). Rent a tiny car that he can barely fit into and roam the back roads. Find a little bistro in Venice maybe, and set it up ahead of time so he and Winter could assist in the kitchen (which they’d totally let him do because he has buckets of money to throw at them). He’d get much more satisfaction from cooking for Winter than having their food prepared for them. Cooking is very sensual for Cade, and he loves sharing it with her. I imagine after all the cooking together—the touching and tasting and brushing behind each other while working in the kitchen—they’d head back to a hotel (this he wouldn’t be picky about, so long as it had a bed. And a couch. And a shower.), and…I don’t know. Probably watch TV until they fell asleep or something. ;)

Whereas Cade’s ideal date was extravagant and over the top, Winter’s would be much less elaborate. She doesn’t need much…she’s happy with just Cade and that’s about it. Since it’s boring to say they’d go out to eat and head back home to…watch a movie *ahem*, especially since money isn’t an issue, I’ll dig a little deeper. Where Cade has wanted to travel to Italy, Winter has wanted to travel, period. Her life was segregated to just two areas of the world, and she’s desperate to see what else is out there. I think she’d like to check out one of the places she’s never been. Maybe Maine or South Carolina or The Florida Keys. Somewhere quiet, where they could be alone, and she could just absorb everything with Cade by her side.

Now, if they were planning dream dates for the other person, that changes the answer a bit. Cade wouldn’t be too over the top for her because she’s not an over the top kind of person. Considering her history, I think he’d take her someplace she never got to go to as a kid. A fair or a carnival, maybe. Do all the traditional stuff a kid loves to do—ride the ferris wheel, win her a stuffed animal, eat too much greasy food. And then the stuff only grown ups do—like feel her up on top of that ferris wheel…

If Winter planned a date for Cade where money wasn’t an option, I think she’d do something very similar to what Cade would want to do for himself. She knows how much he wants to visit Italy, what his dream is, so I think she’d take him there, but her focus would be on getting him one-on-one time with a chef instead of on them cooking together. Let Cade spend the day shadowing the other chef while Winter watched—because, let’s be real, it’s not a hardship for anyone to watch Cade in his chef’s whites, sleeves rolled up and tattoos peeking out, while he’s cooking.

Now that I’ve shared their dream dates, how about you? If you could go anywhere or do anything—money and time aren’t an issue!—where would you go/what would you do?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brighton Walsh spent nearly a decade as a professional photographer before deciding to take her storytelling in a different direction and reconnect with her first love: writing. When she’s not pounding away at the keyboard, she’s probably either reading or shopping—maybe even both at once. She lives in the Midwest with her husband and two children, and, yes, she considers forty degrees to be hoodie weather. Her home is the setting for frequent dance parties, Lego battles, and more laughter than she thought possible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Huge thanks to Brighton and Jessica for letting me push my way onto this blog tour.  Make sure you’re subscribing to Brighton’s newsletter, following her on Twitter, liking her Facebook page and adding all of her books to your TBR shelf on Goodreads.

Caged in Winter was released on 11/4/14.  Buy it at: Barnes and Noble | Amazon | iBooks | Kobo

Now.  Can’t wait to get your greedy hands on a copy of Caged in Winter?  Berkley is offering up 10 {TEN!} signed copies.  Giveaway is US only.

**Good Luck!!**

a Rafflecopter giveaway