It takes courage to share your secrets—and your heart . . . Adopted as a child by a tech billionaire, Wynter Bates knows nothing about her origins—or the world beyond being privileged, sheltered, and lonely. But she won’t let anything stop her from investigating who she is. Especially after a high-profile scandal involving her father’s past lands her on an island retreat under bodyguard Cullen Whelan's protection—in the guise of being his girlfriend . . .
A former military intelligence officer, Cullen figures protecting a pampered heiress will be easy. Posing as a couple is the safest strategy—until Wyn’s persistence and vulnerability spark his curiosity—and a reckless attraction neither can afford. More complicated, what Cullen knows about her past is a truth he can't tell. But as they get closer, wrenching revelations will force them to decide what to trust, who to forgive, and whether their growing love is enough to risk a future together.
Praise for Jamie Pope’s Hope Blooms
“An intensely emotional read. . . . Ultimately hopeful and romantic.” —Kirkus Reviews “Tender, exquisitely written . . . a poignant, uplifting story.” —Library Journal STARRED REVIEW “A powerful, sensitive novel about family, friendship, loss, and the power of love.” —RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars
“Beautifully written . . . a story you won’t forget.” —Kristan Higgins, New York Times bestselling author
Jamie Pope first fell in love with romance at thirteen when her mother placed a novel in her hands. She became addicted to love stories and has been writing them ever since. When she's not writing her next book, you can find her shopping for shoes or binge-watching shows.
I really wanted to love it! The couple is sweet together and I was excited for a follow-up to Mostly Sunny.....and this was definitely okay, no major problems except that there was SO much telling and explaining emotions - I found myself skimming through a lot to get to actual action or dialogue. I’ll definitely read more from the author, but this one was just another book for me.
If you've read 'Mostly Sunny' then you know it ended with Sunny finding out that her husband had located her unknown, long lost sister. A sister who grew up in the lap of privilege as the adopted daughter of a Tech Billionaire. In 'One Warm Summer' we quickly learn that things weren't as rosy as one would imagine.
After a failed kidnap attempt when she was a child, Wynter Bates is forced to live a lonely existence with rotating bodyguards, and no social life. Now an adult, she is a bit of a solitary recluse through circumstances, and without any friends to call her own. Determined to be more than the daughter of a Billionaire, she parlays her ability to speak several languages into a fulfilling job as a translator.
After the retirement of her long-time bodyguard, she is assigned Cullen Whelan and he is her shadow -- seen, but never heard. When a scandal involving her father breaks, he tasks Cullen with whisking her away and keeping her safe until it all blows over. Cullen has been instructed to tell her absolutely nothing, so she is kept in the dark about the actual circumstances of what is happening and when she will be able to return to her normal life.
Cullen takes her to his future retirement Compound where he lives with a group of retired ex-military people where they pose as a couple. Wynter quickly sees a different side of Cullen and herself and she comes into her own through her association with Cullen and his friends. I'll end my review here, just know that there are lots of twists, turns and revelations that totally shocked me! Read It!
Could not finish. I wanted to like this book SOOO bad. I think I still do. I appreciate where the author was taking this, and the plot was everything. We love a strong, healthy (VERY IRISH) hero who swoops in to save our intelligent but helpless damsel. And our protagonist is beautiful and wildly knowledgeable as a polyglot, which is another thing that makes me like her a lot. Unfortunately though I could not get beyond the subpar story-telling to get past about 10% of this book. It started off with all the right things and just got really bad out of nowhere. Again, not the plot, the plot held up nicely. It was the motion and transition of things that seemed unnatural and a bit stiff. One minute she’s walking in the park, and the next PAPARAZZI are taking her photos so much it’s blinding her just literal seconds after the scandal hit the airwaves. I could definitely see myself giving this another chance in the future though, and I would definitely read another book by this author because again, she has good ideas and strong characters.
One Warm Winter by Jamie Pope Liked the story line and enjoying it very much. Starts out with Winter and she's about 10 and she tries to keep safe but has memories of a woman trying to take her.... Then we jump forward to current day and she's been whisked off to an island by her security guard because her father, who she hardly knows is running for president and some news has hit the air waves... She doesn't understand a lot of it but the others in the family have left the states to lose themselves overseas. She knows her mother is not the one who gave her birth but the news says there is another child also-would be a sister to her. Love how Cullen takes care of her especially at the 'home'. Lots of graphic sexual scenes. He protects her and we find out about his past life also. Treasure the time my brother got to spend on the island before his passing, he was so very happy there. Love birthday gift Winter gives him and how they all travel afterwards to make amends and get closure... Like all the deatils, up to date news articles, real life experiences, PTSD, trauma scenes and travel. More secrets come to light and so unpredictable circumstances occur. Would enjoy other works by this author. Received this review copy from Kensington Books via Netgalley and this is my honest opinion. #OneWarmWinter #NetGalley
In Jamie Pope, One Warm Winter, this startling contemporary romance debut will overwhelm you with a whole lot of things. For Wynter Bates, she was adopted by a wealthy billionaire when she was a baby. And when she was little, someone tried to kidnap her, spewing false claims that she was her child. Now as an adult, she had grown up living in Washington D.C as a college professor as her father runs for president and a scandal had transpired in the news--someone leaked to the press about the love letters about an affair and a secret love child. Caught up in the middle, Cullen Whelan, Wyn's Irish bodyguard whisked her away to St. Thomas and wait for everything to die down. To this secret getaway to tropical paradise, both Cullen and Wyn pretend their loves to Cullen's friends who were former military personnel and spies. When she's brought into his world, they get to know each other better and get closer to each other as more news unfolded about the scandal, making Wyn wonder if it was the truth about her parentage or all a lie. For Wyn, she was an African-American woman live with privilege and the riches, while Cullen was the opposite of her, an Irish lad who had battle scars from the war and from having a rough childhood with his father's beatings. Although Cullen sworn to protect her, he didn't want to fall in love with her and have no sex with her. But with a chance encounter together on the island made magic together between them. Between Cullen's father's ill health in Ireland and the D.C. scandal winding down with a shocker about Wyn's older sister, things come ahead to them to discover their true feelings for each other to have a go with it and have their own paradise in the States.
Billionaire heiress and her bodyguard in a fake relationship is normally the type of thing I would immediately like. Unfortunately, in this particular novel, it fell a bit short in a few areas for me. It started off great and I was initially intrigued but I found it to be pretty slow moving a few chapters in. It did seem a bit long to me but that may have been because I had lost interest in the middle.
Wynter and Cullen was a nice enough pairing and while I can't say I was invested in them, I was satisfied with their HEA. The whole scandal/mystery was more intriguing for me, even though the plot was laid out pretty quicky.
The writing was solid though and despite not necessarily liking this particular novel, I'd read more novels from Jamie Pope.
Wynter Bates is the adopted daughter of a billionaire presidential hopeful. She is a professor at Georgetown and a linguistics expert who also translates government documents. She is a quiet woman who happens to have a body guard named Cullen Whelan. Her life is pretty routine, until one day she is driving herself to work, she refuses to let Cullen judge her music choices, when she hears about her father’s mistress and a missing child over the radio. Suddenly, her life seems out of control. Her parents become MIA and Cullen is told to get Wynter to a save location. Cullen doesn’t hesitate and takes Wynter to his home on St. Thomas, where he and several other “misfits” live in paradise.
Cullen was former military, turned professional body guard with some dangerous jobs between the two. Wynter was suppose to be Cullen’s last job before he retired to the island for good. Raised in Ireland by a drunken father, his mother killed at a young age, and his younger siblings taken to the country to raised by an aunt, Cullen was frequently abused by his father. As a young teen, Cullen ran away and lived on the streets until he was old enough to join the Army.
Nobody brings someone to the island compound. It is their personal retreat, but Cullen brings Wynter and they tell everyone they are in a serious relationship. They are very awkward around each other and the struggle is real, but as Cullen sees Wynter blossom under the friendship of his “family” the two begin to feel REAL feelings. But Cullen knows this can’t go anywhere because Wynter is too good for him.
I really enjoyed this story. I loved all of the characters and their flaws. I felt their hope and their frustrations.
I was provided an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The Book Bar Gives This One🍹🍹🍹
Is it possible to know who you are, if it is not clear where you come from?
We learn in the beginning that Wynter is adopted by tech billionaire with political aspirations. Although her father adorns her and showers her with the best of everything, he neglects to give her the only thing she has really wanted…HIM. As a child she experiences a near kidnapping attempt and her father spares no expense to have her protected round the clock.
Cullen, ex-military-special forces has had enough security details that have been just as dangerous as being on the front line. After his last assignment, he thinks retirement may come sooner than expected. When he gets the call for Wynter’s detail, he figures guarding a spoiled rich girl is just what he needs for his last hoorah……Oh Cullen😱 this one just may be the most difficult one yet! Wynter has always known there was some family secret that shadowed her, but when the media leaks a scandal surrounding her father and parentage, she seeks answers from him only to get radio silence. It is Cullen, that keeps her safe during this time whisking her away to a disclosed island under the disguise of lovers. This get away gave them a chance to get to know each other on a another level.
When the details surrounding the family’s truth is finally exposed it is painful and yet heartwarming.
While I did enjoy this read and it was well worth the time, I would’ve liked a little more detail of Wynter’s and her father’s backstory.
It takes courage to share your secrets—and your heart . . .Adopted as a child by a tech billionaire, (linguist/professor) Wynter Bates knows nothing about her origins—or the world beyond being privileged, sheltered, and lonely. She was told she was adopted from an orphanage in South Africa, born a crime. But she won’t let anything stop her from investigating who she is. Especially after a high-profile scandal involving her father’s past, taking a child from a mistress, lands her on an island retreat under (bodyguard/Special Forces) Cullen Whelan's protection—in the guise of being his girlfriend . . .A former military intelligence officer, Cullen figures protecting a pampered heiress will be easy. Posing as a couple is the safest strategy to keep his friends on the island accept her—until Wyn’s persistence and vulnerability spark his curiosity—and a reckless attraction neither can afford. More complicated, what Cullen knows about her past is a truth he can't tell. But as they get closer, wrenching revelations will force them to decide what to trust, who to forgive, especially when she finds out he told his friends who she really was and they learn she has a sister Sunny. Is their growing love is enough to risk a future together?
took too long on island and too little on relationship with her sister Sunny
I liked this book. Anytime I can get hooked and not want to put a book down in the frst chapter it's going to be good.,right? Wynter is a young girl when we first meet her. Then we meet her again as an adult. As a child she lives a shelter life and has all the best care and opportunities one could have. She thinks that her parents have her this protected because she was almost abducted once. As an adult we see that she is a very private and quiet person, which you'd expect seeing how she was Her most recent bodyguard Cullen notices that she doesn't really make contact with anyoe besides where she works, and of course, her parents. Suddenly there is a scandle about her father and she suddenly finds her self completly alone. Well of course except for Cullen. Okay so at this point in the story I am hooked and can't wait to see what happens. But I am completly disappointed. The end is okay but the fact that just as you get into the meat of the book the author just ... I don't know but the story stops being interesting and it was a struggle to finish. I did finish it. It wasn't my favorite book of the year but it was good. I would recommend it to my friends as we tend to have different thoughts on what is a good book.
One Warm Winter by Jamie Pope is the second book in her series, Sunny and Warm, but can be read as a standalone. Under mysterious circumstances, Wynter Bates was adopted from a South African orphanage. She was raised in a wealthy family with every luxury one can imagine. However, she is humble, kind and hardworking. Due to credible threats, she has always had bodyguards. Her current watcher is quietly brooding, ex special ops Cullen Whelan. Cullen left Ireland as a young man and never looked back at his dysfunctional home, the source of abuse and pain. He quietly kept Wynter safe, while fighting his attraction to her. When information about her father becomes public, he whisks Wynter away to his haven, an island paradise where she will be safe. He introduces her as his girlfriend, wishful thinking? This story has little tension related to the mystery but has good character development and our two main leads have sweet chemistry. I enjoyed how Ms. Pope resolved the plot, and it was nice seeing Sunny and her husband from the first book. Entertaining story.
So chapter 1 had me hooked. We meet Wynter as a young girl and then we meet her as an adult. As a child, she was sheltered and given the best care/opportunities behind the scenes. She believes she was almost abducted and that is why her parents had her so protected and closed off from people. As an adult, she is a very quiet and private person. Cullen, she newest body guard over the last year notices she really doesn’t have contact with anyone outside of work and her parents. Then a scandal breaks out about her father and she is abandoned by her parents and has no one to turn to. Good thing she has a wonderful bodyguard in Cullen. And for me, this is when the story goes downhill and I skipped many chapters until I finished the story.
This is my first book by this author. While I didn’t love it, I do recommend it to the right person. You might enjoy it more then I did.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. A billionaire presidential candidate has a secret he hides from the world, including his daughter, Wynter, a college professor. To protect her from his past, he hires a bodyguard, Cullen, a former military intelligence officer. When the secret of Wynter’s family is leaked to the press, Cullen takes Wynter to the safest place he knows, his home on St. Thomas. Safe from the rest of the world, they can finally be themselves. This is a sweet, light, book that’s a perfect beach read. The warm carefree life on St Thomas, was the perfect contrast to the hard truths they had to face in the cold worlds they came from in DC and Belfast. I thought the dialogue in the book was a bit simple, and not what I would expect from a college professor or military officers. Overall, I enjoyed this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
A life of "Privilege", is no life when lies abound. From the age of ten, Wynter knew something was missing. When she learned of her sister, she felt that her sister was better off for having known their mother, even though her sister had struggles and survived foster care. It was great to see the sisters were each searching for the other and the immediate bond they had upon meeting. Cullen had his issues too. Wynter help Cullen through his and taught him to be more mellow. Cullen saw Wynter through her trials. They each had the other to lean on and lift them up. I now look forward to reading Jazz and King's story followed by Jack's and of course darby's if there is one.
Cullen is the latest bodyguard hired to protect Wynter, an heiress who isn't sure what exactly the family secret is. She knows it's about her. She knows she's adopted. She knows someone tried to kidnap her at least once. Her father refuses to discuss the issue, other members of the family have disappeared, and now her father is running for President. BUT, there's a scandal out there. This one has a predictable plot, steamy scenes, and to be honest, it was fun reading. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
This series is amazing, I absolutely loved Mostly Sunny and couldn't wait this book to come out! This book was just as amazing as the first. I couldn't get enough I didn't want to out it down or for it to end!! I am so glad that Sunny and Wynter got their HEA!!! Can't wait for the next book by Miss Pope!!
It was warmth at first sight for both Wyn and Cullen- but they kept it to themselves for the year that he was her bodyguard. I enjoy every one of Jamie Pope's books, so I eagerly awaited this book as it was the conclusion to Sunny's quest to find her unsuspecting sister, Wyn.
DFN'd at 51% because the writing was just not good, and not just because there were too many glaring errors. The main characters were a super flat Mary Sue and Gary Stu, and this book had a severe case of telling, not showing, something you'd find in middle school novels. This made the "steamy" parts boring and embarrassing to read.
Wow! Jamie Pope did a wonderful job creating and writing Wynter and Collen's story. I was cheering for this couple through all of their ups and downs. Great follow up to Mostly Sunny.
Not a bad read. The beginning was a very slow start. I struggled through the first few chapters. Sometimes happy endings are OK. Fairly enjoyable. Not really my cup of tea but I don't dislike it. Better than some other short books I've read lately.
I liked the first book by this author; this one took me awhile to get into (maybe because I couldn't connect to the characters to the first book) but I did end up enjoying the story.
The story kept me reading but the ending was a little of a letdown. Just a really, why keep that a secret? But I loved the main characters and the island group.
This was a GOOD BOOK! I read it to two days it was just that good. Just when I thought that I had figured everything out I was thrown for a loop. I would really like to see stories featuring Cullen's friends from St. Thomas. What happens between Jazz and Kingsley, Jack and Darby?
What a sweet tender love story of two broken souls. I enjoyed the way the story developed, Cullen protected her professionally and secretly fell in love as did she. I am enjoying this author, this is the second book I have read, looking forward to more
I was provided an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I very much enjoyed this story but I felt that the true nature of Wynter’s story deserved more detail than it received. By the time we got to hear the full story, it felt rushed and forced. It deserved more time and care. I liked Wyn and her personality but would have liked to see more of her finding herself outside of her usual setting as well.
Is it possible to know who you are, if it is not clear where you come from?
We learn in the beginning that Wynter is adopted by tech billionaire with political aspirations. Although her father adorns her and showers her with the best of everything, he neglects to give her the only thing she has really wanted…HIM. As a child she experiences a near kidnapping attempt and her father spares no expense to have her protected round the clock.
Cullen, ex-military-special forces has had enough security details that have been just as dangerous as being on the front line. After his last assignment, he thinks retirement may come sooner than expected. When he gets the call for Wynter’s detail, he figures guarding a spoiled rich girl is just what he needs for his last hoorah……Oh Cullen😱 this one just may be the most difficult one yet!
Wynter has always known there was some family secret that shadowed her, but when the media leaks a scandal surrounding her father and parentage, she seeks answers from him only to get radio silence. It is Cullen, that keeps her safe during this time whisking her away to a disclosed island under the disguise of being lovers. This get away gave them a chance to get to know each other on a another level.
When the details surrounding the family’s truth is finally exposed it is painful and yet heartwarming.
While I did enjoy this read and it was well worth the time, I would’ve liked a little more detail of Wynter and her father’s backstory.