A Rivals to Lovers, STEM-focused Romance for Everyone Who Loves Storm Season
5
Storm Warning: A Novella Book Cover Storm Warning: A Novella
Nellie Wilson
Contemporary Romance
Independently Published
April 20, 2023
ebook

Violet: I’m used to people writing me off as a joke, a peppy blonde with a Southern accent who couldn’t possibly know anything. But this is my spring. I’ve got a fully-funded two weeks to chase tornadoes and no one is getting in my way. Everything is organized and perfect until Julian Lehrer shows up as my co-pilot all summer. We’ve bounced in and out of each other’s lives for almost a decade, and if I know two things, it’s that I’m a damn good scientist and he is the second coming of Satan. It doesn’t help that I have a history of both wanting to strangle and kiss him.

Julian: Violet Franklin is the pink and glittered star of my nightmares. We disagree about everything except the fact that we cannot stand each other. I did not anticipate spending two weeks chasing tornadoes with her. I also didn’t realize we’d end up teaming up against our two idiot funders and that watching her drive an SUV would turn me on so much. It’s harder and harder to remember why we started fighting in the first place, and easier and easier to remember how we’ve ended up half naked with each other in years past.

When mistakes and miscommunication begin to pile up, Violet and Julian are drawn closer and closer – anyone can see that a storm is coming.

“She’s a witch, I remind myself. Is she a good witch or a bad witch? She’s a pretty witch, my traitorous brain says.”

Nellie Wilson had me from the title and cover all the way back to when she first posted that she was going to release a novella involving two meteorologists turned storm chasers. Storm Warning isn’t just about chasing one of the deadliest and most unique weather events to plague the Great Plains and Midwest, it’s also a fantastic rivals to lovers romance involving two characters who take their careers in STEM as serious as the Waffle House Index.

Julian and Violet’s story is set in the present day, chasing storms in Oklahoma, but we also get glimpses into their lives as they bump into each other during various events in their field of study starting in college and throughout their fledgling careers. I admire Violet. Born and raised in Oklahoma, Violet’s various choices in her academic and professional career have all been carefully considered, weighed, and hashed out due to her looks and background. Sure, she’s a slender, gorgeous woman, but Violet is also a small-town Okie woman in a STEM job in a male-dominated field. Violet is the Queen of Calculation. She knows what’s at stake for her success and also what it means to fail.

“Over the past six years, I’ve developed the theory that her makeup and clothes are some sort of battle armor, a way of challenging the world to a fight. Challenging people’s impressions of what a scientist is. It sure worked for me.”

I’ll admit that I’m a bit beguiled by Julian. He’s endearing, but there’s no question he’s all male. With each chapter from his perspective, I admired that he saw how Violet continually battled the misogyny of their “Twister Bros” counterparts on the storm chasing team. I was completely charmed by the fact that our dear Julian is a red head and therefore every emotion is broadcast by his easy blushing. His banter with Violet is the epitome of everything we love about a rivals to lovers romance and eclipsed only by his legitimate admiration of her skills that has kept them both safe while hunting tornados. Even if he’s living a relatively low-stress life of predicting weather in Southern California, he still has a chip on his shoulder from years ago, and it still stings when Violet reminds him of what could have been.

Storm Warning is fast-paced, and deliciously fun. Violet is a character that you love and want to see succeed. Julian is the man that we love to hate, but also can’t help but check him out. Yes, exactly in that way.  Julian and Violet have history and with that history comes delicious angst and lots of…adult…fun. This was my first story from Nellie Wilson, and I loved it so much that I know it won’t be my last. I highly recommend this novella especially if you love romances about academically smart people who are actually idiots about relationships, and also love the thrill of the chase.

“For being a walking demon, she feels like heaven.”

Bee on the lookout for this upcoming release! Storm Warning releases on April 20th! I guarantee you won’t want to miss out on this wonderful novella!