Title: Too Cold for ComfortAuthor: Nisha J. Tuli
Pages: 352
Publication Date: Nov. 10, 2026
Publisher: Forever
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary
Synopsis:
The arctic heats up when a photographer who rarely holds anything back is forced to share a private wing with a grumpy lodge owner who holds everything in.
Photographer Aadya Williams has trekked all the way to northern Canada to nab a career-making shot of a polar bear . . . and to put 1,500 miles between her and a messy breakup. Despite expecting freezing temperatures, nothing's colder than the welcome she gets from Reid Doerksen, the gruff owner of the Northern Wilderness Polar Bear Lodge. Even worse, the lodge is overbooked, so now she has to share the private family wing with him for the next two weeks.
At least Aadya has plenty to keep her occupied when she's not out searching for the perfect photo op. But when a storm strands Aadya and Reid together at the lodge, it's impossible to avoid the heat simmering between them. As the snow comes down, so do Reid's walls, and Aadya begins to realize the most important shot of her life may not be one she takes with her camera.
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So, after reading this story, I’m pretty convinced that I’ll read anything Nish J. Tuli writes. From fantasy to dystopia to contemporary romance, her books are always so immersive, layered, and entertaining. I love her writing style and the way she tells a story.
Too Close for Comfort was a charming and swoon-worthy contemporary romance, and I loved the characters and the setting. The story takes place in northern Canada, and it sounds like an incredible place. In the authors note, Tuli talks more of the Canadian north and this small town where the polar bear population is larger than the human residents and where thousands of beluga whales come in the summer months. You can actually kayak with them. So cool! The Aurora Borealis is more common than not, and it all sounds so magical and wonderful. It’s now on my bucket list of places to visit.
The story follows Aadya, an adventurous photographer hoping to land a big role at National Geographic with pictures of this infamous place, and Reid, a grumpy lodge owner. Both characters are great, and they have a slow-building love story filled with excellent tension and steamy spicy times. The pair are very different in many ways, and they don’t initially see eye to eye, but they actually complement each other really well. Where she has traveled the world and has a sense of wanderlust, Reid is very connected to the town he lives in. Aadya is more impulsive while Reid is not. But both have inner longings and unfulfilled feelings, as well as relationship issues that bring them closer together. I think what I liked most about them together is how well they listened to and understood each other. I feel like Aadya especially hasn’t had much of that in her life. They get up to some interesting shenanigans, and their forced proximity and often tense interactions are filled with chemistry and amazing banter.
The secondary characters are great too, and the lodge sounds like a magical place to visit, despite some of the issues they end up facing. There are some lovely relationships and friendships explored, and between that, the love story, and the beautiful setting, it was a fast and entertaining read.
- grumpy/sunshine
- forced proximity
Nisha J Tuli is a USA Today and international bestselling author of glittering fantasy worlds, steamy rom-coms, and kissing scenes full of angst. Her book, Trial of the Sun Queen, went on to become a BookTok hit, selling over a million copies and finding its way into readers’ hands around the world. Her book Storm Breaker is currently in development with Amazon MGM for a TV series.
When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found in the gym or the kitchen (to eat, not to cook) or maybe knitting scarves to survive a Canadian winter. She lives in Manitoba with her husband, their two kids, and their fluffy Samoyed.
