Piper’s grandmother has died, and now Piper must make some decisions that could be life changing. She is a pilot, and she has been trained to take people on hunting trips in Alaska. She must decide if she wants to continue this business without her grandmother, or sell the resort that has been in her family for generations. Seasoned hunters sometimes go off on their own, and it is this aspect that sets in motion a chain of events that will change Piper forever. Fearing the hunting party is lost with a storm moving in, Piper goes to search for them. Falling down a gorge, she awakens in the snow, looking at strangers. They rescue her and take her back to her lodge, but it’s not exactly hers at the moment, since she has traveled back in time to the 1940s. She, of course, is shocked by what has has happened, not knowing how it came to be or if she will be able to return to her own time. But she is delighted to meet her grandmother, who is about the same age as Piper. They become friends, and Piper does her best to fit in with family who are, in essence, her ancestors. It’s quite a story, tender and heartwarming, and yet has moments of sheer terror as the residents battle the elements that make up the Alaskan wilderness. Though the author does a good job of setting the scenes in two vastly different time periods, some of the aspect of the time-traveling are glossed over and not explained. The characters are well-developed and quite likable, the plot is very entertaining and intriguing, and the story will leave you in a warm holiday mood. ( )

Tasked with running the family business, Great Expectations, a hunting lodge, Piper McCauley greets another group hunters. She is missing her recently deceased grandmother and wonders about her future. When the hunters are gone too long, she and lodge employee Dan head out to search for them in the quickly changing Alaska weather. The snow blinds her and eventually, the men that find her aren't Dan or the Norton hunting party. She quickly discovers that things are the same, but not and that she has somehow traveled back in time to 1944 and befriends a grandma that is her age, along with the great grandparents she never knew. I know, it sounds ludicrous, but I couldn't stop thinking about the story. It was easy to get lost in the great period descriptions--rationing, the elements, the danger and loss of the wartime era. Honestly, just a great book to read this time of year, I really liked it. ( )