Nina Sheridan is has flown half-way across the world to the Colorado mountains for a much needed time-out from her life in England. But when she arrives at her beautiful rental A-Frame house she is met with a gorgeous man full of attitude. Thrown back out in the snow, Nina is questioning her impulse to vacation in the mountains when on her way to the local hotel she runs off the road. That's the last thing Nina remembers before waking up days later to the sexy cabin owner nursing her back from the flu. 
 Holden "Max" Maxwell is surprised to see a beautiful but feisty woman at his door, and regrets turning her away. So he decides to follow her only to find her passed out on the side of the road. Taking her back home, Max nurses her back to health and soon realizes that he never wants her to leave his bed. He knows just how short life can be and that you should live every moment to it's fullest. But Nina is reluctant, she knows that Max hasn't been upfront about all of the aspects of his past and when part of that past surfaces just more then their budding relationship is put in jeopardy. 
 The Gamble was a slow-going read for me. It took a long time for me to warm up to the hero of the story, Max, and understand his sudden change in attitude when it came to the heroine, Nina. How he could go from throwing the poor girl out into the snow to not wanting her to ever leave his bed. Towards the last half of the book or so though, Max's many layers were finally revealed and this stoic mountain man of few words started to grow on me. Nina and Max's back and forth banter was thoroughly entertaining. Max knew just what to say or do to bring Nina around to his way of thinking whenever he wanted. That's not to say that Nina was in any way a push over, she knew how to kick up a fuss when she didn't agree with something, but in the end she saw Max's wisdom in most things. 
 Nina was a character that seemed to find herself in the thick of drama wherever she went though. Whether it be with some of the less appealing residents of Gnaw Bone, her father, fiance, or Max's ex-girlfriend. It was a little improbable that all the things that happened to her could in a two-week time span, unless she's just a magnet for bad luck. And even though the majority of the town seemed to back a relationship between her and Max, they always seemed to show up when things were just starting to sizzle between them. It became a bit frustrating for reader and main characters alike! I felt this area of the story-line was overdramatized. There was no denying the chemistry between Nina and Max though and how good they were for each other. Between the two there were some tear-jerking and heart-pounding moments that kept me reading on. 
 A surprising amount of suspense was weaved into the plot as well, with twists upon twists. Just when I thought I knew the whodunit I was thrown for another loop. Bottom line though, I enjoyed The Gamble, although the story was slow to build and a bit unbelievable. Regardless, it kept me turning the pages and I look forward to reading more about these Mountain Men of Gnaw Bone, Colorado.