I think that this book and I were just a poor match. I'm sure that there are other readers who would enjoy this book and find the romance a rewarding one. I'm giving this two stars because of a mismatch between reader and book, but the book deserves a more well-suited reader!

Who knew that there was such a thing as in insta-love-slow-burn romance!? That is exactly what Katerina Winters delivers with this mountain man romance!
Alessia is on the run from her past and finds herself in, what she thinks, a unclaimed wooded area in Oregon. One day, she leaves her campsite to returns to a large burly man lurking around. Scared, she tries to flee but ends up cornered by the rugged stranger.

He tells her that she’s camping in his woods and that it is not safe for her to be out there alone. Because of the upcoming storms, he offers Alessia to crash at his place until he can drive her somewhere far, far away from him. She’s left with no choice but to go with him to his cabin.

Little did Jax know, Alessia isn’t someone he can’t let go. It interferes with his life of solitude. Solitude – the very thing he has worked hard to achieve in this small Oregon town. But there is something about Alessia that is so broken and it speaks to all his broken pieces.

The romantic relationship was so spot on! There was instant attraction between Jax and Alessia. I loved their almost taboo relationship. There is a bit of age gap and a play on the forced proximity trope. And to top it all off, they chose to deny their feelings for one another which makes this a deliciously slow-burn. The steam level gets pretty high when these two finally give in.

The plot, however, was a little too predictable for my tastes. I knew immediately that a certain something was going to happen. Also, the ending was a bit abrupt as well.

Overall, I really enjoyed my first book by Katerina Winters. Thanks so much to her and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC. ♥

A book that is good for what it is. The main characters have good chemistry and Jax is inherently likable even with his hermit ways. The end was understandable but left me scratching my head. The one big thing was that I would have liked to know more about Jax the man, but the quickness of this read was welcome.

I’m going to get right to the point in this review. I liked some things. I hated some things. I’m about to share some major spoilers. You’ve been warned.

First, I’m going to start with the “thing” I liked. There was really good sexual tension between Jax and Alessia. The very slow burn kind where things start then stop then take two steps back before they start again. And that sums up what I liked about this book.

Next, time for the bad. And it starts off bad from the very beginning. Alessia flees from her mom’s abusive live-in boyfriend who keeps threatening to get into her pants. After failed attempts at breaking away and going to a women’s shelter, Alessia decides her last resort is to steal his car, buy some camping gear and go squatting in the woods on some other guy’s property. She has no plan, no education, but somehow she has a blog following that is donating her money, yet she has no internet friends that will provider her REAL assistance? I find that hard to believe.

For the second bad thing: once Jax discovers her trespassing, he hog-ties her, carries her to his cabin and then drugs her unconscious so she can’t leave. Yes, he DRUGS her without her consent. Then he takes care of her and offers her a place to stay as long as she helps with chores around his property. No, she is not a hostage. Alessia stays because she has no plan and no where else to go. Then the attraction starts and all that sexual tension and it’s easy to figure out where it goes from there.

For the third bad thing: remember the horrible abusive guy after Alessia? Well, of course he finds her, but she never actually knows that she’s been found because Jax DRUGS her again! He then tortures and murders the bad guy…and Alessia NEVER finds outs. The end. They lived happily ever after. Really?

I actually really liked the middle of this book, but it was totally ruined by the beginning and the ending.

This one was fine, but I found many aspects to the story very unbelievable. I know that with many romance novels, and stories in general, you have to suspend your disbelief with certain aspects of the story, but I found that hard to do with this particular story. Alessia was just very unbelievable in general. I will say that I did really enjoy the sexual tension between the two characters!

This was unexpected. A nice slow burn love story. Jax seemed to be a bit of jerk in the beginning, but he was actually a really sweet guy. Unexpected ending, but good.

It was a slow burn romance and I enjoyed it for the most part . I just loved seeing Jax's softer side for Alessia, a girl who runs away from an abusive family. But I didn't feel any connection between two of them, something was missing. In my opinion, this book is not bad and deserves 3,5 stars.
Thank you, Net Galley and publisher, for this opportunity

I thought this book was pretty good for how short it was. I thought both characters were well-developed and it was easy to see how trusting Alessia was of Jax after just a short time. I did feel as though parts of the story were missing, not enough to be confused of the plot line, but there was a mention of them being together for a few months which didn't feel that way while reading. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and liked the storyline.

Well, dang.... that ending 😧

Sooooo At All Cost by Katherina Winters is a story about Alessia and Jax and how they fell in love. Alessia ran away from a toxic home and met the brooding Jax who lived isolated deep in the woods of Oregon.

He took pity on her and offered her a place to stay in exchange for manual labour around his property until she figured her stuff out.

This story was....interesting?

I felt for Alessia. Though I didn’t understand some of her circumstances. I’m still not sure how old she is, whether she was in high school or college. Either would impact differently whether or not she could get a job and actually survive on her own. But it seems she managed to get her bearings either way.

Now, Jax. He has me conflicted. He seems like an honorable character but you come to find that he’s more than willing to do dishonorable things for “the greater good.” I feel like he’s the type of person that if he snapped, you better drop everything and run. The ending of the book shed light on a different part of his character that made me look for all available exits, if you get what I mean.

Aside from a bit of typos and grammatical errors in the copy from NetGalley that I received, it was overall a decent read. Not epic, but not disappointing. The ending just kinda flipped me upside down.

Complementary copy given for honest review.
Ms Winters knocked it out of the park with this book. I loved it from start to finish. Love brings us to do what must be done.

At All Cost is my first read by Katerina Winters and I enjoyed her writing style, the depth she portrays in her characters and the realistic and caring way she allows the relationship to develop between Jax and Alessia. While the story can most adequately be described as a slow burn, it definitely has complexities that require work and communication from both parties.

Jax is an admirable hero, as he ensures that Alessia is in charge of the progression of their physical interactions, but there were also some areas of concern that I had trouble accepting. I didn’t abide Jax’s decision to restrain Alessia and then lace her drink with what amounted to what he thought was a sedative, and I felt that clarification was required as to the age of Alessia, as she was portrayed as youthful for most of the book.

Overall this was a good story with a strong plot and interesting character development. The relationship worked and they got their HEA, but the ending was definitely unexpected. However, I’m not telling what it was, so I guess you’ll have to read the book to see what I mean.

This book sounded interesting to me, but I ended up not finding the actual story to be all that great. I felt like there was more of a sibling relationship between Jax and Alessia than a romantic relationship. I felt like Jax saw her as more of a child than an equal. I’m not quite sure how I feel with how Jax dealt with the big problem in the story. This was not a horrible read and it just was not for me.

This book is a little different and extremely good. Jax is in the woods living because he’s tired of his life the way it was. He comes to town and people are afraid of him. While at the diner a girl catches his eye. She’s out of place in the community and his senses are tingling.

Alessia is on the run. In order to protect herself she has a plan. Everything else has failed and this is her last option. When she settles into her life off the grid she has no idea she has set up camp on Jaxs lawn. Things get interesting and the hermit let’s her in. In return for room and board she has to help with chores. Things between them morph and Jax starts to soften and the light starts to return to Alessia.

It was honestly very good and I enjoyed it a lot!!!

Thank you Neeta for your recommendations. I will check them out.
I just read two great books by Katerina Winters. Her H are EVERYTHING...they are totally alpha males and will do anything (even kill) for their woman. I just read
At All Cost by Katerina Winters -Mountain Man so sweet with the heroine
His Smile A Mafia Romance by Katerina Winters Russian Mafia killer/kingpin who meets the quirky heroine. I loved this story

I read this book a while ago and loved it. The H in this story works with the H in the previous book.
Glass Cage by Katerina Winters Russian mafia H falls in love with the awesome h. GREAT BOOK

At All Cost was my first read from this author and I was excited to try something new and I thought the blurb sounded interesting.

The book started off interesting, but I found that I couldn't really connect with the characters much. I understood the reasoning for Alessia's running away from home, and I could see the appeal of Jax's solitary lifetsyle in the woods, but I didn't understand them together...at all. I just didn't feel their chemistry or connection. It just wasn't there for me. In addition the writing style seemed somewhat immature and I felt like the book could definitely benefit from some further proofreading and editing.

Overall, I think the story line could have been entertaining, but various parts of the execution sadly didn't really work for me.

This is my first read from this author and I kinda feel like I read a totally different book from everyone else. I'm not really sure where to start but I can say I didn't love it. One thing that really bugged me is that the ages of the characters is never really clear. I get the impression that the h is young, which is ok with me, but how young are we talking here? It's almost written as if there's some sort of taboo element but I never really could figure it out. I don't know, it was just all over the place for me. There were several things I didn't enjoy that took away from the overall story, including the ending. It was a quick read and I think the book had potential, but there were just too many holes and not enough depth.

This was my first book by Katerina Winters and I absolutely loved it. Once I started it, I could not put it down. Not only is this a fantastic contemporary romance read but it also takes the reader on a angsty suspense filled journey. I absolutely loved rugged mountain man Jax. The sexy loner lives alone in a secluded cabin in the middle of nowhere. He loves his solitary existence and does not tolerate human interaction. Alessia is young, beautiful and resourceful. She is on the run, trying to escape a dangerous situation and finds herself on Jax’s radar. When Jax stumbles across her camping out on his land he saves her from the elements and her own stupidity. Recognizing that she is alone and desperate, he offers her shelter in exchange for some help around his cabin. Unbeknownst to her he is ex military and is prepared to protect her at all costs and protect her he does. A nail biting ending will leave you on the edge of your seat as will their much deserved happily ever after. TBR this great book and enjoy.

**I received a copy of At All Cost from Net Galley and the author in exchange for a voluntary and honest review. My opinion wasn't solicited in any way.**

At All Cost by Katerina Winters is an author I haven't read before and because the description intrigued me. However, I agree with other reviews the abrupt ending left me with a lot of questions because of this. I loved the strong alpha with his protective instincts and when he was cuddling Whiskers the cat melted my heart. Give me a slow burn on the romance any day as the couple then learns more about each other instead of heading straight towards love. Alessia's mom left me with very bad opinion of her which includes her boyfriend Gary and his treatment of Alessia.

Alessia is on the run from her mother's boyfriend and when she decides to rough it for the winter in the Oregon Coast mountains little does she know that Jax will be her rescuer when the winter rain storm happens. (Trust me I lived on the WA coast and know how these storms are). But when Jax offers her shelter in exchange for helping him with finishing the house. But will she always be looking over her shoulder for Gary to take her back to Yakima? Or can she stay and make a life in Gaulding, Oregon without fear?

Jax Beranak came to Gaulding after serving in the military for almost 10 years but after losing both parents while on duty his escape to the Oregon Coast to live off the grid was what he needed. When he sees Alessia in the woods it will mean a change for both of them. When danger is found tracking her he'll do whatever necessary to keep her safe.

Alessia and Jax are both alone in the woods for different reasons, but it seems like they were meant to find one another. Alessia is running from an abusive situation. Jax is withdrawing from the world after withdrawing from the military.

Jax helps Alessia, even when his better judgment tells him not to. They are both quickly attracted to each other and find a home within the other person. I liked Alessia's resilience and sassiness. She was truly someone you could see as a good friend. Jax seems to have been through the ringer and deserves some happiness. Watching them fall for each is pretty delightful!

To be honest, this was a four star read for me up until the very very end of the book. <spoiler>When Jax murders - yes - I'll say murders - Alessia's mother's boyfriend, it completely changed the way I thought about him and the story. Alessia's mother's boyfriend was a terrible person - of that there is no doubt. But, I don't think killing him was the right answer. I understand that Alessia would have likely never truly felt safe until she new that the man wasn't able to come after her. But, I'm not sure he really would have ever come after her. I think he really did just want his car back. Not that I think he wouldn't have hurt Alessia, given the chance, but I think Jax had other options. I'm also not sure that Alessia would have agreed with Jax's actions. Victims of sexual assault seldom get resolution against the person who assaulted them, but I am not sure that even the death of the person who assaults them gives them back the peace of mind and feeling of safety they had before their attack. </spoiler>

Overall, I enjoyed the story and thought it was an interesting and different take on romance. It definitely fell outside the normal tropes of romance and I enjoyed the originality.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are my own.

This is a slow burn romance about wo broken souls who finds the one that heals them in one another

Alessia was molested by her mothers boyfriend so she took his car and went on the run she isn't running anymore she is camping in the forest what she doesn't know is that the land belongs to Jax. He isn't happy to find a trespasser on his land but he knows she needs help and it is too cold for to be out there so he offers her shelter in return for her work. These two start of hating one another but passion soon flares Do they have a future together You will have to read to see