Thank you to Netgalley, Victory Publishing, and Pinkity Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC.🎿🎿

"...hiding from life is not recovery. The freedom is in embracing life fully, the good, the bad," Clay pointed at Kev, "and the ugly."


I can't believe this book has not gotten more attention. From the characters, to the setting and scenery, the dialogue all around, the tough topics, seriously I can't stop thinking about this book. I genuinely tried to find reasons to not give this 5 stars and yet I couldn't think of anything and kept going round and round about how cozy this book was and how much I genuinely enjoyed Ashley and Madigan. It was so refreshing to have a mature FMC and MMC having more realistic issues, and both experienced in life and in love, but still shaky little babies as they grew in their relationship together.

Life is hard and sometimes people just need the opportunities to stand on their own again. Sometimes we stumble, and ultimately fall, but it's the trying to get back up again that counts and I absolutely adored that premise with Little Timber and the patience and understanding that Madigan's character brings as he's a recovering addict as well. Community matters, and I love that we see one build together and support each other, rooting for the success of everyone involved.

Seriously. I loved this book. I want more time at the Bluebird mountain. I want a season pass. Summer, or winter, with Davis and Kev, or Sam and Izzy, anything. This author is for sure one I will be watching out for future works, and I'll be and her other works to my TBR. ❄️

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5(?)
Tropes
• HEA
• Workplace/Forced Proximity
• Seasoned Lovers/Silver Foxes
• Scars

Really enjoyed this book. It was a great love story with many different dimensions and backstory is to the characters. It was also very interesting and topical with the business element of the ski slope, and more modern businesses around the area. The characters were great, and I really wanted everything to work out for them not just the two main love interests. It would be good to have a part two I think.

This book is written very well with extremely developed characters without honing in on their age and making it a thing despite the tagline. I loved the premise of still finding yourself no matter at what age, and still having insecurities and flaws and the everyday battle of trying to win past them. The level of maturity these characters had had me enthralled.

The end felt like a culmination of too many tiny push and pull moments that resolved itself very quickly, like the mother showing up at the cabin and that trail altercation, overhearing the fling moment, and one more I can’t remember that the final external dark moment could also have been easily resolved bc of the pattern established.

3.5 ⭐️
Second chances is always a favorite theme of mine. This time it combined a couple of my favorite populations in one. Single mothers. Grieving widows. Car real population. I would love to see more services that better integrate previous inmates. It was a gentle read considering a lot of the harsh truths in our in-justice system.

Cheers Jess Hardy for writing something not traditional romance, but gave all the warm fuzzies that romance gives us. ❤️

Confession: I’ve fallen for the boys of Bluebird Basin! And if you’re like me and heard hype about this book and wondered if it was actually that good, I’m here to tell you: IT IS!

First of all, the chemistry both emotionally and physically between Madigan and Ashley was off the charts! If it had just been that and nothing else I would have been happy but then we got this incredible cast of characters that you immediately fall for—and definitely want to see get their own HEAs in later books!

The gist: When Ashley’s struggling ski hill is paired up with a program that helps return recovering addicts to the workforce at a reduced cost she can’t refuse the offer. But falling for the leader of the program, retired rockstar Madigan, wasn’t part of the plan.

Can’t wait for the next in the series!

Super cute little read.
If you're wanting a loved up easy read that'll make you happy and chilled. This is the one for you
I whizzed through it in a day and enjoyed every minute

not my absolute favourite, it was very cutesy and millennial and just not what im interested in when i go for a book but its something that my mum would absolutely love. probably wouldn't read again but cute read overall

I felt like this book was the definition of “decent”. There weren’t any particular highs for me in the story or something I would deem perfect, but it wasn’t horrible either.

The characters were likeable enough, the plot enjoyable and the conclusion satisfying. There were some moments that had me giggling which I was able to thoroughly enjoy and the spicy scenes were really good as well.

The first half of the book felt rather slow for me and I didn’t get the quick build up of feelings between our two main characters. The second half of the book, if generally better paced, did border on a bit of a third act breakup for me too much. Beside that, I really enjoyed Madigan and Ashley’s personal growth.

The setting was sadly not as atmospheric as I had hoped, but this book has its strengths and weakness which, for me, add up to a decent three star rating.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is such a wholesome read with lovable characters and a great storyline, as well as some fantastic spicy scenes.

If you are into skiing or boarding, cute lodges with fireplaces, hunks, spice, and jealous exes, this is totally your read!

I would have given this 5 stars if not for the fact that i thought the ex might have been made into more of an ass than he could have been for the story to still be effective. Otherwise, i absolutely loved this!

Thank you to netgalley and the author for providing me with this amazing arc in exchange for an honest review!

Finally a romance with people over the age of 20 something ! This was so refreshing as she’d 31 it’s all well and good reading romance about younger characters but it does lose its appeal slightly as I’m not reading about people like me or who are at the same stage in life as I am. Cute romance , fabulous loveable characters . So glad I found this !

It was a great book and even greater characters. I LOVED their personalities and was invested in everything that was going on with them. I loved a slight reverse in characters where you get a cinnamon roll man and a strong woman. Getting to read about a pair of people that are older than 20+ was a huuuuge bonus.

This book felt like a spicy Hallmark Christmas movie. Set at a failing ski resort
I appreciated main characters that aren't in their 20's. I also enjoyed the dynamics between Madigan and the men from his sober living home.
Some of the dialogue was a little cheesy. Some of the interactions between Ashley and Madigan didn't feel authentic.
In the end, this was a good book with an overall enjoyable story.

The book was really good. I enjoyed the romantic aspects, however the characters and the plot weren’t interesting enough to give this anymore than 3 stars. I loved that the characters were older as well.

middle aged main characters with their own struggles find each other and try to learn to love themselves again. Cinnamon roll main male character and strong mom main female character with the right amount of spice makes this book a must read. I loved the struggles, side characters, and honesty between these main characters. I highly recommend picking up this book!

Appreciated reading older main characters than are typically in romance novels (40s and 50s). Ashley had been through so much, it was sweet to see how Madigan was so good for her. These two were spicy! Honestly, the most satisfying part of the book was watching trash bag human, Chuck, find out after he’d fucked around the whole book💁🏻‍♀️

Thank you Netgalley and Victoria Editing for providing an ARC!

Well firstly, as an elder millennial, it was so nice to read a book where the female lead is in her forties. She was so relatable! Ashley and Madigan's story is emotional and beautiful. It's about healing and learning to love yourself, so that you can love and be loved in return. It's about not allowing the mistakes and traumas from the past to overcome the possibility for growth and happiness in the present. And let me just say, the fact that Madigan is a hot, tattooed, former grunge rock star did not hurt. In addition, the cast of supporting characters all have their own stories and growth. This was a cosy, spicy read and I really hope to read more about them all in the future.

This story focused on an older couple and I loved how they still didn’t know how to act around each other or deal with their feelings. Both of them we having to sort through their past traumas and issues to move forward in their relationship with each other. I also loved the heart they each had for what they loved in life. Ashley loved the mountain with everything and was willing to sacrifice to make it the best. And Madigan loved his men and wanted the best for them. Also the sexy time went from 0-100 very quickly which was not what I was expecting at all. It was a good read and I’m curious what else may happen in Bluebird basin

This was such a beautiful heartwarming story that managed to broach the important topic of addiction and social reinsertion of recovering addicts back into society and still feel lighthearted.

This book shows that people are not just their past or the (bad) choices they made in the past, it shows how much people can change and grow and overcome their issues. The author shows us this through the characters dealing/ who dealt with addiction and through Ashley who, herself, was in the process of overcoming her own issues and traumas.

I feel like the pacing was a bit rushed, I would’ve liked it if it wasn’t as fast but alas i still enjoyed it.

I loved the setting so much, it was all so cozy with the mountain and snowy setting. It’s the perfect cozy winter feel good romance and i’d totally recommend it.

I prefer a slow burn over an insta-love, and this was just that. Madigan had quite a few challenges in trying to prove to Ashley that he and his men weren’t the liability she thought they were.

One of the things I really liked about this book, other than the main romance, was the strained relationship between Ashley and her mother. A lot of the books I’ve read recently have had a sort of rose-tinted perfect mother-daughter relationship, but the mother-daughter relationship here was more real. There were times when they didn’t get on, and there were times when they were a bit snappy with each other, and I actually liked that. It gave a relatively minor character more dimension.

I loved seeing the Ashley Madigan sparks develop into something more, but I also really liked the way they helped each other grow without being overbearing. It just read as touching and genuine for me.

Overall, I’d really recommend this!

This book was sexy and sweet and I really enjoyed this one! It's a cute romcom with sprinkles of 80's pop culture references that were super fun. I wasn't born in the 80's, but definitely could appreciate the mention of boom boxes, mixed tapes, and classic rock!

I also enjoyed the characters creating their found family and falling in love. It was super cute and gave me all cozy vibes. Will definitely grab more reads from this author!