This was my first book from the author and I LOVED everything about it! The writing was so emotional and vulnerable (see the many quotes I chose from the many more I highlighted).

Ashley is such a strong character, and Madigan fluctuated between hot and adorable throughout the story. I just wanted to hug him and then dig my fingers into his beard 🤭🤭 Their interactions were so sweet, the way they tiptoes around each other, both fearful of getting hurt again. And yet, neither of them could resist the pull that existed between them.

I adored Ashley’s family. Her daughter whose book I can’t wait (but also afraid) to read, and even her mother—I don’t know how Ashley could have enough patience for that woman unless she’s a saint. And Madigan’s crew of recovering addicts stole my whole heart. I must admit, alcoholism is somewhat of a trigger for me, but it was handled with so much care that by then end I was left comforted by this story.

I have more of Jess’ books in my queue, but she’s already become one of my favourite authors.

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
🌶️🌶️🌶️
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

REVIEW: Come As You Are by Jess K. Hardy

Come as You Are is an honest, messy, and sweet story. It has the perfect mix of slow-burn romance, complicated pasts, and a sense of found family. It’s mainly about two people whose lives have taken a toll on them, and they are trying to be honest with themselves and each other.

I really appreciated how the characters were authentic and flawed, yet you still wanted to root for them. The romance was a well-paced, slow burn that delivers a satisfying payoff. There was a good balance between genuine emotional depth and humor throughout. Additionally, the small-town setting makes you feel warm and cozy in the best way.

The pacing dips here and there, which can affect the flow of the story. Also, a few side plots seem underexplored.

Overall, I enjoyed Come As You Are, and it left me smiling, swooning, and wanting more. This is a perfect story for anyone who loves vulnerability and messiness in characters, yet still craves heartfelt romance.

Thank you, NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing), for providing me with a free advanced copy for my honest review.

It's different to read a romance of an older couple, but it's a romance that's based in a ski resort. between the owner and a former rock star, who also just so happens to be a former addict and convict. this romance really did focus on the development and redemption as well as emotional elements that come a long with recovering from the backgrounds of both the main characters, and I deff appreciate their ages a little more because of it. worth a read, themes are a little heavier than intended for a fluffy meet cute romance but it has a sort of element that is worth trying.

4.5⭐️

✨Ex-Rockstar MMC

✨Workplace Romance

✨Christmas Time

✨Single Mom

“If she had a nickel for every time he’d called her naive, she’d still hate him for it, but at least she’d be able to pay the power bill.”

“His smile was unfairly genuine, like Mr. Roger’s grew a beard, took a bunch of steroids, and spent six months covering his body in ink.”

“Considering that Ashley’s adoption of silence as her preferred defense mechanism came directly from her mother, Maude Alice shouldn’t be surprised.”

“Why couldn’t she be breezy? Why was she so on edge all the time?”

“Chuck had made her feel inadequate for too long already. She wouldn’t let anyone or anything make her feel that way again.”

“You make me feel strong, even when I’m scared of a little rope. You make the guys feel strong too. I think it’s because you’re so strong, so confident out here. It radiates from you.”

“I was just staring at you.” “You were.” “I’m sorry.” “I’m not.”

“She had wanted to kiss Matthew Maugham since he’d gotten down on his knees in her office and cuddled her dog.”

“He might not know how she felt about him, but this thing between them, this pressure in his chest whenever he thought about her, he couldn’t ignore it anymore.”

“What did I do wrong? Whatever it is, I’m sorry. I’m sure we can work it out, but you have to talk to me.”

“She hadn’t been told she was beautiful in so long, she resigned herself to living out the rest of her days never hearing it again.”

“Where Chuck’s voice has made her blood run cold, Madigan’s melted her bones beneath her skin.”

“It’s okay to be wild with me. I’ll keep you safe too.”

“I don’t want you to leave. I want you to stay up here with me. I want to be with you forever, always.”

This is a good book. The two main characters are Ashley and Madigan. Ashley runs her family’s ski resort. Madigan runs a home for cons who is on the path for a better life. Madigan has an appointment with Ashley to talk about her about his men he counsel taking jobs at the ski resort. Ashley thinks it over and decides to hire them for the ski season. There are lots of problems, running out of money, doping, and a fundraiser concert. All during which Ashley and Madigan date and fall in love.

This author is new to me, but I will be keeping an eye out for anything else they publish. I loved the story and the characters. The pacing of the story was great and the characters were relatable.

Fun, spicy, and cheesy read. I loved that the characters were older and it turned out to be fun and enjoyable read. I wish that it was not as cheesy but you kind of need those books. Can’t wait to see what’s next

I really enjoyed this book. It made me feel like I was in a movie in the best way. I felt so much chemistry between Madigan and Ashley, more so than I've felt towards other characters in books that are longer and very hyped up. They are simply perfect together, physically and emotionally. Their romance is inspiring, hopeful, well-written, and so beautiful to read.

This was sweet, fun, spicy and perfect for winter. Former band member and addict (Madigan) now runs a halfway house and gets them a job working at a small family run ski lodge (enter Ashley) who is struggling financially was honestly an intriguing plot and the execution did not disappoint. I loved the characters and seeing them grow, face their fears and have the courage to move on was moving and comforting. I really struggled with Maude Alice’s character and even though she had a bit of a character arc i wanted to see her take more responsibility for her actions. There were little things in the beginning and the very end that I didn’t love but overall I had a good time reading this, and the vibes were perfect for winter and the holidays. A very heartwarming and resilient story about flawed people who deserve love and happiness even though they’re afraid of ruining it or not being deserving of it.

𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞. 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡. 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.

Praise for a romance with adult characters in their 40's an 50's.

I love this book. Ashley owns a ski resort/mountain and it's fallen on hard times. When her only option is to hire group of men from a halfway house, she does it reluctantly, only to fall for their "boss" and leader Madigan.

The romance combined with the men's addiction struggles and Ashley's grief and parental issues was so beautifully portrayed. I definitely caught myself tearing up several times!

Madigan is so sexy, and so KIND, and he CRIES a lot! I love a man that is in touch with his emotions. He wants the best for his guys but he also wants to fall in love with Ashley.

Ashley is guarded and a divorcee and mom with an adult child and she's not looking for love. Until Madigan moves onto her mountain and rocks her world.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐨 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬. 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧-𝐜𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰.

Really such a lovely story and I'm looking forward to the next one!

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for this review.

A perfect sexy and sweet read for the holiday season. I don't even know where to start, with the hot irish man or the amazing workaholic woman?
Or maybe with the ex who we all agree to hate? Or maybe with how perfectly cozy the ski resort was described?
See, i dont't know where to start!
This was everything I needed for a holiday book. The chemistry, the writing, the decriptions and the plot! Perfect!

This book was far too heavy on the cheese factor for me.

I was so excited when I saw the main characters were older, but I could not get behind this story or this couple at all.

I quite liked this one! I found it to be a unique festive romance story with two middle aged adults as the focus. While age-wise, I didn’t fully relate to Ashley and Madigan, I did love that the romance was set up like an NA romance. I could picture this story becoming a Christmas movie for sure!

Personally not for me. I tried to get into it and even gave it two different tries in case it was a mood thing, but I was not able to get past the first 15%. I know a lot of other readers will love this book though.

I liked the overall message and the content, but it was too slow for me and there was too much telling and not enough showing with the writing style.

For some reason I expected more nods to the nineties and grunge in general? Some of the dialogue was very cheesy and cringey (this age group is old but not totally uncool, lol.) The conflict was weird and resolution too easy. The relationship with her mom (and calling her Maude Alice) even weirder. I get that they were at odds but it was a very strange mother/daughter relationship, to the point where I wondered if she was her step mom and I just missed that mention, but no, it was her actual mother.

Like I said, I found the message and story well meaning, just didn't enjoy the execution.

Since the character were a bit older then what I am used to it was harder for me to relate to them. I did really enjoy the plot and this book was a good easy read for me.

Come As You Are by Jess K Hardy
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Ashley will do just about anything to save her family’s ski hill. Matthew is a recovering addict who runs a sober living house and needs to find a place for his guys to work. When Matthew approaches Ashley with a deal, they both get more that they bargained for.
.
What I liked:
-I loved the sparks between Ashley and Matthew. I loved how their budding relationship helped each other too.
-I loved this ski hill and I was fully invested in it prospering!!!
-These guys from the sober loving home really won me over and I loved how they had each other’s backs and really worked well with everyone.
-I LOVED when the ex-husband got told off.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Jess K Hardy for the eARC of Come As you Are

For those who aren’t familiar: an arc is and advanced reader copier which is NOT a final draft of the book. It is likely still undergoing proofreading and possibly developmental changes. As such, some comments in my review may not be accurate to the final copy!!! I've also excluded any typos for the same reason.

Pros:
Insta lust is kinda believable because these are two grown adults who have not had sex in a long time and are around the opposite sex much.
Lovable side characters. I hope/anticipate they get their own books.
The conflicts between the main couple don't take forever to resolve. Instead they work together to tackle a greater problem, which is nice.
I've never read a romance following a couple in their 40s-50s, and I think that it's good that the publishing industry is starting to realize that your chance of love doesn't stop at 35.

Cons:
insta lust
Everyone but the main villain is just a little too perfect. It's very Hallmark-esque, in a way. Should romance be super realistic? God no, what fun would that be? Should it be a little more real, I think so, but maybe I just want to watch the world burn. I feel like we missed so much relationship development behind the scenes of other friendships and relationships, which makes the overly sweet ending feel so abrupt. I think these relationships would have benefited from more fleshing out.

Final thoughts: I really enjoyed it. May even read it again in the winter. It's cute, and I'll probably read the second one.

Couldn't really relate to characters and the pace of the storyline was too slow for my taste.
. But the romance was so swoon worthy.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I thoroughly enjoyed this romance between Ashley - 46, divorced, mum to daughter Davis (a very interesting name choice) and owner of a family run ski resort - and Madigan - 53, ex-drug addict, ex-rockstar, and Boss of a sober living home. They were both complicated people with layers, and they seemed so real. Their journey both together and separately was well executed and enjoyable to read.
I loved the setting of the ski resort/mountain, it was fun and not one I've read much.
There were a few extremely steamy scenes which were well written, and each one was different enough that I didn't get bored of them. They also actually helped move the plot forward or acted in developing character, which can't often be said.
The cast of side characters was great, and the depiction of the men from the sober living home seemed really well done (I have no life experience with addicts or ex-cons). There's a Saint Bernard trainee rescue dog, Murphy, who is easily the best character and such a good boy.
Honestly, I think the biggest thing I don't like about this book is the art style of the cover. There's just something not quite right about it, but that's just personal preference. I'm glad I didn't let it put me off the book.