I liked it. It wasn't fancy or something you'd maybe read over and over again but when you're looking for something light and easy to read, this is a good pick. Slightly rushed in the romance section but otherwise pretty fun read overall.

Small town, single dad, mechanic MMC.

The idea of a mechanic shop meet cute was sweet and I didn’t mind the setting of the story.

The characters however lacked communication skills in my opinion. This story was very wordy and went around in circles a lot while also leaving the readers to guess about the characters’ backgrounds.

I kept waiting for a moment to hook me in but it never came.

3.5⭐️ 2🌶️

Tropes
-Dual POV
-Single Dad
-Small Town
-Found Family


If you love Hallmark movies this book may be for you. Small town romance between an heiress who is on the run and a single father.
I was really hopeful when I read the synopsis of this book. For me it didn’t quite land its mark. I didn’t feel connected to the characters. They felt very one dimensional. This book is set up to be slow burn romance but it ended up feeling very insta love with no reasoning other than looks. Their chemistry throughout the whole book felt surface level. The pacing wasn’t the greatest it felt very rushed at the end with all of Huds problems being solved. It overall felt very much like a Hallmark movie.

unfortunately, this book wasn't really for me. this was very insta love, and i'm not convinced the characters even know each other that well. i also found a lot of the characters unlikeable and annoying. overall, not my favorite small town romance that i've read.

thank you netgalley and the author for the digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book i just thought it was abit rushed but the 2nd half was better amd got me hooked and I wanted more of the relationship at the end was sad to see the end of the book

The premise of Steady Now by Liberty Stowe sounded intriguing when I read the synopsis. Wren is described as running for her life when her car breaks down, and Hudson is portrayed as her savior—the only person who can fix her broken-down car. This raises several questions: Why is she running for her life? Why is Hudson the only one who can repair her car? Mechanics can’t be that scarce, right?

Honestly, I'm torn about Steady Now. At first, I really liked the writing style; it flowed smoothly and was quick to read. However, as I continued, I found myself frustrated by some of the word choices and phrasing, which felt off-putting and cringeworthy. Some events in the story strained believability. For example, Wren's best friend shows up out of nowhere with keys to a house he just found out about and purchased, and somehow has workers available to help on the same day? I understand we’re supposed to believe these characters are incredibly wealthy, but come on. And if I read one more description of Wren as "tiny" or "small," I might lose my mind! I'm 5'1, and I've never encountered a stranger who immediately picks me up because I'm considered so "small."

The romance between Wren and Hudson also lacked credibility. They barely communicated, yet we’re expected to believe they are in love? It just fell flat for me. It didn’t help that I found Hudson to be somewhat of an old-fashioned jerk.

Overall, this book wasn't for me. I really wanted to love it; it had its moments, but in the end, it simply didn’t work.

*3.5 stars*

Slow-burn, rich vs not, romance…

I picked this title up as part of a NetGalley summer challenge/promotion and it looked like a fun, light read. It was a good read, had it’s light and humourous moments but it also had the emotional hit I always crave in a good romance.

Wren found herself in Vogel Springs, Texas when her Maserati broke down. Don’t you hate when that happens? I wasn’t sure I could relate to this ‘rich’ girl with the fancy car – what was she running from? - but soon found she was a sympathetic character with all the positives, foibles and challenges of anyone trying to get through life. Hud was such a perfect match – he was a solid, trustworthy man even as he faced his own life’s curveballs. Diamonds or wrenches, life didn’t care when it came to throwing parties or wrenches and these two were facing some doozies…

This was a good read full of great dialogue (including between Wren and Hud and their besties) and (not over the top) drama that I was soon invested in. I loved how their relationship evolved, morphed and grew as secrets were shared and faced head on. Touching on the uglier sides of human existence, they shared space with love and laughter to create an entertaining, well-balanced read. Will definitely be looking for more from this author.

I LOVED this book!

Steady Now is an adventurous, sexy, exciting love story set in Texas. The small town vibes, love at first sight, and the fight for someone and something you love all come together in a perfect way.

The way the setting was written made it really easy to picture the small town of Vogel Springs and the Vogel House property. It almost felt like the town was a character itself.

The love and chemistry between Wren and Hud was perfection, and the big conflict in the second part of the book (I'm trying not to have any spoilers) was not only exciting and had me not wanting to put the story down, but also showed how much they love each other.

I really, really enjoyed reading this book and look forward to re-reading or listening to it on audiobook.

I enjoyed it. I liked the cover, it drew me to choose this story. It was a quick read. I will definitely purchase for my shelf.

*3.5 stars*

I have mixed feelings. I enjoyed the conflict over Hud’s land and custody of his son. I enjoyed Hud and Wren’s characters, and especially Anderson and Cal. Those two brought such a fun element to the story that I got excited when I saw their names when I turned the page.

My issue is that I didn’t buy the romance between Wren and Hud. It felt more like lust than love until the very end of the book — any moment of the two of them alone was stolen by spice, or even the way the characters narrated, talking about the other, was sexual. I’m not saying there was too much spice in the book, more that I needed added romantic gestures and deeper conversations or some of the spicy moments replaced with them actually falling in love. The ending was cute and actually made me want to read more in an epilogue to see where they ended up.

This book had so much potential if the romance were developed a bit better!

The premise for this book is good. Who doesn't love a small town and a hard working attractive MMC? Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me. All of the potential for a great story is there but I couldn't connect with the MMC and FMC. There was zero communication so the insta-love felt more like lust, which is fine but I don't think that's where the author wanted us to go on their journey. Their lack of emotional intelligence and connection made it so hard for me to really love this story. I wanted to get sucked in, but wasn't. Not awful but not for me.

Okay, Vogel Springs has officially been added to my list of small towns I wish were real—because I’d move there yesterday.

This book gave all the cozy, sizzling small-town romance vibes I love. There’s something about bacon frying, flirty banter at a diner, and broken-down luxury cars that just works. And don’t even get me started on the tractor emoji invitation—I snorted. It was so unexpected and so perfect.

Wren is that complicated, on-the-run-but-not-really heroine I adore. She's sharp, closed off, but her heart is right there, just waiting to be seen. And Hud? Big, broody mechanic energy with more emotional baggage than a Delta carousel. But the man is gold underneath it. Fixes cars, but clearly doesn’t know what to do with a woman like Wren—until he does, and whew, y’all. He does.

Their chemistry? Electric. Their connection? Instant, but believable. I loved that the romance had room to breathe—it wasn’t rushed, even if the attraction was. And while Hud’s internal struggle had me wanting to shake him a few times, it felt real. Their love story was messy, warm, and full of those small moments that sneak up on you.

I am simply blown away. At face value you might be tempted to think this is “just” a sweet small-town romance, and though there’s nothing wrong with those wonderful stories, this is something totally different. Wren and Hud, they are something so very special.

The love story here is incredible, but even more than that, the realness of these characters is fascinating. There is so much depth and reality woven into this small town story.

I found myself kicking my feet with excitement as the story unfolded.

Even the side characters are incredibly well thought out. The best friends, the tow truck driver, the town nemesis- you feel like they are all so real.

From the cafe owner to the local woman that might as well be everyone’s aunt, Vogel Springs brings you inside from the cold and gives you a big, strong hug and an even stronger cup of coffee!

I hope there’s more to this story because I need more of Vogel Springs!

If you like Tessa Bailey books you will like this one. Rich woman's expensive car breaks down in a small town, and she falls in l9ve with the mechanic fixing her car. Sexy times and not much drama other than baby mammas and small town gossip. Quick and easy read to turn your brain off to read. I found it quite boring but that's just straight romances at this point for me in my reading journey so that's not the authors fault. If you like small town single dad romances you will appreciate this one.

The story premise was intriguing, but the insta-love didn’t work for me. The spice was good, but the emotional depth between the main characters wasn’t quite there. The supporting characters were great, but the plot became predictable too quickly. The small-town vibe was definitely a highlight, but I wish the pacing had been a bit tighter. It dragged in parts and made it harder to stay fully engaged.

Hud was a solid character and really likable. But Wren’s father being introduced at the end felt too convenient and didn’t land for me.

Overall, it was a mid read. I took longer than usual to finish it and felt it could’ve been better, but it still had quite a few positives going for it.

⭐️ 3.5/5 stars

This was a cute, chemistry-filled read with a little bit of spice and a whole lot of emotional push-and-pull. The main characters had serious sparks—but the romance moved fast and then… they avoided each other for half the book 😅

Thankfully, the second half brought more action and finally got me hooked. My only real wish? I wanted more from the ending. It wrapped up a little too quickly. I just wish that there were few more scenes or even an epilogue would’ve been the cherry on top. 🍒

Still, it was a cute and easy read overall, with some swoony moments and just enough spice to keep things interesting

3.5⭐️

This was such a fun small town romance! Don’t get me started on the slowww burn 🔥 This book had almost a little mystery element throughout as it eludes to why Wren was running. It was pretty obvious from the beginning that she has money or came from money, she’s driving a 300k car! But Wren doesn’t flaunt any money around and jumps right in to being friends with the locals.

I did have a hard time with some of the pacing of the book, some things were just thrown in your face while others were dragged out for chapters. The dual pov was nice to see into each of their heads, I’m afraid without the dual pov it would have been hard to believe the romance. There were also some weird sentences where it seemed like two different tenses were used. But overall a fun read!

Thank you NetGalley and Liberty Stowe for an arc!

I was happy to select this book as my Camp NetGalley read - the blurb seemed right up my alley and I felt like I may connect with the FMC, Wren. Overall this was a good read!

Wren, a rich young socialite, is running from family & heartbreak and finds herself broken down in the middle of nowhere. She and her car are towed to a mechanic in a small, no stoplight town where we meet Hud (the mechanic) and a whole cast of loveable characters that call the town home!

What I loved about this book -
The side characters - Martha, Tiny, Cal, Anderson, Connor - they all added so much to the story! Found Family is one of my favorite tropes and this book delivers on that!
The setting- i felt like I was there. I love small town romance and the author did a great job describing the town and really immersing the reader in the experience.
Wren & Hud - much better together than they are apart! Separately, they both had some communication issues!

Overall this was a quick read that kept my attention. I like how the title is tied in mid-story. And speaking of stories, I wish we had more backstory, character development between the characters. Would pickup from this author again, and even continue a Wren and Hud series

I loved the small town, found family atmosphere in the book. Refreshing kind of read.
I do not know if it was a glitch on my side but I could not read on the Kindle IOS app the formating was really off (inverted colors, page align to the right), but everything worked fine on my Kindle reader.