Surprisingly, I just finished a story by a fav author of mine that has the exact same premise as this story- rich woman, running from life and ends up in a small town where she meets an unlikely love interest. For a debut novel, it’s pretty good. Small town, slow-burn romance with a few angst tossed in. I liked the story well enough but the ARC I received was really hard to read so that detract from me being able to really enjoy the story.

Thank you RupertBossier via NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you, NetGalley and Liberty Stowe for this ARC. I truly enjoyed this opposites attract story between Wren and Hudson. I felt these two characters immediately their connection was spot on and I loved how Hudson was able to fix cars, but he couldn’t fix himself.. I love a small town romance and this story delivered. I will definitely be reading more from this author.! I would recommend this book!!

I enjoyed Wren and Hudson’s banter throughout the book. I wish there was more to their story. I feel like an epilogue would have been nice to have since I feel like they had a slightly unfinished story. But the ending did not take away from the book as a whole. I loved Anderson, Wrens best friend, and Cal, Hudson’s best friend. Anderson and Cal were both great additions to the story and I would love to see more of their story in a future book.

A lovely slow burn, small town romance! This was definitely an opposites attraction situation, but I loved watching the connection between Wren and Hud grow! And the chemistry picked up a lot, and really sizzled!

I also loved the side characters, especially Anderson and Connor - some great banter!

This was a great debut novel from Liberty Stowe! Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy!

Rating ⭐️: 4.25/5
Spice 🌶️: 2.75-3/5
Expected Release Date:August 1st 2025

I genuinely loved this book. After being stuck in a major reading slump for the past few months, I was completely pulled in from the very first chapter.The characters immediately grabbed my attention. Wren's personality was absolutely captivating. She is THAT girl. Honestly, she might be one of my favorite characters I’ve ever read. There was also some comedic elements which I really enjoyed. The author did an amazing job portraying Wren’s growth, right down to the subtle detail of her hair changing between the city and the small town. I do think there was a little bit less character development for Hud then there was for Wren but I still feel like I got to know Hud really well.

The author’s writing style was incredibly captivating. She did a great job making the storyline flow smoothly. The reason I gave it a 4.25 rating instead of something higher is because there were a few different plot lines, and since the book was on the shorter side, I found myself wanting more development in certain areas. While epilogues can be hit or miss, I really wish this book had one. I am excited to read more books by this author and hopefully this world continues to expand. Maybe there will be an Anderson book someday?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

2.5 ⭐️

I had high hopes for this from the description but it fell short im afraid. It promised to be good, a small town romance between a rich Mazerati owning girl and the only mechanic in a quaint little town.

I was expecting angsty tension and bantering between the two in classic Grumpy x Sunshine vibes but this was just about as instant insta-love as you could get. I couldn't root for their romance because there was so little pining and actual romance, this was very superficial lust and was missing that deeper connection.

The pacing was definitely off, the ending was rushed and we could have had the characters backstories way sooner and more detail for further clarity too. The writing was a bit clunky and the overlapping of the dual POV gave me deja vu of what I'd just read.

I've seen some positive reviews but this one wasn't for me I'm afraid.

Small town slow burn romance? Yes please. When you feel the emotions of the characters from the very start, you know you're in for a good book. This is the first time I've read something by Liberty Stowe and I would say I would look forward to reading another book. This is a wonderful debut novel and i've read a lot of romance in the last year or so. I'd definitely get a hard copy to read it again.

This is a nice small town romance read. It is slow paced but enjoyable when it starts to pick up. I liked the main characters and also liked how the side characters had depth and added to the storyline.

The romance was nice with good storyline and suspense. I didn’t like the deadbeat mother storyline and thought that was disappointing.

Overall I enjoyed reading this but occasionally got confused with the Multiple POVs

Thank you Netgalley and Liberty Stowe for this ARC

3.5⭐️ This book is perfect for a Hallmark movie. Future corporate lawyer, who doesn’t want to be, falls for hot mechanic in small town. A perfect, easy fall read for those who love romance books!

*I received a copy of this book as an ARC. This review and thoughts are mine alone.*

Rating: 3.5⭐️
Spice: 🌶️


Vogel Springs is where Wren’s car breaks down, and the mechanic in town is broody Hudson. They end up being attracted to each other, but have other things going on in their lives that prevent them from acting on any feelings.

I found that the multi POV was hard to follow at times, and i prefer a multi POV. There were a LOT of times when I felt the texts were overused. I really hope that this continues as a series, because there is a lot of potential. It just fell short in some areas.


Thanks to NetGalley and RupertBossier for access to the ARC in exchange for this honest review!

Writing this review is tricky: I really enjoyed the dynamic between Hudson & Wren and the story was fun. I did want to shout at each of them to just open up to one another, but given this is contemporary romance, I understood the rationale behind the speed at which it was done - it was believable.

There was one thing that really got under my skin though, and that was a passing comment by BFF Anderson that felt inappropriate and unnecessary. Wren calls him out on it, but it sort of gets brushed aside. It didn’t leave a bit of a bad taste in my mouth though, especially since Anderson’s is meant to be very likeable.

Thank you to Stowe, RupertBossier and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and honestly review Steady Now prior to its release.

Wrens' car breaks down outside of Vogel Springs Texas, Hud is the mechanic who can fix it. a slow burn romance.

A well written story that kept me hooked from the very beginning.
The characters draw you in and keeps you flipping the pages.
They are realistic and very well developed.
I really enjoyed the writing style. I found myself hooked, turning the pages.

grateful to NetGalley for granting me the e-ARC of this book.

i really need to just start trusting my gut and stop giving books like this the benefit of the doubt. this was a poorly written story with a poorly curated plot and a plethora of one-dimensional characters. the romance was a perfect example of insta-love plus insta-lust blended with a hint of misogyny from the mmc. there was no foundational basis for the characters, their behaviors/motivations and their relationship. the slightest bit of emotional connection that could have been shown between the main characters was overshadowed by lust and intense sexuality, and that made their entire ‘relationship’ completely unbelievable. there was also a huge case of miscommunication or rather, a complete lack of communication whatsoever; it was irritating.
the writing in itself was also completely directionless and baseless with a distorted and confusing format, and unnecessary senseless text message excerpts. the cringe was exceptionally showcase in the unnecessarily many sex scenes and sexual dialogue. the male main character also made a point to remind us of how much of a ‘bitch’ his baby mama is (she kind of is but he didn’t need to do all that), how perfect the fmc’s white skin is and how tiny she is; it was jarring to say the least. the side characters were also pointless, baseless and quite corny/tropey for no reason. overall, this was a meaningless and hard read for me, unfortunately. i wouldn’t recommend at all.

This was a captivating romance. I was drawn into the story right away. Wren Baldwin 's Masarati breaks down outside of Vogel Falls, Texas. She is towed to Bass Pit Stop, where she meets the owner, Hudson Bass or Hud, as he is called. Wren and Hud are attracted to each other, but each have personal problems that they have to deal with. Will Wren and Hud get together? Find out by reading this unforgettable book, which I highly recommend to other romance readers. I received an ARC of this book, and the opinion expressed is strictly my own.

I liked the characters and this story from the beginning. Small town hunk, Hud(son) meets city girl, Wren, when her Maserati breaks down in the middle of nowhere. The story proceeds from there. I’m glad the trigger warning at the beginning of the book mentions sexually explicit content because there was a lot. Overall this was an easy read and a feel good story.

Thanks to Camp Net Galley, the publisher and the author for an advance copy for my honest opinion.

I always appreciate a well-done small-town romance, and Steady Now certainly fits that description in many ways. The plot itself is strong and kept me engaged. My main critique, however, lies in the pacing and occasional narrative gaps. There were moments where the story jumped, feeling like we went from point A directly to point C, skipping the crucial details of point B. This lack of development was also reflected in the main characters' interactions; Wren and Hud rarely seemed to have genuine conversations, often leading with their intense emotions instead.

Their relationship exemplifies 'insta-love,' developing very quickly. This intense emotional connection drove many of their interactions, resulting in both passionate, spicy scenes and periods of mutual hurt. While the overall concept of the story is appealing, the sudden revelation of Hud having a child was quite jarring. This felt like a significant detail that deserved earlier integration or foreshadowing, rather than a surprise appearance.

Overall, I enjoyed Steady Now and am glad that I was able to read the ARC. The author has room to grow in her writing journey and I'm excited to see where she ends up.

Oh my goodness! This was an absolute dream of a novel! If you want to fall in love with both the characters and the storyline, this is the novel for you! I couldn’t put it down!

For some reason, this book reminded me of Cars (yes, the Pixar movie) but not in an entirely bad way. Fancy, schmancy girl in a fancy schmancy car gets stuck in Radiator--cough, I mean Vogel Springs and gets it on with the local businessman. That's basically the premise of the book and it takes off from there. I didn't totally enjoy the romance between the two main characters and it felt a bit juvenile. Plus the side story of the big wigs wanting to take the MMC's land away. It was weird and I wasn't a fan of it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm so glad that I cruised into Vogel Springs with the main character, Wren. It turned out to be such an enjoyable few-day stay. The story unfolded smoothly and was an easy read, minus the bumpy narrative and dialogue that sometimes waylays the flow of the tale. It was light on the love interest push and pull that sometimes gets too drawn out to the point of frustration. While there was some element of Wren and Hud assuming they were going in different directions, there wasn't event after event creating what seemed like an insurmountable divide. I immediately liked not only the main characters but their friends and the townspeople that we met. I even appreciated the people who were not what you'd consider likable because of how they were presented. Overall, Steady Now was pretty predictable, but I didn't find that detracted from my appreciation of the fact that it made me feel good to get to spend time in Vogel Springs. I so hope that I will be able to take a future mini-vacay to Vogel Springs again by way of a sequel; more Wren and Hud, as well as telling more of the story of the other residents and their friends.