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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
3.75
I really enjoyed this book! There was a lot of good messages that needed to be mentioned more often about healing and the struggles with what comes after addictions and how to overcome it! I love that even though years have passed, the characters still struggle because it’s really realistic.
There was a few moments where it was a bit cringey or when the men had weed pies, one of the characters said he felt high… surely the ex addicts would have tasted it from a normal pies? Or felt high?
Overall a really good book with some good characters!
Thank you for netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read an arc of this in exchange of my honest review
I really enjoyed this book! There was a lot of good messages that needed to be mentioned more often about healing and the struggles with what comes after addictions and how to overcome it! I love that even though years have passed, the characters still struggle because it’s really realistic.
There was a few moments where it was a bit cringey or when the men had weed pies, one of the characters said he felt high… surely the ex addicts would have tasted it from a normal pies? Or felt high?
Overall a really good book with some good characters!
Thank you for netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read an arc of this in exchange of my honest review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
It did not read like the main characters were almost 50 (FMC) and over 50 (MMC). Now granted there were a lot of things from their separate pasts that may have contributed to this but neither one felt like they had particularly wised up over the course of their adulthood. Chuck did not get enough of a punishment in my opinion. I liked the side characters but perhaps there were a few too many of them to fully develop an interest over the course of the book.
Come as You Are is a romance with older than your typical main characters late 40s and early 50s but it reads just like the books about the twenty somethings! Myself being later 40's is was so fun to read about people my age. Madigan was a strong male who runs a sober house for addicts and I really loved reading about his guys that he supports! They didn't just feel like fluffy side characters. Ashley was trying not lose her family's ski resort to the big guys who also happened to be her ex husband! Such a great read!
Cute romance
Ashley and Madigan certainly had chemistry and enough baggage to make their relationship have some bumps in the road. I need a follow up to know what happens with Kev and Davis and Sam and Izzy
Ashley and Madigan certainly had chemistry and enough baggage to make their relationship have some bumps in the road. I need a follow up to know what happens with Kev and Davis and Sam and Izzy
cw: Addiction, bereavement, gaslighting,
Ashley Cooke's family-run ski mountain is struggling. When she hires a group of men from the local sober living home as her employees to cut costs, she's convinced she's reached rock bottom. Matthew Madigan is an ex-grunge rockstar and owner of the home. An ex-addict himself, he has a bit of a reputation. Both immediately attracted to the other, will Ashley put aside her preconceptions, and can Madigan realise he's worth loving?
As an OG Grunge fan, I was immediately attracted to this book. I LOVED that these were Gen-Xers through and through (sincerely, a Gen-X reader), and while Ashley and Matthew are older than the characters in most rom-coms, and they have a lot of baggage between them, they didn't feel 'old'. I really identified with their simultaneously exhausted but hopeful personalities. I particularly empathised with Ashley and her insecurities. Madigan was a giant, sexy teddy bear underneath his rugged exterior and I ADORED that he made mixtapes. Their chemistry was insane and I loved the development of their relationship. The intimacy in chapter 34 fried my brain, and also had me sobbing.
There are also some great supporting characters. I loved Madigan's dad's wisdom, and I really loved all of the men from Little Timber (but especially Sam). I also appreciated that the author didn't shy away from the realities of sobriety, or the wreckage addiction can cause to families.
This was a really considered, nuanced romance that made me laugh, swoon, and cry in equal measure. Highly recommended to all readers (but Gen-Xers will definitely appreciate lots of the smaller details. I especially loved the cheeky nods to 90s bands - IYKYK
Ashley Cooke's family-run ski mountain is struggling. When she hires a group of men from the local sober living home as her employees to cut costs, she's convinced she's reached rock bottom. Matthew Madigan is an ex-grunge rockstar and owner of the home. An ex-addict himself, he has a bit of a reputation. Both immediately attracted to the other, will Ashley put aside her preconceptions, and can Madigan realise he's worth loving?
As an OG Grunge fan, I was immediately attracted to this book. I LOVED that these were Gen-Xers through and through (sincerely, a Gen-X reader), and while Ashley and Matthew are older than the characters in most rom-coms, and they have a lot of baggage between them, they didn't feel 'old'. I really identified with their simultaneously exhausted but hopeful personalities. I particularly empathised with Ashley and her insecurities. Madigan was a giant, sexy teddy bear underneath his rugged exterior and I ADORED that he made mixtapes. Their chemistry was insane and I loved the development of their relationship. The intimacy in chapter 34 fried my brain, and also had me sobbing.
There are also some great supporting characters. I loved Madigan's dad's wisdom, and I really loved all of the men from Little Timber (but especially Sam). I also appreciated that the author didn't shy away from the realities of sobriety, or the wreckage addiction can cause to families.
This was a really considered, nuanced romance that made me laugh, swoon, and cry in equal measure. Highly recommended to all readers (but Gen-Xers will definitely appreciate lots of the smaller details. I especially loved the cheeky nods to 90s bands - IYKYK
This covers Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year, and is set on a snowy mountain - making it the perfect winter read. I loved that the main characters are proper adults (46 and 53) and dealing with adult issues. Both addiction and grief are handled really sensitively by the author. More books (and ex-rockstars) like this, please!
Ashley is having so many things on her plate, her late's father ski resort is struggling, her mother thinks everything will work on it's own, her ex won't stop calling and she needs new employees.
When she is presented with a solution to the last problem she isn't sure how hiring ex convicts who can't ski will help her turn it all around but she is willing to try.
Madigan is the owner of a rehabilitation house for ex convicts and addicts, he has dedicated his life to help those who need a second chance, just like he did.
When the initial meeting with Ashley doesn't go as planned, he has little hope of finding jobs for them but he life has a way of suprising him.
Ashley is willing to give them a change but no matter how attracted she is to their leader she won't act to it. Her romance track speaks for it's self and she can't risk losing the help she got. Though the more ski lessons they have together the harder it is to keep their distance.
I loved how they opened up to each other, spending time together and giving it their all, once they couldn't ignore their feelings any longer.
Both main characters are over 40 years old and their maturity was evident in everything they did.
The secondary characters were just as important, it was so interesting following their individual stories along the way.
I definitely recommend reading this debut romance either on winter as a seasonal one or for the summer to help you mentally travel to cooler weather.
* I received an ARC and this is my honest opinion.
When she is presented with a solution to the last problem she isn't sure how hiring ex convicts who can't ski will help her turn it all around but she is willing to try.
Madigan is the owner of a rehabilitation house for ex convicts and addicts, he has dedicated his life to help those who need a second chance, just like he did.
When the initial meeting with Ashley doesn't go as planned, he has little hope of finding jobs for them but he life has a way of suprising him.
Ashley is willing to give them a change but no matter how attracted she is to their leader she won't act to it. Her romance track speaks for it's self and she can't risk losing the help she got. Though the more ski lessons they have together the harder it is to keep their distance.
I loved how they opened up to each other, spending time together and giving it their all, once they couldn't ignore their feelings any longer.
Both main characters are over 40 years old and their maturity was evident in everything they did.
The secondary characters were just as important, it was so interesting following their individual stories along the way.
I definitely recommend reading this debut romance either on winter as a seasonal one or for the summer to help you mentally travel to cooler weather.
* I received an ARC and this is my honest opinion.