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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
Loved this one! I fell into this story immediately and found myself quickly growing attached to both Ashley and Madigan - it was just so easy to root for them. There were many moments, when they were being a little shy and awkward or when they were so soft and sweet, that had me smiling from ear to ear. And I also loved how Ashley and Madigan didn't let misunderstandings or miscommunication keep them apart. Instead they would face things head on and work things through. So happy I finally picked this one up.
There were so many things right with this book and so many things wrong. I loved the setting and the addiction recovery stories. Also older characters! Woo Hoo! The spicy scenes were pretty good too. The characters surrounding the FMC and the way they were written were very cringy. Will I read the second book in this series? Probably. I just crave older characters so much that I will wade through the parts I don’t like.
I am an inveterate romance reader. I have a very high cheese tolerance, but this industrial-sized drum of store-brand mac & cheese cheez powder left me nauseated. I loved the backstory for the two leads and what brought them together. The writing is just so bad. And the villain was straight out of Scooby Doo. I am going to a 2 for the backstory and especially for the middle-aged leads (hooray for elder love!), including a nearly 50 year old woman with a child in college who'd had a hysterectomy, plucked chin hairs before a date, and was generally very sexy and a 50+ year old man with a record and a history of addiction who was maybe even sexier. I hope a better writer steals Madigan and Ashley and writes them a better story.
Also, the male reader for this, Stephen Borne, was SO BAD! He did all he could to take the sexy out of both leads and he occasionally succeeded. Andi Arndt was, as usual, just fine.
Also, the male reader for this, Stephen Borne, was SO BAD! He did all he could to take the sexy out of both leads and he occasionally succeeded. Andi Arndt was, as usual, just fine.
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
LIKED:
- As so many have said, it is really refreshing to have a romance with two people in their 40s and 50s. And they (for the most part) acted their ages, which, again, was very refreshing
- The setting of the ski resort was great. I wish that we had been able to see the resort when it was up and running, but all the snow and everything was nice, for me, as someone who loves snow and skiing and such.
- The depictions of addiction were really grounded and honest. Madigan's journey was very understandable, honest, and (at some points) relatable (for me specific in regards to trauma affecting my relationship with music). I really also just enjoyed the Little Timber fellows so much. They all felt like unique characters that were lovable and you wanted to see them succeed.
- Ashley's character was so well-rounded and her concerns for her life and her business made so much sense. I also appreciated her relationship with her daughter and getting to see that (most of the time in contemporary rom-coms, the children of the MCs are still children and you don't get to see these kind of conversations).
- This book is good at eliciting actual, real emotions from its readers with its use of character explorations. For example, Sam and Izzy's story is heartbreaking but in a way that still has you rooting for them.
- This third act break up is well done. The miscommunication is handled liked two pages later (bless) and then the reasons for them breaking up are actually external to the relationship but still pivotal to what is driving the characters forward. If I weren't such a skeptical reader, I probably wouldn't have even noticed how telegraphed it was as a plot point BUT I think the telegraphing/breadcrumbing to it was well done besides that.
LOATHED:
- The culmination with Maude Alice and Ashley's whole relationship with her mother is underwhelming and just added more pages, in my opinion. I think this came down to either keeping the Maude Alice beat or keeping as much of the Chuck issue. But nothing was actually added to their relationship or solved or...anything by their conversation in the third act. And it only really started being an issue about halfway through? Maude Alice was just frustrating overall. She was in her 70s but acting like she was 30. Exhausting.
- Why. Is the daughter's name. Davis. What is that.
- I did not like the sex scenes. I enjoyed the candor of describing older bodies and how older partners would actually be having a sexual encounter...but the actual writing of the sex itself was just kind of boring. And I'm sorry, but a rocking chair is just a sex swing on the ground. Of course it's sensual.
- Not a loathing, but just somewhere in the middle - Chuck was fine. He was a bit cartoonish but I felt that he was reeled in enough that I could believe that someone would really do all that he did. Especially when it was stemming from a place of insecurity.
LONGED FOR:
- Less pages. This book was at least 30-40 pages too long.
- More showcasing of the ski resort and seeing it up and running
- More of the Little Timber boyz
- Listen, LISTEN...I know that Davis and Kevin are supposed to be one of the couples in the upcoming book but I honestly did not get nearly as much chemistry from them as I did with Kevin and Mace. Kevin and Mace should be that couple and I'm just very sad that it's not.
Will I read the next one? : Sure! This was very enjoyable. Though the cover for the next book is...uh. Not really enticing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Drug abuse, Sexism, Medical content, Grief
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's so refreshing to read about two adults with emotional intelligence. Any communication issues were handled in a realistic way that didn't negate the stakes or seem pointless. It handles the addiction/recovery storylines really well.
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Matthew Madigan became sober after a life of drugs and addiction and has dedicated his life to helping other men do the same. Ashley Cooke owns her father’s pride and joy, the Blue Bird Basin Ski Lodge and hill. For years it has been a family-friendly place, but is slowly being pushed aside by the new, bigger, and flashier, annoying owned by her ex-husband. After a steady decline in profit and a still somewhat recent divorce, Ashley has lost the confidence she needs to make the ski hill successful again and her ex won’t stop his emotional abuse and offering to buy it far below value. When Ashley’s mother arranges a partnership with Madigan’s sober living home, Ashley is hesitant to trust these men with a past. Will this be the solution Ashley needs to turn things around, for her ski hill and her life?
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes