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missbookreader's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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
4.75
megkstyler's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book!! It was a great way to start out a new series! If you are a fan of second chance romances you will love this one! I was sucked in the moment I started this one! It was pretty much a one sit read for me! This book had a great cast of characters! I haven’t read many books by this author but this one as with the others I’ve read makes me want to read more!! The writing was so descriptive it makes me want to go hang out in the mountains! I can’t wait to read the other books! I absolutely recommend this book!
Received a arc for a honest review.
Received a arc for a honest review.
kara_hildebrand's review against another edition
5.0
A Little Too Late is the first book in the Madigan Mountain series by Sarina Bowen, Rebecca Yarros and Devney Perry. Sarina is up first with A Little Too Late. It's a fun, sexy, second chance romance and I loved it! Reed and Ava were colleges sweethearts and had a bad breakup. Ten years later Reed shows up to his family's ski resort to find Ava working for his father. He hasn't been back home in years and doesn't really speak to his father or his two brothers. But his father is selling the resort and he's there to help. Turns out he misses home more than he thought and after spending time with Ava he wants another chance. Now he just has to convince her to love him again. And he has to convince his father he finally wants to come home. I loved Reed and Ava! There was the perfect amount of humor and sexiness to keep me wanting more. I had the pleasure of listening to this and Sebastian York and Andi Arndt, two of my favorite narrators, were fantastic! They really brought the characters to life! The next two books in the series, A Little Too Close by Rebecca Yarros and A Little Too Wild by Devney Perry continue the story with Reed's brothers!
booksiflove's review
5.0
Here comes Sarina Bowen with the first book in a trilogy, written by her, Rebecca Yarros and Devney Perry. A Little To Late is book one, and is the story about Reed, who hasn't been home in like a decade, and Ava, his ex-girlfriend from college, who works for his fathers ski resort. And Reed does not know that. So when he comes home, because his father is about to sell the ski resort for an exorbitant amount of money, he smells something fishy and puts everything away to check on his dad. Arriving at the resort, he meets Ava, who is not happy to see him again. But being in close proximity together in the next days, reminds her how good their year together has been. Can she get over the past and give him another chance??
Fantastic second chance romance story! Ava is still hurt, as Reed broke her heart, and she lets him feel that. Her shenanigans, the banter, it's really fun and I laughed a lot. This book entertained me from the beginning to the very end! But it's also not all fun and laughter, but Mrs. Bowen has a way with her words, to bring us an amazing story about love, hurt and forgiveness.
“Ava,” he whispers. “You were everything to me. And I threw that away, just like my father did with the pottery. I learned nothing from him. I have so many regrets.”
“I want to be here with you. I want what my parents had, even if they didn’t have it as long as they hoped. I ruined things once. But if you’ll let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
How can you resist these sweet words? Spoiler: you can't!!
Great start into this trilogy, and I can't wait to see, what the other 2 authors have in store for us with Reed's 2 brothers.
I kindly received an arc from the author and voluntarily left a review.
Fantastic second chance romance story! Ava is still hurt, as Reed broke her heart, and she lets him feel that. Her shenanigans, the banter, it's really fun and I laughed a lot. This book entertained me from the beginning to the very end! But it's also not all fun and laughter, but Mrs. Bowen has a way with her words, to bring us an amazing story about love, hurt and forgiveness.
“Ava,” he whispers. “You were everything to me. And I threw that away, just like my father did with the pottery. I learned nothing from him. I have so many regrets.”
“I want to be here with you. I want what my parents had, even if they didn’t have it as long as they hoped. I ruined things once. But if you’ll let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
How can you resist these sweet words? Spoiler: you can't!!
Great start into this trilogy, and I can't wait to see, what the other 2 authors have in store for us with Reed's 2 brothers.
I kindly received an arc from the author and voluntarily left a review.
bqueb's review
4.0
I have a total girl crush on Andi and I absolutely love her as Ava. As always SebYo gives a good grumpy-ish with his heart in the right place performant as Reed.
I love a good second chance. Sarina has given Ava & Reed their perfect second chance. With all that they have experienced they are so fortunate to find each other again.
Little Too Late is the perfect start to this series
I love a good second chance. Sarina has given Ava & Reed their perfect second chance. With all that they have experienced they are so fortunate to find each other again.
Little Too Late is the perfect start to this series
whatcha_listening_to's review
4.0
I probably should have written my review for this one a few books back, but I forgot.
But all I had to do was read the blurb and it all came flooding back to me.
I liked that these two knew each other as “teens” and are now getting to know each other as adults even if it is under these circumstances.
But also, how awesome that Ava works for the family and has for a long time. Her life didn’t just stop because he wasn’t in the picture, she made something of herself. I loved that. Maybe not in the way Reed did but success looks different for everyone.
What I love about Sarina’s writing is we have conflict, but it matches the story. It's just just and after thought like oh it's that time of the story better get things moving. She makes you believe it’s meant to happen this way and you have to just hold on for the ride.
It has been a hot minute since I listened to Sebastian, and I needed him for this one.
Andi is Andi.
But all I had to do was read the blurb and it all came flooding back to me.
I liked that these two knew each other as “teens” and are now getting to know each other as adults even if it is under these circumstances.
But also, how awesome that Ava works for the family and has for a long time. Her life didn’t just stop because he wasn’t in the picture, she made something of herself. I loved that. Maybe not in the way Reed did but success looks different for everyone.
What I love about Sarina’s writing is we have conflict, but it matches the story. It's just just and after thought like oh it's that time of the story better get things moving. She makes you believe it’s meant to happen this way and you have to just hold on for the ride.
It has been a hot minute since I listened to Sebastian, and I needed him for this one.
Andi is Andi.
claudia_fosca's review
5.0
A Little Too Late is the first book in the Madigan Mountain series, and completed by A Little Too Close by Rebecca Yarros, and a Little Too Wild by Devney Perry. It’s a series that centers around the Madigan family, and each book tells the story of each of the Madigan brothers. They’ve all left home—their family ski resort—years ago, but it’s time for them to come back and find love.
A Little Too Late is a small town, second chance romance that tells us Reed and Ava’s story. They’ve been over for ten years, and their breakup was pretty bad. Their history is complicated, but their chemistry is not—it’s explosive.
I loved everything about this book. The tension and banter between Ava and Reed is so well done. There’s a paced unveiling of their past, and adding the missing pieces feels really organic and helps the story and their relationship flow. I always enjoy how Sarina Bowen can mix angst with hilarious situations, making you ache and cry and smile and laugh all at the same time; this book is like a masterclass in this.
I loved the setting, a Colorado family-runned ski resort felt pretty cool and original. The story feels fresh and is perfectly paced, and it evolves in a very dynamic way that just makes you want to keep reading. It’s a very emotional/angsty book—but in a good way, perfectly balanced with their banter, the fun, and the heat. Because Ava and Reed’s chemistry is off the charts and pretty much there the whole time, ready to explode.
I love everything Sarina Bowen writes. She’s a wonderful storyteller, and her writing is always outstanding. I also love Devney Perry and the few Rebecca Yarros books that I have read so far. If these three are writing a series together, I’ll be there. They really make it work. I can’t wait for the other two books of this series, and I highly recommend reading this book because it is totally worth it.
A Little Too Late is a small town, second chance romance that tells us Reed and Ava’s story. They’ve been over for ten years, and their breakup was pretty bad. Their history is complicated, but their chemistry is not—it’s explosive.
I loved everything about this book. The tension and banter between Ava and Reed is so well done. There’s a paced unveiling of their past, and adding the missing pieces feels really organic and helps the story and their relationship flow. I always enjoy how Sarina Bowen can mix angst with hilarious situations, making you ache and cry and smile and laugh all at the same time; this book is like a masterclass in this.
I loved the setting, a Colorado family-runned ski resort felt pretty cool and original. The story feels fresh and is perfectly paced, and it evolves in a very dynamic way that just makes you want to keep reading. It’s a very emotional/angsty book—but in a good way, perfectly balanced with their banter, the fun, and the heat. Because Ava and Reed’s chemistry is off the charts and pretty much there the whole time, ready to explode.
I love everything Sarina Bowen writes. She’s a wonderful storyteller, and her writing is always outstanding. I also love Devney Perry and the few Rebecca Yarros books that I have read so far. If these three are writing a series together, I’ll be there. They really make it work. I can’t wait for the other two books of this series, and I highly recommend reading this book because it is totally worth it.
hannahbanana's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I cannot get over how good this book is and how much of a great intro it is into the Madigan Mountain series. The characters are all so well written, the world building was so well done and the overarching story was also very intriguing. The plot with the investors was fun and playful without being slapstick, and still allowed our main characters to deal with heavier topics.
Ava and Reed's romance is so easy to believe and you really feel the history between them from the first time we see them together. Them getting back together felt natural and believeable, despite the horrible breakup they had gone through 10 years earlier. I loved how they didn't let anything get in the way of their relationship - no resentment from their breakup, no jealousy for exes who just happen to turn up, no letting parental trauma coming between them, and most of all not blaming or hating the other for the way they dealt with the trauma of their miscarriage. They were able to recognise that their actions at 20-ish years old were those of not-yet-mature-adults and that they both had grown and matured a lot since their split.
I really appreciate Bowen's take on Reed's family dynamic and her willingness to show just how traumatising it can be to deal with an indifferent and checked out parent. I like how Reed was able to finally start processing his trauma after 10+ years of repressing it, and I really loved how Ava was his safe space for this. Once Reed opened up to her about his mum's death and his dad's lack of parenting, she was able to understand so much about their relationship at college and gave him the oppertunity to talk about it. Such a simple thing like providing that safe space and encouraging Reed to simply talk and say all the things he hasn't since his mum's death was so important to start his healing.
I also need to commend the approach taken with Ava's pregnancy and miscarriage, both in the flashbacks and in the present scenes. Reed's immediate acceptance and joy at Ava being pregnant despite them being in college and not entirely ready for parenthood showed so much about his true good-ness. The way they both talked about the miscarriage in the present-day was really refreshing. They both clearly wanted the baby and were destroyed by the loss, and I really appreciated that when they did talk about it, they found comfort in each other. I also really liked how both Ava and Reed told people in their lives about the miscarriage with no shame or embarassment - it wasn't something they needed to hide to ensure other people's comfort - and they knew the people around them would be empathetic and kind.
The only negative I have for the whole book is that the flashback chapers change POV which is really jarring. The whole book is 1st person present tense (with dual POV) and the flashbacks are 3rd person past tense. This change really shocks you out of the natural cadence of the rest of the book and I really wish Bowen had kept the same perspective and tense throughout.
Ava and Reed's romance is so easy to believe and you really feel the history between them from the first time we see them together. Them getting back together felt natural and believeable, despite the horrible breakup they had gone through 10 years earlier. I loved how they didn't let anything get in the way of their relationship - no resentment from their breakup, no jealousy for exes who just happen to turn up, no letting parental trauma coming between them, and most of all not blaming or hating the other for the way they dealt with the trauma of their miscarriage. They were able to recognise that their actions at 20-ish years old were those of not-yet-mature-adults and that they both had grown and matured a lot since their split.
I really appreciate Bowen's take on Reed's family dynamic and her willingness to show just how traumatising it can be to deal with an indifferent and checked out parent. I like how Reed was able to finally start processing his trauma after 10+ years of repressing it, and I really loved how Ava was his safe space for this. Once Reed opened up to her about his mum's death and his dad's lack of parenting, she was able to understand so much about their relationship at college and gave him the oppertunity to talk about it. Such a simple thing like providing that safe space and encouraging Reed to simply talk and say all the things he hasn't since his mum's death was so important to start his healing.
I also need to commend the approach taken with Ava's pregnancy and miscarriage, both in the flashbacks and in the present scenes. Reed's immediate acceptance and joy at Ava being pregnant despite them being in college and not entirely ready for parenthood showed so much about his true good-ness. The way they both talked about the miscarriage in the present-day was really refreshing. They both clearly wanted the baby and were destroyed by the loss, and I really appreciated that when they did talk about it, they found comfort in each other. I also really liked how both Ava and Reed told people in their lives about the miscarriage with no shame or embarassment - it wasn't something they needed to hide to ensure other people's comfort - and they knew the people around them would be empathetic and kind.
The only negative I have for the whole book is that the flashback chapers change POV which is really jarring. The whole book is 1st person present tense (with dual POV) and the flashbacks are 3rd person past tense. This change really shocks you out of the natural cadence of the rest of the book and I really wish Bowen had kept the same perspective and tense throughout.