It feels a little odd to say that the hero – a sexy, bisexual grandpa – was my favorite part of this romance, but it’s the truth. He’s a cinnamon roll sweetheart who has lived a wild life and now wants nothing more than to have someone special to spend quiet evenings with. I loved that he was so gone for his girl, and the chemistry between them was obvious right away. The meet cute was great, and I could definitely see why they connected so easily. There’s a banter-filled, playful dynamic between them that absolutely worked. However, the black cat heroine drove me kinda crazy – her reluctance to see what was in front of her started to grate after a while. I didn’t want her breaking that sweet grandpa’s heart, which meant that the first half was stronger than the second for me. But it was another solid installment to the series, and strong overall.
The story follows Mira (50), a woman who is too busy to date. She’s got her hands full taking care of her teenage son, ailing mother, and the bakery she loves. So when her ex walks into her bakery and she’s too embarrassed to admit she’ll be going to a wedding alone, Mira does something completely out of character. It’s only after kissing a handsome stranger and claiming that he’s her boyfriend that Mira realizes where things went awry. Not only is the man not a total stranger, but he’s the former drummer of a famous rock band. Surprisingly, Cole (53/54) actually is interested in taking Mira to the wedding as his date, and the two have a fantastic time. But Cole is only in town for a limited time, so starting up something real is out of the question… right?
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, which isn’t required reading but might make the experience better. We get a few scenes revolving around the sober living facility at the heart of book one (including some potentially triggering situations), but this is very much Cole and Mira’s story. They were great together, and I loved the lightness Cole brought into Mira’s life. Neither one anticipated being single in their fifties, that’s just the way things have played out. Cole was such a sweetheart, and I so wanted him to find his happily ever after. Mira, well Mira was a tougher sell. I empathized with her, but I also didn’t love the assumptions she made about the situation. I loved the texts and long distance communication, though much of their relationship felt physical in person (which was partially by design). There’s a decent amount of heat, plenty of lighthearted moments, and an undercurrent of tension and melancholy. Not my favorite in the series, but I did enjoy it.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3wVR33Y
Blurb:
Fake Date. Real Feels.
Mira Harlow has finally lost it. Between running her bakery, parenting her 14-year-old son, and taking care of her mom, she’s a stretched-thin mess. But kissing a total—and totally gorgeous—stranger before begging him to be her date to the biggest wedding her small town has ever seen so her ex won’t think she doesn’t have one? That’s a whole new level of chaos, even for her.
The last thing Cole Sanderson expects when he drives into the ski town of Red Falls, Montana is to score a date to his best friend’s wedding. But since his ex-rocker life in Seattle is stagnating, when the gorgeous, green-eyed bakery owner propositions him to play the role of her long-distance boyfriend, stirring his punk-shenanigans roots to their core, he doesn’t hesitate to say, “Hell yes!”
Mira hopes for a fun night with her fake date, but when their wedding weekend turns into a genuine connection, when Cole returns to Seattle and she tries to go back to her normal life, she wonders if she missed out on something real. But Cole isn’t done with her yet, and when he finds his way back to Red Falls, she’ll have to decide what’s more important: clinging to the neat and tidy life she’s struggled to maintain, or taking a risk, embracing the chaos, and maybe even falling in love.
Lips Like Sugar is book 2 in the Bluebird Basin Romance series but can absolutely be read as a standalone. This story features two main characters in their fifties, lots of laughs, plenty of open-door steam, and so many butterflies.
Content notes: Living with and caring for a parent with mild cognitive impairment, addiction, relapse, an unhealthy ex, grown men deeply in their feels, strong friendships, conversations about love languages, and an absurd amount of Say Anything references.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3wVR33Y
Start the series today!
You could read them as standalones, but they’re better together.
He’ll win her heart one mixtape at a time.
Ashley Cooke will do just about anything to save her struggling ski hill. When she hires the men from a local sober living home for the season to cut costs, even she thinks she’s gone too far. With her credit cards maxed, her cheating ex-husband intent on buying the mountain out from under her, and record-breaking snow in the forecast, she can’t afford to be distracted by the six-foot-tall bearded and tattooed sober living home owner moving onto her mountain.
Recovering addict and ex-grunge rocker Matthew Madigan has devoted every minute of the last decade to the men residing at his sober living home. When he meets tightly wound and adorably flustered Ashley, desires he’s put on the back burner for years start to simmer. Immune to his infamous albeit rusty charm, Ashley presents a challenge he can’t resist. When she offers to give him skiing lessons in exchange for his help training her St. Bernard rescue dog, he jumps at the chance to ride next to her on the chairlift despite his debilitating fear of heights.
During bunny hill shenanigans, chairlift confessions, and steamy cabin serenades, Madigan teaches Ashley that a person’s past doesn’t define them, and Ashley shows Madigan that the men he helps aren’t the only people who deserve a second chance. When sabotage threatens both the men and the mountain, Ashley and Madigan will have to decide if they’re only having a winter fling, or if the mountain isn’t the only thing worth fighting for.
Content notes: Addiction, divorce, mourning the loss of a parent
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Amazon: https://amzn.to/3VnXofg
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