Come As You Are by Jess K. HardyStar Rating:
Spice Level:
Series: Bluebird Basin #1
Also in this series: Lips Like Sugar
Published by Pinkity Publishing on 11/01/2022
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary Romance
Format: Kindle (318 pages)
Source: Purchased
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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.
Were you a 90s alternative kid? Do you like small-town feels, 90s grunge, flannel, a good mixed tape, one hell of an epic love story, and adorable St. Bernard puppies? How about a sexy 53-year-old guitar player with tattoos or a badass 46-year-old divorcee who owns a ski resort? No? Well then, we can’t be friends.
An ex-rockstar and recovering addict—who now runs a sober living home—helps a divorced, single mom save her beloved ski resort from being bought by her asshole ex-husband.
That simple synopsis does NOT do this book justice. Because Jess Hardy created a relationship masterpiece with Ashley and Madigan. And Bluebird Basin is such a quaint, dreamy little mountain—I want to go to there. Come As You Are has everything I want in a book. The main characters have real-world, relatable problems/baggage but grow throughout the story. Their relationship is healthy, supportive, and honest. The side characters all have fantastic personalities (that make me want to read their stories), and the plot is believable enough to keep me entertained—and steamy scenes. Don’t forget about those. If you want a feel-good story with positive messages about everything from addiction to loving your body as it ages, do yourself a favor and pick this book up. I promise you won’t regret it.
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