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

There is nothing better than snowy mountains, log cabins and a warm fire place....but thrown in a blossoming romance between a woman carrying the world on her shoulders and a man in flannel with an impressive beard and an even more impressive way in the bedroom and just wow!

I adored this fast-paced romance. It's sweet and spicy and saucy wrapped all into one. I can't wait to read more by Jess K Hardy.

FREAKIN AMAZING!!! Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, Pinkity Publishing for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

HOLY HEAVENS!! I absolutely LOVED this book so much!! What a beautiful and heartfelt wintery rom-com between two middle aged characters. I just need to say, that I loved reading about characters in my age group! "Come As You Are" is a slow burn romance that is about starting over, redemption, healing, loss, friendships, family, hope, courage and a second chance at love. It is filled with angst/tension to die for, hilarious banter, tender moments, incredible chemistry, steamy romance and the cutest dog ever! Once I started reading I couldn't stop and I finished it in a day. This is my first read by Jess Hardy and I am a HUGE fan! Hardy has a way of making the characters feel real and relatable and I was so emotionally invested. Literally everything I could ever want in a romance book!! ALL the feels!!🩵❄️⛷️🏔️🩵

Ashley Cooke (46 yrs old) is the owner of Bluebird Basin Ski Lodge and is doing her best to keep it afloat. Her horrible ex-husband is trying to buy out the ski lodge from under her but she is determined to save it no matter what! Well dire situations require extreme measures, right!?! When Ashley's overbearing mother, Maude Alice, suggests having the men from the local sober living home come work for the season, Ashley is not sure that is a good idea but financially it makes sense. Hesitantly, Ashley agrees to meet Matthew Madigan, the owner of "Little Timber" sober living home, to hear him out on how and why this could benefit everyone involved. Madigan (53 yrs old) is your sexy former rock star, ex-drug addict and has dedicated himself to helping recovering addicts get back on their feet. He knows that keeping the men busy and working will help them find their self respect and confidence again. Reluctantly, Ashley consents to hire the recovering addicts but cannot help to wonder what is she thinking?? How will this all work out?

Ashley and Madigan have been through so much in life and it was refreshing to see them communicate like mature adults. Glory Hallelujah!! I loved that Madigan was so sweet and vulnerable and was not afraid to share his emotions. They learned to trust each other and themselves. Ashley struggled with feeling invisible and unwanted but was able to get her self confidence back. The secondary characters were fantastic and I just loved Murphy the adorable St. Bernard dog 🐶! The amount of personal character growth all the characters went through and their stories just touched my heart🩵. What a sweet reminder that it is never to late to find love or a second chance at life!

Overall, this is the perfect swoon worthy rom-com that will leave you laughing, crying and smiling, The cover is so cute and perfect too! The bonus epilogue was perfection. I cannot recommend this book enough and it deserves a million stars!!🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

TW:addiction

I devoured this book. There was something about the older protagonists. They had both made mistakes in their past, and it wasn't so much about starting over as it was about moving forward. And both were so mature. Sometimes books feature characters in their later 20s/early 30s that still act like teenagers, but Ashley and Madigan were adults and it was so refreshing. Not to mention that they had a conversation and did not fall victim to the miscommunication trope. Hallelujah!

I would recommend this book for someone who is looking for a romance with heart and heat. It delivered on both and had me checking out Jess K. Hardy's backlist for other books to add to my TBR.

First off the tension between Madigan and Ashley was just perfect! I loved seeing them interact and learning about their pasts. The representative in this book is beautiful! Showing that people can change and always deserve a second chance.
Whilst this was a bit above the age group that I would usually read it was really refreshing to see a love story between two people who are getting their second chance at love!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌶️🌶️🌶️

I really enjoyed this fast paced second chance romance. The characters were relatable and I found myself rooting for them very early on.

Welcome to Bluebird Basin!

I was thoroughly impressed by this story! This was the first book I’ve read by Jess K Hardy and I loved it.

It presents a captivating narrative that explores the theme of second chances, and has such an evolution of the characters. The pacing of the book is fast, making it a delightful and engaging read. Moreover, the inclusion of spice in the story adds an extra layer of excitement and does not fail to deliver.

I particularly appreciate the representation of recovering addicts, which adds depth and relatability to the overall experience.

With such a fantastic book, I eagerly anticipate the possibility of more captivating Blue Basin Romances in the future!

Deliciously cosy and sexy second chande romance. Great characters, and a well written storyline. Would recommend. Will read more from this author!

Who doesn’t love a small town age gap romance? The chemistry between the main characters was impeccable and the spice was steamy 🥵
The banter throughout the book had me laughing out loud and smiling constantly. I truly hope there will be more to this series soon to get to know Madigan’s men better! Thank you @netgalley for the chance to read this book.

“All the stars in the sky shine dim, compared to you” -Mad Madigan 🤤

Oh my goodness such an awesome story. Queen of the mountain with no self esteem due to an abusive ex, about to lose her fathers legacy. Ex Con/recovering addict with a heart of gold needs work for the men in his recovering addicts home. A contract. Sparks fire, neither feel worthy of a relationship. My heart felt such an empathy for their struggles. I’m so glad I read this, I was left with a warm heart because all the feels were worth it in the end. I love when I’m able to see characters grow, this story was so beautiful.

The burn was slow, but the fire was hot. Face fanning hot. The kind you only get when you really love the characters. Please read. Beautiful messages in this book.

This was adorable, fun, emotional, sexy, romantic…
I could go on.
But seriously this was great, although by the end I was getting kind of bored. But the book got me back on track.
It’s a great read, and the writer has great quotes throughout.
Writing about addiction and loss have to be two of the most difficult things to write about, but the author delivered it amazingly.

4.5⭐️ 2.5🌶

Third person Dual pov.

When Ashley needs to save her ski hill from her cheating ex husband, she hires a group of men from the sober living home Little Timber, led by former rock star Mad Madigan, to help cut costs.
This is my first book by Jess Hardy and it definitely won't be my last. I loved every single character (not Chuck), including Murphy, the needy St Bernard. It was refreshing to read older characters (40s and 50s) and to learn about the men that stay at Little Timber. I'm really looking forward to reading more in this series!

Thank you to netgalley and Victory editing for sharing a copy of this book.

The cover is amazing but I was a little surprised that the main characters were in their 50s. I could see this becoming a Hallmark movie (minus all the spicy scenes that were perfect). I liked that they tackled issues like divorce, substance use and starting over. I think having older characters allowed the author to grow them more and remove a lot of the petty miscommunication younger romance characters have.

4.5⭐️ I absolutely loved this. The spice was excellent and Madigan is a top tier book boyfriend. Both his an Ashley’s journeys were so fun to dive into. The book was well written, I laughed, definitely got teary eyed and felt all the frustration Chuck (and a couple other things but I don’t wana spoil anything).

Half a star off because I felt Ashley’s relationships with her daughter and mother needed a little more focus. And I REALLY wanted Chuck to get his ass handed to him more than it did.

I liked this so much more than I was expecting. It was so refreshing to read a romance with older MCs. She’s in her 40s and he’s in his 50s. Both MCs have some confidence and intimacy issues — him from addiction, her from her ex-husband. There was a lot of growing and healing. Sweet romance, good spice.

Come As You Are by Jess K. Hardy was a fun surprise. I saw it on NetGalley and decided to give it a shot and am so glad I did. This novel about a family ski lodge/mountain trying to not get eaten up by a corporate entity and a ragtag group of men in a sober living facility was heartwarming and thoughtful. Ashley, the lodge owner, is on the struggle bus--her ex-husband wants to buy out her family's legacy, her mom seems to undermine her at every turn, she's understaffed, overworked, and still grieving the loss of her dad. Madigan, the owner of the sober living home, is looking for steady employment for the men he's in charge of and at the invitation of Ashley's mom, approaches Ashley with a proposition: she gets workers for less than what she's used to having to pay and his men get an opportunity to gain skills and show responsibility, while living clean and sober. Once the shock of it all wears off, Ashley grudgingly accepts the deal and what ensues is a journey of discovery and hope mixed with fear.

Madigan and Ashley begin to get to know each other and show one another that it's okay to want things, that you can actually trust people with your heart, and that it's okay to be vulnerable with those that you trust. Of course there are missteps and misunderstandings but what I really appreciated about these characters is that they actually communicated about things, listened to each other, and tried to be respectful of what the other one needed. I loved that Hardy made Madigan a big softie; it's nice to see a man be real with his emotions and to see it on the page. I appreciated how she wrote Ashley too; that she showed a character who had unfortunate, but realistic, fears and judgement about the men she was hiring and how she learned about how wrong she was.

Come As You Are was a great weekend read: sweet, romantic, honest, and heartwarming. I look forward to the next book in this series.

*I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This was a fabulous book! A later-in-life romance between two people who have experienced the worst that life has to offer and still choose to face each day with love. I adored our two MCs, especially Madigan who absolutely won my heart. There were a lot of heavy themes in this book, but what I loved most was how much optimism there was. There were also some fantastic 'real' moments that this book didn't shy away from, which in the end made everything feel more realistic.

I'm really looking forward to the next books in this series, I'm hoping we see some of the side characters from this book get their own HEAs.

This was a quick read for me. The main characters grew together throughout the story so well and the chemistry was THERE. Cute, fun cozy and romantic read.

We don’t get many books like have main characters in their 40s/50s, so I was excited to read this one! Ashley (46) owns a ski lodge that has fallen under hard times after the death of her father. Madigan (52) is an ex rock star, recovering addict that runs a sober living home. Ashley hires Madigan and his men to work at the lodge. Sparks fly between Ashley and Madigan, even though Ashley fights that attraction. While this book touches on some heavy themes like grief, addiction, betrayal and self doubt, they are handled with care. Mixed in with the heavy are light, sweet, funny and swoon worthy moments. Madigan is just so good. The slow burn to spice is perfect. I loved the ski mountain setting and the side characters were great! I highly recommend this book!