3.5 stars.

I love that Cathy Yardley specializes in later in life romances. We need more authors who focus on elder millennials and Gen-Xers finding love! "Do Me a Favor" is a middle-aged small-town romance featuring two main characters with terrific chemistry. Willa and Hudson have great banter with one another. As they slowly get to know each other, their attraction is palpable, and eventually, fiery! I liked them together a lot. Their romance was sweet and cute and captivating. The part at the part when Willa eats the whole cookie?! HILARIOUS! Made me laugh out loud. I like how Hudson and Willa eventually share their dreams with one another as they get closer, with no judgment. I also liked the side characters, including Hudson's twins Jeremy and Kimber. Some of the scenes and some of the dialogue is a little unrealistic, but hey, it's a romance novel, it's ok! There are not a whole lot of stakes for Willa and Hudson as a couple, so people who like lots of tension likely won't be pleased with this one. What I didn't like was the whole type-1 diabetes thing as it related to Willa's deceased husband. The book says he dies from it, which makes it seem like T1 diabetes is a death sentence. It felt a little overly dramatic to me? I know plenty of people with diabetes who live a fairly normal life where it is not a death sentence to them! The end is a little rushed, in my opinion. Still, I did enjoy this book overall.

Thank you to NetGalley, Cathy Yardley, and Montlake for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

🔨👩🏻‍🍳 Do Me A Favor by Cathy Yardley 👩🏻‍🍳🔨

Willa moves to a small island in the Pacific Northwest following her husband’s death and inheriting a house from a distant relative. She’s basically starting over at 46 and unsure of what comes next in her life. When a lost dog wanders into her yard, Willa contacts the owner and ends up meeting her neighbor, single dad and island handyman Hudson. Neither of them are looking for a relationship but can’t deny that there’s a spark between them.

I love reading about romantic interests in their 40s, and Cathy Yardley is consistently representing this demographic! I always enjoy her books and this one was no exception.

Recommended if you enjoy:
Slight age gap (5 years)
Single dad
Foodie talk
Diversity
Hurt/comfort
40s romance

Do Me A Favor by Cathy Yardley
Rating: 4 stars
Steam: 2 chilis
Pub date: 7/23

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Montlake for my advanced copy. "Do Me A Favor" is a delightful rom-com that hits all the right notes about love and second chances.

Willa is a widowed cookbook ghostwriter who moves from California to the Pacific Northwest to start fresh. Struggling with her career, Willa’s life takes an unexpected turn when she meets her new neighbor, Hudson Daws, a divorced handyman with a lively family life.

Hudson’s world is a fun mix of barbecues, goats with big personalities, and a mischievous dog, all set in a charming small town. His sexy smile and deep voice immediately catch Willa’s attention, leading to a fun back-and-forth of favors and undeniable chemistry. Both Willa and Hudson have pasts to deal with, but their journey shows that it’s never too late for a new beginning.

What makes this book special is its focus on characters in their forties, breaking away from typical romance stereotypes. Yardley blends love, family, and personal growth, making the characters feel real and relatable.

The story starts off a bit slow, but the pacing helps build a deeper connection to Willa and Hudson’s growing relationship. I loved the well-developed supporting characters and the small-town setting.

Overall, Hudson’s great communication and Willa’s bravery and growth make them a couple to cheer for. "Do Me A Favor" is a sweet reminder that love and new beginnings can happen at any age.

Read if you like:
*adorable meet-cutes
*mature MC’s (in their forties)
*opposites attract
*forced proximity
*dual POV
*open door spice

I love how the author has given us a bit of a later in life love story. Both characters have had a first marriage and lost their significant other due to divorce or death. One has kids, one is floundering and unsure where to go at this point. The story takes place in a small town with a fun cast of supporting characters.

Willa is reserved, still dealing with her husband’s death, she’s unsure how to move about in this new world and new reality. She married pretty young, against her parents’ wishes, and her life never became the steady, safe one they’d always wanted her to have. Now she’s kind of trying to move on, to start a new life on her own, with the luck of her great-aunt’s home in this small town. The first job opportunity that might actually help her get on her feet comes along, but it’s not an easy one. The antics with trying to come up with “sexy” recipes for this influencer’s cookbook is so much fun. Even as I could feel the stress Willa was dealing with to complete it.

Then there is Hudson. He’s the flirty divorcee, with two grown kids, because he also got married at a young age. He’s a few years younger than Willa, but also at a point in his life where he thinks he wants to be. But as he gets to know Willa, and learn about her life, he does start to wonder about a few of his own misses in his life. However he is a giver, he’s there to help out anyone, and so that has always come first, like raising his kids when his wife left them. His family is a blast. His daughter and his mom, and even his dad. All of them just want him to be happy, and of course are shocked when it seems he’s interested in this new woman on the island.

The romance progresses at a slow pace, both attracted, but Willa unsure and not wanting to accept help, and Hudson worried about scaring her away if he moves too fast. When Willa visits her family, it makes sense why she feels the way she does. But I love how she makes her decision on what to do next.

Another thing I loved about the story is that we don’t get that third act break up really. There is a bit of the disaster we need to move the story along of course, but the two of them are able to figure that out, and then we have other things to worry about messing up their relationship, or them figuring out what they are going to do and how they can move on.

Another sweet romance, with a little bit of spice from Cathy Yardley.

4.5 stars rounded up

I've been loving Cathy Yardley's romances featuring more mature adults! Do Me a Favor follows two characters in their 40's who find love when they least expect it. Willa is trying to start over after the death of her husband, moving into the house on an island her aunt left to her, and working on ghost-writing a cookbook. Hudson is her new neighbor, a handyman who raised his now-adult children alone and hasn't had a real relationship in decades. When his son's dog gets lost in a storm and ends up at Willa's house, they meet when he picks the dog up. And so begins a lovely slow-burn romance between complicated adults finding who they are in this later stage of life. I felt like the ending was a bit rushed, but overall I really enjoyed this and would recommend it. The audio narrators do a great job with each of the characters. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

This book was ok. The writing was alright but in my opinion some things should have been reconsidered. It takes a while for them to make any real progress. I dont mind a slow burn but usually feelings are atleast acknowledged.

I quite liked this contemporary romance.

This will be a short pros and cons type of review.
What I liked:
-older MCs who are still looking for the right direction in their lives, basically they have to start anew for various reasons
- slow-burn romance
- strong internal conflict and character growth
- multi-faceted side characters - no evil ex-wife or a terrible deceased husband. Just people who did some good things and some bad things but the experience of being with them was meaningful and important for the MCs
- great family (his), not so great (hers)
- i would call this second-chance romance, not in the sense that they were together before and split and now are together again but rather, they had big romantic relationships in the past and had given up on romantic love/long-term relationship and now are in a big romantic relationship again to their own surprise

What I didn't like very much:
- the scene ||where the heroine gets high accidentally didn't sit right with me. I felt his family should have warned her about the quantity and potential effect. Getting high in this way put her in a very vulnerable position and I didn't like it. Like, her openness and honesty in talking with the hero felt forced because of the pot and not because she trusted him quite so much so early in their relationship||
- I liked how they got the time to sort things for themselves before ending up in a committed relationship but that ending was so rushed and abrupt. I really needed more time of them together after his return from Europe.

Overall, I enjoyed this story quite a lot. It was vibrant and multilayered, with just the right amount of angst and sex that felt genuine for those characters.

CW: teenage pregnancy (in the past), her husband died of a chronic illness (in the past), mild drug use, grief, being a caregiver for a loved one

After losing her husband, Willa is attempting to start over. But taking on a new house while trying to simultaneously revive her career as a cookbook ghostwriter feels like biting off more than she can chew.

Hudson is the handyman next door who unexpectedly enters Willa’s life. While the single dad has a hard time hiding his growing affection, the widowed Willa remains on guard. However, the more work he does on the house, the more even Willa’s walls begin to crumble.

Do Me A Favor is a sweet, second romance from author, Cathy Yardley. I appreciated this was a love story about people who were a little bit older, and perhaps had more reason to be jaded. It’s a breath of fresh air to read about middle aged meetings very once and awhile. Although I will never warm up to the quick switch in lovey dovey terminology in stories like these, I still suggest doing yourself a favor and picking up this reset take on romance.

Thanks to Montlake and Cathy Yardley for sending this free ARC! Here are my honest thoughts!

When Role Playing came out, it was easily one of my favorite books. I also read that book early via ARC, and it was phenomenal. I loved that the characters were older. I love the demisexual rep! I loved the whole thing. It wasn’t that I was expecting this book to match that level. However, I definitely had high hopes for Do Me A Favor.

Safe to say, it met those expectations. I really enjoyed this book! It had a small town feel that made it warm and cozy. The characters were well rounded, each with dreams and lives outside of one another. The side characters were well developed. They weren’t just there to be there. The vibes were great.

The build up of Hudson and Willa’s relationship was beautiful. The fact that this man simply wanted to do things for her and help her was actually the cutest thing. His care and love for Willa were a shining light throughout this book. His willingness to go at her speed and make sure she felt safe was JUST SO GOOD UGH.

My only thought was that Willa’s husband’s death felt odd. I have little experience with Type 1 diabetes, so I’m only going off of that. But I didn’t think that it was considered a “terminal illness” unless you simply chose to ignore it and refuse to take care of yourself? Even then, I wasn’t sure the timeline on that. It seemed strange to me, even knowing as little as I do. However, after reading other reviews I see that there were people who do have experience with it that took issue with how it was portrayed. Upon receiving Cathy’s newest newsletter email, I saw that her husband has Type 1 Diabetes. So, maybe I’m way off base, and it’s all just a case by case thing.

Other than that, this book was great! I can’t wait to read more from Cathy!

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book wasn't my favorite but I didn't hate it. My main thought with this book was that it felt so slow. Part of me feels like nothing actually happens in this book.

Why I read it: I read Role Playing by Cathy Yardley last year and loved it, so I was excited to see and read another book from her. I grabbed this one from NetGalley. (Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy! This is my honest review.)

Review #insixwords: Just a fun small town romance.

More:

Willa is a widower from another state who is trying to find her way after her husband’s death. Hudson is a lifer on the island who happens to live nearby and fix things, like whatever breaks or needs TLC in her house.

Fun and funny times: Willa accidentally eat a “special” cookies, there is an escape artist dog, and goat. Actually, more than one goat!

Feeling time ticking down to when she’ll need some money, Willa takes on a ghostwriting project for a cookbook. Except she’s not really feeling inspired. Except when Hudson is around.

Lots of food and food science talk. Food as a way to show love? Maybe!

Willa and Hudson both have character arcs that take them on an individual journey before their happily ever after, and they’re stronger for it in the end. This resolution of character arcs reminded me a bit of Courtney Milan’s The Devil Comes Courting (a book that I adored)

Recommendation: If you’re looking for fun contemporary romance books with older characters, go pick up a Cathy Yardley book! Between Role Playing and Do Me a Favor, you can’t go wrong.

This is my first book by this author and I can safely say it won’t be my last.

I’m really enjoying this audiobook and it has accompanied me throughout the week during trips in my car. 🚙💨 🎵

Everything about this read has been enjoyable to me so far - from hottie handyman Hudson, the Asian rep 🙌, Diabetes rep, his family’s dog Noodle, and the found family theme I’m finding within.

My full review to come soon! I’ll drop a short description below 👇. Also, highly recommend this heartwarming book to all my rom-com peeps! 🐥

I love that Cathy Yardley continues to write romances featuring MCs who are in their 40's. In this book, Willa is 46 and Hudson is 41. Both have lived full lives up to the present, but they both find themselves at a crossroads in life. In Willa's case, she spent the last few years as a caretaker to her sick husband, and now after his death, finds herself broke and with no career prospects other than trying to claw her way back into the periphery of the food scene. In Hudson's case, after becoming a father at 19 and a single parent in his early 20's, his twins are now adults, he's obtained a general contractor's license, and is thinking again about his old dream of becoming an antiques and restoration expert.

They meet soon after Willa arrives on the island, thanks to Hudson's goofy pit bull who gets into Willa's garage on a stormy night. Willa is guarded and private and was raised not to rely on or accept favors from anyone outside of her family. However, that doesn't really fly on the island, where all of the locals know each other and are linked by strong family and friendship ties. Willa soon finds herself drawn in by the friendliness of the islanders and by Hudson and his family in particular, not to mention the powerful attraction between them. After previously rejecting every advance that came his way from women on the island, Hudson finds himself breaking all of his self-imposed rules, wanting to pursue a deeper relationship with this intriguing woman.

There was plenty of attraction between them and I loved how they were both so supportive of each other's dreams and desires. Both of them were givers who'd delayed and pushed their own dreams aside to take care of others so it was good to see them finally doing something for themselves. The romance happened fast and it seemed like they were making commitments very quickly at the end, but I can understand it since they both had a lot of life experience and knew what they wanted. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

I really enjoyed Cathy Yardley’s book Role Playing, so I was super excited to pick up her latest book. It’s another sweet romance between older characters that also has a lot to the story outside of the main relationship. Willa has inherited her great aunt’s house on a small island in the Pacific Northwest. She’s trying to get her life back together after the death of her husband when she meets Hudson, a local handyman. The two become closer as he works on fixing up Willa’s house.

It’s great to see a romance between characters in their 40s who are dealing with different life issues. Willa is getting back into ghostwriting cookbooks after being out of work for a while taking care of her late husband. And Hudson has complex relationships with his different family members and what he wants to continue doing as a career. While he’s a handyman he has taken the step recently to become a contractor, but he also has some secret passions that he hasn’t been pursuing.

The romance between Willa and Hudson is a slow burn. There’s definitely attraction between the two of them right away, but actually expressing that to one another and progressing to a physical and romantic connection takes time. I liked seeing all the scenes of them getting to know one another, and Willa getting to know Hudson’s family. There are a lot of lovely scenes on his family farm and of them sharing food with one another.

Overall this was just a super adorable romance that occasionally dealt with some heavy topics as well. I absolutely flew through it. It’s not the steamiest book on the block, but I feel like Cathy Yardley still did a great job of showing the chemistry and connection between the characters. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from her in the future.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

Sadly this romance was not for me, which is strange because I usually relate to books featuring animal lovers a but more.

**Updated Review**

When Willa finds herself to be the new owner of her great aunt’s home, she decides a move to the Pacifica Northwest is just the fresh start she needs. The emotional loss of both her husband and way of life have left battling for purpose. Hudson has spent his entire life in the same place. While he’s always putting everyone else first and ready to help wherever he’s needed, he dreams of something more. A chance meeting, with the help of a furry friend, has these opposites entangled whether they want it or not.

Do Me a Favor is an opposites-attract, contemporary romance. This stand-alone does contain some open door content but it is not particularly spicy or aggressively descriptive. This is a story of starting over with MCs who are over 40.

I don’t know if it’s necessarily considered a meet-cute but I love when the main characters’ first interaction involves an animal, especially an animal being an absolute menace. The push and pull between these characters is so good. Willa needs to learn how to let others help her and Hudson needs that push to do something for himself. They balance each other and that stability that grows between them makes for the most genuine connection.

Is diabetes a death sentence? No, not necessarily, but it can be if not managed properly, as seems to be the case here. I appreciate the thoughtful but realistic way in which the author portrays a condition that affects so many but isn't commonly written about in this way. It’s an important reminder that chronic illnesses can affect each person differently.

The audiobook is excellent! The narrators, Elyse Dinh and Teddy Hamilton did a fantastic job bringing the story to life. Elyse Dinh also narrated another of Cathy Yardley’s books, Role Playing, and I was glad to see her cast in this one as well. I’ve never heard a bad book narrated by Teddy Hamilton and Do Me a Favor is no exception.

I have read a lot of Cathy Yardley’s work and she continues to impress me with the depth of her writing in each book. Her MCs are complex but relatable. Even the side characters have layers that leave readers wanting to know even more about them. I’m grateful to have received an early copy of Do Me a Favor and I know I’ll be rereading it before the end of the year.

I voluntarily read, listened to, and reviewed advanced copies of this book and audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Willa and Hudson were perfection. I absolutely adored this romcom. The witty banter and character development was spot on. Another great read from this author. My new go to!

This was such a charming read! The small town trope will forever hold a special place in my heart, especially with how the family and friends rallied for our MC's in this one. It is so nice to see two characters in their forties without the cookie cutter romance plot. This book is a great example that experiencing true love, starting anew, following old dreams and finding family can happen at any age.

The first bit was slow going, but as I read on I ended up appreciating the pace set for Willa and Hudson's blossoming relationship. Their characters complimented one another so well. The supporting characters were well-developed and added to the charm of the small town and found family theme throughout.

One thing that left something to be desired was the ending. I feel the reader, and these characters, deserved a bit more. The conflict resolution and the characters HEA felt rushed and squeezed into the end of the story.

Overall, Yardley’s writing is whimsical and intentional. Her characters feel very authentic and relatable. I would still recommend this one to any romance reader.

in a genre where lead characters tend to be in a particular age bracket, I appreciate cathy yardley's efforts to offer more variety and representation, crafting stories that can highlight different themes. willa and hudson, having been respectively widowed and divorced, forming a new connection looks different than it would for an individual in their twenties.

3.5 ★

a solid follow-up to role playing, do me a favor has a wonderful charm and tenderness to it, that small-town appeal that so many of us love and adore. set on an island in the pacific northwest, this is a story about reclaiming dreams and the importance of the family we choose.

both willa and hudson were the sweetest characters, deserving of the comfort they found in each other. since witnessing two good people find each other and fall in love doesn't get old, it was gratifying to invest in their low-stakes romance that resulted in personal growth for both parties. it was also quite cute to see how their friends and family, especially hudson's, championed their relationship.

with 20% remaining in my read, I hoped this would be a four-star read. however, the handling of the conclusion resulted in some bothersome pacing issues. there were so many developments packed into just a few chapters, events that should have been expanded rather than rushed through. that would probably be my only complaint.

thanks to montlake and cathy yardley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Willa inherits her aunt’s house on a small island off the coast of Seattle. Her husband died two years ago and she is still trying to recover financially and emotionally. The house is a fresh chance for her and she'd like to get her career as a ghostwriter for cookbooks back on track. She meets next door neighbor Hudson Daws who is the island handyman. His parents helped him raise his now two adult children and they all live together on a small farm property. Hudson has never had a relationship with someone living on the island and Willa hasn’t been with anyone since her husband.

I love that they are in their 40s and still trying to change and find new happiness. Both have lessons to learn and baggage to put away to find a future together. I liked that we got both MC’s perspectives. And side characters, mainly his family, added a lot. And rescue dog Noodle gets his own nod. Some spice on the page. Overall this is adults being supportive and kind to one another. Very sweet romance.