⭐️⭐️½ — Just okay, nothing more.

A small-town romance set in rural Texas, told through dual POV. Wren Baldwin, the FMC, is on the run from a controlling father and ends up in Vogel Springs after her Maserati breaks down in the middle of nowhere. There, she meets Hud Bass — a broody, working-class mechanic who reluctantly lets her into his life.

At first glance, this looked like a classic “heiress x mechanic” romantic set-up: slow burn, class tension, summer heat, and small-town charm. But in reality? It’s filled with over-the-top drama and soap-opera-level side plots.

Tags: Texas / mechanic hero / small town / insta-lust / car trouble / rich-girl-meets-blue-collar-boy

📖 Plot
After fleeing her father’s control, Wren’s road trip takes an unexpected turn when her car breaks down. She ends up stuck in Vogel Springs, where Hud is the only mechanic in town. The two are forced into close proximity while waiting for the parts.

Their initial tension quickly turns to attraction — but chaos soon follows: a dramatic ex returns, her wealthy friend suddenly buys property and starts a business in town, the locals are split over a sketchy land deal, and Wren’s unresolved family issues continue to haunt her. Things escalate… fast.

📌 Thoughts
I like reading fluffy romances between heavier books, and I assumed this would be one. Sadly, it wasn’t. It had all the makings of a sweet small-town romance but leaned hard into the drama — and not in a good way.

The romance moved too fast. Hud and Wren barely knew each other, and yet within 24 hours he was possessive and they were already hooking up. There was way more internal monologue than actual dialogue, and very little time spent building emotional intimacy. It was insta-love without the necessary depth. Where’s the slow burn? The tension? The longing?

The side characters were also overly dramatic (Rosalee’s plotline in particular), and some of the events were just plain unrealistic, like Wren’s rich friend buying a house in a town he just showed up in because her car broke down there? Or the entire town being fine with corporate developers taking someone’s land? It felt like drama for the sake of drama.

As for the spice: 🌶️ It was there, but the scenes felt awkward and took me out of the moment.

I really got into this story right from the start, absolutely loved it.
We have Wren running away from life in her Maserati and her car breaking down in that cute small town. She meets Hud; the broody, single dad mechanic who is facing his own problems (fighting for custody of his kid and keeping his land). They both have the most amazing best friends (the texting between them was so fun) and the banter between Wren and Hud had me crying.
Loved the characters, Wren is a sweetheart and Hud is the perfect book boyfriend!
Didn't expect this book to grab me the way it did, but it had me feeling all the feelings and it might be my favourite Small Town Romance this year.

If you're looking for Small town - Single dad - Slow burn - Found family - He falls first - HEA ... Read this one! You won't regret it.

Thanks to Netgalley, RupertBossier and Liberty Stowe for entrusting me with an advanced copy to write an honest review about.

A sweet and sexy romance novel. The author starts things off with a trigger warning which is nice to have. Even better though, is a a playlist which includes a QR code to a Spotify playlist of some great Country music. The supporting characters in this book are lovely and charming. Just like you would picture for a quaint small town. Well, of course, except for the ones that are supposed to be the villains. The spicy scenes are descriptive without being vulgar. All and all and enjoyable book.

Oooh this needs to be a movie! I adored the small-town vibes, the plot twists, and the way it all ties together in the end. Wren and her damsel-in-distress- who-drives-a-Maserati with Hud, the mechanic who we think is going to save the day, but does he or she in the end?! I adored Anderson’s role as the foil, and the father role that Hud plays. The cute small town details from dollar general clothes to the diner where everyone gossips was really well done. Great debut novel!

A gorgeous girl with an equally gorgeous Maseratti finds herself stranded in a small town when her car starts giving her problems. Shouldn't be a problem since they have the best mechanic in town named Hud. Hud has a thing for fixing things, even people.

Its such a cozy town, so of course it has the best dinner you can imagine. I'd die to try one of Martha's blueberry muffins. They're such a simple thing to make, but I'm sure hers are out of this world. I enjoyed how Hud and and Wren's life and personal circles tied together towards the end. I thought the book was well written and I think everything was executed good. Thank you to Netgalley, RupertBossier, and Liberty Stowe for an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion.

Steady Now meant so much more than just the title of the book. It was in the moment he helped her, the moment she was brave enough to comfort him, the moment she first looked at his bare back in bed, the moments in his childhood and the moments with his own son.

This was a small town with a grumpy mechanic with a big heart and a few Steady Nows for comfort. I loved it, and i am so glad i picked it up for summer reading. My heart was following the road to their happy ending, and i was a blushing mess when things got spicy.

⭐⭐⭐.5 pretty good! there were enjoyable parts and decent chemistry, but it lacked that extra spark to make it really memorable.
🌶️🌶️: mild spice, around 2 to 4 scenes, still tame sex scenes with a slight touch of kink and still romance focused

wren baldwin’s not exactly running away, just driving until she figures things out. but when her maserati breaks down in vogel springs, texas, she’s forced to rely on hudson bass, the local mechanic with way too much on his plate. she plans to be gone the minute her car’s fixed, but the town charms her, and hud’s harder to shake than she expected. he’s messy, loyal, and all kinds of tempting. she’s just passing through… but maybe what she needed wasn’t an escape, it was a reason to stay.

this was such a solid debut romance and i had a great time with it. it gave me major corinne michaels vibes and i’m always here for a grumpy single dad storyline. the small-town setting was super charming and i loved the way all the side characters added so much fun to the story and setting. it had the right amount of slow burn to friends to spice flow. i flew through it in like two days.

thanks so much to netgalley for the arc.

tropes: single dad, grumpy x sunshine, small town

I loved watching Wren and Hud work through their baggage and heal together. It's always fun to see two world collide and make something beautiful.

I wish there was an epilogue about how Connor did transitioning fully to Vogel Springs and with Wren in the picture. Also to see how the B&B turns out.

I am so grateful to have received this ARC!

This was the perfect, fun, sexy summer read. Family, emotions, and love. Thanks to the NetGalley Summer Camp for the very fun read.

I’ve just finished this and I’m not entirely convinced the main characters even know each others favourite colour. Just insta love and no substance behind it.

For me it felt like hud was possessive over wren almost immediately despite only knowing her for ~24 hours. Which in itself is major offputting and takes me out of the book. I’m also not a huge fan of when characters hook up so early in the book. Where’s the yearning? The silent pining? Or just generally getting to know each other before they take each others clothes off.

Ultimately this book was not for me!

Liberty Stowe makes an appearance with the charming small-town romance. Faced with a difficult past, they're forced to share their truths as their attraction for each other grows. Wren is notorious for running from her problems. It was what she was up to when her car broke down. Vogel Springs, the closest place with a mechanic, becomes her refuge. What she didn’t expect was to find a handsome, unavailable man by the name of Hud. Hud, having a lot on his plate, doesn’t deter him from being attracted to Wren. His emotional unavailability comes from a looming legal battle over two things that matter to him. He also drew the conclusion that she would be leaving either way. Romance readers who enjoy reading sexy, sizzling small-town romance will be satisfied with this book. I highly recommend it. The chemistry and yearning between the two were well laid out and intense.

I really enjoyed this book, but some parts felt rushed and some of the miscommunication bothered me. I think Hud should have told Wren more before she found out on her own, and Wren should have communicated before just leaving and doing things, but overall I really liked the story.

I did love most characters instantly, except Rosalee, she hit to close to home with my own mother and I couldn’t stand her.

This was a super cute book that I devoured. A rich city girl’s car breaks down in a small town and she falls in love with the town and the people. The characters were well developed and I loved the text emoji dialogue.

Hallmark / Lifetime movie meets a saucy romance in this small Texas town. This story has all the elements of a cheesy hallmark (she is running from her past, always wanted to make daddy proud but could never get his approval, comes from money, car breaks down outside small town -- he is a hot, single dad, working as a mechanic, fighting for custody of his son while trying to save the land that has been in his family since the Civil War), but the spicy romance between the two keep this from being shown in your local church hall. To keep the storyline interesting, there are gaps in both their pasts, moments that make you question who is the hero to who, there is a gay best friend, a small town diner, both endearing and annoying side characters - it all just meshes so well to be a classic Hallmark (but with the spice!). The only reason I give a 3/5 is the writing is not challenging or beautiful, and there are moments sentences come out of nowhere that feel choppy to the flow. The storyline is there, but I'm hoping the editing process can get another once-over before this is released in August.

"Steady" by Liberty Stowe has garnered high praise, and I am pleased to award it a five-star rating. The narrative is captivating. The story follows Wren Baldwin, who seeks respite from her troubles, but her luxury Maserati experiences a breakdown near Vogel Springs, Texas. The closest repair shop is owned by Hudson Bass, a man of intense demeanor and striking appearance. From their initial encounter, the narrative suggests a palpable chemistry between the protagonists. The content is also humorous and engaging.

This story was cute and fun and I really enjoyed reading it. I liked the pacing, all the characters, the story and how it wrapped up. I enjoy reading and just want a story to draw me in and take me on a journey, this book did that. It made me feel like I could be watching a cute romcom.

The things I struggled with were some grammatical errors and sometimes the writing style, but those things could definitely be improved with another round of edits.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a chance to read and review this book.

Not my type of writing, idk what’s with me at the moment. I think it might’ve just been right book, wrong time. When this comes out I will give it another go.

4.5✨ I really loved this book!! From start to finish it was brilliant
We follow our Fmc Ween Baldwin who's isn't running for her life. She's running from it. After a bad break up and being under her father control, driving as fast and as far as she's can until her Maserati stops running near Vogel Springs, Texas. Her call for help is Hudson Bass the only man in a hundred miles who can fix it a mechanic with can fix anything other than himself.
Highly recommend this book!! 😍😍😍

I really enjoyed this book. The banter between the characters were absolutely funny and enjoyable. These character were very though out and the story line is great as well.

Wren Baldwin is trying to escape her problems, when her top of the range Maserati breaks down near Vogel Springs, Texas. The nearest garage is owned by Hudson Bass, a moody and brooding and damn handome man. It is obviously from their first meeting that sparks are going to fly. The chemistry between the two if obvious. Without giving too much of the story away both have their own demons and will reply on friends and each other to come through them.

I really enjoyed this small-town fast paced romance. Thank you to Netgalley and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.