Bluebird Basin Series by Jess K. Hardy

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... moreHe’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 loss of parent less

The last thing Cole Sanderson expects when he drives into the small ski town of Red Falls, MT for his best friend’s wedding is the gorgeous, green-eyed bakery owner hauling him across her counter and kissing him. He also doesn’t expect to score a wedding date, but just like almost everything in his life, when she asks, his answer is an enthusiastic “hell yes!” It’s official, Mira Harlow has finally lost it... moreThe last thing Cole Sanderson expects when he drives into the small ski town of Red Falls, MT for his best friend’s wedding is the gorgeous, green-eyed bakery owner hauling him across her counter and kissing him. He also doesn’t expect to score a wedding date, but just like almost everything in his life, when she asks, his answer is an enthusiastic “hell yes!” It’s official, Mira Harlow has finally lost it. Between running her bakery, parenting a 14-year-old, and taking care of her mom whose mind is slowly leaving her, she’s a stretched-thin mess. But kissing a total stranger (a drummer no less!) and pretending he’s her wedding date just so her ex and his new wife won’t think she doesn’t have one, is a new low even for her. The thing is though, Cole is kind of amazing. He’s funny, charming, a great dancer, an even better kisser. It’s too bad this date is fake. It’s too bad her feelings seem real. And it’s really too bad he lives 600 miles away. less

She thought she could forget him. He’ll never stop trying to prove she shouldn’t.Davis Thompson had never been so happy or so in love as she was with Kevin Lowes. Until his relapse shattered their world. After finding him at his lowest, in a moment that will haunt her forever, she’s convinced he’d not only chosen drugs over her. But he’d chosen another woman too. Now she’s trying to rebuild her life, wanting desperately to move on and figure out who she is and what she wants without him... moreShe thought she could forget him. He’ll never stop trying to prove she shouldn’t.Davis Thompson had never been so happy or so in love as she was with Kevin Lowes. Until his relapse shattered their world. After finding him at his lowest, in a moment that will haunt her forever, she’s convinced he’d not only chosen drugs over her. But he’d chosen another woman too. Now she’s trying to rebuild her life, wanting desperately to move on and figure out who she is and what she wants without him. There’s only one problem: Kev is returning to Bluebird Basin.After a brutal rebab stay, Kev is determined to recommit to his recovery and win back the only woman he’s ever loved. But when he realizes the depth of the pain he caused and the secrets Davis has kept to protect him from himself, he wonders if it’s too late. More broken than he’s ever been, Kev finds unexpected healing while working with a wild mustang whose invisible scars match his.But Bluebird Basin is a small ski hill, and as Kev and Davis continually cross paths, old wounds reopen and sparks reignite. Davis doesn’t know if she can trust Kev again. And Kev must confront his darkest fears and deepest regrets if he wants to prove to her that a second chance with him is worth fighting for.Wish You Were Here is book 3 in the Bluebird Basin Romance series but can be read as a standalone. Although reading the first two books is recommended.Content notes: Relapse, discussions of drug use, discussions of abuse.Tropes: second chance romance, relationship in trouble, forced proximity, reformed bad boy, hurt/comfort, redemption romance, animal as a mirror, small-town romance, high angst, pining/groveling. less