This was so lovely! I was prepared for a heavy, super emotional read but it’s relatively light despite the heavier topics that it leans into (addiction, drug use, family issues, divorce)!
I loved that it strays from the normal rom-com age demographic with an FMC and MMC in their forties and fifties. I think that brings a level of maturity and experience to both Madigan and Ashley; it kind of circumvents the irritation that a younger couple without that experience can bring.
I think the side characters are super lovable and I hope they get their own stories moving forward; especially a second chance romance with Sam and Izzy!
On the other hand, it did read a bit like a Hallmark holiday romance which is not a bad thing at all but just something to keep in mind if you pick it up.
Aside from the age, it wasn’t quite as diverse as I’d hoped! That’s really my only note for improvement; there were primarily white and straight characters!
Overall, I really enjoyed the story and I’d recommend giving it a shot!

A nice read although as much as they tried to say they were older their actions and thinking read like a 20 something couple. Loved diving into a recovering addicts thoughts and was entertained by the love story.

FINALLY a romance with main characters who are not basically children. Joking, but kinda not. I really appreciated the fact that both of these characters were over age 40 without being portrayed as bitter and permanently broken people. Their romance was realistic, but seriously hot. More!

Where to start! Huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
This was an easy 4.5 stars.

Madigan and Ashley both have walls up because of their pasts and with each other (and a fun group of side characters) they find that it's never too late for happiness.

Ashley owns Bluebird, a skiing area in Montana and it's threatening to close when her mother comes up with the idea to hire a group of men from the nearby sober living facility. At first, Ashley is hesitant but quickly comes to find a new sense of family amongst these men.

This book shines a light on sober living and addiction in a way where you're rooting for each of these men, proving that not everyone who makes mistakes is a bad person. You learn to love each character right down to the chaotic rescue dog.

You could call this found family for sure as well as second chance romance but not in the traditional way. Each main character gets a second chance at life and romance through each other even though their pasts have left them with doubts. Such a heartwarming story that was impossible to put down.

I can't wait to see what else comes of Bluebird Basin!

I wanted to read this one without even reading the description because I trust Kate Clayborn's opinion. And then I started it and discovered the female main character is a single mom in her mid-40s with some self esteem issues after a less than ideal first marriage, and wow, it's so rare for me to find books in my favorite genre I do strongly identify with! Than you, Jess Hardy, and netgalley for the opportunity to read this excellent book!

SUMMARY :'Come as You Are' by Jess K. Hardy, follows Ashley Cooke, who is determined to save her struggling ski hill. Following her mother's advice she takes an unconventional approach by hiring men from a local sober living home to cut costs. With financial pressures, a cheating ex-husband threatening to buy the mountain, and a forecast of record-breaking snow, Ashley can't afford distractions. However, when she encounters Matthew Madigan, the bearded and tattooed owner of the sober living home, sparks fly. Matthew, a recovering addict and ex-grunge rocker, finds himself drawn to Ashley's charm and offers to help train her St. Bernard rescue dog in exchange for skiing lessons. As their connection deepens, they both confront their pasts and find solace in each other's presence.

REVIEW: This book was like a breath of fresh air! I loved that we got to follow two older protagonists, something we don't usually see in rom-com books. The chemistry between Ashley and Madigan was electric and the 🌶🌶🌶 scenes were well written and fun to read. The rest of the Little Timber men were so much fun and to read about and I can't wait for their books to come out as well!

I only read about 50% of this book before I decided that I wasn't going to be able to commit to reading it. The book itself is written well. I have no problem with that. What lead me to realize that I was going to have to put it down was the age of the characters. I'm very particular about the ages of the characters that I read about. I'm in the new adult age range and found that reading about Gen Xers was just not working for me.

This was definitely a slow burn type of romance book! It wasn’t until about 35% in that I actually started enjoying the book, the beginning felt very slow. Overall, a steamy good read. It’s an older romance so I had a hard time connecting with the characters but I think others will enjoy this.

“Come As You Are” by Jess Hardy

4⭐️/5⭐️
3🌶/5🌶

“How had he found this woman? What parallel universe had he fallen into to be allowed to feel as good as she made him feel? He didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve her.”

Bluebird basin is experiencing major financial troubles. Ashley Cooke, the owner, figures this is their last season of operation unless something major changes. Through some strong arming from her mother, Ashley hires Matthew Madigan, a location sobriety coach, and his group of recovering addicts. She’s apprehensive, but Madigan’s enthusiasm reassures her. Over the course of the season, the two grow closer and closer. But what will happen when the season is over? And can the men of Little Timber Sober Living use this new opportunity to turn their lives around?

-This was such a delightful story! I’ve never read a romance between MCs in their late 40’s and early 50’s, but I really enjoyed reading about mature characters that are able to communicate their feelings. Yeah, there are some stumbling blocks, but I’m impressed with how the characters solve their problems and face their differences.

-A big thing I liked about the way the author wrote the story was how she handled the individual side characters. They are addicts, and while they are on the road to recovery and making great progress, that doesn’t mean their stories have perfect endings. There are bumps, challenges, and not all problems are easily fixed. There’s a moment when I thought a side character would be handed a really easy ‘out’ for their storyline, but the author took a different turn, which gave the character even more depth.

-I enjoyed rooting against Chuck, he was a fun villain to hate. I also appreciated the complex obstacles facing Ashley and Bluebird basin, as a reader I wasn’t sure how Ashley would solve her problems, which made it easy to stay interested in the story.

-This book was more smutty than I anticipated, and I loved that! Ashley and Madigan have several spicy scenes together. You can see Ashley’s self confidence grow every time she’s with Madigan.

-One of the strongest aspects of this book is the supporting characters. Sometimes in romcoms the supporting characters can feel singularly focused, like they serve one purpose. But all the side characters have a rich history, everything is mapped out; you really get the found family trope in this story.

-I would recommend this book if you want to read about more established MCs, a cozy winter romance, or a romcom that delicately handles serious topics.

I picked this up because of the Nirvana title and the promise of a Generation X romance, and I really enjoyed it. I loved reading about main characters whose age is a little closer than mine than I usually come across in romance.
The mountain setting was great, and I also really liked the secondary characters. The relationship between Ashley and her mother was difficult and it was good to see that. I also liked that it didn’t seem to be resolved, even though her mother realised she had to change somewhat.
The romance worked well and loved the two of them together. They both brought their fears and their pasts to the relationship, and they managed to navigate difficulties, even if they needed a bit of time to get there.
The one thing that was a little disappointing was the lack of Nirvana. There was music talk, Madigan was a former musician after all, but no Nirvana. Also the GenX thing seemed more like a marketing strategy than something that was part of the book. Nevertheless, it’s a perfectly nice book and I flew through the pages.

‘Come As You Are’ is not only a book that has some sizzling romance but also one where you see the characters overcome struggles that not everyone would understand and see how they are able to keep going and try to be a better person.  And not just be a better person for them but the people around them.

Jess K Hardy’s newest book, ‘Come As You Are’, was just an amazing read as the main characters are older.  You don’t see the main characters a bit older, wiser, and mature and this was a pleasant change to read. Both Matthew Madigan and Ashley Cooke have lived life and still have much more to live.  Matthew is one of the main characters and he is an ex-musician and recovering addict who is head of a sober living home.  Ashley is the other main character, and she is the owner of a ski hill that is struggling, an ex-husband who can’t seem to stay out of her life and a mother who likes to make life interesting.

Ashley’s mom produces an idea that has Matt and the people from the sober living home come and work on the ski hill.  Ashley of course was not in on this and was not a fan, but she quickly comes around and doesn’t fight the attraction she has for Matt.  

It was not just the two main characters who had growth and change happen but everyone in the book had a bit of that.  And it was nice to see the characters say they were having these thoughts or issues instead of trying to hide or run from them.

Here is the full description of the book:

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.

This book had me smiling, laughing, and crying.  The romance is so hot, there was snow melting and you will just enjoy the whole story that Jess takes you on.  I am giving this book 4 stars.  It is one I am going to pick up again when the winter season comes around. So, make sure to grab that hot cocoa, sit by the fireplace and pick up ‘Come As You Are’ wherever you pick up your books, and if you are a Kindle Unlmited member it is included in one of the many books you can read with your membership.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Pinkity Publishing for the ARC copy of

This was perfect for my Christmas in July moment. What a fun holiday romance novel, I read it so fast and didn’t want the fun to end.

It's so nice to see a book with older characters! This was such a cute, semi-steamy romance! I also enjoyed that it was slow burn. The chemistry between Madigan and Ashley was delicious! It got a bit rushed at the end but even with that it was wonderful. I can't wait to read more by Jess K. Hardy!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

This was a refreshing read about Ashley, a ski hill owner who is in trouble and hires the guys from a sober living home to help her. One of them is Matthew, a former grunge rocker and recovering addict who is super sweet and sexy. 😍 They have so much chemistry and they make each other laugh and grow. 🥰 They also have adorable dogs 🐶 and awesome music taste 🎸. This book made me feel nostalgic for the grunge era and happy to read about characters my own age. It’s a grumpy-sunshine romance with a lot of emotions, but be careful: it also has a trigger warning for parental loss. Thank you NetGalley for sending me this book in exchange of my honest review.

For a romance lover this was the change of pace I needed.

Ashley is battling her own problems when her mother steps in and introduces the perfect solution in her mind. Ashley doesn't agree, she feels the stigma of hiring excons can not be good for the mountain.

Madigan is determined to prove her wrong.

This later in life romance is a whirlwind about trust and second chances.

The writing is phenomenal.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4.5⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Contemporary Romance 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about a Gen X romance but this was such a sweet read! If you’re looking for something different I would recommend this one!

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Gen X Romances
Hallmark vibes
Ski resort setting
Sweet yet still somewhat steamy reads
Heartwarming second chances

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
Rescue dogs!
Little Timber men

Fresh and swoony, Come As You Are is a great addition for your romcom pile! You’ll have all the feels.

I could not put this down! It was absolutely perfect! It has the right amount of steamy scenes and I loved it. I live later in life books because I myself am now later in life. Absolutely perfect.
I just reviewed Come As You Are by Jess K Hardy. #ComeAsYouAre #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Small town generation x romance
This book is about Ashley who owns a struggling ski resort who partners with Madigan the owner of a halfway house for recovering addicts. She hires his men to work on her mountain in a desperate attempt to save her ski resort.
This was a sweet - kinda?- insta love ❤️ romance. I liked how the mmc and the fmc were so mature and the entire book wasn’t a bunch of horrible communication skills like some books I’ve read. They did have their moments but they talked it out like real humans would even if they made bad assumptions about one another. I really enjoyed the mother daughter complicated relationship, it was very realistic and imperfect. I also liked how the author made a 35 year old woman want to make 53 year old madigan my hot book boyfriend! 🥵🔥🌶️ The spice scenes were very steamy and I enjoyed them once again bc they were realistic and imperfect. I didn’t like the third person past tense writing style and if it was re written to first person it would be so much better. She was able to capture the personality of both alternating pov characters so I’m going to say she’d be able to write it!! I also got a little bored sometimes bc nothing intense or dramatic or tense happens. just a basic love story like a hallmark movie.

4 Beautifully Emotional ✨'s

Come As You Are was breathtakingly beautiful and raw. The story follows Ashley, who is struggling to keep her family's ski lodge running and out of her ex-husbands' hands. When her mother suggests hiring men from a local sober living home to work for them, Ashley is reluctant to bring them on, However, when Madigan, the owner of the sober living home, and former addict himself assures Ashley the men will be on their best behavior, she agrees to hire them for the season. While the men get situated in their jobs and open up more, Ashley and Maddigan quickly notice the chemistry between themselves and can't help but grow closer.

I absolutely loved how raw and emotional the story and characters were in Come As You Are. Both Ashley and Maddigan believed because of their age and issues they would never find love again, but watching them grow and uplift each other was beautiful. The way their love unfolded was so natural, only aided by their healthy communication and assurances in each other. I also can't stress enough how lovely the side characters were, to see the men come out of their shells and be there for each other through their sobriety was amazing. Overall, this book is a great read for anyone looking for a slow burn romance that is just as likely to make you cry as it is to make you laugh or smile.