This is such a sweet, fun, and heartwarming romance. Wren and Holden are the epitome of grumpy/sunshine and I loved the way their relationship develops overtime. Holden as a sexy man-bun sporting single dad is an absolute dream, and he’s a total cinnamon roll! Wren is such a sweetheart and I loved how she was with June.

All around I loved the plot, conflicts, and everything about this story. It was an incredibly easy read and one I’d definitely recommend.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to Netgalley and Madison Wright for this ARC!

Read if you like:
-grumpy x sunshine
-small town romance
-single dad romance
-fake dating(ish)
-no third act break up

Where to even begin with this wonderful cozy read! This gave me all the Lorelei Gilmore and Luke vibes and had me swooning at every moment. Wren and Holden had such a beautiful story filled with so much hope and comfort that had me giggling and kicking my feet. Not to mention the sweet moments of June and Wren together that were enough to make my heart burst.
I enjoyed the bantering moments between Wren and Holden and their ability to keep each other on their toes.
I appreciate Madison Wright so much for her ability to write such simple, sweet, romantic books with no smut, just pure joy and happiness.

My new favorite from indie romance author Madison Wright!! This was a beautiful, feel-good grumpy/sunshine, single dad, dual POV small town romance between contractor Holden and his bubbly red-headed neighbor, Wren.

The two find themselves unknowingly becoming friends through the town's dating app only to discover they've slowly become the first person each turns to at the end of the day and the person neither knew they wanted or needed.

I loved Holden's daughter June/Junebug, and how great Wren was with her. I loved that there was no third act breakup and that this book just felt like one big hug!! Many thanks to NetGalley and the author for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Steam level: kissing only

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for allowing me access to the E-arc.

This was such a beautiful love story. The romance just leaves me speechless. Wren is a strong and bubbly character. Holden is a kind and supportive male love interest. He is such a good dad to his little girl, June. Holden and June are trying to deal with the fact that his ex-wife/ her mom left them. June wants her mom to be around more but she is caught up in her own life. Holden's family is very supportive of him and his little girl. The small-town vibes just bring it home even more.


I would highly recommend it! If you love a single dad trope and small-town vibes. This romance is for you!

This book is perfect if you love grumpy/sunshine, small town romance, and cozy romance aesthetic. If you love one or all of these things I highly recommend you read Off the Beaten Path.

4.5 stars

This was so incredibly sweet and adorable.
I adored both main characters from the start. Their chemistry was palpable and it felt real.
I like the relationship between Holden and his daughter who by the way, it's one of the cutest kids I've ever read! I adored June Bug!
Also I loveeee (although I was scared) how the third act conflict resolved. Thankfully Madison did it amazing and without any cliché!
This is my favorite book from Madison Wright for everything. From the plot to the characters to the town life... it was fantastic. And now I can't wait for everyone to read it!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

3 Stars Off the Beaten Path by Madison Wright is a small town, grumpy/sunshine, single parent, enemies to friends to lovers, closed door romance. Wren Daniels can’t believe that the man she’s become friends with through an anonymous dating app is her grumpy next door neighbor, Holden Blankenship, who can barely tolerate Wren’s sunny presence and small hijinx. Holden offers to help her renovate a house flip and though she continues to get under his skin, Holden can’t ignore how she continues to show up for him in a way that his ex-wife and daughter’s mother never has.

This was a pretty simple and easy read, with low-angst. I liked how the MCs became friends first, which built a solid foundation for their later relationship. They understood each other well and gave space for the other person to be themself.

I loved this book. A very sweet, cozy read. And this cover is gorgeous.

Wren and Holden (and June) were so sweet and perfect. I loved how the anonymous texting started their friendship, meanwhile Wren loved riling Holden up as his neighbor. They were so sweet together. Wren gave Holden space and a safe place to open up. He gave her stability and support. They had great chemistry even without having any steamy scenes. They gave me butterflies. When he made her a fire and a grilled cheese?! The tension during the pool scene 🫠

The small town mountain vibes were perfect. I loved the ending so much.

Single dad
Forced proximity - neighbors
Annoyance-to-lovers
Small town
Tattooed MMC with long hair
A little bit of fun banter
No third act break up

I’ve read all of Madison’s books and will continue to do so!

Thank you Madison Wright and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was adorable! Anytime there is single dad + enemies to lovers, I am all in!

I also loved that they were neighbors because I am alllll about the forced proximity! The relationship between Wren and June was everything 🥹

“It makes me want to do it, kiss her and see if she tastes like the strawberry wine she was drinking at the table. I’ve never been a fan of wine, especially not fruity wines, but I think I’d like it on her.”

3.5 ⭐️
.5 🌶️

Such a swoony, low angst book!

Wren is a literal ray of sunshine and Holden is a brooding grump. As a single dad who is a contractor, he has little time for anything but his adorable daughter and his business.

Of course then his sister signs him up for a dating app & much to his chagrin, he actually finds a woman he enjoys talking to - until he finds out that woman is none other than his infuriating neighbor Wren.

I loved the progression of this book! From somewhat friends to actual friends, these two are constantly annoying each other & the banter was hilarious! Then feelings start to get involved, Holden gets scared, but Wren keeps showing up for him & his daughter regardless. It isn’t long before Holden realizes how much light Wren brings into his life .

This was truly just a sweet, light read that had emotional depth without any high stakes heavy angst. Such a perfect, cozy read!

Read if you like:
- Dating App Meet Cute
- Grumpy x Sunshine
-Single Dad x Girl Next Door
- Slow Burn/zero spice
- Small Town Romance

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my free eARC of this story in exchange for my honest review!

✨ grumpy x sunshine
✨ small town
✨ single dad
✨ neighbors
✨ dislike to friends to lovers

I adored this story. While it started out slow for me I was instantly taken with both Wren and Holden. Holden and Wren have been neighbors for years and Wren loves to make Holden more grouchy. But when they find out they’ve been anonymous messaging buddy for months Holden starts to see more of Wren and in a different light. Holden has been burned in the past and all he wants to do is give his daughter the best he can. But the more he gets from Wren the more he can’t stay away from her.

June was such a fun and lively character that helped bring out the best parts of Holden. He was such a fantastic dad who loved with his entire heart. I love watching him slowly open up to Wren and the possibility to love again. Wren has been down on her luck giving her all into this cabin and having Holden help and be so patient. Wren smoothes out Holden rough edges and gives him someone to rely on and trust when he’s not sure he can do that again.

I adored this small town and all the side characters we got to meet along the way. I can’t wait to continue this series and as I know every book will be fantastic.

4.25/5⭐️

4.5 ⭐
A heartwarming light read that's filled with all the fluff you could need
I was surprised just how much I enjoyed this book, especially with how short it was but it didn't take anything away from the story.
The characters are adorable and the storyline was solid
The only negative was that I wanted more 😂
If you need a cozy small town romance with low stakes and no real angst, this is your book 🥰
Thankyou for the ARC Maddison Wright, exited to read more from you

📖 𝙊𝙛𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙗𝙮 𝙈𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙒𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩

“𝘞𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺.“

Wren is a ray of sunshine to her whole town. She has a kind heart and is adored by everyone except her neighbor, Holden. She has a tendency to jump head first into situations without really planning them out first. She decided to sink her entire saving into a run down mountain cabin because she wants to turn it into a rental property. When her contractor has to back out of the project, the unlikeliest man comes to her aid.

Holden is a contractor trying to figure out how to provide his daughter June with everything she needs after her mother abandoned them to live in Paris. He has closed his heart to everyone except his family and doesn’t plan on opening it again anytime soon. His neighbor drives him crazy, constantly trying to push his buttons. Little does he know, the woman he unwilling became friends with on a dating app, is none other than his annoying neighbor. When he sees her upset, he can’t help but to try to help her out.

I devoured this book! Right off the bat, their relationship was hilarious. The push and pull and all the pranks were priceless. You could feel the sexual tension off of them and it was great. This is a slow burn story with zero spice past kissing! Usually I enjoy a spicy book, but I honestly enjoyed this book without it!

Holden’s relationship with June was so precious and swoon inducing. When he calls her June Bug, I melt. June needs to be protected at all costs. I loved how Wren develops a connection with June.

Overall this was a great story! I can’t wait for more stories in this series. I definitely feel like I could support a friends to lovers/brother’s best friend relationship between Finley and Grey! 🤞🏼

Tropes:
📱 Dating App Meet Cute
☀️ Grumpy x Sunshine
🏡 Single Dad x Girl Next Door
🔥 Slow Burn/zero spice
💞 Small Town Romance

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my free eARC of this story in exchange for my honest review. Off the Beaten Path will be available on January 26th! 🫶🏼

“𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦-𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦.“

Thanks to Victory Editing Net Galley Co-op and Net Galley for this advanced copy.

This was such a sweet story! I was excited for this book from the author’s social media promo, and this book did not disappoint! Holden and Wren were both pure, and their love for June really shone as the basis of their relationship. I enjoyed the idea that they were friends before, in the You’ve Got Mail type trope, and if anything I think this could have lasted longer throughout. There was also a minor fake dating theme, which I would have liked to see stretch longer. Overall, that’s my only takeaway: I wanted more! Which in this case, is a very good thing. I also appreciate the storyline with Mia. This is the way coparenting is supposed to go!!

Madison Wright always gives us heartwarming, sweet romances and Off the Beaten Path did not disappoint. Wren and Holden have such a fun, grumpy-sunshine dynamic and their banter had me laughing throughout the book. There was so many things I loved about this book: the forced proximity for home renovations, 'feuding' neighbors, the adorable daughter, and our main couple's relationship journey.

I am so excited to be back into the world that Madison Wright created for us in her Nashville series! Off the Beaten Path is book 1 of her new The Mountains are Calling series, which is set in the small town in North Carolina (that you may recognize from her other series). I'm so looking forward to the remaining books and the characters we will get to meet!

You'll enjoy Off the Beaten Path if you enjoy:
❅ Grumpy/Sunshine
❅ Forced proximity
❅ Single parent
❅ Small town
❅ Fake dating (a little bit!)

Thank you to NetGalley and Madison Wright for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.


Star Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating:
0 / 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶

4.25 / 5

This was the perfect small town, single dad romance. I loved every minute of it. Madison's writing is so good at transporting you to this small town filled with family, love and laughter. You have the usual small town antics and meddling, the small town banding together in support. The plot, the characters, the romance. The ability to have someone swoon and laugh in the same space is incredible. I adored Wren and Holden and June, they were perfect and I loved the little family they created. One thing I love about single dad romances is when it's a 6 year old daughter and watching the FMC form such a tight bond with the little girl. And Wren and June's relationship was so cute, the hair braiding, ugh swoon.

Sometimes you just need a book about two neighbors who are constantly annoying each other, but end up spending a lot of time together. I loved it, I really liked that from the first page they give us a glimpse of the type of relationship that Holden and Wren have, their interactions are so fun from the first moment and everything else flows super easy.

It's a heart swooning type book, it's cute, there's not a lot of chaotic drama around and the supporting characters are very charming too (I'll keep my hopes up for a book about Grey and Finley).

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars!!

I absolutely ADORED this small town romance between a grumpy single dad of the cutest 6 year old and his sunshiney next door neighbor who loves to mess with him! Wren and Holden live in a small Appalachian town in North Carolina, where Wren has just bought an extra cabin to make some money renting to tourists who come through- and when her contractor's mother falls ill, Holden is the only person able to step in and help her complete her renovations on time. The two begin to spend more time together and the chemistry just jumps off the page!!!

I loved so many things about this book: little June Bug and her wild curls that Wren is able to help tame, "my girls," scheming biddies in town trying to matchmake, a subplot with a certain sister and a certain best friend that I could see being another book, the continued use of the word "vexing," friendship bracelets, and of course the way the Wren and Holden just seem to get each other!!

Thank you so much to Madison Wright and Netgalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review. Off the Beaten Path comes out on January 26!!

Caught up in the SWOONS, I had the biggest smile on my face when I turned the final page of this tender romance. I've been meaning to try this new-to-me author for a while now, and this was the perfect place to begin. It kicks off the start of something new, developing a great small town feel and community vibe. I kinda loved that these two have been neighbors for a few years, but they never really knew each other until an anonymous online interaction breaks down their walls in an unexpected way. There was no deception, no secrets, no messiness revolving around their online communication, which I loved. And I also loved the gruff, secretly sweet single dad at the heart of it, who has spent the last few years slowly mending the emotional damage done by his ex-wife. He's had zero interest in women since she left, so this romance takes awhile to start building. It's the kind of book that gets better with every page, pulling me in a little deeper with every intimate moment. I loved it!

The story follows Wren, a woman who lives next door to a grumpy single dad. While Wren knows Holden has his reasons for being so closed off, that doesn't mean he's not infuriating sometimes. Wren does everything she can to rile him up, but the man still never cracks a smile. So when Wren discovers that the man she's developed an online friendship with is actually her neighbor, well... it changes everything between them. Those messages may have been platonic, but they also broke down some walls around Holden's heart. Connected in a way that neither anticipated, Holden slowly comes to realize that if any woman is going to get past his defenses completely, it'll be Wren. And that's a shock to the system.

I've been waiting for the perfect tropes to try out this author, and I'm so glad I started here. Vulnerable, secretly sweet heroes get me every time, and I loved the neighbors element. Holden is also SUCH a great dad, and that kicked up the swoon factor to a whole other level. Sexy, tattooed, sweet with his daughter, and celibate? Yeah, that's a compelling combination. It's a quiet, feel good romance that dances around some heavier subjects without ever getting weighed down by them. The focus on the emotional connection was greatly appreciated. It's a sexy book without any spice, and that worked for these characters. They had plenty of chemistry and connection even without the heat, and I actually liked the slower pace. Sometimes I just want to read a tender love story that will make me smile, and this absolutely accomplished that. It ended up being a very solid read, and I'm excited to read more love stories set in this small town.

This book was such a sweet, heartwarming read. Combine a single dad who is a little grumpy, his cute kid, and his sweet neighbor who likes to lightly antagonize the man next door and it was a recipe for success for me.

Wren is an active member of her small town community and is in the process of renovating a cabin she purchased on a whim to turn into a rental property. Holden is the grumpy contractor single dad next door she finds little moments of joy in poking at to get a reaction. When the original contractor Wren hired to help with the cabin has to back out on the job, Holden comes to the rescue to help out and the two find themselves getting to know who their neighbor really is. Little do they know they have actually been communicating as strangers for months

I loved that Wren and Holden had gotten to know each other and built a rapport without know who they were talking to. I also appreciated that it was dragged out too long before they connected the dots. It helped establish a deeper relationship in a natural way that carried over to their in-person time together when that developed. I thought their interactions were so sweet, and their banter was great as well. Holden’s daughter, June, was an adorable addition to the dynamic. I felt like she really added to the story rather than just being a prop as kids can sometimes be if the single-parent trope isn’t written well. It must also be noted that I loved friendship bracelets being so important to the book.

Truly, this was just a sweet, light read that had emotional depth without any high stakes heavy angst. It was such a refreshing, feel-good read. Thank you to NetGalley and Madison Wright for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.