Overview: Willa, a widow in her late forties, moves to a small island off of Seattle after inheriting a house from her aunt. She rescues a dog from a rainstorm, and ends up meeting Hudson, a burly and flirtatious divorced handyman who happens to live on the neighboring farm…

Thoughts: This book was *chef’s kiss*!! I absolutely loved the dynamic between Willa and Hudson, with Willa trying so hard to be independent and doing everything on her own, and with Hudson being super attracted to her but just trying to help her out however he could. Hudson’s family members were also a hoot - it was hilarious how invested everyone was in his love life! I especially liked the scene with Kimber’s special cookies!! Also I need to find a Michelin-starred restaurant ASAP because this book gave me serious food cravings!!

Take home message: Do Me a Favor is a charming (and steamy) small-town/farm neighbors-to-lovers romance between characters in their forties. Perfect for foodies who also love diverse characters and slow burn romances. Note there are also a lot of conversations about a character with diabetes.

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I love foodie romances and this was a really fun take on it!

Hudson is a single dad (of adult children) who is helping Willa fix up her newly inherited home. She is ghost writing a cookbook for one of those chefs on IG/tiktok that make sexy food videos with lots of whisk licking and stuff...you know the ones? And they are neighbors and both in their 40s. Hudson does more than handyman work for Willa--he turns out to be the perfect muse for this cookbook project!

• The synopsis blurb says: "...a widowed cookbook writer and divorced handyman who find that it's never too late for a fresh start." 🥰 Since most romance novels lean towards characters in their 20s and 30s, it's lovely to see some age diversity in romance. This is my second Cathy Yardley book with characters in their late 40s.
• Excellent meet cute! Can we get a round of applause for all fictional cats and dogs that work their matchmaking magic by being absolute menaces/bringing characters together!
• I love the way the romance progressed from friends to lovers. The romance pace was for us slow burn lovers, but there were tons of sweet and swoony parts through the whole book.
• I really enjoyed this one and flew through it! Highly recommend!

This was a great read! I have been getting into books where adults get to show some serious growth and find their second chance. I enjoy diving into the main character's complex history and find new things, especially with another broken person by their side.

Oh, this was a sweet (and sexy) romance. Willia is coming off of being a caretaker for her now-deceased husband and is trying to find her footing with being a widow while coping with how she's going to pay bills. The house her aunt left her gives her a little breathing room as far as a place to live, but she's struggling with finding herself after the emotional drain full-time caretaking left on her. She's quiet and reserved and she tries very hard to do everything herself. Which is admirable, but not always the best path to take.

Hudson is intrigued by Willa the first time he meets her. She's careful and reserved and he can't stop thinking about her. He's also reached the point where the hookups he's used don't have the shine they used to have. Ans, again, Willa intrigues him. Soon they're exploring a cautious friendship and forging something that's getting closer to what Hudson is looking for in a relationship. It takes time and patience and some breaking down of walls, but it's heading in the right direction.

Speaking of breaking down walls, some of the biggest are Willa's desire to depend on only herself. But then, she's had to do just that for so long that letting people in is hard. And I do mean "people", not just Hudson. She had friends she pulled away from when her husband died. Her family is...let's just say they're complicated. They approach things from s different perspective than Willa does and it takes a some hard communication before Willa sees that.

A dog who loves to make an escape, a family with a lot of heart, a man who's stifled his dreams for long enough, and a lady who needs to learn how to lean on others and accept their help. *thumbs up*

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

3.5 stars rounded up
I really like this author's writing style and was excited to read this after her book "Role Playing" which I loved. I thought I would enjoy this one as much until it got closer to the end. I didn't love that it got wrapped up so quickly and I wish we saw more of Willa and Hudson after their time apart. It's a quick read. I love that the characters are older. If you're younger than 30, you might not enjoy as much if you can't relate to what they've been through in their lives. But that's part of what I really liked, that the characters are so real. Hudson will definitely be going on your book boyfriend list.

𝐃𝐎 𝐌𝐄 𝐀 𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑
ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
ꜱᴘɪᴄᴇ: 🌶️

💙𝚂𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚃𝚘𝚠𝚗 (𝙸𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍)
💙𝙽𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚜
💙𝚆𝚒𝚍𝚘𝚠/𝙳𝚒𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚌é
💙𝙼𝙲𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝟺𝟶𝚜

💃🏻Willa (46), Widow, just moved to the island and struggling with her career as a cookbook ghostwriter.
🕺Hudson (41), Divorcé, lives all his life on the island as Handyman. His wife left him and his kids for a better life outside the small island.

I thought this was a really sweet later-in-life romance, both MCs are in their 40s, and both have been burned out by their previous partner for different reasons. Willa is widowed after her husband died 2 years ago, leaving her with some debts, and she spent most of their marriage life being his caretaker. So we got the title “Do Me a Favor” from Willa’s personality, who has difficulties in asking help, enter Huson, her sexy hunky neighbor, who happens to be the only Handyman in the island. Let’s just say he does a lot of favor for her, way beyond what any friendly neighbor would do😉

I did enjoy their story, though the third POV was not my cup of tea. Their relationship was a slow burn, but granted this book wasn’t very long, so it was ok. One of my biggest ick is repetition, and I don’t understand why the author keeps stating the MCs age over and over again, it kinda bothers me🤷‍♀️ But overall, it was an enjoyable read, and that covers what drew me into picking up this book, so good job!

✨ 𝙸 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚙𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 #netgalley 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚖 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 𝚟𝚘𝚕𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚢 ✨

This was a great book. I connected with the characters. I felt engrossed with the plot. I would read another book by this author.

4.5 stars Another wonderful book from Cathy Yardley who writes with a lot of heart. I loved the small (island) setting, the community atmosphere, the family values and the fun premise of the book. I had a question mark around some of the diabetes representation - but I'm not a member of that community so I can't comment beyond that. I loved the premise of a cookbook ghost writer, too!

i really enjoyed this book! it was so refreshing to read a romance centered on an “older” couple as their differences & struggles were so life focused. the central theme of struggling to chase your dreams amidst the obstacles life throws you really hit home for me. the small town farm life setting made this a cozy read and i love everything about the FMCs food driven career. this book emphasizes that love puts no limits on age or distance and it’s okay to change your path at any time! this was a very good read.

my only downside was the heavy / repeated emphasis on their ages. yes they were 40+ but if the story aims to see the MCs beyond their age, there’s no need to repeat it every page. i do also wish there was a little more time spent to divulge into Willow’s relationship with her family as the scenes we were given developed her character beautifully.

Thank you to netgalley and Montlake for allowing me access to this book. I highly enjoyed the story and getting to know the characters.

This book was like a warm basket of fresh produce from a farm stand on a summer day. I wanted to climb inside the world Yardley created and stay for a long vacation.

Cathy Yardley, how do you keep getting better? I loved, loved, LOVED Role Playing and was so excited at the opportunity to read her next. Somehow she has the ability to take a great romance premise and make it bigger, richer, deeper, and more delicious. The main characters are mature people with full lives, who weren't looking for love but couldn't escape it. This is romance for grown-ups, with grown-up obligations and concerns. It's not easy for Willa and Hudson to rearrange their lives to make room for their romance, which makes it so much more fulfilling when they do. Not to imply that this book is all serious; it's simultaneously serious, and light-hearted, and funny, and oh so sexy. Are you ready to feel all your feelings? Go read this. I can't wait to read it again.

Three words (well the same word actually) LOVE LOVE LOVE. The author LOVE. The characters LOVE. The story and wonderful journey it takes you on LOVE LOVE LOVE. I just adore anything Cathy Yardley writes and I just want to read anything she creates from no until forever.

4.5 STARS

Do Me a Favor was just one of those books that brought me so much joy reading it. This is my second book by Cathy Yardley. I’m leaning towards deciding that her books are comfort reads. They are heartwarming, make you giddy, and feel like a warm hug. I look forward to reading more.


I voluntarily read an early copy.

This was such a delight in every way. I loved that she was 46 and he was 41. Their individual character growth while they set about changing their lives was such a breath of fresh air. Their relationship was so loving and caring and respectful in a way that felt very mature. I loved the humor in this book, although that's no surprise coming from Cathy Yardley. The exploration of what it means to have a support system was masterfully done. This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and it lived up to my expectations in every way. Another win from Cathy. CW historical death of a spouse, caretaking, and teen pregnancy.

Unfortunately this one wasn’t for me. I found the writing style hard to get into and the the plot to be quite slow paced. I also found I couldn’t relate to the characters, but that just might just be a me problem.

4.5 stars

It’s refreshing on a whole new level to read about characters in their 40s falling in love. Characters that have already lived a whole life of ups and downs, before having a new chance and love and happiness. Men and women that are older, but still sexy and interesting. I need more of this type of romance content in my almost forty year old life.

I’ll be honest and say I enjoyed Role Playing more, simply because I connected with Aiden on such a personal level. And Maggie was a charming grump.

But I loved Willa too. The way she felt the need to figure it all out on her own. That leaning on someone else or asking for help was harder than doing it alone. Yup yup yup. Watching a grown woman have to restart her career and build a new life. Navigate grief and regrets, while still moving forward. Not a new trope, but one I identify with more and more each year. I enjoyed the focus on her culinary career, which is rare for me. I worked in that industry for 20 years, and usually hate when it’s romanticized. But Willa’s experience in the industry is described pretty realistically and watching her work to turn her side hustle into something sustainable felt very on trend. I also liked the way social media factored in to Willa’s cookbook contract, without making her story line about influencers and Tik tok. Subtle.

The Hero, Hudson, is where I felt the need to drop a half star. Yardley did a great job describing a gentle loving father and family man, that had sacrificed a lot of his own dreams when he became a father at 20. This book focuses just as much on his journey towards making a space in his life for more personal goals and dreams. I loved the way he treated Willa and how he was 100% in to her from page one. He had his own flaws to overcome, but he wasn’t as dynamic as Yardley’s last Hero. But again, I just really connected with Aiden in the last book. I will say that he got a chance to shine in the last 20%, but his side quest felt a little to perfect and “romance reasons.”

Having read Role Playing and now Do Me a Favor, I can say that I really enjoyed how gentle and low angst both stories were. Without loosing any emotional impact. Maybe it’s because our characters are mature? They communicate their feelings! They have jobs, bills, complicated family dynamics. But they also enjoy the cozier moments of a new relationship. Yardley manages to make you feel those romantic butterflies and tension, without the hormonal drama and third act miscommunication.

There was lots of romantic physical touch, eye contact, small gestures. I love that stuff as much as anything else.

This book just felt like a warm hug. I’m already looking forward to whatever she writes next!

A sexy and sweet romance between two forty-somethings figuring out their next chapters. I love how mature Hudson and Willa were as they got to know each other.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

☆ later in life romance (46 & 41)
☆ small town romance

Immediately fell in love with both Willa and Hudson.
Their chemistry is incredible and they’re both so kind and gentle with each other.
I loved that they actually SPOKE THING THROUGH and didn’t assume what the other person was thinking.
The conflict they had was very real and was handled in such a great way.
I love how supportive both of the were about each others dreams.

It was just a really nice, relaxing read.

This is a later in life romance (which there should definitely be more of) book. Willa and Hudson are both at a crossroads of sorts. Willa is trying to find her groove again after her husband's death. Hudson is finding himself in a limbo has he tries to launch into being a GC instead of just the island handyman. These two have fantastic chemistry together and really enjoyed them letting go and giving a relationship a chance. Highly recommend Yardley if you have not read her books before.