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.

4 stars

This was such a lovely book.
I adore our main characters. Hudson was sweet and amazing and a fantastic son and father and when he meets our heroine I love it! Their meet cute is one of my favorites. It was destiny they met and that changed both of their lives.
I love how his family embraced our heroine. Supported her. Gave her the family and love she needed.
I really liked the town's people and even the sexy chef in the end.
Overall this was another fun read by Cathy Yardley.

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

this is the first book i’ve read by cathy yardley and i think i’ve found my comfort author! this book was so CUTE and everything i wanted from a small-town romance it felt like a warm hug

Do Me a Favor by Cathy Yardley is a heartwarming and humorous romance novel that will make readers fall in love with the characters and their story. The book follows Willa Lieu-Endicott, a cookbook ghostwriter who is struggling to get her career back on track after her husband's death. Her latest project has her stuck, but her new neighbor, Hudson Clark, inspires her to push through.

Hudson is the opposite of everything Willa has ever known - he lives on a farm with his parents and two adult children and has a happily chaotic life that includes biker barbecues, an escape artist dog, and adorably menacing goats. Despite their differences, the two fall into an escalating cycle of favors, paybacks, and attraction, even though Willa is trying to keep her distance.

Yardley does an excellent job of creating complex and relatable characters that readers will root for from the very beginning. The chemistry between Willa and Hudson is palpable, and their journey towards happiness is both heartwarming and humorous. The small-town setting of the Pacific Northwest adds to the charm of the story and makes readers feel like they are a part of the community.

Overall, Do Me a Favor is a must-read for fans of romance novels. It has everything you could want in a book - a heartwarming story, relatable characters, a charming setting, and plenty of humor - and leaves readers feeling uplifted and hopeful. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun and entertaining read.

If I could pick one word to define this book it would be GENTLE. A romance where courtship is the central point, Do Me A Favor is like a warm hug. Willa, 46, is a widow who inherited a house from her great-aunt on a island. After a long, emotionally draining time in her life (that included the loss of her husband and of her job), she decides to give island life a try. She has the most adorable meet cute on a stormy night... with a dog!

When her hunky neighbor comes to pick up the canine escape artist, she's intrigued, a little skittish and utterly surprised that she's attracted to him.  She hasn't felt that in a really long time.

Hudson is a single dad of grown up twins, living in the family farm and he's the local handyman. Soon, he's working at Willa's, fixing odd things and doing some renovations. They're tentatively flirting with each other. He's been burnt by his past relationships and he doesn't date islanders and she's still trying to find her footing after losing her husband. A dog, a few goats, some very interesting cookies and meddling parents and children might be just what they need. 

I love Cathy Yardley's books and this is no exception. The pacing is a little slow but it makes perfect sense for the flow of the story. I highly appreciate that she writes about "older" people and I love that Willa is the "older woman" here. 

As I said before, It's a story of courtship. It's also a story of finally going after your own dreams and loving someone enough to encourage them to pursue them. Highly recommend!

Thanks NetGalley and the author for letting me read this early. 

Possible triggers: FMC lost her husband due to complications with diabetes. Child abandonment (historical), death of loved ones

This book gets into the straight up identity crisis (formerly known as mid-life crisis) that people of a certain age may have when contending with questions like What do you do when you're not primarily in care giving/crisis mode on behalf of others? What happens when you're at loose ends and are trying to think about your life's 2nd act at your big age? This book tackles those issues with APLOMB!

There is a bit of a twist on the third act break up - unconventional but I was digging it. Both characters had to be good to themselves in order to be fully present for the other. While I generally prefer my HEAs to be "present, local and IMMEDIATE" (as we sometimes say at work), I can appreciate when characters have the presence of mind and self-awareness to acknowledge they need to take a step back and do work to become their best selves. GREEN FLAGS!

Small town vibes, grown folks business, emotionally regulated adults - PUT IT IN MY VEINS!!!! Another Cathy Yardley hit for me and I'm going to need the book in multiple forms.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 STARS
A handy-man/contractor romance???? I heard a tiktoker recently come out begging authors to write romances with people with normal jobs and I can see that they have heard us and are delivering lol
As soon as the author describes Hudson like “Timothy Olyphant” from Justified I was SOLD.

This has:
•Small-town/island romance
•Single dad (to adult children)
•found family

Hudson Clark is the islands resident bachelor, a handyman and owner of Marigold Meadows Family Farm. Willa Lieu-Endicott is a stranger in a new place with a dead husband and a sexy cookbook to ghostwrite. Willa is having a bit of writers block, does she even remember what sexy feels like or looks like anymore? How can she write something she can’t relate to? *Hudson Clark enters the chat* I can fix that.
Can Willa’s handsome handyman charm her into an unexpectedly hot and heady new chapter of her life? And maybe inspire Hudson to follow his own dreams he’s kept on the back burner?

It’s not often that I get to read about characters that are mid-life and it is SO REFRESHING. These characters are secure in who they are and when they see an opportunity for love, they capture it. I found it very gratifying that after raising two children, Hudson was finally able to do something he was really excited and passionate about later in life. And that Willa is able to find an enriching love and life after her loss.
I liked this story, however, I wish this would have given more to the moments that inspired Willa in the writing of the cookbook. It felt like the cookbook was just a vessel, then it fades too much to the background.

So cute! Such a quick and easy read! Honestly took me out of a long reading slump, will definitely be purchasing when comes out!

This book was a sweet romance. The MMC was charming and the FMC was sweet and relatable. At times, I felt like we were just getting to skim the surface on things that could have been gone into on a much deeper level, but it didn't make me hate the book. I liked the fact the characters were older. I feel like most romance books depict MC in their early to mid 20s, so this was a refreshing change. I don't think the book was perfect, but I'm okay with it. I would recommend it to my friends who are looking for an easy read with a sweet story.

This was a very sweet contemporary romance!

Tropes/Themes:
♥️ Love after loss
♥️ Small town/island romance
♥️ Main characters in their 40s
♥️ Single father
♥️ Friends to lovers

I enjoyed this. It was slow moving, character-driven and did a great job at exploring life and love in your 40s.

A true gentle romance that only cathy Yardley can do. This book feels like a warm hug that makes you very hungry!
A gentle reminder that love can be found at any age!

Thank you NetGalley and Montlake for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

After reading Cathy Yardley's Role Playing months ago- I jumped at the chance for this eARC.  Listen- the world of romance needs more "later in life" love.  There- I said it. Give the elder millennials, GenX and above their due.  I enjoyed this romantic tale about two 40 somethings- one widow, one divorcee- and their journey to one another.   Extra bonus points for a dog being involved in the meet cute, detailed foodie descriptions and WIDE OPEN COMMUNICATION with MATURE expectations!
Points deducted though for the T1D depiction.  If I could suggest any change to this book it would be a different ailment/cause of death for Willa's former spouse.  T1D didn't feel like the right "choice" here.

4.5*

I thought this book was quite delightful! Hudson and Willa's romance had that sort of slow burn, soft, quiet vibe and I was really into it. I liked how supportive and steady of a presence Hudson was - not only for Willa but everyone in his life. And though Willa took longer to open up, it was obvious how good she was for Hudson; they brought balance into one another's life. There were some moments between them that had me absolutely kicking my feet I was so giddy. I did feel like the ending was a little abrupt but overall I loved this sweet romance a whole lot.

Thank you for the ARC.