OMG, where do I even begin? This book had me hooked from the very first page, and trust me, it’s a slow burn that’s so worth the wait.

Hope Barlowe is about to marry her high school sweetheart and check off all the “life goals” — but, plot twist — she freaks out, bolts into the woods, and runs straight into Ben Taylor, a hot, tattooed, bearded musician just looking for some inspiration. I mean, can we say “fate”??

The chemistry between Hope and Ben is off the charts!

Hope is this sweet, small-town girl who thought she had it all figured out, but when she realizes her forever might not be all it’s cracked up to be, she runs away—right into a life-changing adventure. Ben, on the other hand, is dealing with his own stuff, but when their worlds collide, sparks fly. It’s emotional, swoon-worthy, and so steamy.

I loved how the story isn’t just about romance—it’s about Hope finding herself, breaking free from expectations, and learning that happiness is more than just a checklist. The narration by Stella Hunter and Ryan West? Spot on. They totally brought Hope and Ben to life. Whether you’re reading it or listening to the audiobook, you won’t want to miss this one.

Honestly, I Do With You is a perfect start to the Maple Creek series. I can't wait to see what else Lauren Landish has in store! Highly recommend it if you're into a heartwarming, feel-good, slow-burn romance with a ton of heart.

Runaway Bride stumbles into her very own meet cute. What Hope thought was going to be her perfect day turned into the her finally accepting it was everyone else's perfect. She finally has the courage to make a decision which is soley for herself. She just chose to do it on her way to the alter. She meets someone who she never thought she would consider as the perfect match. Even bettter is that she has no idea who Ben is. Ben is taking a break from his very public life. He needs a break to decide what the next part of his life will look like, he did not realize his break from life would result in meeting a woman who would be exactly what he needed to bring his life back together.

I really do with them.
I can't wait to see this book in bookstores around my country so I can buy them.

Thanks to the publisher and the author for giving me a review copy.
My review is my personal and honest thoughts.

Thanks!

very cute i loved the characters and the cover of this book. i do plan on reading more from this author eventually

This Runaway Bride story is one to definitely keep you on your toes!

When Small Town girl, Hope Barlowe finds herself on the cusp of of her wedding to her high school sweetheart... who happens to be the sheriff's son - things don't feel as they should - and she bolts!

Her life has been composed of plans, and checklists. Suddenly she finds herself not sure if the plan laid before her is the right one.

Enter Benjamin Taylor - Struggling wild child musician who has led a very different life from our FMC. With a need to clear his head so he can finally focus on writing new music again - he finds himself in our small town setting... and directly in the path of our runaway bride!

If you loved the Runaway Bride movie from the 90's - you will love this one!

I think this may have been my first Lauren Landish book and I had a fun time reading it! Great banter and chemistry. I loved Hope’s family’s dynamics and hope to see more of them in future books.

Thank you net galley for the ARC of this book! I was a little late reading it than I had anticipated.

Hope is a girl with a set life plan, to get married to her long-time boyfriend and live happily ever after. The first part of the book really got you hooked in as within the first 50 pages she leaves her fiance at the alter, runs into the woods, and meets a handsome guy named Ben. However, from there it just seemed too unrealistic.

I will say that I was happy she decided to leave her relationship before she got married. However, she left one relationship to instantly fall in love with another man she just met. I prefer more of a build-up/slow burn when it comes to romance. The romance felt forced to me to the point that I just didn't know if I even liked them together.

Overall, I enjoyed this book at times, but I wouldn't say it was a "must read" for me. I do appreciate a girl going after what she wants even though it brought some chaos with her town and family in the process.

Thank you again net galley for the copy!

Hope Barlowe was a run-away bride!
Oh my gosh, this book started with a bang!
First, special thank you to Montlake via Netgalley and Lauren Landish for the e-ARC in exchange of an honest review.
So, I said it, we have a runaway bride and she left her long time fiancée at the altar. Our main character panicked, self-reasoning did not do any good and the best thing to do is run. Met Ben in the woods and this meet cute sparked so much chemistry that it was inevitable for the relationship to happen. I honestly love all the fast-paced romance this book has but I am having trouble on reconciling the fact that the whirl wind relationship seems to be effective. But that is a me thing. This is enjoyable and light and pleasant to read all the way through!

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for the advanced reader copy.

The premise of this novel sounded fizzy and fun but the opening lost me almost immediately. I didn't understand why the main character was intending to marry her high school sweetheart when there was nothing redeemable about him. I couldn't stick with this one.

Hope is a runaway bride. She had really good reasons to be a runaway bride and it’s how she meets Ben. He is staying in Maple Creek to get away from work and to try to figure out how to fix what is broken with his best friend. He certainly wasn’t planning on rescuing a runaway bride who needs a place to stay while she figures out her next step. And neither one of them expect to fall in love! She’s a hot mess. He has one very big secret that he’s afraid to share. Can they go from surprise roommates to last love?

Hope is a very upbeat person. The author did a good job explaining why Hope ran from her wedding and how it wasn’t a sudden decision. I felt so bad for Hope as she tried to navigate the small town gossip fest and the way her nosy neighbors couldn’t stop butting in. Hope is a really strong person who owns her decisions. I really like that. Ben is an interesting character. On the surface he is a tattooed, muscled tough guy but he is also a sweet man who wants to help Hope to regain her footing. Hope’s family is used by the author to show how trustworthy Ben is as compared to Hope’s ex-fiance. Ben writes song lyrics throughout the book and I think they are some of the best that I have seen woven into a story. They were a great addition. I don’t want to give away one of the big secrets about Ben, but the author included some fun things about him (like his job) to make him more interesting and nuanced. And at the end he shows how very smart he is when he challenges his boss. It’s pretty great. Speaking of Hope’s ex-fiance, Roy, that man needs an attitude adjustment. He’s not a mean guy but he is totally clueless. There isn’t a scary bad guy in the book just a self-important sheriff.

This is a small town, opposites attract, runaway bride love story. There are some fun twists and turns. This book made me smile (yes, a woman in a wedding gown running through the forest to escape her dream wedding is pretty funny). I recommend this book and I will read more from this author in the future.

What a fun and sweet love story that neither saw coming. When Hope runs from her supposed dream wedding and comes head on with Ben she finds what she thought she wanted in life wasn't what she wanted at all. Ben is fun and the whole Maple Creek vide is inviting.

Unfortunately I’ve decided to DNF @ 67%. I just don’t feel connected to the characters or storyline to continue and it’s a relatively short book but I feel like it’s been dragging for me. The premise of the book sounded really good which is why I requested it but I just don’t think it was for me.

I really love a runaway bride and this one did not disappoint. I thought it was going to be a fun campy romcom, it was so much more. The emotional depth of both MCs made them feel like real life people. Enjoyed reading.

Hope, a runaway bride, literally runs into her savior Ben, a guy just vacationing and looking for titmice in the woods.
This book was nice. I enjoyed the read and the premise of runaway bride falling for the one that helped her come into her true self. For someone who is protective of their identity like Ben, he sure did jump into letting a stranger take over his house rental for the week in order to find herself after almost marrying the wrong guy. He was just being a nice guy, yes, but it was a little odd and I don’t think it would happen in the real world.
Overall, the spice and story was good. Not one for my reread list, but pretty good.

Thank you to Lauren Landish, Montlake, and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

5 Stars

I LOVED this book and devoured it in one sitting. It was 1:30 AM and I couldn’t put it down. The cover really doesn’t match the vibes, but maybe the overall feel? Because a runaway bride fleeing her small close-knit town wedding, only to run into the arms of a stranger in the wilderness (who also happens to be a metal rock god) and then they end up shacking up together and thus follows the sweetest yet hottest strangers to friends to lovers trope. I ate it up. Devoured. Left no crumbs. Read it asap.

I loved this. What a strange thing for Hope to run out on her wedding, right into the arms of Ben, who is hiding out, trying to figure his own life out…as the lead singer of a death metal band? It’s just a crazy fun story. There are crazy emotions, some tears, some funny moments and times where you’re not sure who needs strangling.
5 stars!!!

Runaway bride meets heavy metal singer in the middle of the forest and end up discovering more about themselves together than ever before. Hope “wakes up” just before her vows and runs from the altar and runs into Ben. He takes her to the cottage he is renting on his vacation so she can regroup. Small town gossip follows them everywhere and Hope realizes that she is more than a shadow to her ex when more people than she realized are on her side. Ben likes what he sees, Hope is strong and gains her confidence right in front of him….now he just needs to find his strength to fix what he is running from.
A great read with humour, steam and great characters. I loved the little to no drama and the drama that was between them, was not over the top. I loved Hope’s family, parents who stood behind her and siblings right beside. A great feel good read about self discovery, going against the norm and finding true happiness.
*I voluntarily read an advanced copy and expressed my honest opinion*

Hope Barlowe has been questioning her life for a while, her lightbulb moment comes when she’s just about to say ‘I do’. So off she runs, into the woods in her wedding dress, and bang smack into the arms of Ben Taylor. Ben is in Maple Creek on vacation, running away from his problems too - a best friend who he’s been battling with, a record company contract he wants to get out of, the list goes on. So he’s left the bright lights of LA for Maple Creek. The last thing he needs is a complication, and Hope Barlowe has complicated written all over her pretty white dress. Ben is battling his own demons, he’s a rock star who needs anonymity to perform, except it seems, when he’s with Hope. A truly wonderful small town romance, it’s got everything I want in a story. A slow burn with some super fun moments throughout, highly entertaining. I loved seeing both Ben and Hope grow together, and I was praying throughout that what they were building was strong enough for the inevitable fallout when all was revealed. Great characters (I loved Hope’s family), a fun storyline, and perfect narration. The story definitely lends itself to audio, especially with Ryan West and Stella Hunter taking the lead, they pulled it off perfectly, they could have actually been Ben and Hope. I’m looking forward to more shenanigans in Maple Creek, there are so many more stories to tell. I received advanced copies of both the ebook and the audio from the publishers via NetGalley. This is my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s the tale of small town meets big musician. It’s a sweet journey of self discovery and empowerment. Our hero, Ben, is the man of women’s fantasies. He’s caring, supportive and seems to instinctively know what our heroine, Hope, needs.

Hope Barlowe is a runaway bride. She literally ran away from her wedding during her vows. As she’s running through the woods she runs into Benjamin Taylor who’s hiding in her small town trying to get his head on straight. He’s a member of a heavy metal band experiencing a lot of in fighting.

As Hope hides out at Ben’s vacation rental she learns about herself and how to fight for herself. Ben’s endless support and encouragement help her build back her trust and confidence in herself. As the two navigate around town they discover a town divided in its support of Hope and several hijinks occur as a result.

Ben and Hope grow closer and closer as they spend time together and build each other back up. And Hope becomes Ben’s muse. But Ben has a secret of his own and one he’s legally bound not to share. What happens when Hope discovers his secret?

I absolutely adored Hope’s whole family and can’t wait for the next story in this series.

Thanks to Lauren Landish, NetGalley & Montlake for this ARC opportunity.

A fun runaway bride with a very interesting and mysterious hero that I enjoyed the difference in how he is portrayed, which I loved so much! His secret is such a cool one and I loved how it was portrayed, especially with the production and secrecy around it! I won’t talk about that here though so I’ll be moving onto Ben and Hope’s relationship!

I loved their meet cute and I loved the turnaround of Ben thinking she might be a serial killer, that was a great beginning as Hope is a runaway bride who leaves due to a nagging feeling that marrying Roy wasn’t what she wanted! I loved how she quickly figured out how she was meant to be treated and her friendship with Ben was perfect for that before it turned into more. Ben has a lot of baggage from his past, and I loved how he didn’t let it stop him from trusting Hope with what he could. His friendship with Sean is crazy, but Sean’s personality makes me want his book so badly!

Great first book in this series, I can’t wait to read more!