I have not had this much fun in a book for a while! It is the perfect combination of sweet and gut wrenching.

I loved both Madeline and Cooper right from the get go, and watching their relationship blossom was spectacular. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me kick my feet because it was so sweet. I firmly believe that we all need someone in our lives to play question games with and watch the fire until the early hours of the morning.

I loved how this book portrayed friendship, parenthood, and what it looks like to find yourself again after you’ve felt lost for so long. It was such a fun ride and left me feeling all of the warm fuzzies.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for an eARC of this book, I loved it!

4.25 stars

This was a cute, cozy, holiday romance! I really enjoyed the setting of a ski resort and all the fun snowy vibes.
Madeline was such a good guardian for her niece and nephew and was stretching herself thin to make sure they had everything they needed while also dealing with her nursing school and her difficult relationship with her parents.
Cooper was the ultimate golden retriever/ cinnamon roll boyfriend. He was so sweet to Madeline and made an effort to get to know not only her but the kids as well. You could tell that he would do anything for them and that he really cared about them.
This was overall a very light and sweet book but it did deal with some heavier themes. I liked the way Juliana Smith handled the grief from the kids losing their parents and Madeline losing her brother as well as Cooper’s fears of not being able to step into the roll of being a parent/guardian. Sprinkle in a little bit of fake dating a Slim Jim obsessed toddler and you get this wonderful book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the ARC!

First I would like to thank Netgalley and Victory Editing Netgalley Co-op for the ARC of this novel.

This book was so sweet. It wasn’t overly christmasy but the ski lodge setting really gave it Christmas/winter vibes.

I loved Cooper, Madeline and the kids so much. Their backstories were heartbreaking but also the found family aspect of this book was so good.

I loved that it didn’t have the 3rd act breakup. It might be my least favorite parts of a romance book. I loved the communication between Cooper and Madeline. It was such a nice and refreshing change for a romance novel.

The fake dating troupe is always hit or miss for me but this one was a big hit! I loved the nicknames Cooper gave everyone (half-pint, mini coop, etc) and Ioved the addition of the kids and their personalities.

I haven’t read the first one in this series but I will definitely be picking it up this holiday season.

4.75/5 rounded up to 5 for this review.

Review: Snowed Under by Juliana Smith ❄️❄️❄️❄️

If you are looking for a book perfect for winter but it isn't Christmasy, this is for you! I would recommend it through the winter months when snow is on the ground but the Christmas tree is put away.

Madeline has custody of her niece and nephew after her brother and his wife were killed in an accident. Cooper is a ski instructor for Madeline's nephew. They start going on "not dates" for fake dating reasons that don't really matter, but really just because they want to get to know each other. Just go with it. 😆

Cooper did not make a good first impression to me. He kind of overstepped, but he really grew on me. He is sunshine and extroverted and trying to do the right thing. I loved that eventually his goal was to help Madeline find what she likes and what makes her her. That was so sweet and the evaluations after their dates were funny.

The kids played a HUGE role in this story and the author did an excellent job writing them. Their dialogue and relationships felt really natural. Cooper working to win them over was so sweet.

While the banter started off slow for me, I felt myself swooning and enjoying the dialogue and writing style more and more as the book went along. By the end I was loving it and ready to pick up Juliana's other book Baggage Claim.

The family dynamics are rough, but realistic. Everyone involved is working through a lot of grief and people do that in different ways. I cried twice and I don't cry while reading books very often.

Pick this up if you like:
Golden retriever men
He falls first
She makes him work for it
Two cute kids
Ski instructor x lodge cleaner
Fake dating
He's the sunshine
She's hard to get
Single mom/aunt
Closed door

This is the perfect book to read with hot chocolate, a fireplace and snow on the ground outside.

Thank you to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the ARC of Snowed Under in exchange for an honest and independent review.

First and foremost, HUGE Juliana Smith fan here! I’ve read a number of her books at this point and I hold a special place for several of her previous works. That being said, this was the first book of hers that I’ve read and just felt lukewarm about. It isn’t that the idea wasn’t interesting or pulled at your heartstrings. It just wasn’t the page turner that I usually encounter with Juliana’s previous books. Part of that may be that I simply have zero interest in skiing or Aspen in general, but the storyline was just a bit too slow for my liking.

In addition to overarching plot line, I really could not stomach the MMC. He came off as incredibly arrogant and egotistical, which was an immediate hard pass for me. It’s really hard to get into a book when you just cannot stand one of the two main characters. Also on the list of characters I could not stand were Madeline’s parents. The way they treated her and their actions later in the book regarding her tuition money created an actual visceral reaction within me because my level of dislike for them was so high.

I wish I could pinpoint exactly why this one just didn’t hit home for me like all her others before Snowed Under. Overall, I felt that the storyline was promising and Madeline’s niece and nephew were absolutely adorable, I just found myself bored and falling asleep at points in the story. Even though Snowed Under fell flat for me, that in no way deters me from reading everything Juliana writes in the future. Typically, her books are always a grand slam in my opinion, but I understand that you can’t always win them all!

I thought this was a cute little romcom. The jury is still out on whether I liked Cooper / Madeline as a couple, but it was still a romcom. 😌

Very cute wintery novel. I loved the way she took care of her nephew and niece, and I loved the way that Cooper helped to take care of them all.

One small thing that bugged me as someone who skis were some of the descriptions surrounding this, such as 'he tightened his skis' - you can tighten your boots but not your skis. However, I only noticed this because I am familiar with skiing and if the descriptions had been about for example baseball, which I know nothing about, these small errors wouldn't have mattered!

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this read!

Almost cried reading this!

Madeline works as a housekeeper in a ski resort while also studying for nurse school, oh and she’s also taking care of her two nephews and nieces because her brother and best friend died in a freak accident. Cooper works as a ski instructor and also kind of owns the resort, he also needs a fake wife to save it, who better to ask than the very hot aunt who picked up her nephew from one of his classes. He just didn’t expect her to refuse and keep refusing. He is ready to do anything to make her say yes. She’s worried and he’s determined, what could go wrong? Or what could go right?

I do think I preferred this one to the first one, I could relate so much more to Madeline. Her nephew, Charlie (or Mini Coop) and niece Piper (Pipes or Half Pint) are the cutest and most adorable things ever, even after such a horrible and traumatic event, well mostly. There are of course some bits I wish were different because I could see it coming from a mile away but then there are also some things I did not expect at all. Which I really liked.

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Zero 🌶 but I'm so okay with that!
a MelReads hot-take: Forget shadow daddies...Cooper Graves is a SNOW DADDY! 🎿🤍
Favorite character: the 3 year-old girl.

In all seriousness, Snowed Under is a story of grief, loss, and finding love in the most unsuspecting places. There is absolutely zero spice in this story--which I was really looking forward to reading, but honestly...this is a story of family and grief and it wouldn't have been right. The love-plot of this story was the slow kind of love. You read this book and can see the love story before the character's even do and that's a beautiful thing.

Side bar: this is a part of a series, but you don't necessarily have to read the 1st book before this one. I didn't...but will be reading it now because I loved the characters in this story so much.

Snowed Under, so delicately, portrayed grief and loss of a loved one and how you're never really the same afterwards. Juliana Smith did a superb job of depicting a character who is so consumed by the needs of others, that she forgets who she is--she loses herself as a girlfriend, fiancé, aunt, and Cooper (the snow daddy, himself) is the one to help Madeline discover herself again. I think Madeline's backstory can be healing to some readers, and triggering for others. Please take care as you read. 💜

On a lighter note, the characters in this story were laugh-out-loud funny. Cooper has the best personality--cocky, confident, and protective. Yet, he's also goofy, hilarious, and sassy. I loved how each character had their own unique personality traits--and I honestly kept picturing Madeline's mom and dad as Richard and Emily Gilmore (from Gilmore Girls). *shrug*

My absolute favorite character in this entire story is the 3 year-old girl, Piper. That girl is feisty and mean and she brought so much humor to this story. 💜

Tags:
❄️fake-dating
❄️friends to lovers
❄️slow burn
❄️no spice
❄️HEA
❄️no second-act breakup (thank you!)
❄️death of a family member (off page, before story)
❄️speech delay rep
❄️mention of alcohol abuse in past


Thank you to Juliana Smith, Victory Editing and NetGalley Co-op for a galley of this book.

This is lighthearted romance that brings a bit of charm to the workplace romance genre. The characters are likable, and the storyline is engaging, but it doesn’t quite reach its full potential. The chemistry between the protagonists is enjoyable, but there are moments when the pacing feels uneven, which affects the flow of the story.

While there are several funny and heartwarming scenes, some of the plot points feel predictable, and the character development could have been deeper. Despite these minor issues, Its still enjoyable read for anyone looking for a feel-good romance with a few laughs along the way.

Rating: 3/5

I was left with warm feelings and happy emotions once i was done with this book. The emotions throughout the book however... they were all over the place.

These two characters have an absolute cutest meet-cute and their story contains some fake dating (which I absolutely love) as well as heavy topics and single "mom" situation. I loved Juliana Smith's writing and the plot was an emotional rollercoaster!

I feel like this is a perfect, cute, fluffy, emotional and real winter vibe story! I will absolutely reread this again when there is snow outside <3

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher as well as ofcourse to the amazing author Juliana Smith for an advanced reader copy in exchange of an honest review.

this was such a cute book!! I loved the dynamic between the two main characters and how they developed throughout the story!

I found that I unfortunately did not like this book as much as Baggage Claim.
The premise was really good but I feel like a lot of things Cooper did and said seemed a little juvenile for his age. The jokes that were made also landed kind of flat for some reason.

There were also a few discrepancies and continuation errors that I just could not look past, as well as the poor formatting of the ARC.
I understand that ARCs are unfinished and can have mistakes in them, but some of it was just unreadable, to the point where I had to read through a paragraph 3-4 times just to figure out who said something.

✨️"You are valuable. He left them for you. You are my Madeline."✨️

Cooper, a children's ski instructor, finds himself in need of a fake girlfriend to save his family's ski lodge. He meets Madeline, the aunt of one of the kids in his class, and they decide to make an arrangement that benefits the both of them.

If you want a heartwarming, funny and emotional story, this is the perfect book you! I was laughing out loud at multiple scenes. I found the writing beautiful and descriptive. I could picture everything so clearly. Their relationship developed from strangers to friend to lovers and I love those type of romances to much. Cooper and Madeline took so much time to get to know each other! I really enjoyed how we find out more and more about the characters while they get to know each other. It makes me connect to their relationship and characters.
This book deals with difficult topics, like family issues and self discovery. I think the author did a great job on these topics. It made me understand the characters more, and I could feel for them so much. I loved Cooper as a character. He notices these little things about Madeline and would do anything for the people he loves. I loved the way he expresses his love and feelings for Madeline, even when they were just friends. I teared up a bit at the end, because it was such an heartwarming and important part of the story!

The only thing that bothered me a bit was that in some sentences the quotes ("...") were left out, when they were needed. It made me a bit confused at times. But after some time I got used to it!

All this led me to my final rating of 4⭐️. Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this E-arc!

This book truly made my heart so happy! I loved the realness and raw emotions throughout this book. The strength Madeline has is absolutely admirable and I love how we saw the highs and lows of her life now as a single aunt of 2.
Cooper was the most warmhearted goofball that will protect the ones he loves at all cost. Cooper and Madeline showed in their relationship how opposites attract and how to simply bring out the best version of one another. I absolutely loved seeing Piper and Charlie grow throughout this book and how strong and independent they are. This book truly was so beautiful!

thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review ✨

i loved this book. wow.

Madeline is the legal guardian to her two year old niece and her nine year old nephew after her brother and best friend died and left them to her. she’s juggling parenthood with nursing school and working as a cleaner at the local ski lodge. Cooper is a ski instructor at his family’s lodge, trying to do anything he can to bring more custom to the lodge after a new lodge opened up nearby and business slowing down as a result. Cooper gets invited to do an interview with a family magazine, the only stipulation is he needs to bring his wife and kids too. after meeting Madeline, Cooper hatches a plan to fake date his way into her heart and kill two birds with one stone, bring more customers to his families lodge and win the girl.

this was such a fun book. Cooper as the MMC was just *chefs kiss*. he is sweet and funny and honest and mature!!! i cannot explain how amazing it was to read a book with a mature male character (mentally mature, he still at times behaved like a big kid).

Madeline is so real, her feelings and thoughts and struggles and doubts were so relatable and believable. her love for those two kids is undeniable, and her strength at balancing so much and dealing with her judgy mother is phenomenal.

the chemistry between Cooper and Madeline is so beautifully written, i felt all of it. the admiration, the happiness, the warmth and the love. it jumped off the page and developed and grew so naturally, i was rooting for them the whole time.

my only issue with the book is a few plot holes and formatting but it is an uncorrected proof of the book so i know it’s not perfect and so this didn’t impact my rating at all.

i would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a sweet, fluffy read with real and beautiful romance and lots of smile-to-yourself moments.

Let me tell you, Snowed Under by Juliana Snow hit just the right spot for me. It’s a quick, sweet read that’s perfect for anyone who enjoys a romance with a little bit of emotional depth, without getting too heavy.
Fake Dating
Opposites Attract
Romcom
Holidays

Perfect to set the mood in this chilly weather!

#SnowedUnderchristmasbookholidayromcomfakedatingromcom #NetGalley

Love on the slopes? HECK YES THERE IS! Snowed Under by Juliana Smith is the perfect winter romance to read snuggled up by the fireplace while the snow falls.

This is my kind of love story. It's about real people with messy lives who love in messy, scary, wonderful ways. Even though Cooper and Madeline start off as a relationship of convenience, their investment in each other is so wholesome and delightful to read! I felt very connected to the vulnerabilities and strengths of each of these characters. Coop's love for those kids had me WEAK. Dream man. Madeline of course, what a gem.

I am pleased to say there is no psychological messing around with the kids via a third-act breakup or anything of the sort. That would have really ruined this book for me and I was holding my breath until I made it through.

🎿❄️ Snowed Under ❄️🎿
By Juliana Smith

✨ Thank you NetGalley and victory editing for this ARC - out 11/23!

🎿 Ski instructor
❄️ Single aunt
🎿 Fake dating
❄️ Loss/Grief
🎿 Slow burn
❄️ Dual POV

🎿 was instantly charmed.
Maybe because I’m from a snowy town with a neighboring ski resort so it felt a little familiar.
❄️ With a very character heavy narrative it’s important that the characters are relatable and likable. Both were true here. [and it also helps that Cooper is 👩🏻‍🍳💋 - wonderful]
I loved their personalities and quirkiness. Even the side characters felt genuine and added to the story. Especially little Pipes and her speech 🥺.
✨ Absolutely don’t miss out on this wonderful read, so get ready to cozy up with it this winter! ✨

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️: No

I absolutely love the single parent/guardian trope so I was really excited to dive into this book. This book is a companion novel to Baggage Claim but can be read as a standalone.
If you are looking for a good old romcom book with the most adorable characters this book has you covered.
Madeline and Cooper's' meet cute with Cooper pretending to be Mini Coop's dad was hilarious. Also the nicknames Cooper gave everyone were adorable. Charlie, Piper and Lola have my heart especially Half Pint cause that girl is the most terrifying and cute at the same time.
The journey of Madeline finding herself was so beautiful and Cooper is such a sweetheart. I mean I'm honestly jealous of Mads cause I want my own Cooper now.

The balance between the emotions and the humor was well written cause one chapter I'm laughing and the next I'm tearing up. These were such special characters and I'm so glad to have read this book.