Off the Beaten Path

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.

this is my favorite Madison Wright story yet! I absolutely loved everything about this story, from start to finish it was perfect 🥹❤️

Wren is such a fun, happy- spirited, deeply kind and loving person. I just loved the way she was so quick witted in every situation with Holden, always meeting his grumpiness with her clever sunshine. and the way she loves just everyone in her life, always being genuinely kind and loving to absolutely everyone. she’s just such a fun, loveable character! and Holden is the best grumpy single dad ever! he has the world on his shoulders raising his adorable & hysterical daughter, but has so much love for the people he keeps close in life. she prioritizes family— always loving and protecting them wholly. he’s so freaking hot for it oh my gosh ❤️‍🔥

and I absolutely LOVED Wren & Holden together!!!! they had, in my opinion, the ~perfect~ enemies to lovers type of relationship because it was never meant or cruel, always just poking jabs at one another that were more or less harmless, both of them are truly good and kind people so they never let their little feuds be taken too far. it was so seamless to see them become so much more! the way Holden just accepts Wren into his circle of love & protection, wanting to make things right for her however he can; and Wren being so open and loving in her developing interest in him is so freaking beautiful to read 🥹❤️

all of the characters, the whole plot, every single part of this story is just absolutely perfect. I loved it so much. and all the side characters are amazing, I am so ready to read more Fontana Ridge stories!!! 🤍🤍🤍

thank you for the arc!!!

𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴:
✰ 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘥
✰ 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯
✰ 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘺
✰ 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘷𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘴
✰ 𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘺 𝘹 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦

Off the beaten path is Madison Wright's latest release and an absolute delight. It's already on my best reads list. I love that Wren and Holden were neighbors, I loved the "you got mail" vibes, I love the single dad trope especially when the kid is so adorable. Honestly there's nothing about this book that I didn't enjoy.
Reading it felt like getting a warm hug. I highly recommend it and this author. Her books are simply great for me.

Release date: January 26th

*arc kindly provided in exchange of an honest review

First off, give me a story based in my backyard (the Smokies) and I’m there. Secondly, I will forever and always love Madison’s way of making you fall in love with her characters. I really love Wren’s personality. Glass half full, bubbly, always willing to help with a bit of a mischievous sassy side. Holden is such an amazing dad, fiercely protective and so loving to his little girl, June. June is a spunky little firecracker and reminds me so much of my little girl. I really enjoyed wren and holden’s chemistry and the way their relationship was built and tested. They were easy to root for and Madison did a great job at making their relationship build in a way that didn’t feel too rushed. I was a little hesitant when it came to the ex wife but it didn’t feel like it took up an overwhelming part of the story but just enough to see the dynamics and understand everything. The side characters were fun and quirky as I have come to expect from her previous books. Overall this sweet romcom was just what I needed over the last few days! It’s definitely worth the read and I’m excited to see what’s happening next in the mountains!

This is only my second Madison Wright book, but I have loved both of them. I love a forced proximity romance, and Wren wa just dreamy. I have to start making my way through Madison Wright backlist ASAP.

Oh my gosh wow! I am still swooning over this book. This was my first Madison Wright book and best believe I will be diving into her backlist PRONTO.

THINGS I LOVED:
•Wren: Wren is just a ball of sunshine and I loved her. I loved how she could be such an instigator and how she messed with Holden and got under his skin. But I also loved how she truly saw him and showed him his worth. And her interactions with June were just the sweetest.
•Holden: Holden was amazing. I loved watching him fall for Wren. And we all love a single dad who is just a puddle for his daughter right? Holden is hands down a top tier Book boyfriend. He was steady and caring and absolutely wonderful.
•June: I love single parent romances because the kids are always phenomenal. June was such a delight and had me cracking up. The scene at Wren’s first family dinner as Holden’s girlfriend had me cracking up.
•The Chemistry: These two had off the charts chemistry and tension. It was amazing and people who turn the noses up at closed door romances for a lack of chemistry aren’t reading the right ones because the chemistry was leaping off the pages. Honestly this is probably a perfect steam level; radiating tension and chemistry but still keeping the door closed.

This book had me SWOONING so hard! Like I was giddy reading this book and could not stop smiling. If you want a book that will give you all the feel good feels then I highly recommend this one!

This is a closed door romance with mild language and innuendo.

This is my second book by Madison Wright, and it’s her best yet! It had all the swoon and butterflies! This is a closed door romance, so no spice. For those who love single dad, grumpy sunshine, girl next door, small town romance. This one is for you. I can’t tell you how many things I highlighted that were just so deliciously sweet! I highly recommend!

✨ARC Review✨

I knew super quickly into this that it was a 5 star read.

You want a hot single dad? Check.
You want a grumpy hot single dad? Check check.
You want the next door neighbor who's nothing but sunshine and drives the grump nuts? CHECK.
You want a little bit of fake dating? Check.
You want what feels like enemies to lovers but turns into friends to lovers? Check.
You want banter and tension that make you feel all giddy inside? CHECK.

This truly had it all in the best way.

Wren was all sunshine and rainbows but it was done so tastefully well. I never got annoyed with her personality and if anything, I loved just how opposite to Holden she really was. He wants to be left alone and she wants to play pranks on him. I was honestly EATING it up.

Wren is a really fun character. She's witty and aesthetically so pretty. She's focused on her dreams of renovating and opening up a rental cabin in town and the last thing she expected was someone like Holden becoming more than just the grumpy neighbor.

Holden, oh Holden. He might be one of my favorite book grumps. He just wants to live his life while raising his daughter. The last thing he wants is another package "accidentally" being sent to his house by his overly cheery neighbor.

Holden was giving me Big Boy by SZA vibes. This gruff, handsome, works with his hands kind of man. Mix that with him being a single dad and WOW, slap me silly 'cause I'm in love. He has such a heart of gold and being burned in the past has left him guarded...relatable.

But he's good with his words and it was doing everything for me.

I was LIVING for their banter/grumpy/sunshine moments. I was truly getting giddy from it. The chemistry was fire. The connection they had was fire. The heat and tension WAS FIRE.

Holden as a father was the most charming and endearing thing you could witness. He's such a GOOD dad and loves his daughter so much. Every time he called June, June Bug...major swooning over here. Him seeing Wren with his daughter just made my heart melt too. I loved this little family they started to form.

I honestly couldn't put this down and loved how smooth this flowed.

We don't get spice but let me tell you...this was written so well that you truly didn't need it. You felt all the giddy feels with this perfectly fine. You want HEATED TENSION - YOU GET HEATED TENSION.

We also get some really good side characters, Finley and Grey. I'll take a story there, please and thank you.

This book hit the spot and I loved it. If you want all those tropes listed above, you've come to the right place.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Madison Wright for the ARC copy!

At 47% in I knew this book was going to be in my top ten reads of 2024. Not only is the banter between Holden and Wren impeccable but Madison Wright has a writing style that is so beautiful and descriptive it truly makes you feel like you are watching a movie instead of reading a book. Holden and Wren are two of my favorite characters and seeing their development made me feel so many beautiful feelings. I will never stop recommending this book and cannot wait to be able to purchase a physical copy.