Review - - Honeymoon Phase

Honeymoon Phase

by Amy Daws

Mountain Men Matchmaker - Book 3

Publisher: Canary Street Press

Release Date: November 11, 2025

Reviewed by PJ

Fact or fiction: proposing to your best friend so she can inherit her family business is a great idea.

When Addison “Roe” Monroe tells me she’s going on a husband hunt at the local lumberjack competition so she can inherit her father’s lumberyard, desperate times call for desperate measures.

She’s sworn off romance. Says she’s been through enough tragedy. So I offer myself as an alternative, 'cause that’s what best friends are for.

But my stubborn friend, who would rather drive a forklift than get her nails done, refuses to accept my help, and now I find myself training to become a lumberjack.

I refuse to let Roe hitch her wagon to some hulking ax wielder who might be a serial killer. She means too much to me.

And I swear there are moments where she looks at me like I mean something more to her, too.

On the surface, I’m offering a marriage of convenience to protect her. But the truth is…I’m hopelessly in love with my best friend.

So if I have to marry her and move her up to Fletcher Mountain just to see if she could love me back, so be it.

Because my only regret would be losing her forever, and that’s a fact.

PJ's Thoughts:

Amy Daws blends laugh-out-loud fun, heart-tugging emotion, family dynamics, and toe-curling steam in this third book of her Mountain Men Matchmaker series and I am here for every word. 

Luke Fletcher is the last unattached brother standing on Fletcher Mountain. Not that he wants to be. No, Luke has it bad for his best friend but she's set against love and marriage. Or, make that marriage with love. A marriage of convenience, on the other hand, one that will only last a year is most definitely on the table...with anyone but Luke. Our boy is out to change her mind and, hopefully, win her heart. 

To say Addison "Roe" Monroe has had an unconventional upbringing would be a understatement. Grief and abandonment have shaped her into the woman she is, with a heart she is not about to open up to more pain. If there's one person who could tempt her, it would be her best friend, her safe space. But, is she willing to risk his friendship for more? And what about his family who welcomes her with open arms? 

Addison is such a singular character, more at home on a forklift than a dance floor, more at ease in flannel than silk, but also ridiculously fond of her sourdough starter. Yes, she bakes bread. That's part of the soft side she keeps hidden, maybe even from herself. It was wonderful to watch her evolve over the course of the book, learning to deal with the emotional trauma of her past, learning to trust, and embracing those softer emotions without losing the essence of who she is. 

Luke has past trauma of his own and vulnerabilities not readily apparent but one thing that never wavers is his steadfast love, support, and belief in Addison. He is there for her, always, in whatever fashion she needs, even at the expense of his own hopes, heart, and safety (lumberjack competition, anyone?). I adored him, his family, his cock (not that one!). Okay, maybe that one too but I'm talking about his oh-so-spoiled pet rooster. 

The supporting cast of characters in this book is pure gold. The dynamic among the brothers is spot on and the Fletcher Mountain ladies have me wanting to build a cabin up there and hang out with them too. They're such a fun, sassy, relatable group. I want to sled with them, dance with them, get tipsy while eating pizza on the curb with them, and lean in for warm, teary-eyed hugs while celebrating the hard-won love and joy each has found. 

There's only one more Fletcher standing and that's beloved niece, Everly, known as the family matchmaker. The tables will turn when Everly steps into her own love story in 2026. I can't wait.