Showing posts with label Amy Daws. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amy Daws. Show all posts

Thursday, November 13, 2025

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. 

 

Monday, September 29, 2025

Review - - Last on the List

Last on the List
by Amy Daws
Wait with Me - Book 5
Publisher: Canary Street Press
Release Date: September 30, 2025
Reviewed by PJ
 


Only a bad nanny knows what it’s like to kiss the boss.


CEO millionaire Max Fletcher is a single dad in desperate need of a nanny.

Cozy Barlow is in the middle of her self-appointed “gap year” and doing everything she can to detach from her past.

But when her sister begs her to interview for the nanny position of a high-maintenance client, she doesn’t have a good enough reason to say no.

And when Max locks eyes on the twentysomething in tie-dye who pitches the idea of daydreaming all summer, he prepares to give this bad nanny the boot.

One problem: Max’s little girl thinks this "plus-size in body and spirit" nanny might be her new bestie, so she hires her on the spot.

Now Max is stuck with a woman who hates everything he represents—corporate greed, money, status, power.

But one stormy night when the power goes out, he discovers Cozy doesn’t hate him. In fact, he’s the leading role in her fantasies.

Fantasies he would very much like to make a reality.

PJ's Thoughts:

I pretty much smiled through this entire book. I mean, come on, pair a by-the-book, single-dad billionaire with a big-hearted, taking-a-career-break, more-than-she-seems Nanny. Add forced proximity, sparkling banter, sizzling attraction, humor, fun, emotional depth, and steam for days. Then, just for kicks, top it with an 11-year-old matchmaker, meddling brothers and friends, plus growing feelings, and Max and Cozy just might have the perfect recipe for their very own happily ever after. 

I prefer to read a series in order. In the case of Last on the List, however, I did things backwards. While this is book five in the Wait with Me series, it is also the prequel to the Mountain Men Matchmaker series. I have not read the first four books in the Wait with Me series and I have read the first three books in the Mountain Men Matchmaker series (which feature Max, Cozy, and Everly as secondary but important characters several years later). I'm happy to say that this did not impair my level of enjoyment one bit. After meeting Max's friends, I will definitely be picking up their books. As far as his "Mountain Men" brothers, it was fun to go back in time and read the origin story of their beloved niece and personal matchmaker, Everly. Wherever you are in the reading order of either series, Last on the List stands well on its own and has my enthusiastic recommendation. 

Note: If this book sounds familiar there's a chance you may have read it as an indie digital release.