It’s all fun and games until somebody falls in love…
Cookie-baker extraordinaire, Heather Reese, has had one too many rounds of heartache, so she’s sworn off men and prefers to spend her evenings binge-watching game shows. Plus her no-men rule gives her time to focus on her dream come true—Heather’s Cookie Co.—her very own bake shop with an underground following for naughty shaped treats. She refuses to be interested in the hot-shot florist across the street. He is trouble with a capital T. Sexy trouble, but still, a hook-up with Jase is a hard nope.
Desperate to avoid his family’s incessant matchmaking, a fake breakup with the beautiful Heather is just what the florist ordered. If his family believes Heather decimated his heart, they’ll leave him alone. Heather isn’t so keen on the idea, but Jase is determined to make it worth her while. When a pretend breakup becomes the real romance neither was expecting, together they’ll have to decide if it’s finally time to light the fuse on love…
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This is such a great book! You will laugh and cry, but laugh more. Jase and Heather are so meant to be together – in spite of his family’s meddling. When Jase tells his Babuska Heather broke up with him, when they never dated, the fun starts. Babuska takes revenge, feels sorry, starts working at Heather’s bakery. Although she is somewhere north of 80, she is a force of nature. Her evolving story is an hilarious counter point to Jase and Heather’s growing romance.
I loved all the funny characters. They grab you, draw you into their lives, and make you feel a part of it. I won’t ruin it for you, but Heather has a back room business making naughty cookies that even the gals at the senior center love. Misunderstandings, Oh No moments, bad timing, disasters and lots of “she did what’s” all contribute to the rocky road Jase and Heather must travel to reach HEA.
I loved this book. I didn’t want to put it down. I had to see what would happen next. The drama is couched in humor. If you like a sweet, feel good story, this is the book for you. Oh, did I mention the great sex? Yeah, this book has it all!
Because of sexual content and language, this book is for 18+ readers.
Great addition to the Mile High Matched series. A fun and easy read. I thought Jase and Heather fit together in this imperfect manner. Babushka’s antics had me laughing. I can’t wait for Eli’s story.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC.
***5 ‘Babushka’d’ Stars***
Who would have thought a simple *smirk* fake break-up of a relationship that never existed would have caused this havoc? Not me. I figured a little chaos would ensue and it would maybe get a little craycray, but things would even out.
Nope. Not even close.
And the thing is, the bat shit crazy that ensues was kind of addicting because it kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next.
Would Heather and Jase FINALLY take the plunge?
Would Babushka stop babushka-ing things? (Yes, that is now a thing – trust me, read the book and you’ll totally agree)
Would the Dvornakov family as a whole back off??
And these are just the icing on the cookies and that doesn’t even include the smexy, laugh out loud and even groan in frustration moments that made this book so addicting.
Jase and Heather. I adored these two, I did, but did they take me for a ride of a lifetime. Heather is fiesty. She’s sassy, smart and though her heart has been a little bruised and battered, she still wants to find the love of a lifetime. Jase is on totally lockdown. Yeah, he is all kinds of charming and appears carefree but he isn’t. His demons ride him hard and he doesn’t want to face them. Also, he has this strange thing going on where he is all kinds of alpha and yet, he’s not in certain situations, which kinda drove me batshitcrazy, but I also kinda understood.
As for their journey. The whole fake breakup of a relationship that never was definitely an interesting way to get things going, but it only served to push things forward a bit. The two of them had chemistry from the start and the more time they spent together the more intense it grew until there was no question they were perfect for each other. Of course, things aren’t smooth sailing and I for one was totally #TeamHeather, no question about it. And as for the groveling? Alls I can say is that I’d’ve of been struck dumb too and probably agree to anything after one look at Jase.
And then there is Babushka. She most definitely deserves a shout out. She kicked this baby up a notch and was a hell of a lot of fun. I want to be her when I grow up.
This was a fun read. It was sweet, smexy and even had me wanting not reach out and Gibbs smack a few people, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved catching up with Brek, Velma, Claire, Dean and Eli and cannot wait to see what is in store for Eli in the next book!
~ Copy provided by the author & voluntarily reviewed ~
I loved this book! This is a fun twist on the fake relationship trope. Jase Dvornakov’s life has not turned out the way he hoped. He is back from serving as a bomb tech in the Navy after his last assignment went sideways, and his wife divorced him. He is now working in one of his family’s flower shops. His family is a big Russian family who is constantly in his business, trying to fix him up. To get them off his back, he lies to them that he is heartbroken after Heather, the baker across the street, dumped him. Problem is, while he has been hitting on her, they have never gone out. Heather is swearing off men, since she keeps picking jerks. When Jase’s grandmother decides to get back at Heather for hurting her precious grandson she total’s Heather’s delivery van. This forces Jase and Heather to work together. I loved both Jase and Heather, they are sweet characters and you root for them. I also loved Jase’s family and hope we see future books centered on his brothers. I received an ARC of this book from the author for my honest review.
Loved it!
Christina Hovland is now one of my go-to authors.
What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Babushka
The humor
Friends to lovers
Part of a series: Mile High Matched
Standalone
HEA
Epilogue
I look forward to reading the next book in this series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC from NetGalley.
The first book in this delicious romantic comedy series absolutely sparkled in an opposites attract so I was totally on board with another pairing from the circle of friends in a sizzling friends to lovers that had me guffawing at the over the top antics of Jase’s family and the snappy dialogue between Jase and Heather.
Blow Me Away is book two in the Mile High Matched series that shifts the focus to a new pair from a fun circle of friends in a Colorado town. It can definitely be read standalone or out of order, but the references back to Brek and Velma’s romance makes it best when read in order.
In this latest installment, Jase, a divorced, former Navy demo expert now florist whose business is opposite Heather’s cookie bakery has the poor woman who swore off men struggling to remember why. Her bruised heart reminds her and Jase seems too much fun and temptation to be serious. But then Jase makes up a break up with Heather to get his close-knit, interfering family off his back. He’s hoping for three or four week’s reprieve from the matchmaking efforts when his Babushka drives right into the middle of affairs and decides that she likes Heather and she’s going to do what is necessary to get this pair back together. Jase finds himself oddly on board with this and Heather goes into this zany plan tentatively.
But with cockies, strip clubs, a senior ‘senior’ prom, crazy relations, and a circle of friends, what could possibly go wrong?
I adore this author’s fun blend of sugar and spice. The romance and comedy are balanced well and there is plenty of depth in the character’s backgrounds leave room for growth. Jase has a crazy Russian family that made the meet the parents moment laugh out loud funny especially when Jase’s grandmother rats out Heather as the gal who drove her to a strip club and helped her move in with a man to Jase’s overprotective and volatile parents and siblings. Jase tries to protect Heather from them all, but naturally, she thinks he has to be exaggerating and just wants to hide her because he’s not as into the relationship- she learns quick how wrong she was.
The story moves along quickly, but is not under developed. I liked seeing them both face their past issues with the help of friends and it was fun seeing a bit of their separate businesses of him working art with his flowers while dancing shirtless to 80’s music and she in her bake shop decorating cocky cookies for bachelorette parties. I was glad to get caught up a little with the first couple and spend time with the circle of friends. But, mostly, I was smiling and having a good time as Jase and Heather realize they are just right for each other from flirty banter to companionship and more.
All in all, this second installment was as good a hit as the first book and I look forward to who’s up next- maybe our sexy chef? This is a heartwarming and hilarious rom-com that I can easily recommend to others.