Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Peaches and Dreams by Juliette Cross [Review]


Peaches and Dreams (Green Valley Heroes #4) by Juliette Cross
Format: ebook
Source: provided for review
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: September 1, 2023

Green Valley Heroes
1. Forrest for the Trees
2. Parks and Provocation
3. Letter Late Than Never
4. Peaches and Dreams - Paperback | Kindle
5. Young Buck
6. Package Makes Perfect

Juliette Cross
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):
Marly Rivers is not crazy. No matter what everyone says. They may think her dream is foolish, but she plans to prove them all wrong—one jar of moonshine at a time.

Single dad Wade Kelley is just fine. No matter what his best friend Jed says. He doesn’t need a woman in his life. But when his son Jake breaks a jar of moonshine, he sets something in motion that neither Wade nor Marly are prepared for.

A friendly favor turns into late nights, long dinners, and a romp in the woods. And in a deer stand too. By the time Wade realizes he’s fallen hard and deep for Mad Marly, it may be too late to tell her. When she falls into real and sudden danger with poachers, he may not even be able to save her.
Thoughts on Peaches and Dreams: Slightly wild Marly and exceptional planner Wade are up and WOW did these two work nicely together. Wade needed someone to push him out of his comfort zone and Marly just needed someone who straight-up believed in her. Someone who looked at her and didn't see her throwing her life away for something that wasn't a fast-paced career of their choosing. Wade might not always understand all Marly's choices, but he supported her in his grumbly-bear way.

And, YEAH, Wade was a grumbly bear. A frowning hunk of a man who wanted to do the best for his son and adored him family and wasn't afraid to step in to help when the situation called for it. Marly baffled him at times, but he liked the way she made him feel. And he could admit to himself that he needed the push to be a little more spontaneous both in his own life and with his son.

Like I said, these two just worked.

We got some familiar faces (Lola! Jed! Jackson James!), a harrowing flight through the woods, more than a few steamy kisses, an almost-polar plunge, a kiddo who adores Marly in all her over-the-top wonderfulness, a man who tries to convince himself he's NOT attracted to said over-the-top wonderfulness, and a lady who lives life as exuberantly as possible. No lie, I always love spending time in Green Valley and getting to see offbeat people finding the loves of their lives. *thumbs up*


Excerpt
He cleared his throat and glanced back toward the door. “No. This is it. I’d better go. Jake’s in the truck.”

“Yeah. I was standing right here when you told him to go wait in it two minutes ago.”

He gave me that confused expression again, but I don’t know why. He was the one stating the obvious.

“Right.” He turned and marched for the door.

I followed him toward the exit. “Did you want to pay for that? Or were you planning on stealing it?”

“Huh?” he turned near the door.

I was used to flustering people, particularly men, so this didn’t surprise me.

“You already paid Kayla?” I pointed to the jar in his hand.

“Oh, hell.” He shook his head and met me at the register.

I glanced out the window to check on Jake. He was sitting in the passenger seat of a big Chevy next to my Ford-150. After ringing Wade up, I gave him his change then bagged his jar of moonshine.

“You sure you don’t want me to pay for that broken jar?” he asked. “I don’t know why, but I feel like you’re covering for Jake. Kids gotta learn to pay when they make mistakes.”

“I’m sure you’re absolutely correct and know much more about parenting than I do, seeing as I am not a parent. But don’t you worry your pretty little head about it. It’s all good.”

Again, he gave me that blank-faced, puzzled expression as I handed over his moonshine in a paper bag and beamed brightly up at him.

“You’re a funny kind of woman, Marly.”

“You better believe it. I put the fun in funny.” I winked.

He shook his head and took the bag, but I swear I saw him actually crack a smile before he ducked his chin and strolled out to his truck.

Kayla joined me behind the counter while we both watched him walk across the parking lot. Though I was not a fan of Wade Kelley—the grouchy man hated country music, for Pete’s sake—I had to admit he looked awfully good walking away.

“Why’d you make up a story for the kid?”

I shrugged. “Just wanted to. He’s a cute kid who looked like he was about to cry. I wanted him to smile.”

“His daddy is more than cute. Good gracious alive.”

I watched Wade slide into the driver’s seat and say something to his son. He didn’t seem angry as he started the truck, braced his arm across the backseat and looked back as he reversed.

“You think so?”

“Hell, girl. Are you kidding me? That man is a full-on smoke-show.”

“I don’t see it.” Not entirely.

As Wade’s truck reversed, I could make out that deep frown of his through the window. His dark eyes caught mine for a split second. Or two. Then he turned around and drove out of the parking lot.

“Fine by me,” added Kayla, heading toward the breakroom. “You let me tend to his every need next time he comes in.”

Frowning, I headed back to the boxes of Peppermint Patty and the display I needed to finish, wondering why Kayla was annoying me so much today.


Grab your copy TODAY!
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3rWYK7p
Amazon UK: https://bit.ly/3KC9s9M
Amazon CA: https://bit.ly/3DRHMdm
Amazon AU: https://bit.ly/3QA6xCG
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3s9cL20
Audiobook: Coming this fall!


About Juliette Cross
JULIETTE is a multi-published author of paranormal and fantasy romance & the co-host of the podcast, Smart Women Read Romance. As a native of Louisiana, she lives in the heart of Cajun land with her husband, four kids, her labs, Kona and Jeaux, and kitty, Betty. When she isn’t working on her next project, she enjoys binge-watching her favorite shows with her husband and a glass (or two) of red wine.

Find Juliette Cross Online
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