Review & Giveaway – Once Upon a Time in Dollywood by Ashley Jordan
Synopsis
A playwright must grapple with her difficult year and writer’s block while falling for the single dad living next door in this emotional debut novel from Ashley Jordan.
Eve Ambroise may be a rising star playwright, but her personal life is falling part. Desperate for a fresh start, she breaks up with her fiancé, cuts off her parents, and heads to the Tennessee mountains. But keeping up the lie that she’s just on a writing retreat becomes near impossible when faced with the well-meaning townspeople and a neighbor who has just as much baggage as she has.
Coming off a contentious custody battle, Jamie Gallagher is restructuring what his life looks like as a single dad, and spending more days at his cabin makes his new “free time” a little less empty. Especially when he meets the beautiful—and prickly—woman next door. The last thing he needs is a new romance to shake up his family dynamics even more, but there’s something about Eve.
What starts out as a fling quickly becomes more serious, and it’s not long before Eve is running scared once again. She’s loved and lost in every possible way, and risking it one more time could finally break her. But like the fireflies that fill the mountains around them, Jamie’s and Eve’s lives keep falling into sync. A fairy-tale ending could be in the cards, but only if the new couple can get out of their heads and put their hearts first.
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Review
This is so much more than a romance novel. It is also determination and not losing yourself in this crazy world. It is about a woman climbing out of the ashes and finding love, acceptance, and peace.
Eve is a hot mess. There is no other way to say this, but she has also had a rough life that started with losing her child because of the interference of her parents. This impacted her life in the future, and I can’t blame her. Decisions were made, and she had no say in the end. She was grieving and didn’t know how to come to terms with that loss. She also finds herself in a loveless relationship and several miscarriages. That pain on top of her past is too much, and she runs off to Gatlinburg to her Grandmother’s home. What she never expected to find was love and herself.
Jamie is one of those “good guys.” He doesn’t want to see anyone suffer if he can help it. Was it because his mom cheated on his dad and left them all those years ago? Was it giving up his dreams to make sure the family survived with her disappearance? No matter what caused this, his kind heart and loving nature are a blessing and a curse.
This novel was amazing, and I found myself rooting for Eve and Jamie. They both had baggage that needed to be addressed, and it took time, but their love for each other was undeniable. It wasn’t quick; it took time to get to that point. It took communication and several moments of miscommunication to realize their feelings for one another.
There are many light-hearted moments from Maya, Casey, and Jack. This humor brightens the heavier aspects.
I appreciated the respect shown for therapy. Eve needed that more than she knew, and trying to keep everything bottled up was not helping her. And while I did not like her parents, time and therapy allowed her to reach a position of understanding on both sides. This was a significant breakthrough for both mother and daughter.
Take a chance on this book, and lose yourself in the Tennessee hills with Eve and Jamie.
We give this book 5 paws up.
About the Author
Ashley Jordan is a millennial from Atlanta by way of Brooklyn. She attended Spelman College, obtaining a degree in Psychology and a lifelong love and appreciation for women’s stories. While she currently works in public health, she has embraced writing as a hobby since penning her first short story in second grade. When Ashley isn’t at the day job or writing, she is either at a Beyoncé concert, rewatching Mad Men, or arguing about basketball with anyone who will listen. In 2023, she became a Reese’s Book Club LitUp Fellow.
