The Heartbreaker of Echo Pass

Maisey Yates wrote an intense, emotional, amazing love story in The Heartbreaker of Echo Pass, part of her Gold Valley series. Iris Daniels is the quintessential shy woman. She’s tired of being overlooked, forgotten, part of the background, taking care of everyone else. Ready to shake up her life, she created a business plan to open a bakery but the rent on the store she wants is out of her reach. At the suggestion of her sisters, she decides to barter the rent with the store’s landlord. Iris was not prepared for Griffin Chance, the gruff mountain man hiding from civilization. Iris recognizes the pain and hurt he is dealing with; she is less familiar with the attraction and feelings he stirs within her. Iris is ready for an adventure; shed her innocence. Griffin has forgotten how to feel, at least until hurricane Iris arrived and stirred up his life; reminding him how to live. The shared attraction and chemistry drives the connection between them; faster and deeper than either anticipated. Griffin will have to find a way to recover from the pain of his past before he can give Iris the love she deserves; the love she had sought. Ms. Yates wrote a wonderful, intense, emotional and sizzling story that should not be missed. She provided a tale rich with magnetism, chemistry, and charming characters giving Iris and Griffin a chance to find that happily ever after. I highly recommend The Heartbreaker of Echo Pass to other readers. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

The most exquisitely profound rendering of grief I've ever read! As this is the fourth book of the Hope Springs family, we know all about the tragedy that nearly leveled the Daniels family years ago. Iris is still finding her independence, all the more important now that each of her siblings have found their own HEAs. In order to set up the bakery she's always dreamed of, she's going to need the help of her potential landlord to cut her a deal she can manage. Griffin has been hiding away from the entire world for the past five years after an unimaginable loss shattered his entire sense of self. He's not the least bit interested in helping the determined young woman who ignores every hint to leave him alone. But it turns out there's an extra dash of hope in her plate of cookies, one that starts him on the road to living again. This author must have experienced tragedy personally to be able to write such a visceral, gut-wrenching examination of all the various depths of emotion required to come back from a loss that redefines one's life. Both Iris and Griffin know grief, but where that shared understanding initially brings them together, it also serves to drive them apart. On the surface, the romance is simple and straightforward. In this story, however, the complexity of the feelings - of love, guilt, failures, purpose - are brought out one by one, aired out and refreshed, and then reassigned a proper role as these two figure out how to keep on living. It's beautifully done, enthralling and captivating, heart-warming and heart-breaking all at the same time. If you're already invested in the Daniels family, you don't want to miss this one. If you like spunky heroines who take on grumpy mountain men, this is your catnip. If you want to know what living after world-shattering loss looks like, this is the only book you need. I wholeheartedly recommend this story for anyone who loves to read romances. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

lovely book.