Tag Archives: Maddy Lowe

Review – Slash & Burn

21 Friday Mar 2025

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Slash and Burn

Holden Cove #2

by Maddy Lowe

Blurb:

Jill Jordan could not be any more off-limits.

A fact that her older brother—one of my best friends and the county sheriff—refuses to let me forget. But I don’t need the warning. I’m home for the summer to recover from an accident—one that broke my body and messed with my head. I’ve got three months to get back on the ice and prove I’m capable of leading my team again, or I can kiss everything I’ve ever worked for goodbye.

But when Jill and I are forced to team up on a community reading program, the sexy librarian is hard to hide from. She looks at me like she knows me. Like she sees right through the act I’m trying to pull off. When I finally trust her with the truth, she offers to help me in secret, because it turns out she’s got just as much riding on this as I do.

Getting to know Jill again—all grown up and more gorgeous than ever—has me skating on thin ice before I know it. Pretty soon getting caught by her brother is the least of my worries. With my dream on the line, I need to keep my head in the game, but Jill is more than just a distraction. And this is more than just a summer fling I can slash and burn.

Buy Link:

https://a.co/d/5OQ6zUf
Available in KU 

*****

Review:

I adored Jill and Grady together. They provide support and understanding to each other, stepping in when the other stumbles or loses confidence, as they handle their individual anxieties and traumas. It gives them a connection they didn’t expect.

As with Down & Dirty, book 2 in the series has great characters and I liked the direction their relationship takes. This one isn’t as angsty but their HEA still takes a bit of work and I’m here for it. I also enjoyed the way that she normalizes mental health in their story.

I am so glad I found Lowe. Her Holden Cove series has been so enjoyable and I feel like she’s just going to keep giving us great reads.

*****

Author Info:

Maddy Lowe is a small town, contemporary romance author who lives in the woods of New Hampshire with her goofy hound, Oliver. When not dreaming up ways to make love bloom in her tiny fictional town of Holden Cove, you can find her floating in a kayak or mixing up margaritas.

Connect with Maddy Lowe:

https://www.instagram.com/maddylowebooks/

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Review – Down & Dirty

19 Wednesday Mar 2025

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Down & Dirty

Holden Cove #1

by Maddy Lowe

Blurb:

Skylar Stone hates me.
It’s just harder to tell now that I’m paying her to pretend she doesn’t.

Being a motocross legend with a pretty face has earned me some of the most lucrative modeling contracts around. So, when my ex’s sex tape scandal puts my endorsement deals in jeopardy I’ll do just about anything to save my reputation – including hiring my teammate’s uppity older sister to be my fake girlfriend. It’s the perfect solution. She gets the cash she needs for her son, and I get to keep my modeling career on the upswing.

But riding 450s on a muddy track is easier than dating this woman. Photo ops and late nights turn into blurred lines, and before I know it there’s more at risk than just my financial future. A lot more.

When the deal we struck goes way off course, the only way to protect our hearts, is to play it down and dirty.

Down & Dirty is the first in a series of stand alone small town romances.

*****

Review:

I liked these two. Skylar does make some assumptions about Corey but she quickly finds out that he’s nothing like what she thinks he is. He’s caring, with more depth and understanding, seeing her like no one else does. And while he’s already a good guy, Corey grows thru his relationship with Skylar, realizing that there’s more to life and their relationship than he would have imagined.

There’s a bit of angst – they got together under less than truthful circumstances so it isn’t surprising. It makes sense for their situation and their personalities, not drama for drama’s sake, and it is resolved in a way that worked for me.

While writing this review, I found out this is the first work by Lowe and I am pleasantly surprised. The pacing was a smidge off (it drug just a bit) but the characters were really well done and I liked the way their relationship evolved. I’m excited to see what comes with book 2!