Read Between the Pines

Maple Ridge #1

by Mary Walden

She traded the skyscrapers of New York for the small-town charm of Maple Ridge, but running her aunt’s bookstore is just the beginning.

Abby thought escaping her fast-paced city life would be easy, but between a grumpy, brooding handyman (who just might be the most ruggedly handsome man she's ever met), a tight-knit community eager to play matchmaker, and exes that just won’t get the hint, nothing is as simple as it seems.

For fans of small-town charm, grumpy-sunshine, and inheriting a new life, this heartwarming romance full of cozy fall vibes is a must-read.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Novella, Contemporary Romance, Cozy

162 pages, Paperback

Published September 21, 2024

Reviews

[Harmony Feldbusch · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cute idea. Horrible execution. So many gaps and missing chunks of time and no depth to the characters. Barely any dialogue amongst the main characters but then an “I love you”was thrown out there after barely knowing each other? Yikes. Feels like it was written by a 12 year old.

[Jess Titts · Rating 1 out of 5]

It just felt a bit flat for me- the concept was great and held such promise but it felt a bit all over the place and very much felt like just a series of uplifting quotes rather than swinging to the romance side that it was pitched as.

[Jennifer Mathews · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started off really enjoying the sweet story line, but then it started making big jumps forward with nothing letting you know what had happened, so you end up feeling like you’ve missed big chunks of the story. Then parts seem to repeat with variations on a previous scene. I read the ebook, so maybe it was just a really bad editing job.

[Pamela A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝓐𝔀𝔀 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓪 𝓬𝓸𝔃𝔂 𝓬𝓾𝓽𝓮 𝓼𝓶𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓽𝓸𝔀𝓷 𝓰𝓻𝓾𝓶𝓹𝔂 𝓼𝓾𝓷𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓮 𝓻𝓸𝓶𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮. 😍😍😍

𝓘 𝓯𝓮𝓵𝓵 𝓲𝓷 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓶𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓽𝓸𝔀𝓷 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓸𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓯𝓾𝓵 𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓼 𝔀𝓱𝓸 𝓵𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮! 𝓦𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓪 𝓯𝓾𝓷 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓬𝓸𝔃𝔂 𝓫𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓲𝓼! 𝓘𝓶 𝓵𝓸𝓸𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓯𝓸𝓻𝔀𝓪𝓻𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓫𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓽𝔀𝓸 𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓭𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓯𝓾𝓵 𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓼! 𝓜𝓪𝓻𝔂 𝔀𝓪𝓵𝓭𝓮𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓼𝓮 𝔀𝓸𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓯𝓾𝓵 𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓼!! 😉😉😉😊😊😊🥰

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read Between the Pines

What a delightful read! The characters were realistic and believable. The small town and townspeople made me wish I lived there.
The author did a beautiful job with the story and she made me want to read the next book.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good book that leaves you feeling good and warm on a cozy night.

[KHexe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fourth Wing was mentioned like 4 times. Also it stinks AI (just like the cover)

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love some grumpy man who is a sweetheart underneath. I wish someone would leave me a bookstore (not that I wish some of my relatives would die). But who hasn’t dreamed of fleeing their actual life and start all over again ?

[s.elle.books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute cozy small town romance

This was a really cute bookstore romance!!

So glad I picked this up. It was such a nice quick read. The characters were lovely and I enjoyed their development.

I would recommend this book!!

[anenchantedcorner · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 56%. I need to stop letting covers lure me in, and stick to what I know. This is just 13 tropes and a cat meme under a trench coat masquerading as a romance novel. No real chemistry, no real character development, hell no real conversations. Everything so manufactured by BookTok I would think AI wrote this. Big yikes.

[Cristina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Avrei voluto dare una valutazione più alta a questo libro ma purtroppo devo essere onesta: non succede niente.
L'inizio della storia è interessante, la protagonista, Abby, eredita a sorpresa la libreria della zia appena scomparsa proprio dopo aver lasciato il lavoro a New York, quindi si butta in questa avventura nella piccola città senza nessuna esperienza nel campo e inizia una nuova vita. L'ambientazione è incantevole ed è l'unico aspetto che mi è piaciuto ma purtroppo il libro è molto ripetitivo e la trama procede come per inerzia senza nessun vero ostacolo per Abby. Gli altri personaggi non fanno che darle gli stessi incoraggiamenti e il protagonista maschile, Ethan, si innamora sin troppo in fretta di Abby mostrandosi scorbutico solo in parte. Non ci sono momenti carini tra i due, non si parlano mai per conoscersi meglio, si parla solo del negozio e di quanto gli occhi di lei "brillino" ogni volta che lo menziona. Il lieto fine arriva troppo comodamente ed è un peccato perché sarebbe potuta essere una storia carinissima.

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

The characters were super sweet, and I really enjoyed the premise of the book. But the book fell short. There was no depth or detail to their relationship. Key moments that should have told you when they started falling for eachother were left out.

Also a bunch of errors in character information and structure flow. Ethan's sister referred to him as her big brother, but then Ethan also referred to her as his big sister. The sisters children were introduced as Timmy and Wyatt, and in the next sentence one of them was referred to as Jack. Randomly referring to the mains as "he" "she" without reintroducing them, leaving you confused as to which he or she is being referred to.

If we ignore the underwhelming romance aspect, the plot of the book was pretty enjoyable.

[autumnal_reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was like a warm mug of hot chocolate topped with cosy dose of marshmallows

Honestly this book was a bookish autumn gals dream. Small town bookshop owner with hallmark movie vibes - SIGN ME UP!!

ive never read a book by this author before and honestly im ashamed because wow this author can write! Her stories have a great flow and thy can really set the scrne. I could so easily picturr the bookstore with its cosy nook, pumpkin autumn display and hot cocoa stand!

The budding relationship between the characters was a swoon worthy one. Classic hallmark romance and i loved it.

If you loved the pumpkin spice cafe book you will adore this!

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute, quick read with all the cozy small-town and fall vibes you’d expect. The romance is sweet and completely clean (zero spice), which makes it a great pick if you're looking for something wholesome and low-stakes.

The meet-cute was charming, and the setting had that warm, comforting atmosphere perfect for autumn. That said, the time jumps made the story feel a bit disjointed at times, and I didn’t feel super connected to the characters. Still, it was an enjoyable, light read—like a Hallmark movie in book form.

Great if you're in the mood for something short, sweet, and seasonally cozy.

[Kayla Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

The outline of a cozy, fall, small-town romance was there, but this one didn't hit the mark. It sped through from A to C, with B being completely avoided. The main characters met each other, had maybe 2 conversations/encounters, and were in love 15 pages later. I get this was a short Kindle Unlimited pick, but still. No real substance which was a let down with such a perfect set-up. Definitely gives off AI vibes, especially with the author having zero personal details on their website.

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as an audiobook which was read by Virtual Voice. I’m against AI for audiobooks on principle, and borrowed this from Audible’s plus catalog without noticing it was Virtual Voice. I did not like the narration. You can tell it’s AI.
I did like the book though. It was well written and a good story. I give the book 4 stars and narration 2.

[Rose Grabowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

We follow Abby as she leaves her job in the city due to being passed over or a promotion that goes to her ex that took credit for her work. Soon after she found out her Aunt Maggie passed away and left her bookstore to Abby. After she worked through initial doubts it turns out to be life changing in a good way. If you like grumpy/sunshine small town stories you will love this one.

[TheShaylanEdit - Shaylan Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sweet little novella with 0 spice. Ultimately the scenery was my favorite, love a cozy fall background, but the rest fell flat. The meet cute, fall too fast, really isn’t my fave. Give me some pining. Give me some spice. Give me deep characters. The ending felt rushed together and that translated into not feeling believable for me. Still a cute easy read but ready for more depth.

[Victoria H · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cozy romance about a girl finding her home in a small town, with a bookstore and a handyman. It was a really wholesome and quick read, definitely had a lot of potential to be amazing, and I totally recommend this if you are looking for a cute light non spicy romance, overall it wasn’t my favorite but it was definitely enjoyable!

[Winnie Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5⭐️ Got in a stuff your kindle event. it was almost a DNF but I pushed through, it’s a really cute and cosy idea, and love the name of the book/bookstore. but both the book and relationship just felt flat and rushed. completely checked out for the last 10%, don’t feel the need to read anymore of the series

[Rebecca Andersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A swwet and cozy story

This story is a sweet and cozy story about stating a New. Finding one self and finding love.

I liked this story very much and Even thou it sometimes felt like there was some repeting lines the feel and cozyness of this story made the story.

If you like a cozy romance this story may be for you.

[Rose Mcclarin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abby leaves her job after she is passed over or a promotion that goes to a jerk that takes credit for her work. Her Aunt Maggie has passed away and left her bookstore to Abby and that is the beginning of a whole new chapter in her life with an amazing community and a new love Great Read

[Wendy Husted · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute little book. You get a little romance and a lot of books. As your reading, Abys adventure in redoing her Aunt Maggie's bookstore, you can smell the pages of old books. It makes you wish you were right there, in the little town where everyone knows each other.

[Maral · Rating 3 out of 5]

so so

Liked the concept of this book, but it was light, no depth to the story. I didn’t understand if Ethan was Sara’s older or younger brother, (one place is was one then the other).

[JoAn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maple Ridge is a cute small town that welcomes Abby when she inherits her Aunt Maggie's bookstore. Starting over isn't easy, but Abby's determined to revive the bookstore as well as entice tourists to visit her new hometown. A sweet and clean romance.

[Indiya Leggett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice Small-town Romance

If small town romance is your thing you will like this book. It kind of places you in the Hallmark movie type of feel. I did like it and it was a nice quick read to get me back in the swing of reading.

[Havana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute cosy romance, wasn’t a fan of the insta love at the end and got a bit too cheesy for me. Other than that a sweet read

[Taunya · Rating 2 out of 5]

editing amateur

There’s a lot of plot holes, jumps in time, inconsistencies in the plot line. Cute read but lots of what felt like rookie mistakes.

[Lindsay Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

lovely short little cozy fall romance.

[Kat in the Hat · Rating 1 out of 5]

Uhm this has really bad editing.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very quick read. Would have loved more character development