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The Mountain Men Matchmaker Series by Amy DawS


I received an ARC of the fourth book in the Mountain Men Matchmaker Series, and because I can't just read a book further along in the series without reading the ones before it (even if they are each standalones), I have read the first three books in preparation for Bad Boy Era.



Nine Month Contract

by Amy Daws

Published by Canary Street Press

Book 1 of Mountain Men Matchmaker


Help Wanted: Grumpy mountain man seeks baby momma. Job is an incubator position only. Surrogate must be impervious to grunting as the form of communication and nosy brotherly neighbors. Rustic mountain range housing available upon request.

I wanted to pummel my irritating brothers when they posted their own version of a wanted ad to help me with my life.

But I can’t fault the results once the right woman lands in my lap.

Becoming a single father is not a decision I made lightly. In fact, it’s the biggest decision of my entire life.

Which is why when I interview Trista, I know she’s perfect.

She’s wild, she’s opinionated, she wears cowboy boots. Even my pet goat loves her…

She’s the exact type of person I was holding out for.

And to my great horror, I realize on our first night of attempting this baby-making dance—when the lights are low, the cheap wine is flowing and the home-insemination supplies are laid out on the kitchen counter—I want to do a lot more than just make her my surrogate.

I want to make her mine.


Genre


Triggers

Memories of child abuse (neglectful parents and abandonment), griefs over death of a parent, surrogacy and pregnancy

I wasn't sure I would like this one, because I don't love pregnancy tropes.

However, despite my reservations, I enjoyed this one. Mostly because the plot itself felt so original.

I mean, pregnancy resulting from a one night stand is a dime a dozen in this genre. But a man who desperately wants to become a father and in search of a surrogate, falling in love with the feisty woman who he chooses to carry his baby? It felt like a breath of fresh air.

It created a dynamic that was fun to read.

Now, I can already predict that some readers might not like this book because Trista, a woman who is adamant about not wanting children, ends up keeping the baby and marrying Wyatt. I'm not going to say that's a spoiler. It's a romance between a surrogate and the father to be.

You know how it ends.

I actually could get by this, because I'm kind of like Trista in regard to not being a particular fan of children, but loving and wanting my own.

What I don't love was that the reason she didn't want children was basically due to trauma, and not because she just didn't want to be a mom. As someone who made it clear that she was cleared by a psychiatrist that she was a good candidate for surrogacy, it frankly doesn't make sense that she was cleared.

I don't know. That stuck with me.

Besides all of that - I generally enjoyed it. I loved grumpy Wyatt, who desperately wanted to be a father. I loved Trista and her deep love of animals, and how, despite not wanting any animals on his mountain, he couldn't say no to Trista every time she brought a new stray home.

The dynamic between the characters was sweet.

The sex was also insanely hot. Amy Daws knows how to write good sex.


Max: “Everly,”

Max expels under his breath.

Max: “Finding a surrogate for Uncle Wyatt is a very big deal. It’s real life, which is why he’s going through the proper channels and trying to hire a professional from an agency. You’re too inexperienced to understand all this.”

Everly: “Please, Dad,”

Everly scoffs casually.

Everly: “I’m not even a virgin.”

Calder screams. Literally screams. It echoes off the foothills, likely sending all the wildlife scrambling.


Unbothered by his surly demeanor, I march into his bathroom and discover the ranch cup on the counter. Filled to the brim. Gross. Lips pursed with determination, I unwrap the sterile plastic syringe and hover over the pearly liquid.

You’ve washed rescue dogs with mange before, Trista. One even had a sore with maggots crawling in it. This is nothing!

I pull the fluid into the syringe until I can’t get any more in it. My body shudders when it touches the tube’s plastic to find it still warm. I swallow the lump in my throat.

Trista: “That there’s a fresh batch, ain’t it?”

Wyatt: “Jesus Christ,”

he expels, unable to look at me. He’s kind of cute when he’s mortified.


She points at my chest.

Trista: “You wouldn’t be out of breath if you had let me walk.”

I lean over and press my hands onto the mattress to glower at her.

Wyatt: “I’m only out of breath because you fought me the whole damn way.”

Trista: “Oh, please,”

she scoffs and tucks her feet under the covers.

Trista: “I’m sure you’re used to tiny women you can throw over your shoulder. It must have been quite a shock hefting up all of me...pregnant or not.”

I tilt my head and eye her with wicked challenge. Even sick and depleted, she still has a good amount of fight in her. It’s alarming how much I like that. My voice is deep and promising when I reply,

Wyatt: “Trust me, I can handle each bit of you every day of the week and twice on Sundays.”


Calder: “Sex is Mother Nature’s cough medicine,”

Calder says with a dopey smile.

Calder: “You got a little tickle in the back of your throat? A good bang session will make that pain disappear, guaranteed.”


I slide my eyes to Calder.

Wyatt: “What are you even doing? Isn’t she married?”

Calder smiles devilishly, his eyes following Dakota’s hasty exit.

Calder: “Recently divorced, actually.”

Wyatt: “But doesn’t she hate you?”

Calder: “Loathes me.”

Calder’s eyes lower, and he sucks in a sharp breath.

Calder: “I think I’m in love.”


Max: “Calder, you have to let her go,”

my dad says, gripping his brother’s shoulder outside the Denver airport passenger drop-off area.

Max: “We’re going to miss our flight.”

My eyes are welled with tears as Calder pulls back and rubs the heel of his hand into his eyes.

Calder: “I’m going to miss you, shithead.”

Everly: “I’m going to miss you too, dumb fuck,”

I deadpan.

Grandma: “Everly!”

Grandma gasps.

Grandma: “We’re in public!”


Seven Year Itch

by Amy Daws

Published by Canary Street Press

Book 2 of Mountain Men Matchmaker


Alone and Looking to Bone! Loudmouthed Mountain Man Seeks Fiery Woman to Grow Old With.

I might look like a tall, tattooed, bearded neanderthal...but like an onion, I have layers. Swipe right if you like a proud cat daddy who catches feelings after direct eye contact.

All I wanted was a casual plus-one to my brother's destination wedding, but those idiots on my family tree hacked my dating profile and sabotaged my quest for the perfect weekend fling. Now I'm stuck on a tropical vacation with only my hand to keep me company.

Until I’m forced to share a room with the bane of my existence: my sister-in-law’s best friend.

Dakota has hated me for the past seven years. I wasn’t losing much sleep over her screaming rants because she was some other guy’s problem. Or she was, until she got divorced.

Being stuck in paradise with a woman who loathes your very existence doesn't sound hot, but after an unexpected moment in our shared palapa, she starts screaming at me in a different way.

What happens in paradise stays in paradise. That is, until Dakota shows up on my mountain with a proposition: be her wingman to help her regain her pre-divorce confidence.

Suddenly, Dakota’s not just person I love to fight with. She’s the woman I want everything with.


Genre


Triggers

Dealing with divorce, emotionally abusive ex. Grief from death of parent.

I liked this book.

I didn't love it.

It was longer than it needed to be.

Felt repetitive and a bit boring.

Calder was funny, as per usual.

Very steamy, which was fun to read, but that can only carry a book so far ...


Not much else to say about this one. I liked it. It was cute.


Calder: “Can I bring my cat?”

I ask, feeling desperate and mopey.

Calder: “Maybe if I could bring Milkshake, I wouldn’t care if I don’t find a date.”

Luke: “You know how creepy you sound, right?”

Luke asks pointedly.

Luke: “Yes.”


Dakota: “Can you just go away and let me unpack in peace?”

Calder: “Sure thing, Snookems. Can I go to the house and get you anything? A snack? A fresh drink? An enema to help you get that stick out of your ass?”


Calder: “It’s not about caring,”

I say, feeling strangely out of breath as I stare at her lush frame illuminated in a halo of light that makes every inch of her look alluring.

Calder: “It’s about not letting yourself be numbered by anyone when you’re fucking infinite.”


Calder: “Aw, come on, Ace. The human body is a wonderful thing. Don’t be ashamed.”

Dakota: “I’m not ashamed. I just don’t need to have your unit looking me in the eye.”

Calder: “He likes to look.”

Dakota: “Calder!”


Dakota: “We don’t even like each other!”

Calder: “You don’t have to like me to fuck me.”


I brace myself for impact, but my eyes catch sight of a familiar blonde right before I splatter across the glass.

Calder: “Dakota?”

I murmur, my face smushed against the clear barrier as three guys press into my back, their sticks thwacking the ice by my feet, trying to steal the puck from me.

Dakota: “Go, Killer Calder!”

She claps her hands in front of her and cheers like it’s totally fucking normal for her to be here right now.

Calder: “What are you doing here?”

My voice is muffled by the barrier as I get ass-fucked by a seventy-year-old who really wants this puck . . . and my dignity.

Dakota: “I’m here to cheer you on! You’re doing great.”

She shoots me two very enthusiastic thumbs-up.

Dakota: “Go, sports!”


Calder: “Then, what do you want from me, baby?”

I quirk one brow up and bend so I’m eye level with him.

Dakota: “I want you to lie back so I can ride your face and give you the death you so long for.”


Honeymoon Phase

by Amy Daws

Published by Canary Street Press

Book 3 of Mountain Men Matchmaker Series


Fact or fiction: becoming a lumberjack and marrying your best friend so she can inherit her family business is a great idea.


When Addison “Roe” Monroe tells me she’s going on a husband hunt at the local lumberjack competition so she can inherit her father’s lumberyard, I think she has finally lost her mind.

But my stubborn friend, who would rather drive a forklift than get her nails done, refused my first marriage offer. And since I can’t stomach watching Roe hitch her wagon to some hulking ax wielder who might be a serial killer, I decide that desperate times require desperate measures.

Call me Lumberjack Luke.

I’ll do whatever it takes to get her to accept my proposal because she’s more than just a friend. And the way she looks back at me? I think she knows it.

On the surface, I’m offering a marriage of convenience to protect her. But the truth is…I’m hopelessly in love with my best friend.

Marrying her and moving her up to Fletcher Mountain might mean I’ve lost my mind too, but so be it.

Because the only thing I would regret more, is never trying.

And that’s a fact.


Genre


Triggers

Trauma from being abandoned by parent, death of sibling from drunk driving, memories of neglectful parenting, trauma from witnessing death of a parent

Okay, this is what I'm talking about.

Honeymoon Phase might be my favorite of the series.

I love it when a MMC is secretly pining for his unknowing best friend.

The tension!

Add a healthy dose of humor and steam and you got yourself a great romance!

I absolutely ADORED Luke and Roe. Even when the books themselves can be a little too cookie cutter (like Seven Year Itch), Amy Daws knows how to write a FMC that feels fresh. I'm actually experiencing that now, and it shows just how strong a writer is. There is a big difference between being introduced to a character and being told what and who she is, and a writer just making that clear through the story and dialogue. It makes a huge difference in the quality.

Honeymoon Phase has me excited to read Bad Boy Era!




Dad: “Me neither, Addie. But you’d be amazed at what one might endure for the love of a good woman. Hey, maybe that’s your problem. Maybe you should be trying to marry a woman.”

Addie: “Is that allowed?”

I stand and walk over to the window with a furrow to my brow.

Addie: “I mean, I don’t really know a lot of women, but that does open up my prospects a bit.”

Dad: “Addison, it’s called a joke—”

he pauses for a second before adding

Dad: “—unless you’re coming out to me in which case I owe some money to Bullhead.”

I roll my eyes and make a noise in the back of my throat.

Addie: “Keep your money, Old Man. I’m strictly dickly.”

Long, heavy pause.

Dad: “I could have lived my whole life without hearing those words come out of my daughter’s mouth.”


He screamed at her that she was a dumb bitch, and he wanted to see her boss and she just sat in her forklift and smiled gleefully before she replied, “I am the boss.” The man and his buddy sobered right up and asked who would pay for the damages and she said, “Probably our company insurance, but we won’t pay nearly as much as your offspring who have to walk around this earth with a perverted misogynistic asshole’s DNA in their veins. Can I get you anything else today?”

I’d never been more turned on.


Cons: I have a big cock. He roosts on my front porch and sometimes comes inside my cabin. His name is Rufus, and he crows at 6:04 a.m. every day. If he shows any cock-like aggression towards you, I will move him back to the barn. You will be my number one hen.


Everly: “I watched the Lumberjack World Championships on YouTube this week and it’s intense.”

Luke: “I did the same.”

Luke pinches the bridge of his nose.

Luke: “We’re in way over our heads.”

Everly: “No we’re not!”

I argue, looking around for the rope thing that I ordered to go along with the spiked boots.

Everly: “Look around, Luke! You and Calder and Wyatt used to be city boys until you moved up here. Now you’re proper mountain men who’ve been chopping your own wood for years. Lumberjacks are really just mountain men’s hotter cousins.”

Luke: “Nice, Everly,”

Luke grumbles.

Everly: “Well . . . I watched a lot of footage this week.”

I swallow the attraction blossoming in my chest right now because I didn’t realize how hot professional lumberjacks were.

Everly: “I’m talking hours,”

I whisper, feeling my cheeks flush with heat.

Everly: “I’m really bummed I’ll be back in Ireland and unable to attend this event.”

Luke: “Gross, Evie. Just stop.”

Luke holds his hand in front of me.

Luke: “I don’t need to hear about my niece lusting after lumberjacks. I got enough of that shit from Roe, thank you.”

Everly: “Sorry.”

I shake my head from side to side.

Everly: “They’re just so agile.”


Calder: “Wyatt fell for someone first,”

Calder says, pointing at him like a child. Wyatt shrugs.

Wyatt: “Falling for the mother of my child was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

His eyes soften as he blinks down into his beer.

Calder: “Dakota forced me to fall in love with her, so you can yell at her, not me,”

Calder mutters and I cut him an accusing look.

Calder: “She did! I’m no match for a woman who hates me. It’s like catnip. I go crazy trying to win them over. We’d been doing foreplay for seven long years.


Finally I find my voice and yell,

Luke: “Wait, wait, wait a second. Roe? Roe, are you here?”

I call out her name and after a few seconds she appears above me out of nowhere, her black hair fanning her cheeks, her eyes full of concern.

Addie: “What? What is it?”

I smile up at her and she frowns.

Luke: “Yes.”

Addie: “Yes what?”

Luke: “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

I hit her with the most dazzling smile and have a moment of wondering if all my teeth are in place. She rolls her eyes.

Addie: “Fine, but you better not be paralyzed. If I have to wipe your ass on the toilet, I’m going to ask for alimony after our divorce.”


He has a full chef’s-style kitchen with black cabinets, white marble countertops and light wood accents throughout. We’re seated at the island that holds three brown leather barstools, but my eyes zero in on the most important part . . . a double oven.

Let me say that one more time . . . A double oven. I am officially aroused.


Cozy: “You guys are starting to make me feel left out.”

Cozy winces and blows out her cinnamon breath all over us.

Cozy: “I’m going to make Max build us a cabin on Fletcher Mountain.”

Dakota: “Do it!”

Dakota slaps her hands on the table.

Dakota: “Max is so rich, it’d be like nothing to him. You guys deserve a mountain getaway house.”

Cozy: “He does have a house in Aspen though,”

Cozy replies regretfully. Dakota shoots Trista a flat look.

Dakota: “When she says things like that it makes her really unrelatable.”

Cozy: “Shut up!”


I roll my eyes.

Luke: “That doesn’t count as a kiss.”

Addie: “Why not?”

The lines between Addison’s brows deepen as she chews her lip. I grip the bill of my hat, pulling it down as I step closer to her. Her back flattens against the wall as I lower my voice and say,

Luke: “Because it wasn’t intentional.”

Addie: “Oh, so you would have done something different?”

Luke: “Hell yes I would have.”

Addie: “Like what?”

Luke: “Trust me, Addison Monroe, when I kiss you with intention, you’ll know it.”


Addie: “He’s not interested,”

a shrill voice cuts in and I swerve my head to see my tiny wife standing near me with fire blazing in her eyes. She steps forward, backing Robyn into the wall, not even glancing at me as she adds,

Addie: “Luke doesn’t play, and he never will, so you can take your fucking toys, and your box-dyed hair, and get the fuck out of Jamestown, or I will go up that mountain and start an avalanche to bury your ass here.”


Dakota: “Calder, I swear, if you crash us, I will kill you.”

Calder: “Baby, you know I love to make you angry so that’s not even a real threat.”



 
 
 

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