All Downhill With You: Honeywood Series #1

All kinds of adorable and just the low angst read I was in the mood for, this made for a great introduction to Olivia's work. The grumpalicious hero paired with a sunshiney heroine made for a fun dynamic, and the story deftly tackles heavier subjects while maintaining a light and easy feel. It's got small town romance vibes and enemies to lovers friction - plus a forbidden relationship. I loved that the storyline was so unique, and how these characters had to work out their differences before they could begin to heal themselves. It was sexy and swoony in equal measure, and peeling back the layers of this broken hero was so immensely satisfying. It reads quickly, works well as a series starter, and has me wanting to read more from Olivia. A solid 4/low 5-star read the whole way through, this easygoing grumpy/sunshine romance was a win.The story follows Lorelei, a woman who loves roller coasters - even though one almost killed her. She's worked at a theme park for years, and continues to do so even after a mysterious equipment malfunction left her with severe injuries to her hip. Lorelei is in the middle of a lawsuit against the roller coaster's manufacturer, and she's hoping that will give her some answers about what happened. But when the coaster designer himself comes to consult at the park, it stirs up a lot of trouble. Emory is moody, rude, and assumes that Lorelei is just suing him for the money. The two dislike each other, and spending time together is a surefire way to complicate the lawsuit. But as Emory gets to know Lorelei better, he realizes how much the accident has impacted her life - and Lorelei realizes that Emory just might have a heart buried underneath his rough exterior after all.I'm new to Olivia's work, so I had no idea what to expect going in, and I was very pleasantly surprised. It's a light and easy read in a lot of ways, but there's plenty of depth hidden beneath the surface. The storyline is also unlike any I've read before, which is always a major win for me. Sure, it plays up the tropes and I can tell that future love stories in this series of interconnected standalones will continue to do so, but it also felt fresh and different. The characters were lovable, the situations were understandable, and the friction made for some heat. It's actually a little steamy! I loved getting to know Emory better, and there are some swoony moments that really worked. He's the perfect kind of grump on the outside, with a marshmallow heart on the inside. Paired with the upbeat and resilient Lorelei, he was easy to love. I also appreciated how Lorelei's injury was handled, and how there was great representation of her aches and limitations - it's not glossed over. I'm definitely excited to read more from the series, though I do have concerns about a few of the potential couples (two hoes who are sleeping around while pining after each other, a hero who is emotionally cheating on his girlfriend, etc), but I love the overall cast of characters and the small town feel. It was really charming, and that pushes this from 4 to 5 stars for me.

This story was the sunshine I needed. I loved Emory and Lorelei's story. Also this book has a map of a theme park! It's like Julie is my kindred spirit... I have Busch Gardens and SeaWorld passes and it definitely made me want to go ride my coster friends. (Kumba I'm looking at you?) Anyway... Wanna cute, feel good read that hits all the romance notes? Read this!

So delightful! Funny and well written. The author had me with the opening acknowledgements, so thoughtful and unique and the book continued to impress.

I love the theme park! Both of the characters! I love the blossoming romance and the hints for what I hope are at least two more books to come (one I know is out and I suspect there will be a third).

I’m a sucker for theme parks so theme park romances are so sweet to me. I love the insider tidbits about running a theme park mixed in with the sweet love story

It’s a cute story set in a unique setting - a bear and honey themed amusement park. I really enjoyed all of the goings on in the park and descriptions of the operations and themed attractions. Lorelei has worked at the park for 12 yrs and loves it. But she was seriously injured when a ride malfunctioned and is suing the ride manufacturer. Emory is the ride designer and son of the owner of the ride manufacturer, and is sent to the park to investigate why it malfunctioned as well as design a replacement coaster. They are forced to work together to design the new ride. They start off as enemies since they have opposite personalities and are on opposing sides of the lawsuit. As they spend more time together, attraction blooms and turns to love. I liked the plot, but the slow burn during the enemies to lovers transition was too slow for me. The book picked up for the last 30%, but I came very close to DNF several times until then. It just wasn’t holding my interest the way I wanted/had hoped. I’m glad I stuck with it as there was plenty of drama during the last maybe 20%. ** spoilers: are we expected to believe that a 16 yo would design a major roller coaster that was manufactured and installed at a famous amusement park? This lacked all credibility. I found it a cheap ploy to have Emory not end up in a big age gap romance with Lorelei. And why would the general manager insist that she work with the person she’s suing? It was kinda explained at the end but that just didn’t sir right for most of the book. I don’t think that would happen irl. Also, his supposedly wonderful mom asked him to stay at the company where he is miserable, so he sticks it out for a decade while she sees his misery and never speaks up? Then he’s shocked that she’s happy when he quits? She abruptly hops on her bike and leaves with no further explanation? This also made no sense to me. Her whole biker chick thing was strange and it’s obvious the author was setting up future books in this series around the mom, Landon/Quinn, and Bennett/Ruby. I would have enjoyed an epilogue about their future, but I’m guessing we don’t get that as the we’ll see this couple’s future play out in future books in the series. I wish I could have rated it higher but the very slooooow pace did me in.

This story is so good! I loved watching Emory’s change from grump to mr. Smiles when it came to Lorelei!! Their banter also when they started falling for each other was so good, definitely found myself laughing out loud to some parts!Can’t wait to read the next book!

I came across this book by chance. It was a light, easy read with some spicy scenes. I would like to have seen more of the characters (is it me or it felt that no time at all went from bickering to madly in love?), so I’m hoping I will get that from The fiction between us.

Lorelei lives in a dreamy little country town totally engrossed in her Honeywood theme park.Injured by The Grizzly roller coaster she is determined to get to the bottom of the cause and clashes with the original designer.This love story is really missing the sting. It shuffles along at a meandering pace.Light fluff and no substance, not the read for me.