Cabin Mate: Under Kansas Skies, Book 4

This was a sweet holiday romcom that I thoroughly enjoyed reading:). Brooks was a perfect romantic “hunky bear” hero, and the heroine was a sweetheart. I loved the way the hero pined for the heroine for years and was her BFF before love blossomed. I found out that this is part of a series and will now read the rest of the series about the hero’s siblings. Really good read! Light hearted and sweet.

Sweet and fluffy read. No spicy scenes which I was a little disappointed about but I enjoyed the romance and the fluff in it. And I also loved that the characters never had a "fight" or "falling out". Just developed the relationship slowly and naturally.

Really enjoyed this adorable story. Good dialogue. Likable characters. Once i got started i could not stop reading. Look forward to more brooks and molly adventures

Cabin Mate is an adorably sweet story. I love books that go back and forth between the main characters so we get the perspective of both. It might also have been fun to include POVs from any of the minor characters. Lol. Brooks and Molly are absolutely adorable!

Leah Brunner concludes her Under Kansas Skies series with the story of youngest Windell sibling Brooks, a slacker-looking guy whose jeans and baseball cap disguise a biomedical engineer with a degree from MIT. He runs a prosthetic company with his college best friend, Molly, whom he met at Freshman Orientation. She's a Vanderbilt, and while the Windells are wealthy, her family makes them look like paupers. Her Harvard student boyfriend, Todd, is a Du Pont and closer to her wealth level, and he clearly doesn't consider Brooks worth his time or his "girl", causing Brooks to give him a nickname too crude for this review!Todd and Molly break up and get back together repeatedly during college and for three years after, Molly usually initiating the split and Todd usually begging for her to come back--which Molly, a people pleaser, does whether she wants to or not. Meanwhile, Brooks has carried a torch for Molly since he met her and confides to his oldest brother Madden that he dates countless women in an attempt to forget her--a strategy Madden's wife Odette finds offensive.Meanwhile, Molly' friends encourage her to abandon Todd and start dating Brooks. He can't date anyone just then because he lost a bet with David, his risk-averse brother, that David would never do anything unexpected. In Check Mate, David hiked to Macchu Pichu and eloped in Venice, so Brooks is prohibited from dating for four months. But when Molly's sister Mildred, who's marrying Todd's cousin Preston (another Du Pont, but more mature and devoted to his romantic partner than Todd) tells her that Todd is bringing a date to her wedding--the woman with whom he cheated on Molly--she asks her business partner to be her fake wedding date, and he accepts! They set ground rules to fit David's restrictions, then travel to Molly's family cabin in Vermont (really a mansion made of logs) for the wedding.As full as the cabin is expected to be, Molly's mother has assigned them to one room with a queen-size bed, most of which Brooks takes up with his tall, muscled frame. He also runs hot, but Mrs. Vanderbilt has given all their satin sheets to other guests and provided only flannel pajamas in their clothes closets. A morning of antiquing doesn't result in cotton sheets or pajamas, but Brooks finds a new spoon for Molly's collection, which he's known about since college and increases to cheer her up after a bad day or another breakup with Todd. He sends them anonymously and she credits Todd with the gifts, wondering why he sends them when he's been hurting her feelings-- as an apology? Brooks hates being overlooked but restrains himself for her sake. When the butler delivers the spoon to her, with the customary sweet note from her "Secret Admirer", she wonders aloud why Todd would send her a spoon while he's traveling to the cabin with a date! Brooks, as always, keeps silent.Todd, the best man, and Molly, the maid of honor, arrange bachelor and bachelorette parties, and while the latter is classy, the former includes cigars, which Brooks hates, and belly dancers in lieu of the strippers Preston equested NOT be present. The talk in the limo is coarser than Brooks is used to, and Todd is the chief offender. Preston gives his cousin the tongue-lashing Brooks wants to give him. The bride and her attendants, on the other hand, get their dresses fitted (Mrs. Vanderbilt thinks Molly is not slim enough and instructs the chef and waitstaff to give her only salad for dinner and no dessert, but Brooks intercedes and makes sure Molly has what she wants, making an enemy of Molly's mother and enabling Molly to say "no" to her mother for the first time in her life).On the wedding day,, Molly's mother sends her daughters and the other bridesmaids to a spa for massages, hair and makeup. Then they return to the cabin to dress. Midway through, Molly's mother calls her to the library to "help her father tie his tie"--but just as Molly figures out it's a ruse, Todd appears with an ugly diamond ring and demands--not asks--that she marry him. He says that his family sent his date back to Kansas and told him to propose to her, citing their compatibility--a joke, since Molly is a mature, independent woman and Todd is a dramatic man-child who only followed Molly to Kansas for a reason Preston and Mildred reveal in the hot tub on Brooks and Molly's balcony. For that reason--and others--Molly refuses him. Then she runs to Brooks for comfort.When they go to the reception, someone announces that they're under the mistletoe and must kiss. What would David think? Brooks rationalizes that no one at the wedding knows him, or knows about the bet. But he doesn't count on photos and newspapers outing them...so David makes him streak through the country club garden party!Leah Brunner believably transforms arrogant Brooks into a caring man and people-pleasing Molly into a woman able to stand up for herself. They're a couple to root for, and I wish there were more in this series!

This was absolutely adorable and sweet. And soooo funny!Brooks is definitely a new book boyfriend. I adored him! He's swooney and hilarious and has the sweetest heart.Molly was super fun to read, and I was so happy when she finally stood up for herself!Overall, another fantastic read from Leah Brunner 👏

What’s better than a friends to more trope, best friends in a fake relationship trope?! Duh! Brooks and Molly have been friends since their freshman year at MIT and quickly became the best of friends! As their friendship flourished, so did his feelings towards her, although he cleverly downplayed it by flirting with others. Also, Molly was in a serious relationship with Todd DuPont!Fast forward to the present day, Brooks still has his feelings towards Molly, who is still his best friend but additionally his business partner! Molly ends her long-term relationship with Todd only a few weeks before she’s supposed to be the maid of honor to his best man at her sister’s wedding! Now she needs a date and fast! Enter hero, Brooks, but he’s on a woman-ban for 4 months and has 1 month left unless he wants to do the unthinkable! What’s a guy to do?!Help Molly and hope his brothers don’t find out! The Brooks’ family while rich, they aren’t pretentious unlike Molly’s family who have even more money! Brooks soon figures he out of his elements when he goes with her to the wedding! Despite the awkwardness that presents itself, Brooks stays true to himself and continues to show Molly that he cares for her as well as showing up to defend her when necessary! He really is the best!Molly despite being freshly single, knows that to prevent her mother continuing to meddle needs a date, insert Brooks! Molly has only ever seen Brooks as a bestie, never anything more, but this trip to see her family – things start to evolve and for the better! Time and time again Brooks continue to show that there is more to him than goofiness, although that makes for funny fashion choices!This book was the perfect wrap up for the Under the Kansas Skies series, featuring the Windell Family and perhaps my favorite! In this case, it was saving the best for last! Leah has seamlessly intergraded the siblings into the other books and this one was no exception! While we don’t see much of the siblings as much this time around, their presence is definitely felt! Love it!

This book was everything you want in a rom-com and it was clean! My first from Leah but definitely not my last.Brooks was so thoughtful and supportive and Molly was a sweet peace keeper. I loved watching her come into her own by the end of the book. Brooks’ family was hilarious and the banter between all the characters was excellent. Definitely recommend!

I love when in friends to lovers one of them has been pining for years and slowly reveals himself. And Brooks was definitely playing the long game with Molly! I loved the camaraderie with her friends at work, and loved that she was really smart and business savvy in spite of her family background! Also the whole thing of millionaires being looked as paupers with respect to billionaires was just hilarious. I love this family!

A friends-to-lovers romance with some incredibly sweet one-sided pining, secretive love notes, flashback chapters, and antique spoons! Gosh, the antique spoons! Adorable.I'll admit, I wasn't sure about Brooks initially. He was kind of ... full of himself. But I very quickly warmed up to him. I loved the unwavering support and encouragement Brooks showed towards Molly—something she really lacked from her family. He truly cherished her. And with the two also the co-owners of a medical engineering company, there was a fun sprinkle of workplace romance, too!As the story transitions into a fake dating arrangement, this one gave me so many giggles, mostly thanks to Brooks's collection of quirky printed boxer briefs.I enjoyed this so much. The cherry on top was all the Windell family interactions! They're the best.