The Cozy Creek Collection | A Full Spoiler Series Review

Fall I Want

by Lyra Parish

Zane & Autumn | Billionaire-in-hiding x local shop girl | Fake dating, he falls first ⭐ 3.5/5 | 🔥🔥🔥 A billionaire hiding out in Cozy Creek falls for the girl working the local shop, they fake-date their way into actual feelings, and he's the one who catches them first. Solid, enjoyable, exactly what it says on the back cover. Not my favourite book from this author, so it's not one I'd reach for again, but no complaints from me either.

Fall at Once

by Nora Everly

Madi & Cole | Sunshine x grumpy single-dad fire chief | Fake dating, forced proximity ⭐ 3.5/5 | 🔥🔥🔥 My favorite of the six. Madi's holding down Gigi's confectionery shop while Gigi recovers from an injury, and she ends up helping organize the fire brigade's fall fundraiser with Cole, the single-dad fire chief next door. Sunshine and grumpy is one of my favorite combos, and this one delivers the kind of easy, warm chemistry you hope for.

Fall Too Well

by Erin Branscom

Everly & Nash | Second-chance childhood best friends x reformed bad boy | Single mom ⭐ 3/5 Everly moves back to town with her daughter after leaving a bad marriage, straight into the fold of the family that took her in as a kid, including Nash, her childhood best friend. They had a real thing once, but Nash was the wild-bad-boy type who didn't trust himself enough to stick around, so he let her go and she ended up marrying an asshole instead. Second chance, reformed bad boy, single mom... these are things that could lead to a great story, but I really ended up frustrated by her inability to trust Nash. It was obvious on the page that Nash's feelings for her were never in question, it was always about his own sense of worth, but Everly just could not seem to trust that no matter how he showed her.

Fall Shook Up

by Piper Sheldon

Claire & Levi | Grumpy reclusive artist x obsessive journalist | Forced proximity ⭐ 3/5 Levi's a reclusive artist renting out the cabin his late, well-known photographer mother used as a studio. He needs the money but doesn't want strangers anywhere near his space, so to say it's reluctant is an understatement. Claire's the first person to answer his deliberately off-putting ad, mid-breakup, and she reads as someone who might have a few struggles of her own with  obsessive tendencies, disappearing into her research for weeks at a time. She gets fixated on his mother's story, he assumes it's purely a journalist thing and not something she's doing because she cares, and it all spirals into a misunderstanding that neither of them handles well. This was my least favorite of the set with two very strong personalities colliding in a way that wore me out more than it charmed me.

Fall Me Maybe

by Laney Hatcher

Lou & Noah | Friends-to-lovers x sunshine/quiet mystery man | Small-town cab gig ⭐ 3.5/5 Noah moves across the country to meet his online girlfriend, only to find out she never existed. It was a mean girl running the full catfish just for kicks. Broke and stuck, he ends up driving for the local cab company, which is called Huber, because of course it is; this is exactly what living in a small town is like, iykyk. Lou is the sunshine optimist who keeps booking rides just to check on him and try to pull him out of his shell, all while dealing with a stepmother and stepsister who've made her feel like garbage since high school despite her just wanting to be a family so she can be closer to her dad. More friends-to-lovers than the sunshine/grump thing Book 2 does, and it's a sweet, easy read.

Falling Slowly

by Enni Amanda

Bess & Charlie | Workplace romance x fake dating | Forced proximity, rich boy/broke single mom ⭐ 4/5 Charlie is the boss's son - rich, idealistic, a little oblivious to how the world really works for people who aren't him. Bess is a widowed single mom stuck holding her late husband's business debt, and barely scraping by. They end up fake dating at an art retreat so the other women at the agency will leave Charlie alone, and it turns into a forced proximity, workplace romance kind of thing. Charlie proves, over and over, right there on the page, that he's reliable and that he wants this, and I still wanted to shake Bess for not being able to get past the idea that he'd get bored and move on to something bigger. That being said, he's failed to mention that he's dragged her to this retreat in a desperate scheme to help save the job she doesn't yet know she's already lost, so you can see what she's concerned about when it all comes out in the open. There's a lot to unpack with this one, but it's still one of the stronger entries in my opinion.