Her Mountainside Haven

Jo McNally

Feb 2021 · Gallant Lake Stories Book 5 · Sold by Harlequin

About this ebook

A new neighbor was not part of her plan

Is there room for one more in her carefully guarded world?

Jillian Coleman has carefully constructed a haven for herself, complete with therapy dog Sophie to ease her anxiety and panic attacks. But when intriguing developer Matt Danzer shows up asking for access to a road that runs through her land, Jillie finds her stand-alone resolve starting to crumble. Up till now, a predictable life was all she could hope for. But Matt made her realize playing it safe was not all it was cracked up to be…

From Harlequin Special Edition: Believe in love. Overcome obstacles. Find happiness.

Gallant Lake Stories

Book 1: A Man You Can Trust

Book 2: It Started at Christmas...

Book 3: Her Homecoming Wish

Book 4: Changing His Plans

Book 5: Her Mountainside Haven

Ratings and reviews

I received a complimentary copy of this book and I am voluntarily reviewing it. While this is a part of a series and some of the prior characters make multiple appearances, you really don’t have to read the prior stories to thoroughly enjoy this one. This was such a touching story. Jillie suffers from a condition called agoraphobia. She suffered a slight case of the phobia when she was younger as she was a foster child and was moved around. But due to a situation much later, it became heightened to a point that she had to move to Gallant Lake. She highly guards her privacy and anonymity. She is a horror story author and only a very few people know of her works. I felt for the character and how she had overcome some of the phobia with help of her friends. Matt at the age of 20 became his younger brother, Bryce’s, guardian when their parents died. Matt manages Bryce’s career who is a downhill skier. Bryce won a Gold Medal and at one point suffers an injury. To make ends make at the various locations that Bryce has to train and compete, Matt is a flipper of businesses and the occasional house. Matt purchased the ski resort that went into foreclosure when Bryce needs to recover from the injury. Unfortunately the resort is right next door to Jillie! How these two meet and get to know each other is a wonderful story. I so felt for Matt at times. He really tried to understand and get to know Jillie but at times, he would put his foot in his mouth. There were some really cute moments that really made me feel like I was right there with the characters. This story is told in a dual POV format. This was wonderful for me as I don’t know anyone who suffers from agoraphobia. I was able to fully understand both characters so much better. This is a sexy story. The author did a great job in minimizing the scenes so it should not offend anyone. That being said though, I would only highly recommend this to someone over the age of 18.

Jillie Coleman didn't like that Matt Danzer had bought the abandoned ski lodge near her secluded property and she made his life difficult at first over it, almost hitting him with bear spray and fighting his request to use the access road on her property. At first Matt just thought she was being difficult, but he comes to realize Jillie has issues because of trauma from her past. She avoids strangers, doesn't like surprise visitors, needs to know where all the exits are when she goes out, and has panic attacks. I know plenty of people with anxiety. I've even had mild panic attacks myself when I've felt overwhelmed. Matt was patient with her, especially when they started a romantic relationship. But he starts to forget that she can't just turn off these feelings and do the things that he takes for granted. Jillie's therapy fail dog Sophie who treed Matt upon meeting and then turned into a sweetheart for his brother Bryce was great. She was intimidating enough to scare off anyone who made her mistress nervous and still a marshmallow inside. Jillie has a sweet smart house A frame, especially the heated floors and shades that open and close at her command. I love the sense of community in Gallant Lake and how everyone looks out for each other especially Jillie, who they are very protective of. I thought it was interesting that this book didn't shy away from talking about the pandemic. Sometimes I feel a recluse too because of it.

About the author

Award-winning romance author Jo McNally lives in her beloved upstate New York with her very own romance hero husband. When she’s not writing or reading romance novels, she loves to travel and explore new places and experiences. She's a big fan of leisurely lunches with her besties. Her favorite room at home is the sunroom, where she enjoys both morning coffee and evening cocktails with her husband while listening to an eclectic (and often Irish) playlist.