This was such an adorable follow up to baggage claim, and perfect to ease into the winter reads. I loved the deeper storyline, as sometimes romances can be too light and cheery. The realism of some of the things that couples may deal with stick with me.

Thanks so much for the arc!

Rating: 4 stars ⭐️

Tropes:
opposites attract 🩷
workplace ⛷️
fake dating ❄️
single mom 🧸
small town 🏘️

This was an amazing holiday romcom that reminded me of a Hallmark movie. 🌨️

If you enjoy a cozy feel-good vibe, then this book is definitely for you!

I loved reading about Olive and Finn, the couple we got to know from the book "Baggage Claim."

Cooper Graves is a ski instructor at his family's resort in Aspen. Due to a new competing resort in town, their business is struggling financially. When approached by a well-known family magazine for an article, Cooper faces one problem: they want to feature him and his wife which he doesn't have.

Madeline Sage is finishing nursing school while working part-time as a cleaner at the ski lodge. After some tragic events, she gains custody of her two siblings, Charlie and Piper. She meets Cooper at Charlie's ski lesson, and he's instantly smitten. Needing a wife or girlfriend for the interview, Cooper finds Madeline to be the perfect candidate.

Thank you to NetGalley, Juliana Smith, and the publisher for providing me with this copy. All opinions are my own.

First thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op for approving me to read an ARC of Snowed Under by Juliana Smith.

Unfortunately, due to the formatting that this book was sent to me, I am not able to read and write a review for this book. To be clear this has absolutely nothing to do with the book itself, I love the cover and the premise sounds adorable, I was and still am very much looking forward to it! But for whatever reason the ARC I received is formatted in a way that does not allow me to read it (it looks like pictures of the actual book pages but the pages are cut off).

This has never happened to me before so I am leaving the book with a 4star rating because I would hate to negatively impact a books reception based upon a fluke of formatting.

Snowed Under is the second book in the Aspen Peaks series. I had not personally read the previous book in the series and while the couple from that book do make appearances, I found I was able to enjoy this one just fine as a standalone as well.

This was such a wonderful read. First of all, that first meeting (or the first one Cooper remembers, at least) had me laughing out loud right from the start. It was perhaps one of the best meet cutes I've seen and really set the tone for the rest of the story. It was the first of many moments that had me laughing out loud or smiling throughout. Cooper was such a fun character and one that I couldn't help but absolutely adore. He was persistent in his attempts to get Madeline to be his fake wife (or fiance or girlfriend), but it was super endearing. I loved how sweet he was with both kids-- but especially 'Mini Coop'... truly, the kids definitely helped make this book and I loved their very different personalities. Mixed in with those laughable moments were so many tender and emotional ones too. I found myself reaching for tissues on more than one occasion and truly found it to be the perfect blend of chemistry filled romance, moments that made me smile and those that pulled at my heart.

Snowed Under is a closed-door romance with kisses only. It does have a good amount of innuendo and language throughout as well.

**I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley for consideration. All opinions are my own.

I don’t think I realized how badly I was running on E until I read this book. IYKYK. I’d go on a not-date every single day if I get to read more about Cooper and Madeline. I swooned over their story. As awkward as it started. Their character development, their growth, and their chemistry is undeniable.
This book had me hooked from the first page. Its very well written and I have never related to a FMC more in my life!
I highly recommend this read. A very cute, heavy on the feelings, short story. It will get you in your feels, in the best way possible. We all need a Coop in our lives, and I’m glad their story was shared with us.

This book is absolute one of the best that I have ever read!
It made me feel fluffy and beloved!
The dynamic between Cooper and Madeline was just beautiful. Even thought he wanted her right away, and not just as his fake girlfriend, he respected her choices right away and helped her figure out who she was as a person and what she wants out of life.
Cooper, ski instructor at his family owned resort, is in need of a fake girlfriend or wife to help the resort with a magazine publication. He gets Madeline to help out as she needs also help with her parents who are always on her back about getting a man in her life, so they decide to help each other.
In the process of helping each other, their feelings for each other develop and their place in each other lives.
10/10 recommend.

Life has not been easy for Madeline. Her parents are not supportive or affectionate, she struggles with her cleaning job and nursing school, all while raising her dead sister's two young kids.
Cooper is a ski instructor that craves adrenaline and has no plans to settle down. His family owns the ski lodge and lately, the competition threatens their business. A solution comes from a family magazine that offers to get them publicity. The only problem is, where will he find a fake wife and kids? After meeting Madeline, it becomes clear that he has found exactly what he was looking for.
The opposites-attract trope works really well and the presence of kids makes their love story even more endearing.
A clean romance, cute and cozy, Showed Under was a delightful read perfect for winter.

This book had a very entertaining plot, with engaging subplots woven throughout. However, the heavy focus on plot often detracted from character development, and the romance between the two main characters felt underdeveloped as a result. Both protagonists seemed out of touch with reality and overly self-absorbed, which made them frustratingly difficult to connect with. Ultimately, I found myself skimming through just to finish it. While I wanted to enjoy this book, and it had all the right ingredients, I felt the execution didn’t quite reach its potential.
2.5

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
This is the first book I’ve read by @author.juliana.smith and it won’t be the last! Snowed Under is the perfect balance of laughter, love, and the hard truth of life.

Cooper is a ski instructor at his family’s Aspen lodge. He’s been grieving the death of his beloved grandfather and has sworn off women. Until he sees Madeline at the lodge and all bets are off.

Madeline is surviving, day-by-day. She’s a single aunt with custody of her late brother’s children, in nursing school, and working part-time. The last thing she has time for is a boyfriend.

But when fake dating would benefit both Cooper and Madeline- why not?! The two earnestly build a close friendship and begin to feel seen, heard, and valued. Then they kiss and 💥 sparks fly, stars align, the world is right again!

Their attraction is undeniable and their friendship is *the best*. But can they make it work? She’s a single aunt with two kids and he doesn’t believe he’s father material…

🎿 Ski instructor MMC
🧼 Professional cleaner FMC
💜 Single “mom” (Aunt with custody)
🙌 Friendship first, then love
💋 Fake dating- “not dates”
💛 Complex relationships with family
💙 Extraordinary friendships
🤣 Honest, funny conversations

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#netgalley #snowedunder #julianasmithauthor #romcom #happilyeverafter

Madeline is the guardian to her late brother's two children and is just trying to hold her family together. Cooper, in his own journey to finding himself, accidentally leads a magazine interviewer to believe that he is a family man and must beg for Madeline to team up with a fake relationship to save the beloved ski lodge. They try to keep things professional for the sake of the kids, but their feelings cannot be denied. Cooper shows up for her in the small ways and sees her for her, with no expectations. It has the perfect mixtures of humor, emotion, and cozy. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Instagram review will go live on 22-Nov-2024.

“I love you. A lot. I love those kids. I don’t think I realized just how much until I looked in my rearview mirror and saw them both crying in my back seat.”
(this scene gutted me in the best way)

⭐️Fake dating
⭐️Single Guardian Aunt
⭐️Funny Kids
⭐️Romcom the best way
⭐️Snowed in Scene
⭐️Funny Banter
⭐️Golden Retriever MMC
(No Spice if that's a dealbreaker)

Oh my! Words cannot describe how much I love this book! It's gave me the feeling in a romance that I've been missing since I read Out On A Limb. I was lucky enough to be granted the ABSOLUTE privilege to read Snowed Under early as an Arc Reader and I will be forever grateful! It was everything I needed and more. Let me tell you, I want to support this author so much that I am going to purchase a physical copy as soon as it is released on November 23rd as a trophy for my bookshelf! It is going to be in my top reads for the year for sure!

Cooper and Madeline are now in my favorite couples!💜 They are hilarious and relatable, everything I want in a MC. Juliana wrote these characters so perfectly, showing the messiness of real life and its traumas. Both characters are dealing with their own grief and issues and start fake dating to help each other out. I personally love any and all books with kids involved, But I melt at a guardian/custody situation and even more so when the kids are written so adorable and funny! She excelled on both fronts. I am so excited to read more by her and I hope everyone loves this book as much as I do!

There was so many great scene and quotes! Here's another favorite :

“She’s my Madeline.” He squeezed her hands and looked into her eyes. “I owe her everything.”

This is honestly just what I needed. 🩷

Madeline has been thrown into the deep end of life. She lost her brother and his wife and has been raising her 9 year old nephew and 3 year old nice for over 2 years on her own. She's trying her best to be everything for them, work a part-time job, and attend nurse school, too. But she's exhausted.
Cooper is a ski instructor at the Lodge, which his family owns. A magazine has come to him to do a piece on the Lodge and has asked him to feature in it. Only after he agrees that they tell him they can't wait to meet his family does he realise he made a mistake. Now he needs to find a fake family for the interview, and it just so happens he has a new student with a hot 'mom' he could ask.

This is a cosy, beautiful, heart warming closed door, fake relationship, broken-found family story that is just... go read it! 🤍

The first time at pipers speech therapy session, the ski lift chat, that ending! I was not expecting it to be so emotional. 😭

Just watching the four of them together was so heartwarming. Even Cooper and Piper having arguments and calling her 'half pint' was just everything. I want to keep them all.

Madeline and Cooper as a couple? 🥹🫠

💙

'This felt like, for the first time in a long time, maybe ever, I had something good going on. A cart full of toys and candy and-Oh my gosh. I was Santa Claus.'

"Was I doing the worm?"
"I think you thought you were doing the worm?"

"Accomplishments, degrees, salary, all of that really means nothing if you're still miserable. We don't have a ton of time here on earth. So spend it doing something you love."

"You can take my life, you can take my freedom, but you will never take this damn bubble blower.'"

Another fun cozy winter read! I adored the first book in this series so I couldn’t wait to dive back in for Cooper’s story. Madeline’s life has changed immensely in the past two years and she is in the trenches so to speak when they meet. Cooper develops a relationship with her nephew as his ski instructor and realizes that he wants to have both of them in his life. In a turn of events they end of fake dating. While this is happening Cooper helps Madeline understand who she is now and what she likes. The banter and quip between them is so fun and electric. A truly heartwarming and cozy read!

This was such a heartwarming and fun book, it even had me a little teary at the end 🥹 I actually enjoyed this one more than the first book in this series. I really loved both of our main characters and of course the wintery setting. ❄️
Definitely pick this one up if you’re looking for a feel good winter romcom

Bee: SHE GOT ME AGAIN. Everything Juliana writes, wrecks me completely. There were so many beautifully raw and real moments in this that I loved. One thing about Juliana is that she really knows how to write a realistic relationship; the wonderful and all the ugly. Madeline and Cooper were soooo good for each other and I was so happy that their story progressed the way it did. I don’t think I would have wanted it to go any other way. I loved the relationships that Cooper developed with Piper and Charlie as well. Just beautiful. Fantastic. READ THIS.

Nik: As usual, Juliana wrote the most emotional beautiful story and I’m not ok. She has such a way with story telling and plot without it being dramatic and unbelievable. You can’t help but fall in love with Madeline and Cooper. Their story unfolds and you think you know where its going but its heart wrenching (in the absolute best complimentary way) anyway. The character growth was insane and I loved it so much. Loved the kids and how much they were truly involved in the story. They weren’t just there for the trope, you could feel their personality and emotions perfectly. 10/10

3.75 stars!! This was such a good book!! I LOVED the plot and the setting of this story!! The characters were well fleshed out and it was really good overall!!

I enjoyed this book. Some elements of dialogue felt a little off— almost as though the author were writing for a dialect they don’t speak (some things came across more suited for a British character, for example). On the whole it was enjoyable, although I would like to have dug deeper into the emotional impact of the grief both characters have experienced, rather than dancing over it. It would’ve been an ideal bonding moment for the characters. As it is, both characters do show growth throughout the book, although it feels largely superficial. It’s still an enjoyable, easy read.

"She's my Madeline." He squeezed her hands and looked into her eyes. "I owe her everything."

If you're looking for a heartwarming romance that'll have you laughing, swooning and crying, then I've got the perfect recommendation for you.

Snowed Under is a story about love, loss and family that'll have you loving every second. We start of the story with Madeline, a single aunt for two adorable kids; Charlie, a ski-loving 9 year old, and Piper, a 2 year old who likes to glare at everyone. Madeline is so authentically herself, and is such a realistic example of someone struggling through life with no end goal but to be happy with her niece and nephew. We're then introduced to Cooper, a reformed party playboy, who will have you swooning at every chance he can, because he only has eyes for one girl.

Juliana truly knows how to pull at the heartstrings because every two seconds I was either laughing, awe-ing because of cutest scenes or absolutely sobbing to the point where I had to put my kindle down MULTIPLE times. It was such a refreshing read, having our main characters be in their 30s but are still on the path of finding themselves and discovering their likes and dislikes.

If you love fake dating, no third act breakups, winter sports, found family, tragic backstories with wintery holiday vibes, then you'll adore Snowed Under.

4.5 stars

“she’s my Madeline.” he squeezed her hands and looked into her eyes. “I owe her everything.”



❦ fake dating
❦ hilarious kids
❦ holiday romcom
❦ opposites attract
❦ single gradian aunt
❦ workplace romance
❦ no third act break up
❦ golden retriever mmc


one thing remains certain: whenever I crave a wholesome read that perfectly balances endearing characters, realistic family dramas, and a beautifully written love story, I seek refuge between the pages of a Juliana Smith novel.

Snowed Under perpetuated my JS ritual of loving every corner and every word of the author’s plume. Madeline and Cooper, the protagonists, were absolutely attaching—as a couple and individuals,—with a hilarious meet-cute that drew me in. both characters had to deal with past demons, and I appreciated how their struggles were portrayed in an authentic manner. Madeline had the guardianship of her niece and nephew, and their presence in the storyline was absolutely perfect. I always love when children are featured in the day-to-day lives of the protagonists and how the bonds they share enhance the storytelling. the author did a brilliant job with that aspect, making the story even more enjoyable.

many thanks to NetGalley and the author for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely adored this book!! Cooper is one of the funniest MMC’s I’ve read in a book. And Madeline is such a hardworking fmc, just trying to make ends meet as a guardian to her niece and nephew. I loved the way they slowly became friends, learning all the little things about each other and Madeline finally allowing Cooper to help out and step in as someone she can rely on. There were so many emotional aspects in this story, but I found it was the perfect blend of emotional and humorous! I devoured this and didn’t want it to end!