Snowed Inn

Freedom Valley #6

by Erin Branscom

What if you had to work with your arch-enemy?

Everything was going according to plan until Beau Sutton and his brother Hank bought my family’s pizzeria and took away my dream. That’s okay because I have a plan.

Be a surrogate.
Buy back my family’s pizzeria or start a new one.
Don’t fall for grumpy Beau.

This plan sounded simple. None of these plans are working out like I thought they would.

**


Holly Springs is the worst and best thing that could have happened to me.

For the first time in my life, I’m trying to put myself first, starting over. I moved with my brother Hank to Freedom Valley to have a fresh start with our new pizzeria, Freedom Pie.

There’s a problem. I make the WORST pizza ever and I can’t get it right. I need to find a co-chef to save the restaurant and one fast.


The other problem is Holly Springs. From the moment I first saw her, I wanted her. She’s adorable, fiery, and friends with everyone in this small town, except me.

Can I get her to stop hating me and see that we both want the same dream?

*Snowed Inn is a low-angst small-town romantic comedy, enemies to lovers, single mom with lots of swoon-worthy moments, and no third-act breakup. Snowed Inn is a complete standalone, but if you prefer to read them in order, start with Falling Inn Love as the characters and families are interconnected.*

Genres: Romance, Christmas, Contemporary, Enemies To Lovers, Small Town Romance, Holiday, Contemporary Romance

308 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 18, 2024

About the author

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Erin Branscom is a creator of happily-ever-afters, crafting spicy, Hallmark-like romances that make readers fall head over heels for charming small towns. When she's not writing heart warming stories, Erin can be found anywhere there are dogs, with a cup of coffee in hand, or lost in a good book. As a passionate Scorpio, she brings intensity and heart to everything she does. Dive into her world and discover love, warmth, and a touch of spice in every story.

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Reviews

[Laura Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

**DISCLAIMER: make sure you have pizza on hand while reading this because you WILL end up craving it if it's something you like. 😆**
I got the privilege of being able to BETA read this and have some input with the editing process.
When I tell you that I inhaled it, I may not mean that literally, but it's definitely what it seemed like.
This was so cute and cozy! I absolutely loved it. It was a great way to tie the Freedom Valley Series up in a cute little bow, completing what is one of my favorite series ever. There's banter that's hilarious. There's adorable moments that made me giggle and kick my feet. There were moments that made me swoon. There were friend group moments involving all the main characters in previous books of the series that made my heart VERY happy.
And that's all before it's even properly edited!
If you've read the series up to this point, you are not going to be disappointed with this finale. Erin's writing and storytelling has gotten better and better, in my opinion, with each book of this series, and I cannot wait to see what else she has up her sleeve!
Thank you, Erin, for being brave, putting yourself out there, and writing such a great, heartwarming series!

[Raymie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love being back in Freedom Valley!

Holly is desperate to buy back her parents Pizzeria after they sold it to move to Florida that she becomes a surrogate.

Freedom Valley is my comfort read. They are cozy and light with laughable moments, but then you’ll need your tissues as Beau and Hollys relationship makes you want to shed happy tears. They have such great chemistry.

This book is the cozy Gilmore Girls / Hallmark vibes. This is a book you can sit down and get cozy with. I love seeing the relationship with Holly and Beau have with the past characters from the other books. This is a great found family series.

I also love the random animal sidekicks Erin adds into each book because who wouldn’t want a squirrel sidekick named Stephen.

If you love:
🔺Enemies to Lovers
🔺Found Family
🔺Single Mom
🔺Small Town
🔺Squirrel Sidekick 🐿️
🔺No 3rd Act Breakup

Genre: Small Town Romance
APK: Ebook, Physical, Audio
Pages: 245
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Series or Standalone: Book # 6 in Freedom Valley Series but can be read as a stand-alone.

[Karlie Mose · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ The Hallmark vibes are strong with this one and if you’re ready to dive into a cozy sweet love story with very low spice level then this is such a cute story (just suspend logical objections and lean into the cuteness). I do want to note it’s more of a winter romance than a Christmas romance so if you’re looking for holiday vibes specifically then I’d save this one for later.

[Mallory Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute, quick read that felt like a Hallmark movie.

[Janae McGinnis · Rating 3 out of 5]

roses: the premises of the story was really cute. The main characters were great individually, and they did complement each other very well. The other characters from the other books in the series make a return which is great. I love that this is all inter-connected which adds a fun element to the book.

Thorns: I don’t know what happened with this story compared to the other two that I’ve read from the series. Each book that I’ve read had gotten better and better. However, this story didn’t come across, fully developed like her other stories. I say this because the pace of this book went extremely fast to the point that I was questioning if I missed pages. There seemed to be very little character development with these two. I have no clue how love blossomed for these two because there wasn’t really any moments of building a solid friendship/relationship with each other. It felt very instalove/instalust. There was a lot of inner monologue about insecurities but no real dialogue between them about those said topics which frustrated me. I felt like some of the big things that happened were delivered as straight fact and then the other characters just simply agreed to it. Unfortunately, the story just didn’t land for me this time around. Which stinks cause I loved her last story so much.

[Brooklynn McCullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got the chance to ARC read this! And I am so grateful!! I LOVE the Freedom Valley series! ❤️ The characters are perfect! Erin is such a great author!
All of the books in this series are amazing! I love how the ending of this book was, such a cute read!
If you like small town romance books, and Gilmore Girls you would love this series!! ❤️

[Jennifer Lamb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another wonderful gem in the Freedom Valley series! I was honored to receive an ARC for this one to read and review! I have loved every book in this series and I’m honestly bummed it’s come to an end! Take me away to Freedom Valley. I want a pizza from Freedom Pie and to join their found family of the best friends! This book was equal parts quirky and sweet. In all the best ways.

Beau: Beau is everything. He is kind, he is broody though too a bit. With a past that would leave us all that way. He is genuine and caring about Holly. He takes on her shenanigans and takes care of her at the same time. He is doing everything in his power for his dream, her dreams and for their future that he knows is meant to be for them.

Holly: determined. She is kind, loving and caring to and for everyone in freedom valley. She goes above and beyond and when her world was flipped upside down she rode the wave and took it on head on! And proceeded to ride that wave to her best happily ever after!

[Ashley]

Pizza chef Holly Springs and store owner Beau Sutton are the focus of Erin Branscom's small town romance Snowed In.

You guys remember that TikTok audio that goes "All that work and what did it get me?" Well, I was thinking about it when I was reading this.

This book caught me off guard. Like It was really astonishing to me when I realized that Stephen was a squirrel and not a human.

It was adorable that Beau was crushing hard on Holly. Because his dislike for her turned into a need for her on his part.

However, things did suddenly pick up speed toward the end, which detracted from the enjoyment.

I didn't really connect with this book, even though it was a decent read with lots of entertaining tropes.

*Thank you to the author, Erin Branscom, for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.*

[Lauryn Magie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhh!
I can not get over how much I love this series and Erin’s writing style! I gobble these books up. I don’t think I’ve ever inhaled books as quickly as I have with this series.
This book really brought the series full circle. It was such a cute, cozy read. The storyline, the characters (chefs kiss). I love how much detail goes into the world building and character development. I feel as though most romance series that I have read don’t have as much world building and I absolutely love how much info and background we get with this series. It truly feels like you are there and know these characters.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this series to anyone that is just getting into romance or just needs a good, wholesome, read.

[Sophie Boyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25⭐️

This is the 6th, and I think the final book is in the Freedom Valley Series, and I finished it in 2 days.

I've said it before, but this series is my comfort series. It's a cinnamon roll of a series for when you want to read something more wholesome.

We have Holly who is a soon to be single mum who wants to buy back her family's pizza restaurant which is now owned by the Sutton brothers, que Beau who is our grumpy MMC who can't make a decent pizza to save his life.

Beau brother Hank comes up with a great plan. Holly can step in and help Beau with the pizzas, and this will help Holly with a steady job doing something she loves while she's pregnant.

Really enjoyed both POV and the old characters being there. If you like your romances wholesome and no spice, this is for you. It felt like a warm hug.

[Megan Shamy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another cute small town romance and the perfect way to end the series. Since pizza was involved I immediately fell in love. Holly's parents sold their pizza shop to two brothers and moved away to Florida. The thing is they didn’t even ask Holly if she wanted to take over, they just assumed she didn’t. Jokes on them cause she wanted the shop and now she will do anything to get the shop back. Sadly nothing is going according to plan. Beau is actually so sweet and not the grumpy man everyone thinks he is. Sad to say goodbye to this series.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
I enjoyed this HEA, light hearted romance. Had some unbelievable parts (who can hide a pregnancy that long??) but overall a good read. Could’ve been shorter but I still read it all. I’ll read the rest of the series too!

Tropes include: enemies to lovers, saving a family businesses, secret baby, small town romance

[Sara Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erin nailed this epic ending of an amazing series!!! Snowed In was the perfect icing on the cake of my favorite series!

[Erinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun adorable read!! Kinda insta love vibes with rival to lovers vibes too. And of course there is a pet squirrel lol

Beau and Holly are adorbs together!!

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

quick cute read

[Arianna Underwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

such a hallmark feel good story. quick easy fun read!

[MoreThanAPrettyCover · Rating 5 out of 5]

What and ending(?) to this series! I've loved getting to meet each person that comes about in the little town of Freedom Valley. They are truly one big found family and it just warms my heart 🥰

Reading the book, it doesn't feel that rushed. They seem to grown naturally together, but what I thought about it, it was only about 8ish weeks?! Which seems really quick, but the writing brings you in to want to protect both Beau and Holly's heart and see their dreams come true.

I saw Beau was compare to Luke Danes and I can say that I full heartedly agree 😂

Please enjoy my favorite quote from the book:

Another little girl says, "Well, my mom wants to know if you want to be my new stepdad?"

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5, cute!

[Laura Bayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was so cute! Aspects of it felt a little unrealistic to me and it wasn’t the world’s best writing but I just couldn’t help but like it.

[Jessica Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite series. One thing that I did not realize was how much I was going to want to eat pizza after this. Pizza is my favorite food so I was thrilled that this was the restaurant in the book. Holly and Beau are perfect for each other. I loved their story line and how he was so accepting of her situation and what she was going through. He was so supportive and wasn't too stubborn when it came to her helping him out. Holly is strong and accepting of any challenge even if they aren't what she had in her plans. She seemed to make anything work out. One thing I love about this series are the pets. I was thrilled when Stephen the Squirrel made an appearance. I will always suggest this series to anyone and I can't wait to own them all for my collection.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book I read in the Freedom Valley series and I immediately added the rest to my tbr. I absolutely loved this book! I loved the small town and the enemies to lovers trope! Also the random pets in the book were hilarious!

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun story. I was engaged right away. The author hit me right off the bat with a situation that was pretty unique, and one that I can’t say that I have really considered much before. Holly desperately wanted to buy back her family’s pizzeria, which her parents had sold out from under her. “I’m not good at much, but pizza is in my DNA. It’s what I know and what I love. To me, it’s more than just a business. It’s my passion to feed people and be a part of our community. I miss it so much.” The new owners, Beau and his brother, were struggling to produce pizza that lived up to the former standards. “‘Face it, Beau, you need help. Someone who knows pizza and can make it like it was before we bought the place.’” Ultimately accepting that he needed help, and with a little intervention from friends, Beau and Holly started working together. “As I was mourning the loss of it all, I never thought about it being someone else’s dream. We’re fighting for the same thing.” As they spent time working together, feelings developed. “Whatever we have, I want it. All of it. The good, the bad, and the complicated. This love is what I want.”

Holly had a lot to contend with and figure out. I loved how she and Beau gradually came to know and appreciate each other after letting go of their preconceived notions about each other. The characters were so engaging and the romance was excellent. There were lots of fun secondary characters too. There were funny moments, sweet and tender moments, and swoony moments. I really liked how the story played a bit with a fake relationship, but turned it on its head and was instead about earnest and frank honesty. (Much better than angsty pining and silent assumptions.) I really enjoyed how it all played out. This book is part of a series and there is a lot of character carryover, so reading the series in order would give foundation, however, this book also reads well as a standalone. This is an undetailed fade-to-black story with implied intimacy off the page, mild innuendo, and a moderate amount of harsh language.

[Heather Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, the pizza brothers have my heart. I really do love the Freedom Valley series and wish this place was real. The love and comfort I feel while reading these books is like no other.

We're back at Freedom Valley again and this time for Freedom Pie. The infamous pizza place has been sold and the new owners are not doing so well. The pizza is awful and just a straight up crime. Holly tried to buy back the place several times but her offers just go unanswered and she's not having it. Her life blew up in her face when her parents told her they are selling Freedom Pie without even asking her. And now with a baby on the way she needs to make a choice. Beau and his brother Hank move to Freedom Valley for a fresh start. Beau has had a rough life and he just needed to start over and see his dreams come true. He loves to cook and make people happy with his cooking. So, with Hank's help they bought Freedom Pie to help his dreams come true. But for some unknown reason he can't make a pizza to save his life. It's like the place is cursed.

The enemies to friends to lovers is just perfect here. Beau and Holly were like archnemeses but once they saw common ground they became a beautiful pair. I love how much care Erin puts into her characters. Each one has a story that captivates you and pulls on your heart strings. This town may be small, but the love is tremendous. Beau's heart is pure and beautiful, and I love how much he cares for Holly. He notices the little things and helps her without her knowing. And the passion Holly has is electric. Perfect example of never give up your dreams. I'm pretty sure this is the last book, but I do hope Hank and Opi get one because that couple is something special as well. And let's not forget Stephan!! Erin really does have some of the best pets a character can have. First Pancake now Stephan!

[Jo Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

SNOWED INN by ERIN BRANSCOM ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Snowed Inn is the sixth (#6) book in the FREEDOM VALLEY series


Holly Springs’ life was turned up side down when her parents sold the family pizzeria to the Sutton brothers and retired to Florida. Determined to get her life’s dream back she will do anything to raise the funds and buy the pizzeria back from Hank and Beau, anything including working all the hours God sends and being a surrogate for a couple.

All her plans fall apart when her surrogate family can no longer have the baby. Desperate to earn more money to support herself, Holly agrees to help Beau in the pizzeria. His pizzas are atrocious and he’s running his new business into the ground, despite his grumpy demeanour Holly will do everything she can to help. The more time the pair spend together the closer they get and Beau is determined to repay Holly for all her help by supporting her and her baby…

—————————

This was my first book by Erin Branscom and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I will certainly be looking for more of her books and these series.

Both Holly and Beau were interesting characters and I also love all the side characters especially Hank and Stephen.

Although this book touched on some hard subjects they are treated respectfully and in a light manner. There is plenty of banter and feel good relationships in this book. It has a warm, cosy atmosphere and the pages turned themselves.

At around 300 pages I read an ebook version of this book. With an absolutely delightful cover and good editing I highly recommend this light, joyful delicious read.

With Thanks to Erin Branscom for an early read of this book.


👶🏼 Close Proximity
👶🏼 Enemies to Lovers
👶🏼 Small Town Romance
👶🏼 Grumpy/ Sunshine
👶🏼 Spice Free
👶🏼 Single Mum Pregnancy
👶🏼 🐿️

[B (ReadLikeB) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC but all thoughts are my own.

The Freedom Valley series is one of my favorites. I was hooked from Book One and every book that has followed has been a real gem.

Holly is a bit of a mess. She's working numerous jobs, is keeping a pretty big secret, and still can't believe her parents sold the family pizza shop to strangers instead of her. Beau and his brother Hank are the Pizza Brothers who bought Freedom Pie. Unfortunately, Beau can't cook a pizza to save his life. If something doesn't change soon, the shop will be going up in flames. Can Holly and Beau come together to help cater a wedding, and turn the shop around?

I love Beau and Holly. I love the bit of fire between them and I love how Beau becomes obsessed with Holly. He has no issues taking order from her and respects her in the kitchen and her standing in the community. Holly is quick to realize their dreams are pretty much one in the same. She has no problems sassing Beau when it's needed. Like with all the books in the series, I love seeing all the past characters hanging out and bringing Hank and Beau into the fold. And Hank is HILARIOUS. Talk about a Golden Retriever! I love that we got two love stories in this book, watching Hank and Opi dance around each other and become a couple by the end. I'd love to see more of those two!

And Stephen the Squirrel! I wish we had seen more of the little guy to be honest. Just picturing Beau having a stare down with a squirrel had me cackling while reading. I love that the entire town looks after Stephen. This series has some of the most random yet lovable pets.

If you're looking for a low angst and heart warming read, be sure to add this one to your TBR!

[Coffeenbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

- Small town romance
- Enemies to lovers
- Single mother
- Found family
- Pizza competitors
- Stephen

I am so sad to say goodbye to the Freedom Valley series. I have absolutely loved this small town and its big hearted residents. This book is such a fitting conclusion to the series and has all of the feels I needed.

This story is about Holly, whose life is in an upheaval. Her parents have sold Freedom Pie, their restaurant, to strangers instead of her and moved to Florida. Her main focus is trying to buy back the restaurant, but the "pizza brothers", Beau and Hank, won't sell. She's convinced it will just take more funds, which she doesn't have, but is working multiple jobs to save up. One of her jobs is as a surrogate. She has just found out that the couple she is having a baby for are lost in an accident, she must make a decision about her role in the baby's future...

Beau is frustrated that the business that he has dreamed of for so long is not doing well. He cannot get the pizza to turn out right and has lost most of his customers to Holly's pop up pizza endeavor. So when he and Holly agree to work together to help cater their friends' wedding, they slowly begin building a relationship.

As soon as Beau realizes he is developing feelings for Holly, he is all in. It is a very heartwarming thing to read. But both he and Holly have difficulties trusting others....

I was grinning and sighing throughout the book. And I adored Stephen....

Favorite quote: "Every woman deserves to be loved out loud, fiercely, and proudly. The bar should always be set high."

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heart warming, fun romance with minimum angst but all the feels, fantastic characters and a quirky, small-town setting as soon to be single mother Holly finds out you’re never alone in Freedom Valley, all you have to do is let people help…… even if its the pizza brothers who you think stole your family legacy right from under you. Desperation leads to her teaming up with Beau Sutton, the older pizza brother to teach him some skills in the kitchen and soon more than the dough is rising as they fall for each other. Beau was perfect hero material, crusty on the outside but with a surprisingly sweet and gooey centre - look in the dictionary and you’d see his name under cinnamon roll. He’d been hurt in the past by his ex-wife but all he really wanted was the kind of family he and his brother Hank had had growing up and when he looked at Holly, he could see their future surrounded by a posse of loud and boisterous children. Their relationship was slowburn and definitely more of the emotional kind rather than physical especially given Holly’s condition but that made it easy to see them fall in love and as she fell for Beau, she fell equally in love with Hank only in a fraternal way with him becoming the brother she’d always wanted and their relationship was equally special. I loved the humour running through the story, from Stephen the squirrel and Beau’s reaction to him to Holly’s description of Beau’s ex-wife and when you thrown in the supportive townspeople who will be familiar to regular readers, Snowed Inn just might be my favourite book in the Freedom Valley series.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Holly gets a phone call in the middle of subbing a 3rd class stating the family who she I a surrogate for passed away in a tragic accident, she freaks out. Actually she had a panic attack and passes out. She is brought to the ER by the nicest paramedic and she tells him her life story in a couple sentences. She then finds out he’s half of the duo who bought her family‘s pizza restaurant. She wants to hate him because she wanted to buy it herself but she can’t because he’s so nice and is helpful.

She then meets his brother, Beau, and she and him pump heads. She begs for him to sell the restaurant to her and he states that it’s the only thing he has.

Beau is a chef but can’t make a pizza if it was to save his life. He can’t get the sauce right, has no clue how to use a wood pizza stove and the pizza oven is burning all the pizzas.

Holly and Beau are presented a couple offers at a mutual friend’s dinner one evening.

1) Beau’s brother’s half buy can be sold to Holly. This would make them part owners.

2) They both come together and cater Holly’s friend’s wedding.


When the wedding catering went off perfectly, Beau offers a full time co-chef spot, she knows deep down that it would be perfect. Now she has to figure out will this be strictly professional or will she let own her guard and let him in.


Tropes:
Small Town
Single Mom
Enemies to Lovers
No 3rd Act Breakup
Forced Proximity
Co-Chefs

[Kathi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snowed Inn by Erin Branscom is the sixth book in the Freedom Valley series. Holly became a surrogate in order to earn enough money to buy her family's pizzeria back from the new owners. When the parents of her baby die unexpectedly, she is left with a baby and new responsibilities. Beau, the new owner of Holly's family’s pizzeria, tries to help Holly, but he also needs her help, because his pizza is disgusting. So, they form an alliance to help each other out, but didn't count in the felt attraction between them.

It is exam season, so I am only reading light reads that I can finish pretty fast. And with this book, I picked a pretty good one. As it is still January, I was okay with reading a winter/Christmas themed book and it made me wish for more snow this time around. This book is a really nice feel-good book. It was advertised enemies-to-lovers, but in my opinion it is not. At least the being enemies part was rather short and was more like strangers with wrong opinions about each other. I am a sucker for enemies-to-lovers book, so I was a bit disappointed that this book wasn't, but I still enjoyed it. The book seriously made me crave pizza so badly. Holly's pizza sounds amazing. I can't really say much more than that I enjoyed the book. However, I don't really get the title. I understand the wordplay, but the story did not really play in an inn.

This was a good and quick read. It is a cosy winter/Christmas read.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Beau has my heart in his hands, and I’m a goner. He’s everything I never knew I needed. The most unexpected love that leaves me emotional and brimming with joy.”

O-M-Cheese I loved Snowed Inn by Erin Branscom! The Freedom Valley series has been a special small-town experience from book one. Beau Sutton and Holly Springs have stolen a pizza my heart for good. Beau and his brother Hank landed in Freedom Valley looking for a fresh start; buying a local pizzeria seemed like a good idea at the time, aside from the fact that the renowned chef makes terrible pizza. Holly was raised above Freedom Pie and would give anything to get it back…except team up with the chef who’s running it into the ground. Holly is a delightful, hometown sweetheart, and single mom book bestie. Beau is a former military, deeply devoted, charismatic insta-book boyfriend. After cajoling from a meddling brother and friends, the two chefs team up to revive the struggling pie joint. Snowed Inn is a fabulous competitors-to-lovers, found family, heart-melting love story. Erin has written a perfectly swoony series finale. If you’re looking for a low-angst, cozy romance with all the heart, grab Snowed Inn now, for Stephen’s sake!