A Spring in Her Step: Seasons in Montana - Spring

by K.M. Ryan

Mia has loved her best friend, Jackson, her entire life. One day, she stumbles upon an old childhood diary and discovers a pact they made. Now she wonders if there’s more to their friendship than she realized.

Jackson can’t imagine losing his best friend, so he’s never wanted to admit his attraction to Mia. But when his brothers find out what’s in the diary, they decide to “help” them admit their feelings for each other.

Will their scheme bring Jackson and Mia closer, or will it send them down separate paths permanently?



Series From cold cozy winters to scorching hot summers, find your next favorite couple in the beautiful small town of Wintervale, Montana.

Follow along with some of your favorite authors as they explore each season, beginning with winter.

119 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 2, 2025

About the author

K. M. Ryan was born in Spokane, Washington. She enjoys writing steamy, contemporary romance novels, but she enjoys reading them even more!

She knew she wanted to publish a novel at the age of fourteen. Several (unpublished) books later, she finally decided to self-publish at the encouragement of her family and friends. She resides in Nine Mile Falls, Washington with her husband, two children, and one cat.

Reviews

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Spring In Her Step is about two best friends, Mia and Jackson, who spend all their free time together. One day, she is given an old diary of hers, reads it, and discovers a pact that she has long forgotten. What was the pact? What happens to Mia and Jackson? To get these answers you’ll have to read this novella. You’ll fall in love with Mia in immediately and you’ll learn to love Jackson along the way!

The banter in this story is top-notch! It had me cracking up for most of the book. It is such a sweet story! I give it 🌶️ on the spice level.

K. M. Ryan is an amazing writer. She pulls you in from page one and doesn’t let go. I would have finished this book the day I started it had I not had some prior commitments.

Favorite Quote: “This isn’t how it was supposed to go. There was supposed to be a large box with a bow and four little kittens holding red roses in their mouths. The presentation was going to be immaculate.”

[kymagirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Librarian Mia (h) has everything but the one thing she really wants—her best friend, Jackson (H). They’ve been inseparable since childhood, built a comfortable routine, and even made a pact to marry if they were still single at thirty. With that milestone around the corner, Mia’s ready to face her feelings… but Jackson seems like the last one to get the memo. Jackson's never seen Mia as just a friend—not really. But it’s taken other men showing interest in her, and his brothers meddling in all the wrong ways, for him to finally face what’s been right in front of him. Too bad realizing it and doing something about it aren’t the same thing. Until the dating setups start. And the jealousy kicks in. And Jackson realizes that maybe Mia wasn’t just his best friend all along—maybe she’s always been the one. As Mia starts exploring what it means to move on, Jackson scrambles to win her over—with cake, chaos, and kittens. A steamy, small town, friends to lovers romance, about timing, trust, and finally taking the leap.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am seriously enjoying this series so much! They are such quick, fun reads! I won’t be able to say much because this is a short read and I do not want to spoil it for anyone.

This one follows Mia and Jackson, best friends where one is scared to put themselves out there and one is denying their feelings. But, what if you start going out on planned dates to make the other one jealous and the family is in on it to get a reaction and get that person to come to terms with their feelings for the other one because they all know. Will it work or will it back fire?

K.M. Ryan never misses with her short novellas, giving us humor and spice! I’d give the spice level about 1.5 on this one! Highly recommend getting into this series! Looking forward to the next one.

[Keasha M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another adorable book in this interconnected series. This one was a friends to lovers tale about a man (Jackson) who has denied having feelings for his best friend (Mia) their entire lives, when his brothers get tired of his protesting and decide to push him into action. They set Mia up with a few dates and stage them so Jackson has a front row seat. Their plan works and he's overcome with jealousy. After stooping to crashing her date, buying four demonic like kittens, and having some major jealous overreactions they finally get together.

[Massiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute perfection. The banter is witty, the couple is magnetic. An absolute page-turner. I couldn’t put it down. If K.M. Ryan has written it, I’m going to read it.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mia and Jackson story is a sweet one. Childhood friends that made a pact that if they weren’t married by their 30th they would get married.

Well Mia is Jackson’s best friend so he can’t possibly have feeling for her. Everyone around knows that they are meant to be together so his brothers and a few friends plot to help Jackson see the light. Several laughs out loud and “oh Jackson no!” moments!

The book is short and overall I like it. The epilogue wasn’t what I was expecting would have liked that done a little differently. Still highly recommend K. M. Ryan’s books.

Thank you for the ARC, this is my honest review

[Emily Pennington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Making It Forever . . .

Mia and Jackson have been good friends all their lives and they even made a pact when they were young that if they were still single by a certain age, they would marry each other. They apparently forgot all about the pact until Mia finds an old diary describing their intentions. Jackson, on the other hand, falls into the “friend trap fallacy” which states that “protecting” their friendship as it evolves into something more doesn’t mean he will have to lose everything that has made them friends over the years. Friendship actually enhances falling in love because they know each other so well by now and caring for each other at this new intense level is natural after a lifetime of practice. Friendship doesn’t end when love begins -- it just matures into something more wonderful that is shared in a deeper, lasting way when we become ready for it.

What he should be discovering is that the important part in any lasting relationship is to keep the lines of communication open, talk honestly with each other, and believe in each other. Fortunately, his brothers have figured it out and arrange for Mia to begin dating before Jackson allows her to give up on her true feelings for him. Will their plan work and wake Jackson up to what he can lose by his inaction? Or will he foolishly walk away and give up on their opportunity to claim the love they have had in their hearts forever?

[Kay Hertz · Rating 4 out of 5]

So Cute, So Steamy, SO Relatable!

Overall: 4⭐
Plot: 5📍
Laughter: 3😆
Spice: 2.5 🫦

I adore when a story is either TOTALLY off the rails OTT, or 100% relatable!

This is definitely in the later category!

Best friends to lovers, small town, neighbors, some serious exasperation when an MC just doesn't see what's right in front of them! It's a sweet, funny little romp!

Oh goodness! You KNOW this in-denial MC. Maybe it's your sibling, your friends, maybe it's you...? 🤨

Either way, you'll adore this fun, little story!

Thank you to KM Ryan for the opportunity to read and review this book!
All opinions are my own.

NOTE:
This steamy novella is part of the Seasons In Montana, a multi-author project with 4 sub-series, one for each of the four seasons! While the stories can most certainly be read individually, this reviewer highly recommends starting with Seasons In Winter - Winter as often one author’s characters from a prior season’s book(s) will show up in the later seasons.

Enjoy!

[Dara Wasalino Tremblay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short and sweet friends to lovers romance, small town romance, with some family meddling thrown in. FMC Mia has been in love with her best friend Jackson for years. Jackson has loved her too, he just hasn’t let those feelings come to the surface. After reading an old diary, Mia is reminded about their pact to marry each other if they are not married by age 30. Jackson turned 30 a few months back and Mia is a few months away from her 30th birthday. Everyone they know knows Mia and Jackson belong together and Jackson’s brothers decide to take matters into their own hands to encourage grumpy Jackson to make things with Mia official. Mia, tired of denying her feelings for Jackson, catches on and joins their efforts. Jackson soon is ready to make a grand gesture and make Mia his.

Even though this is a novella (119 pages), plot, backstory, and character development were not sacrificed. The build up to Jackson and Mia’s HEA was painless and their HEA was satisfying. I will definitely check out other books in this series.

[Sara Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Spring in her Step was such a “refreshing” read for me. Sometimes you just need a short (novella) book with a happy ending to get you out of a little slump and this did just that. I absolutely flew through this book in a day and it kept my attention throughout.

It’s hard to say much without giving it away, but this book is a best friends become more with a little push from their friends and family. The cats thrown in there towards the end were a good touch and had me laughing. I can’t wait to read more of K. M. Ryan’s writing.

[Cheryl Sims · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book had me rolling and loving every minute of it I am always so excited to have the chance to read this amazing author's books I'm not going to give you anything in this book other than the FMC's name which is Mia she reads a diary and rediscovers a pact she had made and forgot now you have to read the book to figure out what this packed is and who she made it about 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 happy reading book besties and please check your trigger warnings

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book, fell in love with the couple in the small glimpse we got of them in White Christmas with My Enemy. I said “I want to know their story” and the story lived up to my expectations of not beyond them! I absolutely love the Blakes and cannot wait to read the next 2 books in the series!

[Curvy Girl Book Nerd (Jen S) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Spring in Her Step is part of the multi-authored Seasons in Montana - Spring series. It's a short and slightly spicy, friends-to-lovers, mutual pining, small-town romance. Mia and Jackson have been best friends forever but secretly have feelings for each other. They had a marriage pact to marry at 30 if they were still unattached. OMG, this book cracked me up. I totally wanted to smack some sense into Jackson. I loved his brothers and their meddling. The banter was hilarious all around, the chemistry was great, and the ending was happy after a lot of work on Jackson's part, lol.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Antoinette Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I swear give me a good childhood best friend’s story. Where they both have always wanted to be more, but are afraid to take that step. But lo and behold you play the jealousy card to get them to come around and I will. Eat. That. Up. This book was like my favorite brand of catnip. Once I got into it, there was no turning back. It’s low spice but oh such a fun ride.

[Leticia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love how I'm seeing characters from other books here. Exciting love story between friends turned lovers. Can't wait to read more.

[Mafia Wife · Rating 4 out of 5]

They have been best friends since they were kids. She has secretly loved him almost as long. But he has never returned her feelings so she’s had to content herself with just being friends. She would rather have his friendship than not have him in her life. They live next-door to each other, they hang out all the time, they just don’t do romance. When she is finally thinking it’s time for her to put her crush aside and move forward his brother step in and decide to “meddle”. They know their brother has been in love with her for almost as long only he hasn’t allowed himself to recognize it. But suddenly faced with the idea of losing her shakes everything up. This is a really fun story. The author gives you two great characters, who have established a relationship of deep friendship and affection. They have a comfort level with each other already, and the author builds off of that when forcing him to become jealous. There is definitely a lot of comedy here as well as humor at how a man can be so blindsided by what has been in front of him all along. Of course they get their happily ever after, and it is just as sweet as they deserve.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Liz M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was light-hearted and playful.
Jackson and Mia have been best friends for most of their lives. They spend a lot of time together, talk about almost everything, and even live right next door to each other.
Mia has loved Jackson for a long time. Jackson has always denied having those kinds of feelings for Mia, even though his family and pretty much the whole town know that they're meant for each other. He doesn't want to ruin their great friendship.
To try to get Jackson to see what's right in front of him, his brothers hatch a plan. They enlist a couple of friends to ask Mia out. Right in front of Jackson. They even make sure he sees how well her first date goes. His reaction is predictable, and hilarious!
But is it enough to push him out of the friend zone?
Oh, this was great! Jackson was so funny as he constantly denied what was so obvious to everyone. But his brothers knew better and pushed him to figure it out.
Plenty of meddling family and friends, awkward situations, and even some crazy kittens to make you smile.
This was a fun little friends to lovers story, with the woman who knew what she wanted and her best friend who needed a shove in the right direction.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Praline 99 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best friend romance.
Mia is a young librarian who has always had a crush on her best friend Jackson, but to maintain her friendship with him, she has never admitted it. But a few weeks before her thirtieth birthday, she remembers a pact they made together: "If they aren't married by the time they turn thirty, they'll get married." When she tells him about this pact, Jackson laughs and uses their youth as an excuse; but Jackson's brothers decide to help Mia by setting her up on dates to make Jackson jealous.
Jackson is a landscaper at his parents' lodge and is Mia's best friend. When Mia tells him about their childhood pact, it makes him laugh, but when he sees her having several dates with other men, a feeling of jealousy grows within her.
Will Jackson finally see his feelings for Mia or will it be too late when he decides to make a move on he….

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Theresa Lambe · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is not to love about a best friends to lovers story? I mean, it’s already stepped in drama and well, you know me, I love drama in a story. And in this one…Oh oh oh Jackson!

I mean, of course, someone in the duo has to think they won’t end up together because ending a friendship is just not a possible thing. Cue Jackson. See, Mia has loved him for far too long, but Jackson was against it. In fact, he didn’t even see her that way (let’s face, he TRIED not seeing her that way.) But the funny thing, when someone else knows your feelings, they will get involved. And here we have Jackson’s brothers. They way they helped push these two along was downright adorable. However, the times Jackson screwed up…hmmm.

Really, want a heartfelt, make you smile and swoon read, look no further!

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Spring in Her Step is part of the Seasons in Montana series by K. M. Ryan. I love anytime I get to come back to Wintervale, where it seems everyone is one big happy family. I'm SO excited we got to know Jackson more, and got his story. I've been waiting on it since I first met the brothers.

Once I started this book, I could NOT put it down. It was absolutely phenomenal. And the watching the story unfolding to see if Jackson and Mia realize their feelings and find their way to each other was perfect.

It's always a great time to see cameos of your favorite characters again, but sometimes it's the new ones that steal your heart. For me, that's Angel, Blitz, Oreo and Blaze ❤️ I can't wait until the Summer Story is released.

[Gazelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mia and Jackson are firmly stuck in the friend zone. While Mia is more in touch with her feeling for Jackson, she doesn't see much hope in them being returned. This series is fun, and I really enjoy the family dynamics. Everyone can see that Mia and Jackson would be perfect for each other but Jackson. It's understandable when your friends with someone that long that you're afraid to mess things up. But when Jackson finally starts to realize he wants to be with his bestie in all the ways, his possessive jealous side comes out! I enjoyed watching Jackson squirm and work at wooing Mia because he was bad at it! Jackson's family and friends were so entertaining in this one as well. I'm glad that Mia and Jackson were able to move out of the friendzone and find HEA together!

[Havok · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a cute short read! K.M. takes us back to Wintervale to revisit a couple we have been shipping since we first met them! Mia and Jackson are besties for the resties, but are totally destined to be more… Jackson just doesn’t know it yet. With a little help from his brothers he gets there… eventually 🤣 This book read different than K.M.’s usual slow burn hallmark style and i am HERE FOR IT! The giggles and cuteness of it all made it so relatable! I cant wait to see who’s next in the series! (Fingers crossed its our favorite chef 😉)

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books that feature best friends who fall in love with each other. Mia and Jackson have known each other all their lives; they are best friends and neighbors. With nosey family members who want the best for you, the stage is set to see just how much love exists between Jackson and Mia. I adore Jackson's brothers! They meddle in the best ways. This is an excellent book with the perfect amount of spice. And don't forget, it has a swoon-worthy happily ever after!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let the chaos begin!

Jackson is so blind to his feelings and even when his brothers add their "help" he still gets it so horribly wrong....twice! If it wasn't for his perfect final grand gesture in the epilogue, I would worry for Mia's future and the "gifts" he may buy her.
It's funny and a little ridiculous, it makes you very happy Jackson is not the love of your life, but it is also sweet in a slightly awkward and cringy way!
I have enjoyed both the Blake brothers books so far and look forward to the Summer and Fall ones later in the year.
I read this on Kindle Unlimited.

[Elaine himstedt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great quick read. I loved the close friendship between Mia and Jackson. Had a bit of everything- love, romance, angst, spicy scenes and laughter. All their friends and family thought they belonged together - except the couple themselves! Loved the closeness of Jackson and his brothers and can’t wait to read more from this author.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Shelly Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book I’m reviewing today is titled, A Spring in Her Step which is part of the Seasons in Montana series written by K. M. Ryan. This was another adorable book in this interconnected series. Best friends to lovers is my favorite trope and A Spring in Her Step did not disappoint! I absolutely love the Blakes and cannot wait to read the next 2 books in the series!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mia and Jackson are best friends. Mia wants more but Jackson doesn't seem interested. This witty story is almost a no burn instead of a slow burn. I live that Jaxkson's brothers meddlem. I love his family. The best friend banter is smart. The brother's snark is fun and fresh. The storyline is well thought out and the writing flows well.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kristian Swift · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friends to lovers short read
Jackson does not want to admit his true feelings for Mia. Mia hints at different things especially one from childhood a pact at 30.
Mia eventually goes on some dates and Jackson gets jealous which eventually leads to him telling his feelings and them being together

Solid 4 star read for me

[Jordan Fiest · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Spring in Her Step is part of the Seasons in Montana: Spring Series.

Mia and Jackson have a lot of chemistry together. However, they've been best friends for so long that Mia doesn't want to ruin their friendship by admitting her feelings for Jackson. Enter Jackson's meddling brothers. They were quite a humorous bunch and I found their antics amusing.

This was a very cute read.

[Debbie Benson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. Mia and Jackson love and want each other but don't want to wreck their friendship. I liked how an old diary and three matchmaking brothers get them to admit their feelings and to be together. The kittens were really cute.