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Honeycrisp Orchard #2
Snowed Inn
Not yet published
Expected 29 Sep 26This cozy Christmas romance follows an overworked publicist who is snowed in at the Honeycrisp Orchard Inn with her nemesis, a sexy brewery owner, for the holidays. The festive spirit, hot chocolate, and six feet of sparkling snowdrifts conspire to turn these enemies into lovers.
Maria never expected to spend Christmas in a small, snow-covered town—but a visit to her best friend Ellie’s Honeycrisp Orchard Inn turns into an unplanned holiday stay when a snowstorm leaves her stranded. The inn feels like stepping into a holiday fairy tale, with twinkling lights, crackling fires, and garlands everywhere, yet Maria can’t help missing her big, loud Italian family. Adding to her frustrations? Jesse, the ruggedly handsome, annoyingly charming brewery owner, who seems to delight in pushing her buttons.
Jesse has enough on his plate managing his bar and helping the inn stay merry for the holidays, but he can’t seem to resist Maria’s city-girl sass. As snow continues to fall and their paths keep crossing, Maria finds herself drawn into the inn’s festive magic and Jesse himself, as he shows her the charm of slowing down and being present in the moment.
With stolen glances under mistletoe and sparks flying by the fireplace, the line between a holiday fling and something deeper blurs.
But when the snow clears, will Maria follow her heart? Perfect for anyone craving snow-kissed romance, holiday warmth, and happily-ever-after magic.
Maria never expected to spend Christmas in a small, snow-covered town—but a visit to her best friend Ellie’s Honeycrisp Orchard Inn turns into an unplanned holiday stay when a snowstorm leaves her stranded. The inn feels like stepping into a holiday fairy tale, with twinkling lights, crackling fires, and garlands everywhere, yet Maria can’t help missing her big, loud Italian family. Adding to her frustrations? Jesse, the ruggedly handsome, annoyingly charming brewery owner, who seems to delight in pushing her buttons.
Jesse has enough on his plate managing his bar and helping the inn stay merry for the holidays, but he can’t seem to resist Maria’s city-girl sass. As snow continues to fall and their paths keep crossing, Maria finds herself drawn into the inn’s festive magic and Jesse himself, as he shows her the charm of slowing down and being present in the moment.
With stolen glances under mistletoe and sparks flying by the fireplace, the line between a holiday fling and something deeper blurs.
But when the snow clears, will Maria follow her heart? Perfect for anyone craving snow-kissed romance, holiday warmth, and happily-ever-after magic.
304 pages, Paperback
Expected publication September 29, 2026
501 people want to read
About the author
Valerie Bowman
58 books1,598 followersValerie Bowman is an award-winning author who writes historical and contemporary romance.
Valerie’s debut novel was published in 2012. Since then, her books have received starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus. She’s been an RT Reviewers’ Choice nominee for Best First Historical Romance and Best Historical Romance Love and Laughter. Two of her books have been nominated for the Kirkus Prize for fiction.
Valerie grew up in Illinois with six sisters (she’s number seven) and a huge supply of romance novels. After a cold and snowy stint earning a degree in English Language and Literature with a minor in history at Smith College, she moved to Florida the first chance she got. Valerie now lives in Jacksonville with her family including her rascally dogs. When she’s not writing, she keeps busy reading, traveling, or vacillating between watching crazy reality TV and PBS.
Visit Valerie on the web at www.ValerieBowmanBooks.com and sign-up for her newsletter at: https://valeriebowmanbooks.com/newsle...
Be sure to follow Valerie Bookbub for the latest on sales https://www.bookbub.com/authors/valer...
Valerie’s debut novel was published in 2012. Since then, her books have received starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus. She’s been an RT Reviewers’ Choice nominee for Best First Historical Romance and Best Historical Romance Love and Laughter. Two of her books have been nominated for the Kirkus Prize for fiction.
Valerie grew up in Illinois with six sisters (she’s number seven) and a huge supply of romance novels. After a cold and snowy stint earning a degree in English Language and Literature with a minor in history at Smith College, she moved to Florida the first chance she got. Valerie now lives in Jacksonville with her family including her rascally dogs. When she’s not writing, she keeps busy reading, traveling, or vacillating between watching crazy reality TV and PBS.
Visit Valerie on the web at www.ValerieBowmanBooks.com and sign-up for her newsletter at: https://valeriebowmanbooks.com/newsle...
Be sure to follow Valerie Bookbub for the latest on sales https://www.bookbub.com/authors/valer...
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 23, 2026
I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.
It’s a great cozy holiday read. It’s a fluff book, but a great fluff book.
A city girl meets a small town guy who has mutual friends. She visits her friend for Christmas and is wrangled into helping at her friends’ inn. Being snowed in has put her city life on hold but it gives her a break from the NY lifestyle.
I think the characters are likable, the writing is good, and the ending is satisfying. I couldn’t ask for a better holiday romance.
Warning: There is spice in this book, it is not fade to black.
It’s a great cozy holiday read. It’s a fluff book, but a great fluff book.
A city girl meets a small town guy who has mutual friends. She visits her friend for Christmas and is wrangled into helping at her friends’ inn. Being snowed in has put her city life on hold but it gives her a break from the NY lifestyle.
I think the characters are likable, the writing is good, and the ending is satisfying. I couldn’t ask for a better holiday romance.
Warning: There is spice in this book, it is not fade to black.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is a very cute, cozy winter Christmas book, if you are a fan of any kind of cozy hallmark or lifetime movie you will love this book maria is stranded in New York because of a big blizzard, which has caused the therm. It reports to shut down as if she goes to visit her friend's inn on Long Island, on the way from the train station to the end, she ends up.Finding a little kitty that she names christmas, when she gets to the inn, after seeing her friend - she runs into the bartender, jesse, who she had met the last time ( i did not know if this was part of a series but it is definitely fine as a stand-alone) they have a love-hate relationship. Basically, she thinks he's simple because he wears fannel and a ball cap and he thinks she's a princess because she's high maintenance, do a series of issues she ends up helping run different parts of the inn, mostly due two are our best friend and husband getting the flu- so she gets to know, Jesse a little bit better and realizes that maybe he's not a bad guy. ( his dream of opening a sober bar.Especially due to family alcoholism) He even adopts the little kitty, she found.So really, how bad can he be- she ends up extending her stay even after your best friend's better. In the airport opens for the big new year's eve party, that night, her and Jesse spend the night together . But she panics and runs the next day, over the course of the next few months, Ishe keeps tabs on what's going on with him and decides to show up at his grand opening of his cocktails bar- will he be open to her coming back- will she be able to tell him her true feelings - a classic feel good cozy Christmas story -- if you are from a state or region that is prone to getting snowstorms and blizzards, you will need to suspend your knowledge because the parts involving the snow storm/ blizzard makes absolutely no sense and it was very irritating
Thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review
Thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
It might be spring as I read this advance copy, but Snowed Inn gave me all the cozy Christmas feels!
Brimming with all the heart of a Hallmark movie, Maria and Jesse’s story is a slow burn with a spicy finish.
When a blizzard shuts down her trip to see her family at Christmas, Maria reluctantly returns to her best friend’s inn for the holiday instead. And when Ellie and her husband come down with the flu, the NYC PR girl plays innkeeper, stepping up to help the skeleton crew keep things running. Part of the skeleton crew: Jesse, the inn’s infuriating bartender.
Despite making a terrible first impression, he turns out to be “a walking romance novel in flannel.” He adopts the stray kitten Maria found in the storm, teaches her to fix a leaking sink, cooks for her, and more. The man is a total green flag and their connection develops in genuine way.
Snowed Inn was everything I want in a small-town romance. Counting down to Honeycrisp Orchard book 3!
Thanks to Avon a and NetGalley for the e-ARC! All opinions are my own.
Brimming with all the heart of a Hallmark movie, Maria and Jesse’s story is a slow burn with a spicy finish.
When a blizzard shuts down her trip to see her family at Christmas, Maria reluctantly returns to her best friend’s inn for the holiday instead. And when Ellie and her husband come down with the flu, the NYC PR girl plays innkeeper, stepping up to help the skeleton crew keep things running. Part of the skeleton crew: Jesse, the inn’s infuriating bartender.
Despite making a terrible first impression, he turns out to be “a walking romance novel in flannel.” He adopts the stray kitten Maria found in the storm, teaches her to fix a leaking sink, cooks for her, and more. The man is a total green flag and their connection develops in genuine way.
Snowed Inn was everything I want in a small-town romance. Counting down to Honeycrisp Orchard book 3!
Thanks to Avon a and NetGalley for the e-ARC! All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
In the second novel of the Honeycrisp Orchard series by Valerie Bowman, this novel is set around Christmastime with the characters of Maria and Jesse. Maria is set to fly out to California when her flight is cancelled due to the weather. Her best friend, Ellie invites her to spend the holiday with her at the Honeycrisp Orchard Inn. She agrees only because Jesse, the annoying brewer owner will not be there. When her friends get the flu, Maria finds herself helping out. As the snow continues to fall, they are forced to work together on the New Year's Eve celebration. As feelings develop will they be able to resist them?
This novel has all the feels of a holiday romance. Set in a wintry wonderland, emotional baggage to overcome, it is easy to root for them. I will be staying tuned for the next novel in the series.
In the second novel of the Honeycrisp Orchard series by Valerie Bowman, this novel is set around Christmastime with the characters of Maria and Jesse. Maria is set to fly out to California when her flight is cancelled due to the weather. Her best friend, Ellie invites her to spend the holiday with her at the Honeycrisp Orchard Inn. She agrees only because Jesse, the annoying brewer owner will not be there. When her friends get the flu, Maria finds herself helping out. As the snow continues to fall, they are forced to work together on the New Year's Eve celebration. As feelings develop will they be able to resist them?
This novel has all the feels of a holiday romance. Set in a wintry wonderland, emotional baggage to overcome, it is easy to root for them. I will be staying tuned for the next novel in the series.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is a fun book. Maria works in PR in NYC and is visiting her friend Ellie, who runs the family inn in a small town on Long Island. Although Maria gets snowed in and cannot leave NY to visit her family in CA, she helps out at the inn and learns to enjoy a quieter life away from her usual PR activities. She also gets to know better the local bartender Jesse, whose lifestyle is far from the glamorous life that Maria has sought. Maria and Jesse learn to readjust their ideas of who they are and what would make them happy in life. This is the 2nd book in a series but is easily read as a standalone.
March 24, 2026
Snowed Inn is a cozy Christmas read. It has all the hallmarks of a good romcom, and feels like reading a Hallmark movie. This book has enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, Pumpkin the pug, a stray kitten, character growth, friendship, and romance all set in a winter wonderland.
While this is the second book in the series, it stands on its own and you don’t have to have read the first book to understand and enjoy it.
Snowed Inn was a really fun read, and I can’t wait for the next book in the series!
While this is the second book in the series, it stands on its own and you don’t have to have read the first book to understand and enjoy it.
Snowed Inn was a really fun read, and I can’t wait for the next book in the series!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC!
Unfortunately, I was just not a fan of this book for a few different reasons. The writing style felt very choppy to me, which made it hard to get fully into the story. The characters seemed really shallow, and I didn't believe the love story at all, which was a real bummer since the premise seemed really promising. I'm sure there are people out there who will love this book when it comes out! I'm just not one of them.
Unfortunately, I was just not a fan of this book for a few different reasons. The writing style felt very choppy to me, which made it hard to get fully into the story. The characters seemed really shallow, and I didn't believe the love story at all, which was a real bummer since the premise seemed really promising. I'm sure there are people out there who will love this book when it comes out! I'm just not one of them.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews