Returning to Pine Ridge

Pine Ridge #0.5

by Ana Ashley

Unemployed. Blacklisted. Drowning in debt.

I’m the saddest case of a man who had it all and then lost it.
Back in Pine Ridge, I smile and lie.

But in a hot minute, I confess everything into a recording microphone, and I meet Kai.
His kindness terrifies me. I’m completely and unexpectedly drawn to him.

As we fight a predatory corporation threatening to exploit our small town, something shifts. Kai sees me and suddenly I’m not pretending anymore.

In this small town I once couldn’t wait to escape, I’m discovering what I’ve been searching for all along.

Home isn’t a place. It’s a person.
And maybe—just maybe—I’m brave enough to stay.

Returning to Pine Ridge is a prequel novella in Ana Ashley’s new series, Pine Ridge. Expect small-town romance and corporate corruption, and discover why this small town becomes a sanctuary for broken men learning to heal. This is where the story begins.

102 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 26, 2026

About the author

Meet Ana Ashley, your friendly neighborhood romance author!
Ana has been lost in the pages of books for as long as she can remember, taking a few amusing missteps with her childhood writing attempts. But everything changed when she discovered the magical world of LGBTQ+ romance—cue the confetti!


Ana's books offer sweet and sexy romance with a charming mix of humor and heart. Getting her guys together wouldn't be the same without the meddling but well-intentioned cast of secondary characters, who always insist on having their own story.


When she’s not crafting heartfelt tales, you can find her indulging in her favorite pastime of baking delicious treats, enjoying quality time with friends, or staying up late immersed in the pages of a good book.

You can find out more about Ana and her works-in-progress by joining her Newsletter. To sign up visit Ana's website anawritesmm.com

Reviews

[Betty Loves Books Galore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an opposites attract to more small town romance, featuring Kai and Atlas, and is a prequel novella to the Pine ridge series.

After losing everything, Atlas returns home and meets Kai, who helps him face the truth about his life. As they work together to save their town, Atlas finds love and a place where he truly belongs.

This was a great prequel to this new series. It was sweet and I love small town romances. Can’t wait to see what happens in Pine Ridge.

Things to expect in this book are:
Prequel to series
MM romance
Small town
Returning home / fresh start
Opposites attract
Insta-lust
Spicy times
Library trysts
Big corporation takedown
HEA

[Nancy Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

RETURNING TO PINE RIDGE (PINE RIDGE SERIES 0.5) di Ana Ashley

Recensione: Returning to Pine Ridge é il prequel della nuova serie di Ana Ashley ambientata in una nuovissima small town chiamata appunto Pine Ridge.

I protagonisti di questa storia sono Kai e Atlas. Atlas torna a casa per l'anniversario di matrimonio dei suoi genitori, ma ha un grande segreto: é stato licenziato dalla sua azienda e non ha più nulla nella sua vecchia città, avendo perso anche la casa.
Questo segreto uscirà fuori mentre decide di registrare un video di augurio di anniversario per i suoi genitori, ma nel mentre piange e poi, sconsolato se ne va. Nella stanza, ad ascoltare nascosto, c'é Kai, il proprietario della libreria locale che ha come scopo quello di registrare le storie delle persone locali su video o audio per non perderli e tramandarli alle generazioni future. Kai, avendo assistito al dolore di Atlas, decide di cancellarlo dal booth che registra ma lo tiene su una chiavetta. Cerca Atlas e gli parla, spiegandogli che era stato testimone del suo sfogo e per questo ha preferito cancellare il video. Kai consiglia ad Atlas di raccontare la verità alla sua famiglia e i due da quel giorno diventano amici. Si frequenteranno e durante una visita alla libreria locale, Atlas nota un volantino della sua vecchia azienda, la HelixGen Corp, sul muro del negozio di Kai e quando sente che cosa ha intenzione di fare l'azienda con la cittadina, cerca di metterlo in guardia.
Peccato che, durante la presentazione proprio della HelixGen Corp che vuole investire soldi nella cittadina, Atlas nota con immenso dispiacere che quasi tutti sembrano entusiasti. Con l'aiuto di Kai faranno in modo di aprire gli occhi alla popolazione ed eviteranno che la grande azienda distrugga la cittadina di Pine Ridge.
La storia si sviluppa in una settimana circa, é davvero corta, 12 capitoli e nonostante tutto, Kai e Atlas sembrano aver trovato l'uno nell'altro il grande amore della vita. Il romance c'é, ma sinceramente mi sono appassionata più a leggere come hanno cercato di evitare che la HelixGen rovinasse per sempre la popolazione della piccola cittadina.

Lettura piacevole, scorrevole e perfetta per trascorrere un'ora senza pensieri.

Il prossimo libro, il primo della serie, vedrà protagonista Vaughn Reeves.

[ButtonsMom2003 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook Review:
Overall – 5
Performance – 5
Story – 5

I loved listening to this sweet with heat story; Alexander Cendese did a great job performing it.

Atlas feels like he has lost everything: his job, his home and he’s deep in debt. He’s ashamed to tell his parents what happened so he decides to do an audio recording for the archives the town is compiling.

Kai is facilitating the recordings and he inadvertently overhears Atlas’s heartbreaking recording. He decides to make a copy of it, delete the recording from the archives, and give the copy to Atlas. He lets Atlas know what he did and the two of them hit it off.

Wow, this story packed a punch for a relatively short novella; it got all of my emotions involved. Returning to Pine Ridge is a prequel for the new Pine Ridge series by Ana Ashley and I immediately had to move on to book one, The Hitman’s Last Job.

[Steven Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great start to a new series. This was great fun with rich characters and a scene set in Pine Ridge that is set to sustain a number of full length stories. Atlas returns home with secrets and lies that he has told so his family don't know that he lost his job, is in debt and effectively homeless. He meets Kai by accident after confessing the truth while recording a message for his parents anniversary. They both hit it off and find they really like each other. The join forces to stop a takeover of their town by the very company that sacked Atlas unfairly because he stood up with integrity for the truth. All good worthy stuff, but the relationship is very sweet. So the stage is set for more stories. I look forward to reading them all.

[Kelsey Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a quick but great read. Atlas was freaking out being home after having lost his job and the way he’s introduced to Kai was honestly kind of beautiful. Kai was super compassionate and such a nice guy who seemed to just know exactly what Atlas needed to hear. And I mean that in a good way, like he genuinely just cared about Atlas from their first interaction. The relationship between them built pretty fast but it felt completely natural and not rushed. The spice was fantastic and there was a perfect amount of it. I loved the way they worked together to protect Pine Ridge and this was just a really sweet small town romance and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Returning to Pine Ridge is a prequel novella for the upcoming new Pine Ridge Series. Following the story of Atlas and Kai who meet at Atlas’s parents anniversary party. It does a great job of delving into Atlas and Kai’s backstories and what brought them both to Pine Ridge. There’s great character development along with introducing several of the towns residents who will be prominent secondary characters. It also does a great job of showing how, if a small town does band together they can chase out of town the big developers who want to come in and exploit it and the residents.

[Cleonut · Rating 3 out of 5]

All seemed too rushed

I've enjoyed plenty of short stories before, but I really wasn't feeling this one. Things all seemed to happen in an unrealistically quick fashion. The main relationship and the big fight against the big corporation seemed way too pat. Wasn't really drawn to either main character. A must for me. First book I'm not really recommending, and I regularly enjoy Ana Ashley's books.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars. A lovely quick read with great characters. And a good introduction to a new series which I’m really looking forward to.

[Christina Sturgill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4/5 🌟
Spice: 2.5/5 🌶️
Characters: Atlas and Kai

I'm looking forward to this series.

[AL · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is brilliant and promises even more! Can’t wait to dig into the new series!
Audio: Great performance!

[Amy K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, sweet, a little sassy, a lot Hallmark-y, and very enjoyable.