Fall Too Well

Cozy Creek Collection #2

by Erin Branscom, Lila Winters (Narrator), Marcio Catalano (Narrator)

8 hours, 22 minutes

Fall Too Well is a spicy, second chance, workplace romance between a single mom and a sexy, smitten, broody cowboy.

I should’ve married my childhood best friend, but I chose another man. Now I’m a single mom, back in my hometown trying to make ends meet, and he is my new boss…

The moment our eyes meet, I know I’m the last woman on earth Nash McCreedy wants to see. Now we’re forced to work together and face old memories I’ve avoided for years.

Everywhere I look, he’s there, and it doesn’t help that he’s the only man I’ve ever loved. I ignore him and the bubbling feelings for as long as I can, but fail.

Lines are crossed and we work on rebuilding our relationship and broken hearts. When I think we might actually have a chance at forever, my ex wreaks havoc on my life, sabotaging whatever he can. But Nash is there for me, saving me, something he does (f)all too well.

Genres: Romance, Autumn, Audiobook, Contemporary Romance, Second Chance, Small Town Romance, Contemporary

Audiobook

Published May 20, 2026

About the author

Sign up for Erin’s newsletter so you don’t miss any freebies: https://bit.ly/42KXO30
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.

FOLLOW ERIN:
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@erinbranscoma...
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erinbranscom...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinbransco...

Reviews

[Kathryn Grace Stephenson · Rating 2 out of 5]

okay i thought i liked this at the beginning and then it just got bad. there wasn’t much dialogue and the internal dialogue was SO repetitive and SO cringey. loved the fall vibes, but this was not a well written book by a mile. everly even being with richie made absolutely no sense and it honestly annoyed me when she started blaming nash for stuff out of nowhere about 75% through—it was completely out of character. i wanted to enjoy this so much more than i did

[Adrienne Greto · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m so mortified writing this, but this was one of the most poorly written books I’ve ever read. I feel SO terrible but I just don’t want others to waste their time. The caliber of writing was so low. I’m honestly shocked it even got published.

[Jen ♥]

Self note:


- Second chance romance
- Single mom
- Childhood crush (fmc on mmc, and apparently still)
- Reformed bad boy (what does this even mean???)

============================

Okaaaay, so I couldn't wait. 😂 I had to search it for myself because skipping a book in a series is bothering me a lot. But this is a second chance, and there's nothing more I avoid like the plague than this trope. 🫣 See receipts below about their past and some about his present.


At 5%
"He treated me, at best, like a pesky friend to his little sister who was off-limits and broke my heart on a regular basis. Most of the time, he didn’t even know he was doing it. He’d do it by dating and screwing any girl in town and ignoring me."

"After high school, I bravely confided in him right before I left for college that I loved him, and he told me that I was too young even though he’s only two years older than Hayley and me. Looking back, he was wild then. There’s no way we’d have made anything serious work. Nash seemed like he couldn’t be tamed. He was more into partying and getting into trouble. I didn’t want that with Nash. I didn’t want to be just another girl to him. I wanted to be the girl."


At 8%
“You didn’t want me when I left for college. Why would you want me now that I’m pregnant with another guy’s baby? A guy you hate.”
“I was waiting for you!” he’d shouted, making me jump. I’d never seen him look this anguished and upset.
“No, you weren’t, Nash. You were busy being the town fuck boy. You were not waiting for me,” I’d said angrily. And the look on his face when I’d said that to him still haunts me today."

"His words, telling me that he was waiting for me, slashed into me like a thousand tiny knives, shredding my heart because his words never matched his actions. Not when he didn’t give me the time of day. There hadn’t been any waiting around at all."


At 14%
"Work is what keeps me busy and sane at this point. I try to work away the feelings for the woman I can’t have. In some ways, I had always dreamed that maybe she’d return to Cozy Creek and see what I’d done with my life. Perhaps she’d be proud of me in some stupid way. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love Everly. Every little memory of her was like a million paper cuts to my soul. Everly is love. She’s the person who will always make me feel like she’s connected to me in every way. She’s like a piece of my soul, and I feel whole when she’s near me. I can’t remember a point in my childhood when she wasn’t a part of the memories. After high school, I was busy getting into trouble, into fights, then later working at the pub, then straightening up and going to horse farrier training, doing my apprenticeship, and figuring out my shit. By the time I pulled my head out, I’d lost Everly, and it was my fault. I fucked it all up, and there’s no way to unfuck it up now. Everly got pregnant in college and married the town asshat and son of an even bigger asshat, Richard Sullivan."


At 21%
"I spend more time with my hand than a woman because I can’t do casual sex with random women anymore."

"I have tried to move on and find someone to settle down with. Believe me, I’ve tried. I can’t settle down with anyone because they aren’t Everly. No one will ever be like her or mean as much as she means to me."


At 33%
"I’m not a hookup kind of guy anymore, especially with one who does it in my pub regularly with so many others. My town fuck boy reputation isn’t as valid as Everly once thought it was. The truth is, I haven’t dated or been with a woman in months. Since before Everly came back."


I'm still searching and skimming, so I might or might not update this...


============================
I read from one review that he rejected her; that's why she ended up with her ex-husband. Since I haven't decided if I'm going to read this, I'm going to assume that's because she's younger than him and is best friends with his younger sister.

In all the books in this series, this is the only one I'm 50-50 because of the second chance and unrequited love.

I need spoilers and safety deets. 🤷‍♀️

[Erin Branscom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second Chance
Reformed bad boy
Grumpy Pub Owner
Single Mom Librarian
Small Town Romance

Coming 8.26.24

Cozy Creek is one of SIX standalone cozy autumn romantic comedies with all the comfy and fun fall vibes. Order yours today!

[Olivia Riley · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book holds the world record for occurrences of the word “shrimp”

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was...a bit of thing. Look, you have to know what you're going into when you read this book. It's basically a fall hallmark movie in book form. The conflicts are overly simplistic and solved almost immediately, the romance goes from hello again to we're in love in 2 pages, and the whole town plus people in it are absurdly over the top kindness and goodness with no flaws.

If you're looking for any depth whatsoever or any realism whatsoever, this isn't the book for you. For me, it just felt all a bit too underdeveloped. I don't mind sticky sweet like this book but not having any depth whatsoever was a chore.

I also got the ALC for this book and I would not recommend it. I really didn't care for the ALC at all. My biggest gripe on this one was the female narrator when she was doing the voice for Mack. He is described as an older man with an Irish accent. I think it might have been the worst Irish accent I've ever heard. But both narrators, there was just a lack of emotion. Felt like it was being read instead of narrated if that makes sense.

It is what it is. Know what you want out of this book before you read it. It's not deep, it's not complex, it's sugary sweet, and has the barest open door spice (think 2.5/5). Three stars.

I received the ARC from Avon and the ALC from Libro.fm. Thank you to both for these gifts.

[MikaylasBookNook · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up for goodreads. It was cute and gave me the fun fall vibes. I just wish it being a second chance romance there was more. It was very instalove.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just something sweet about a good childhood friends to lovers romance. Wrong time, too early miscommunication and now we are here. The slow burn to start with and the will they wont they was lovely tension !! Loved getting to see Everly wake up to see what being loved and adored really looked like. A second chance never looked so good.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I just hated fall without you” 🥹🥹

Gilmore Girl vibes ✅
Cowboy romance ✅
Taylor Swift references ✅
Found Family ✅
Second Chance Romance ✅
Best friend’s brother ✅
Fall vibes ✅

This book absolutely blew me away. I ate this up so quick. Give me fall, give me cowboys. I’m so excited to read the rest of the books set in this sweet little town. Fall to Well was the perfect introduction for me to this world with the cozy vibes and all of my favorite tropes.

Don’t miss out on the Cozy Creek Collection

[Heather | the sacred library]

2 gilmore girls, 1 taylor swift, 1 yellowstone and 1 titanic reference in the first 9 pages is diabolical. instant dnf.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

ERIN. I swear every book gets better.
I cried, laughed, was pisssseddddd, and swooning.

As a single mom, this book truly hit me so deep. Every is so so relatable and I saw so much of myself in her. I shared the same fears as her, the same joys and the same sadness. I feel like if you’re a single parent and an avid reader it is a REQUIREMENT to read this book.

It felt like the biggest warm hug after the worst sadness. It gives the perfect amount of fall, family and just joy with the added tension and sadness through a major plot line / set of characters.

I was absolutely SOBBING when Richie did his big one at about 87% (IYKYK, i try to keep my reviews as spoiler free as possible) - as a single parent to a man who is quite similar to Richie, if not worse, this is absolutely one of my biggest fears and the way her found family just swooped in to back her up warmed my heart.

AND NASH’S PART OF THE EPILOGUE ARE YOU KIDDING ME. I was tearing up. I absolutely loved all these characters.

It’s giving sound family, second chance romance, small town romance, single mom / reformed bad boy, and ALLLLL the fall vibes. 🍁

[Brianna Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can’t lie I struggled to get through this one. I’ve enjoyed a few of her other books, but this one was a bit of a let down which I hate to say. The fall vibes felt a little too forced & repetitive and the story fell flat. There wasn’t a whole lot of character development and the writing didn’t keep me engaged. The spice was also kind of cringey. The only character I semi-liked was Hayley. I did enjoy the small town vibes & strong sense of found family which is prominent in all of her books. I wish I could have enjoyed this one more. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 for the cover

[Bertie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the overall autumnal vibes of this book, but unfortunately it missed the mark for me as a whole.

The dialogue feels very unnatural, and in some areas the prose really does not flow.

The pacing of the book in general also felt very off, squeezing larger action scenes into a single chapter, and overall moving too quickly to be believable.

Lastly, I will say that the possessiveness of the male character at times felt very forced and almost creepy. Several times whilst reading I had to stop and really think about his actions and try to contextualise them, and still felt the same.

[Catie Cunningham · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just no. This is like reading a book with half of the pages missing. Love the fall vibes but I literally had to go back and re-read pages thinking I missed something

[casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐️

thank you to libro.fm and the publisher for the alc.

⋆˙⟡ tropes ⟡˙⋆
🤠 cowboy hero
⛈️ grumpy x sunshine
🐴 single mom
📚 friends to lovers
🔥 slow burn
🍂 workplace proximity
🌄 second chance

⋆˙⟡ thoughts ⟡˙⋆
a cute cozy read for the upcoming fall season. i adored nash, especially for how he treated everly’s daughter willow 🥹 her ex on the other hand? yuck. he made me so frustrated with how he was treating her and handling the situation. i really loved hayley, nash’s sister and everly’s best friend. she was awesome.

i willl say while i did enjoy it, it did feel cringe at times and the dialogue felt a little forced/unnatural at times.

⋆˙⟡ synopsis ⟡˙⋆
returning to her hometown to make ends meet, everly doesn’t expect her childhood friend to become her boss nash (when she should have married him). now they are forced to work together, with old memories resurfacing.

🎧audio: the narrators did a great job at bringing the characters to life.

[Magically Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Libro.fm for the ALC of “Fall Too Well”.

Lila and Marcio did such a good job with this narration. Their tone was perfect for all the sad, happy and spicy moments. I highly recommend this as an audio or immersive read.

"Weird way to propose, but yes"

💭My Thoughts
I was in the mood for a cute fall read and this book delivered!! There is nothing better than a man stepping in to protect both girls. And what a waste of a "dad" for Willow. I am so glad she seemed to be over him and ready for her new life with her mom.

Everly is strong and like most who are in an abusive style relationship she did second guess her choices a lot. And that was rough, I was in her corner the whole time and while she made mistakes I like how she was able to take time and then apologize and realize what had happened.

Nash was just perfection. I mean he was flawed but those flaws made him so much better. The way he stepped up to protect Everly and Willow and the town was just chef's kiss.

❣️Tropes❣️
Contemporary
Single Mom
Small Town
Second Chance
Childhood Friends to Lovers
Found Family
Slow Burn
Yearning

🩵RATING🩵
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25
Spice Level: 🌶️
Length: 304 Pages
Publisher: Avon and Harper Voyager

🎧 Narration 8h 22m at 2x
🎙️Lila Winters and Marcio Catalano
Narration Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Publisher: Podium Audio
Listened via Libro.fm

"We hate to see you go, but love to watch you leave"

[Kyleigh | alltheroseyreads · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for a cute, quick, fun fall read and this just wasn’t it for me. Way too cringy with very minimal character development. I wasn’t rooting for any of the characters and found myself bored most of the time.

[Cláudia Oliveira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Demasiado perfeito. O sonho mesmo! 🤍✌🏼

[Reading with Dany · Rating 2.25 out of 5]

Mmm, I don’t even know where to start… here I go, I guess.

I wish I had DNF’d this, but I had already used a whole page in my journal for it, so I decided to finish it. This was really confusing.

First, I’m being told that Everly is Hailey’s best friend and is in love with her brother, Nash, but he’s the town fuckboy and never really paid attention to her. And then, suddenly, when she leaves with the rich guy because she’s pregnant ✨, Nash is begging her to stay with him???

So apparently they were always best friends too, but… the chapter before you were telling me that Nash never even paid attention to her??? Like, what?

If I gave this two stars, I’m pretty sure one of them is for the cover because it’s genuinely so beautiful, but the story… no.

I genuinely think this had SO much potential. It had basically all the tropes I love, but honestly, no. It threw in so many different plotlines and conflicts that were resolved the very next day, and it became so overwhelming. I barely had time to process one thing before there was another plot twist, another conflict, and another resolution.

I really wanted to like this one, but unfortunately… no. 🫩

[Danielle Schneider · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got bored after 200 pages

[1000_books_1000_lives · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hrmmm I liked and disliked this one- the constant internal monologues got very repetitive but it was a cute story- needless drama for the sake of needless drama- felt like a lot was being done to fill the pages without substance but the characters were likeable enough to finish

[Alysha · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book feels like a student wrote it- I had to fill in so many gaps and jump around to understand some of the storyline. Just overall a very meh read.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, I think Fall Too Well is officially my favorite of the Cozy Creek series so far. 🍂🤎

Everly and Nash’s story just worked for me. I really liked the second-chance/friends-to-lovers setup, especially knowing these two had so much history and so many feelings that never really went away. Add in the small-town fall setting, cozy vibes, a little spice, and the Gilmore Girls references and this one definitely felt like the most “Cozy Creek” of the books I’ve read so far.

I also really loved the found family aspect. Everly has been through a lot between her marriage, losing her mom, and the complicated relationship with her dad, so seeing the McCreedys continue to love her and Willow like they were completely their own was probably one of my favorite parts of the story. 🥹

And Nash…sir. 😂 He was so protective of Everly and Willow without making it feel like he was trying to swoop in and fix everything for her. You could tell how much he loved them both, and I really liked watching that little family come together.

There were definitely some heavier moments mixed in with all the cozy fall romance, especially with Everly’s ex, but overall this had the romance, emotion, humor, spice, and small-town atmosphere I was hoping for.

Definitely my favorite of the Cozy Creek series so far. 🍁🤎

[Jamie Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow this book made me wish it was fall right now not summer time in west Texas 🥵This book has a little bit of everything I love. If you love fall vibes, and a Luke Danes MMC please read this book. 🍂🍁☕️I adore Erin’s writing and I was so happy to receive an ARC of Fall Too Well! This book will be released August 26th and will be available on Kindle Unlimited!!! 🙌 Erin has another amazing series called Freedom Valley and if you love small town, found family then Erin is your girl!! 🩷 cannot wait to read the rest of the books in this series and rewatch Gilmore Girls!

[Fenne · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

(3.5)

It felt like halfway through there was a drop in quality and then it went back to normal. Very cute though

[SheCozyAndLit · Rating 1 out of 5]

How can a book be slow AND rushed at the same time?! 😭

This definitely gave me slow burn in the beginning, but it felt a little too drawn out for me. I kept waiting for it to really CLICK.

Then once it finally did, I was like HOLD UP??? Because suddenly everything started happening so fast! I went from “okayyy, when are we getting somewhere?” to “WAIT, slow down, how did we get HERE?!” Not gonna lie a bit cringe

I didnt like it and the pacing really threw me off. And now I’m having an internal battle because do I actually want to keep this book… or do I only want to keep it because those sprayed edges are cute? 😭📚
The bookshelf is fighting for its life.

[Cierra Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second Erin Branscom book, I loved it as much as I loved the first. I was so excited to read this book, Fall is my favorite season. I was living for the vibes in this book. Second chances and friends to lovers. I was sold. I finished this book in one day. I have zero regrets.

Nash, I love how much you love Every. Thats the kind of man we all deserve. One who only has eyes for his girl. Well .... girls now. Willow stole all of our hearts. Who couldn't love that kid. She's perfection. And Hayley?? I can't freaking wait to hear what her story leads too. I wanna see our girl happy. Especially after she supported our girl Every.

My dearest Every. Richie was a tool. His parents even worse. You deserve the world. Providing for Willow and protecting that little girl at all costs is important. You deserve Nash. That family took you in as a kid and never let go. You are a McCreedy. So is Willow. I hope to hear bits and pieces of your story when we read Hayley's story.

If you love fall. Love a cute HEA. Live for a couple who is madly in love with each other and always has been. This is the story. It's part of a collection of Cozy fall stories. Check out our other lovely authors. They worked hard to give us extra special fall vibes.

[Mikayla · Rating 1 out of 5]

Everly and Nash had the same thoughts of “I love him” and “I love her” and had no depth to them. I had to constantly go back and see who’s chapter I was reading because they both had the same voice

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 3 for Goodreads. This writing is so repetitive it hurts sometimes, it sounds like my college discussion forums when I was trying to make word count. “He looked at me, I looked at him, we were looking at each other and nothing else because we were only looking at each other” kind of things. Cute story but twas painful

[Martina Dušková · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t even explain how much I loved this book. It was sweet, funny and autumny, and of course I love a Swiftie lyric here and there.

Most of all, every character acted absolutely reasonably, which is a nice contrast to the toxic bad communication so many books are full of. I never had to think “god, just have a talk!” The author also didn’t drag out the time when they actually weren’t talking, so I didn’t have to suffer through it.

I must admit that midway through I was so scared of what was going to go wrong. But even in conflict, all the characters acted maturely and out of their past trauma. Thanks to that, I didn’t hate any of the main characters for a second, and it made this the perfect relaxing autumn read.

I expected Everly to be upset about the lie Nash was pulling, and I spent the whole book thinking that would be the entire plot. It pulled me in even more when I realised it wasn’t the case.

I also related to the main female character, because she could easily have been me. The house was described like my dream home. And of course Nash was just perfect. I love me a walking green flag of a man who can appreciate “All Too Well.” (and the way he filled Everly's autumn bucket list was just awwww).

The only downside I could find was that some things were a bit repetitive, but I’m willing to be okay with that because of everything above. The book gives you everything it promises: a cozy autumn romance to relax with while sipping your pumpkin spice latte.

I felt like the author and I could be instant besties. Coffee, books, dogs, autumn, Taylor Swift, and she clearly has good taste in men too. The way she compared the male characters to dog breeds was exactly my thing and I will definitely be looking out for more of her books!