Jess K. Hardy

Readers' Favorite 2022 honorable mention for ROMANCE - FANTASY/SCI-FI ON THIS DEEP SPACE PLEASURE CRUISE, LOVE IS IN THE RECYCLED AIR Sunny never expected to find love in deep space. But when Freddie, a former one-night stand, joins the crew of her infamous interstellar pleasure cruise, she’s thrown into a tailspin of unexpected feels. Despite her personal rules about workplace romance, the two soon find themselves irresistibly drawn to each other. But when a hostile species puts the entire known universe at risk, Sunny and Freddie must make a life-changing decision. Will they risk it all for love and fight for their future together? Or will the gravity of their pasts keep them apart? Set against the backdrop of a deep space pleasure cruise through a neighboring solar system, this steamy, emotional, heart-pounding series is perfect for fans of Honey Phillips and Ruby Dixon. Content notes/tropes: Loss of a child (prior to events of this book but the loss is discussed/processed), workplace, one-night stand>coworker, trauma bonding. "Offers irresistible characters and a fast-paced story that deftly balances action and passion." -KIRKUS REVIEWS

He’ll win her heart one mixtape at a time. 46-year-old Ashley Cooke will do just about anything to save her struggling ski hill. When she hires the men from a local sober living home for the season to cut costs, even she thinks she’s gone too far. With her credit cards maxed, her cheating ex-husband intent on buying the mountain out from under her, and record-breaking snow in the forecast, she can’t afford to be distracted by the six-foot-tall bearded and tattooed sober living home owner moving onto her mountain. 53-year-old recovering addict and ex-grunge rocker Matthew Madigan has devoted every minute of the last decade to the men residing at his sober living home. When he meets tightly wound and adorably flustered Ashley, desires he’s put on the back burner for years start to simmer. Immune to his infamous albeit rusty charm, Ashley presents a challenge he can’t resist. When she offers to give him skiing lessons in exchange for his help training her St. Bernard rescue dog, he jumps at the chance to ride next to her on the chairlift despite his debilitating fear of heights. During bunny hill shenanigans, chairlift confessions, and steamy cabin serenades, Madigan teaches Ashley that a person’s past doesn’t define them, and Ashley shows Madigan that the men he helps aren’t the only people who deserve a second chance. When sabotage threatens both the men and the mountain, Ashley and Madigan will have to decide if they’re only having a winter fling, or if the mountain isn’t the only thing worth fighting for. Content Notes: Addiction, divorce, mourning loss of parent

On this deep space pleasure cruise, love is in the recycled airAs the hospitality specialist aboard an infamously debauched interstellar pleasure cruise, Sunastara Nex never mixes work with pleasure. But she knows more than most how little the universe cares for rules and order. For the most worlds-shattering one-night stand of her life just became the newest member of her crew.Freddie is as gorgeous as she remembered, still unbearably tempting, and still very interested. Unfortunately, he’s also strictly off limits. Until he comes up with the wildest seduction strategy this side of the wormhole.But while Sunny and Freddie hide their romance in a world of make-believe, a very real threat puts their ship and possibly the entire Known Universe at risk. Faced with the unknown, they’ll have to decide whether they’ll fight for a future together, or let the gravity of their pasts tear them apart.

A Fated Mates Best Romance Book of 2024! Meet Cole Sanderson: 54-year-old drummer, brand new grandpa, Madigan's best friend, charismatic golden retriever, phenomenal flirt, and your new book boyfriend. It’s official, Mira Harlow has finally lost it. Between running her small-town bakery, parenting her 14-year-old son, and taking care of her mom, she’s a stretched-thin mess. But kissing a total—and very sexy—stranger before begging him to be her date to Ashley and Madigan’s wedding just so her ex won’t see how lonely she really is? That’s a new level of chaos, even for her. The last thing drummer Cole Sanderson expects when he drives into the small ski town of Red Falls, MT is to score a date to his best friend’s wedding. But since his life in Seattle is stagnating, when the gorgeous, green-eyed bakery owner propositions him to be her long-distance boyfriend, stirring his punk-shenanigans roots to their core, he doesn’t even hesitate to tell her, “Hell yes!” Mira hopes for a fun night with her fake date, but when their wedding weekend turns into a genuine connection, when Cole returns to Seattle and she tries to go back to her normal life, she can’t help but wonder if she missed out on something real. But Cole isn’t done with her yet, and when he finds his way back to Red Falls, she’ll have to decide what’s more important, holding down her world, or taking a risk, embracing the chaos, and maybe even falling in love. Lips Like Sugar is book 2 in the Bluebird Basin Romance series but can absolutely be read as a standalone. This story features two main characters in their fifties, lots of laughs, plenty of open-door steam, and so many butterflies. Content notes: Living with and caring for a parent with mild cognitive impairment, addiction, relapse, an unhealthy ex, grown men deeply in their feels, strong friendships, conversations about love languages, and an absurd amount of Say Anything references, including a steamy riff on the airplane seatbelt sign scene…

Fake Date. Real Feels. It’s official, Mira Harlow has finally lost it. Between running her small-town bakery, parenting her 14-year-old son, and taking care of her mom, she’s a stretched-thin mess. But kissing a total—and very sexy—stranger before begging him to be her date to Ashley and Madigan’s wedding just so her ex won’t see how lonely she really is? That’s a new level of chaos, even for her. The last thing drummer Cole Sanderson expects when he drives into the small ski town of Red Falls, MT is to score a date to his best friend’s wedding. But since his life in Seattle is stagnating, when the gorgeous, green-eyed bakery owner propositions him to be her long-distance boyfriend, stirring his punk-shenanigans roots to their core, he doesn’t even hesitate to tell her, “Hell yes!” Mira hopes for a fun night with her fake date, but when their wedding weekend turns into a genuine connection, when Cole returns to Seattle and she tries to go back to her normal life, she can’t help but wonder if she missed out on something real. But Cole isn’t done with her yet, and when he finds his way back to Red Falls, she’ll have to decide what’s more important, holding down her world, or taking a risk, embracing the chaos, and maybe even falling in love. Lips Like Sugar is book 2 in the Bluebird Basin Romance series but can absolutely be read as a standalone. This story features two main characters in their fifties, lots of laughs, plenty of open-door steam, and so many butterflies. Content notes: Living with and caring for a parent with mild cognitive impairment, addiction, relapse, an unhealthy ex, grown men deeply in their feels, strong friendships, conversations about love languages, and an absurd amount of Say Anything references, including a steamy riff on the airplane seatbelt sign scene…

Once upon a time, I was Nona May Taylor, a twenty-three-year-old folk singer on a collision course with stardom. Until a jealous witch cursed me into old age so she could steal my career. Now I’m hiding out in my grandpa’s cabin in the Montana wilderness, nursing my aching joints and shaving my old lady beard while the witch climbs the charts as one of the world’s biggest pop stars. It sounds tragic, but the weird thing is, it’s really not so bad. The cabin is peaceful. I have my family and my agent—even though the witch cursed them too. I have my eccentric neighbors—even though they live ten miles away. And I have Charlie, the adorable hiker I’m nursing back to health after he fell in my woods. Charlie has no idea who I used to be. To him, I’m just a quirky geriatric recluse. But sometimes the way he looks at me, it’s like he sees me, the real me under the wrinkles. When the witch said only true love could break the curse, I figured it was just another one of her tricks. But when I looked in the mirror this morning, my skin was smoother and there were strands of brown threaded through my silver hair. It must be my imagination. Charlie and I barely know each other. I’m old enough to be his grandmother, sort of. There’s no possible way he’s my one true love! So why am I swooning while he plays my old songs on my guitar? Why is he laughing at all my terrible jokes? Why can’t I shake the feeling that I’ve known him for years? And why is the witch suddenly back on my doorstep? Beat the heat with this snowy, witchy, gender-flipped Beauty and the Beast retelling with tons of heart, lots of laughs, and plenty of steam!

A sweet and steamy Valentine's Day novella that's perfect for fans of a little bit of magic with their romance! Kissie Mitchell had always kept her life in order with a strict set of rules - until she met Andrew Trig. When Kissie arrives at Mystic Hot Springs in the remote town of Twin Hearts, Montana for a Valentine's Day getaway with her best friend, she's determined to find a rebound guy and put her ex behind her. But she never expected her plan to be complicated by the resort's sweet and smoking hot bartender. Trig, with his soulful brown eyes, thick beard, and Keanu Reeves good looks, is an unexpected temptation Kissie can't resist. As the sexual tension between them steams up, Kissie must decide if a single night will send her running away, or if sometimes moving on means staying right where you are.

She thought she could forget him. He’ll never stop trying to prove she shouldn’t. Davis Thompson had never been so happy or so in love as she was with Kevin Lowes. Until his relapse shattered their world. After finding him at his lowest, in a moment that will haunt her forever, she’s convinced he’d not only chosen drugs over her. But he’d chosen another woman too. Now she’s trying to rebuild her life, wanting desperately to move on and figure out who she is and what she wants without him. There’s only one problem: Kev is returning to Bluebird Basin. After a brutal rebab stay, Kev is determined to recommit to his recovery and win back the only woman he’s ever loved. But when he realizes the depth of the pain he caused and the secrets Davis has kept to protect him from himself, he wonders if it’s too late. More broken than he’s ever been, Kev finds unexpected healing while working with a wild mustang whose invisible scars match his.But Bluebird Basin is a small ski hill, and as Kev and Davis continually cross paths, old wounds reopen and sparks reignite. Davis doesn’t know if she can trust Kev again. And Kev must confront his darkest fears and deepest regrets if he wants to prove to her that a second chance with him is worth fighting for. Wish You Were Here is book 3 in the Bluebird Basin Romance series but can be read as a standalone. Although reading the first two books is recommended. Content notes: Relapse, discussions of drug use, discussions of abuse. Tropes: second chance romance, relationship in trouble, forced proximity, reformed bad boy, hurt/comfort, redemption romance, animal as a mirror, small-town romance, high angst, pining/groveling.

Once upon a time, I was Nona May Taylor, a twenty-three-year-old folk singer on a collision course with stardom. Until a jealous witch cursed me into old age so she could steal my career. Now I’m hiding out in my grandpa’s cabin in the Montana wilderness, nursing my aching joints and shaving my old lady beard while the witch climbs the charts as one of the world’s biggest pop stars.It sounds tragic, but the weird thing is, it’s really not so bad. The cabin is peaceful. I have my family and my agent—even though the witch cursed them too. I have my eccentric neighbors—even though they live ten miles away. And I have Charlie, the adorable hiker I’m nursing back to health after he fell in my woods. Charlie has no idea who I used to be. To him, I’m just a quirky geriatric recluse. But sometimes the way he looks at me, it’s like he sees me, the real me under the wrinkles.When the witch said only true love could break the curse, I figured it was just another one of her tricks. But when I looked in the mirror this morning, my skin was smoother and there were strands of brown threaded through my silver hair. It must be my imagination. Charlie and I barely know each other. I’m old enough to be his grandmother, sort of. There’s no possible way he’s my one true love! So why am I swooning while he plays my old songs on my guitar? Why is he laughing at all my terrible jokes? Why can’t I shake the feeling that I’ve known him for years? And why is the witch suddenly back on my doorstep?Beat the heat with this snowy, witchy, gender-flipped Beauty and the Beast retelling with tons of heart, lots of laughs, and plenty of steam!