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Ponderosa Resort: The Novellas

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The Ponderosa Resort Romantic Comedy Series invites you to small-town Central Oregon where two sisters work to get their reindeer ranch up and running while the siblings down the road transform their late father’s ranch into a luxury resort (all while getting to know each other because they grew up with different moms. Er, Dad got around). Fans of laughter, tears, and tingly bits will love this series from a USA Today bestselling author. This boxed set contains two standalone novellas that not only give you a glimpse of the Ponderosa Resort world, but introduce you to folks you'll be seeing again in the new Juniper Ridge Romantic Comedy Series.

About Mancandy Crush (novella 1)
A SPECIAL PONDEROSA RESORT NOVELLA!
Josh Mattis is totally over getting his heart stomped six years ago, so what’s with the mule kick to the chest when he spots the girl who ghosted him? Turns out she’s not his teenage fling, but her twin sister—and she needs a fake date to her cousin’s wedding.

Valerie Vincent would rather shove sewing needles in her eyes than have one more person tell her she needs adventure. All she needs is a quiet reading nook and a chance to enjoy Bree’s quirky Christmas nuptials in the summer sun at Ponderosa Resort. Okay, she’d also like to skip the pitying looks when her twin trots out her fab new fiancé, but Val can fix all that with one rugged river guide who’s happy to play her arm candy.

As Josh and Val bond over weird eggnog and messed-up mistletoe hunts, the July sun isn’t the only source of scorching heat. Will the past be a blast of icy cold reality, or can their fling last longer than a peppermint fudgesicle on a hot day?

About Snowbound Squeeze (novella 2)
A SPECIAL PONDEROSA RESORT NOVELLA!
Gable Judson needs a hideout. A safe place to escape the shambles of his Hollywood life. When college pal James Bracelyn offers a secret cabin an hour from Ponderosa Resort, Gable’s got the car pointed toward Oregon faster than paparazzi pouncing on a nip slip.

Gretchen Laslo needs a retreat. Not just to work on her PhD dissertation, but to flee the messy breakup that left her inner critic shouting “duh, girl.” Meeting sexy, mysterious Gabe the night before she leaves is just another reminder to stay focused on her brain, because her heart’s kind of a dumbass.

When a Bracelyn family mix-up collides with the worst storm to hit Central Oregon in years, Gretchen and Gable end up accidental roommates. Roommates without internet or TV or—God forbid—an ice cream maker. With both hiding secrets they’d rather not reveal, whatever will they do to pass the long winter nights?

279 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 17, 2020

442 people are currently reading
201 people want to read

About the author

Tawna Fenske

74 books1,618 followers
When Tawna Fenske finished her English lit degree at 22, she celebrated by filling a giant trash bag full of romance novels and dragging it everywhere until she’d read them all. Now she’s a RITA Award finalist, USA Today bestselling author who writes humorous fiction, risqué romance, and heartwarming love stories with a quirky twist. Publishers Weekly has praised Tawna’s offbeat romances with multiple starred reviews and noted, “There’s something wonderfully relaxing about being immersed in a story filled with over-the-top characters in undeniably relatable situations. Heartache and humor go hand in hand.”

Tawna lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband, step-kids, and a menagerie of ill-behaved pets. She loves hiking, snowshoeing, standup paddleboarding, and inventing excuses to sip wine on her back porch. She can peel a banana with her toes and loses an average of twenty pairs of eyeglasses per year. To find out more about Tawna and her books, visit www.tawnafenske.com.

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5 stars
120 (51%)
4 stars
63 (27%)
3 stars
40 (17%)
2 stars
7 (3%)
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3 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
Profile Image for Coco.V.
50k reviews135 followers
Want to read
June 14, 2020
🎁 FREE on Amazon today (6/14/2020)! 🎁
Profile Image for Stephanie Bolen.
2,170 reviews28 followers
July 27, 2020
Goofy and complicated

Apparently there is a giant family with all these various branches and friends. Then there are other families with a ton of members that marry into the first family. And there are also friends who know both families and everyone is falling in love and getting married. The first story is implausible for the simple fact that sisters can't date the same man. Don't care if it was a lifetime ago it's against code to date your sister's ex. No one wants to constantly compare themselves to their sibling they want to have their own thing--that goes double for partners. And Gabe is billed as a Rom com but there are only two scenes that are even slightly funny.
Profile Image for Stacy J..
1,345 reviews12 followers
July 23, 2020
Mancandy Crush

I could relate to Valerie on SO many levels. She isn't a risk taker. She is the reliable, think things through, cautious one of the bunch. Her twin sister is the more careless, free, crazy, adventure type of person. When Valerie finds out about some of the acclivities at the wedding, she planned on staying in her room. Until a mistake of identity and a hot charming man comes into the picture.

I loved Josh. My heart both burst and hurt for this man. He was a solid and reliable man. He did like to take risk but yet he knew his limitations and was smart about it. He was good at reading people so in his line of work, it was easy to push people out of their comfort zone but yet he knew when to back off or redirect.

When he opened up to Valerie, my heart broke for him. There were parts of this that I could very much relate too. I loved that Valerie stood up for him and told him how great he was despite what he had been told in the past.

Snowbound Squeeze

I enjoyed this book. I loved this series!

I really felt for Gable or Gabe. On the one hand I could understand his way of thinking and why he would want to keep things about himself a secret. But as time went on, I wanted to shake him. I just kept thinking that this is going to end badly for you. He is a wonderful and kind man but he was letting his past taint his possible future.

I adored Gretchen. She is this slightly awkward extremely busy woman who just wanted a quiet place to work and study her animals. What she got was one hot male. I loved that she felt at ease around him. I especially loved that she named her appliances. For some reason this just resonated with me.
937 reviews7 followers
August 22, 2021
I was going to shelve this as fantasy-- but decided to keep it with Romance. Gretchen is a graduate student that is gun shy around men due to poor choices and being lied to by these men. She came to the resort to hide out in a cabin and do research on the elusive fox in the area. She is a bit quirky- naming her appliances such as her electric ice cream maker and her electric ice cream scoop. Gabe/Gable is a movie director and action actor in a film showing the horrors of violence in his latest picture and is hiding out in one of the cabins that just happens to be near Gretchen. Due to a mistake with their families they get the same keys to the same cabin and a massive snow storm hits! A pine tree falls blocking them in the cabin. No spoilers but this is a story of secrets and how to open up. Also about forgiving others and yourself! Enjoy!
472 reviews1 follower
September 23, 2020
Two books in this boxed set. 1.. Mancandy Crush. An enjoyable light read, with humous banter.
1. Snowbound Squeeze. This was my favourite of the two, as the banter was so way out there, especially when Gabe had to answer the Questionarie, whilst holed up in a blanket cave with Gretchen. His answers had me in stitches, and one in particular had me doubled up laughing. I am still giggling at his reply two days later...... Well worth a read if you need to lighten up during this pandemic lock down.

I have enjoyed these reads so much that I have ordered another one, this time from the off shoot series, Juniper Ridge - Show Time. Which I will start this afternoon.

Well worth 4 stars just for the humour a lone.
1,838 reviews19 followers
August 22, 2020
Ponderosa resort

A good read for people who are in to the series recommend highly can't wait for the next one of the series a really enjoyable read but quick shaping up to be a enjoyable series must read the next one of the series a love reading about couples snowed in together
60 reviews
August 22, 2020
Uggg

This us a 2 story novella, both are like high school relationships. In love and lust immediately and then have the childish misunderstanding. The 2nd one, the h didn't watch any TV or movies or current events, because she was so traumatized as a child by Bambie's mom dying.
Profile Image for Linda Buzard-Moffitt.
662 reviews18 followers
March 17, 2021
Ponderosa Resort Novellas

This book was two quick read novellas in the Ponderosa Resort Series. I enjoyed reading these they were like 2 more complete stories for the series with great characters and a Happily Ever After ending just shorter of course.
4,925 reviews10 followers
June 29, 2020
Good read

Nice little duet of novellas. Kind of sweet yet with a decent story attached to each. Can be read as standalone or tasters of the bigger series.
Profile Image for Angie.
2,481 reviews3 followers
June 29, 2020
Loved both of these books! Loving this series! Josh and Valerie were so cute! Gable and Gretchen were funny too!
252 reviews4 followers
August 9, 2020
Great read. Lots of great humor in these Ponderosa books. Loved the characters.
18 reviews
December 27, 2020
Good Reading

At first I thought the book was a bit slow going. But I gave it a chance and was glad I did. Loved how the story finally panned out and grabbed me.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews

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