Once Upon a Time in Dollywood

AN INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER ∙ A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK ∙ AN NPR 2025 BOOK WE LOVE ∙ AN AMAZON BEST ROMANCE BOOK OF THE MONTH!

“A moving, captivating, beautiful debut! I can’t wait for the whole world to read it."—Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of Flirting Lessons

A playwright must grapple with her difficult year and writer's block while falling for the single dad living next door in this emotional debut novel from Ashley Jordan.

Eve Ambroise may be a rising star playwright, but her personal life is falling part. Desperate for a fresh start, she breaks up with her fiancé, cuts off her parents, and heads to the Tennessee mountains. But keeping up the lie that she’s just on a writing retreat becomes near impossible when faced with the well-meaning townspeople and a neighbor who has just as much baggage as she has.


Coming off a contentious custody battle, Jamie Gallagher is restructuring what his life looks like as a single dad, and spending more days at his cabin makes his new “free time” a little less empty. Especially when he meets the beautiful—and prickly—woman next door. The last thing he needs is a new romance to shake up his family dynamics even more, but there’s something about Eve.


What starts out as a fling quickly becomes more serious, and it’s not long before Eve is running scared once again. She’s loved and lost in every possible way, and risking it one more time could finally break her. But like the fireflies that fill the mountains around them, Jamie's and Eve’s lives keep falling into sync. A fairy-tale ending could be in the cards, but only if the new couple can get out of their heads and put their hearts first.

“An entertaining, sexy novel that boldly explores trauma and healing yet still manages to be laugh-out-loud funny”—Library Journal STARRED review