CANR
WORK TITLE: Zoe Brennan, First Crush
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://www.laurapiperlee.com/
CITY: Philadelphia
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
LAST VOLUME:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Has a partner; children: one son.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Attorney and writer. Practices law.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
[open new]A lawyer by day, Laura Piper Lee is also an unabashed author of spicy and sapphic romantic comedies. She was raised in rural Georgia alongside two siblings by a single mother, with family resources limited. She was writing stories and plays by second grade, but even winning contests and awards did not ingrain the idea that she could make a career as a writer. Earning enough money to provide for a future family was her top priority. Not until she had reached a comfortable position practicing law did she cater to her impulse to write, and with aplomb. About her vocation versus her avocation, Lee told Elise Dumpleton of the Nerd Daily, “While I practice law as my day job, I am a deeply unserious person. Writing romantic comedies full of jokes, swoons, and laughter is an amazing release for all my deeply silly thoughts.” She added, “I’ve always been a romantic and a life-long flirt. I figure all those exes and heartbreak have to be good for something! I also love how hopeful romance as a genre inherently is.” Alongside writing, Lee has enjoyed an array of creative pursuits and diversions in the course of her life, including drawing, graphic design, singing, composing, acting, cosplay, and interior design.
Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair, Lee’s debut novel, finds thirtysomething Hannah Tate just getting into the swing of things as mother of three-month old Bowie along with musician boyfriend Killian. Her chance discovery of a ring in his closet spurs visions of marrying and seriously settling down—but then he uses date night to dump her. Coincidentally fired from her Atlanta-area disaster communications job (while on maternity leave, no less), Hannah is ready to skip town: she heads to the mountains and rustic Blue Ridge, where she seizes the chance to renovate her mom and stepdad’s cabin into a vacation rental to help them keep financially afloat. On hand to help out is neighbor River Aronson, a carpenter who quit corporate America to live in a self-built treehouse, do yoga shirtless, and set Hannah’s heart aflame. Wary of daring a new relationship at first, Hannah is ready to drop her defenses, and so forth, after an apple-festival hayride for the ages.
Lee’s debut is semiautobiographical, as she herself, when her son was a baby, helped her parents renovate a mountain cabin—called Honey Bear Hollow—to rent out through Airbnb. In a review for Library Journal, Shanel Slater found both the protagonist and supporting cast “vibrant and fully developed” and hailed the novel as the “perfect balm for millennial new mothers learning to navigate love and life after having a baby.” A Kirkus Reviews writer found that in view of Hannah’s maternal hijinks, “readers will easily root for her victories in love, life, and motherhood.” The reviewer hailed Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair as “witty and heartwarming, a refreshing take on family dynamics and loving yourself first.”
Lee’s second novel, Zoe Brennan, First Crush, centers a side character from her debut. Running Bluebell Vineyards along with her vintner father in memory of her bygone mother, Zoe Brennan faces a daunting challenge when her father departs for Italy to be with his own dying mother. Zoe is hoping to one-up friend-turned-competitor Rachel Woods by landing an upscale wine festival, but the substitute vintner hired by her father is none other than Laine Woods—Rachel’s sister, Zoe’s first crush, and the third blindfolded participant in Zoe’s recent stress-relieving threesome. Fresh from Napa Valley, Laine wants to take charge at Bluebell Vineyards in a way that gets Zoe’s guard up, as well as her heart rate.
In writing her second novel, as she told Dumpleton, Lee, who identifies as bisexual, was inspired by her own first small-town queer crush. In Library Journal, Heather Miller Cover lauded Zoe Brennan, First Crush as a “steamy romance” replete with “excellent writing, well-developed characters,” and an “atmospheric setting.” A Kirkus Reviews writer observed that Lee “creates a lovely, cozy world in Blue Ridge’s wine community, … Zoe’s zany friends add a sparkle to the story,” and Zoe and Laine’s relationship “is full of intense longing and creative sex scenes.” A Publishers Weekly reviewer affirmed that “moments of reflection, comedic episodes, and plenty of steamy encounters balance this heartfelt story” that “demands to be savored.”[close new]
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 2024, review of Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair; December 15, 2024, review of Zoe Brennan, First Crush.
Library Journal, November, 2023, Shanel Slater, review of Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair, p. 51; October, 2024, Heather Miller Cover, review of Zoe Brennan, First Crush, p. 104.
Publishers Weekly, November 18, 2024, review of Zoe Brennan, First Crush, p. 42.
ONLINE
Bookcrushin’, https://bookcrushin.com/ (May 19, 2025), “Author Interview: Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair by Laura Piper Lee.”
Laura Piper Lee website, https://www.laurapiperlee.com (May 19, 2025).
Nerd Daily, https://thenerddaily.com/ (January 16, 2025), Elise Dumpleton, “Q&A: Laura Piper Lee, Author of Zoe Brennan, First Crush.”
Stuck in Fiction, https://stuckinfiction.com/ (February 7, 2024), “Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair | Author Interview.”
Laura Piper Lee has wanted to be an author since she was a kid. Well, she first wanted to be a mermaid, but that didn’t work out. Luckily little Laura never got her hands on what adult Laura writes. Then again, it’s not like the ratty old V.C. Andrews novels she found under her big sister’s bed were any better.
Unlike V.C. Andrews, Laura Piper Lee writes adult romantic comedies with zero incest and/or children locked in attics. She enjoys making people laugh, flirting, and not exercising, so spending an inordinate amount of time writing romantic comedies is pretty much a perfect career choice for her. She loves nothing better than a perfectly ripe mango.
Now, go be a mango and buy her books.
Laura Piper Lee
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Laura Piper Lee has wanted to be an author since she was a kid. Well, she first wanted to be a mermaid, but that didn’t work out. Luckily little Laura never got her hands on what adult Laura writes. Then again, it’s not like the ratty old V.C. Andrews novels she found under her big sister’s bed were any better.
Unlike V.C. Andrews, Laura Piper Lee writes adult romantic comedies. She enjoys making people laugh, flirting, and not exercising, so spending an inordinate amount of time writing romantic comedies is pretty much a perfect career choice for her.
Q&A: Laura Piper Lee, Author of ‘Zoe Brennan, First Crush
Elise Dumpleton·Writers Corner·January 16, 2025·4 min read
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We chat with author Laura Piper Lee about Zoe Brennan, First Crush, which is a romantic comedy that sparkles with humour and heat, and follows a struggling vineyard owner who gets a second taste of her first crush.
Hi, Laura! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Sure! I enjoy nothing more than a good laugh. While I practice law as my day job, I am a deeply unserious person. Writing romantic comedies full of jokes, swoons, and laughter is an amazing release for all my deeply silly thoughts.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I’ve always sought creative outlets—singing, writing music, drawing, acting, cosplay, home renovation, graphic design—but writing is the one that has stuck the longest! I started writing stories and plays as early as second grade, and even though I won contests and awards for my writing when I was growing up, I never took it seriously as a career. I grew up poor in rural Georgia to a single mother of three children, and it was always my first priority to make sure that whatever I did for a living, I could provide a safe, stable home for my own family one day. After I settled comfortably in my legal career, though, I found myself writing again, and I haven’t stopped since!
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
The first book you ever remember reading: The Monster at the End of This Book: Starring Lovable, Furry Old Grover by Jon Stone. Exquisite comedy!
The one that made you want to become an author: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green was the first book that I remember distinctly thinking: I want to do this, too, one day.
The one that you can’t stop thinking about: A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers—I love all the deep thoughts on work and finding your life’s meaning in this beautiful, compact little book.
Your latest novel, Zoe Brennan, First Crush, is out January 21st! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Lonely lesbians make wine/love.
What can readers expect?
Like my debut Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair, Zoe’s story is funny, spicy, heartwarming, and full of found family and close friendships. There is also a blindfolded threesome in chapter two, which I hear is a major selling point. J Readers can expect to laugh and swoon, but Zoe has a lot of sadness in her past that’s shaped her world view for better and definitely for worse that she processes and has to grow through in order to find and accept love. And Laine, Zoe’s first crush, who comes home to Blue Ridge after an unsuccessful stint making wine in Napa, has to move past her failures and learn how to create again. Together, they reinvent themselves and their ideas of each other forged when they were younger as they make wine and run Zoe’s family’s vineyard. From crush to unexpected hook-up (see blindfolded threesome) to employee to complete pain in her ass, Laine becomes so much more to Zoe over the course of the story, and ultimately, the love she never believed she’d find.
Where did the inspiration for Zoe Brennan, First Crush come from?
My own first queer crush in a small Georgia town! When gearing up to write Zoe’s story, I wanted to explore the strange power dynamics that a first crush can hold over you, even many years later. For example, my first queer crush and I recently reconnected after twenty years, and she told me she was going to read Zoe Brennan, First Crush! I’m sweating just thinking about it, especially since I included little snippets of our own past together in the book. *nervous laughter*
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
For comedy, I really enjoyed writing the six-year-olds’ soccer game—Laine is so hyper competitive, it was hilarious making her sweat. For feelings, though, I REALLY enjoyed writing the wedding scene of [redacted] in the middle. I cry every time I read it.
Why romance?
I’ve always been a romantic and a life-long flirt. I figure all those exes and heartbreak have to be good for something! I also love how hopeful romance as a genre inherently is.
What’s next for you?
I have two books in the works right now, which is a little bit terrifying to be honest! I can’t divulge too many details at this point, but one is a contemporary rom-com set in New Jersey, which is a hilarious departure from my Blue Ridge novels, and the other takes place during an apocalypse! Ahh, happy sigh. I love writing!
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up in 2025?
I am ridiculously excited for Erin Connor’s Unromance, Alexandra Vasti’s Earl Crush, Naina Kumar’s Flirting with Disaster, and Rosie Danan’s Fan Service, all releasing imminently! I’m also super excited to read Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett coming in February!
Author Interview: Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair by Laura Piper Lee
Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair is a laugh out loud, swoony adult romance by debut author Laura Piper Lee, and we asked her a few questions you can check out below! Put this summery romance on your beach, vacation reading TBR. Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair is available now.
Author Interview: Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair by Laura Piper Lee
Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair
by Laura Piper Lee
Published by: Union Square and Co
on February 13, 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA+
Bookshop
Goodreads
Hannah Tate can hardly believe her sleep-deprived eyes when she finds an engagement ring hidden in the closet. Killian, her super responsible, incredibly attractive boyfriend—and the father of her new baby, Bowie—is finally going to propose. But a romantic night out goes horribly wrong when Killian reveals he’s dumping Hannah, not proposing.
Furious and heartbroken, Hannah takes Bowie and moves in with her mama and stepdaddy in the mountains of Blue Ridge, Georgia. Hannah realizes that her parents’ cabin has vacation property gold written all over it—and could save her mama from going broke. Again.
Only problem? The cabin’s décor is . . . mildly terrifying and it’s in desperate need of renovation. Hannah hires the hot carpenter living in the treehouse next door to fix up the place. Not only does River respect Hannah’s business acumen, he looks at her like she’s a woman, not a hot mess. And Hannah can’t deny that River awakens something new inside her.
Can Hannah embrace a future that looks different from the picture-perfect family she once dreamed of . . . and maybe start living life on her own terms?
Author Interview: Laura Piper Lee
1. You put Hannah through a lot up front! How dare! No, seriously, how did Hannah’s struggles play out for you while you were writing? How did you take care of yourself while writing her?
Hahaha, oops! 🙂 When the story begins, Hannah is three months into new parenthood with her infant son Bowie and her then-boyfriend Killian. I think many parents can relate to the absolute bedlam those first months are–you’re pretty much running on coffee, adrenaline, and unbridled oxytocin-fueled adoration. Those crazy first months can wreak havoc on any relationship, so Hannah doesn’t realize just how bad things have gotten with Killian until she thinks he’s going to propose, but is surprised with a break-up instead. Hannah’s own childhood was rocky, but she’s vowed to give Bowie the stable family home life she never had. This means that Hannah’s all too willing to put up with a lot of crap from the people in her life, primarily Killian and her awful boss Bob, at the beginning. That’s part of her big lesson, though–that she can and should expect more from the people in her life, and if they can’t treat her right, they don’t get access to her. I found writing the beginning to be very tender, remembering and exploring those feelings of early motherhood when it seems like everything’s crashing in on your shoulders. I knew, though, that Hannah would get some very satisfying emotional growth as well as justice from the jerks in her life, so in the back of my mind, a little voice was cackling every time her boss said something terrible to her. I knew he was going to get his soon enough. 🙂
2. The story includes renovation on a vacation property. What inspiration did you use to craft the setting?
The setting is actually very, very closely drawn from my real life! Like Hannah, I helped my wacky, country parents renovate a fixer-upper cabin to rent out as an Airbnb in the mountains of Blue Ridge, Georgia, when my own son was just an infant. It was such a fun experience, I absolutely love DIY projects and design, and I gave a lot of my enthusiasm for those things to Hannah. Just like the grandparents in the story, my folks needed some kind of income to help support their meager retirement income, so they live in the upstairs, and the Airbnb is on the bottom floor of the cabin. The cabin’s real name is Honey Bear Hollow–if you’re ever visiting Blue Ridge, you should check it out sometime! Hannah has a bit more money than we did to renovate, so our cabin’s not quite as fancy as The Honey Jar, but I keep telling my folks that if the book breaks it big out there, I’ll try to make some of Hannah’s ideas a reality for the real place, too! 🙂
3. Who do you hope finds Hannah’s story?
I wrote Hannah’s story for moms like me. I love to laugh (especially about motherhood), I love a great family dynamics story, I love wacky hijinks, and I love to swoon over clever, funny, kind men. I wanted to write a romance that centers a new mom who’s tender, loving, scared, and facing all those motherhood-coming-of-age woes that so many parents can relate to. I wanted Hannah to feel beautiful and desired, not in spite of being a mom, but in part because she is a mom. River, the handsome, hippie carpenter next door, has his own family issues, and seeing Hannah with her son helps heal something within him, too. When a single parent enters a new relationship, it’s not just between the two of you–at some point, it becomes a relationship with your entire family. I wanted this book to reflect that experience, so that’s what Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair is really about–a love story about a family coming together and making something beautiful.
Thank you so much for featuring Hannah!!
About Laura Piper Lee
Laura Piper Lee has wanted to be an author since she was a kid. Well, she first wanted to be a mermaid, but that didn't work out. She enjoys making people laugh, flirting, and avoiding exercise, so writing romantic comedies is pretty much a perfect career choice. She lives with her partner and their son in Philadelphia. If anyone's rolling by the bagel shop, she'll have an everything toasted with
Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair | Author Interview | Book Tour
Posted on February 7, 2024 by Felicia
I’m so excited to be a part of the book tour for Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair by Laura Piper Lee that is hosted by TBR and Beyond Tours. I was really excited to also be able to interview the author for this book!
INTERVIEW
How would you describe Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair in one sentence?
With the help of a hot carpenter, a new, down-on-her-luck mom renovates a run-down mountain cabin to convert into an Airbnb that will financially save her and her family, but ends up rebuilding her own life in the process.
Can you introduce us to the main character(s) of Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair?
Hannah Tate is a hot-mess millennial mom who is so fixated on providing her baby Bowie a better, more stable childhood and family life than she herself had that she doesn’t realize she’s with the wrong guy, working the wrong job, and living a life that’s all wrong for her. When she gets fired and dumped back-to-back, Hannah has no choice but to move in with her loving, if irresponsible, mama and stepdad.
Growing up, Hannah took care of herself and her wild mama, so it’s hard for Hannah to believe that her mama could really be there for her for once. But Hannah’s mom has reinvented herself as Bowie’s adoring G-ma and is trying her hardest to be here for Hannah now even though she wasn’t there for her back then. G-ma is wacky, fun, and smart as a fox, and it’s through her good-natured meddling that Hannah’s introduced to the handsome neighbor next door.
River Aronson is the local vagabond hottie—a lonely, off-the-grid carpenter who lives in a fantastic treehouse of his own making next door to Hannah’s parents. After escaping his own corporate hell-hole job in Atlanta, River came back to his roots in Blue Ridge with a mission—live for the right now, in this moment, and never be chained to technology again. He’s hard to find and harder to pin down, but he’s kind, funny, and looks at Hannah like no one else ever has, not seeing all the ways Hannah fails to be a real “adult” (because he sure as hell doesn’t quite qualify as one) and instead seeing her for the beautiful, loving, creative person that she really is.
For Hannah, who is so preoccupied with becoming a certain kind of successful, River is the anti-corporate antidote to that way of thinking, while bright, funny, big-hearted Hannah is the embodiment of all that River’s been searching for–love, companionship, and the family he’s always craved.
Do you know from the beginning how your books will end or do you let your characters decide their journey?
While I always know there will be a happily ever after, how they get to the actual ending is the murkiest part of the writing journey for me! It often takes me several tries to get to the ending that feels best for my stories.
Do you have a favorite scene, moment, or quote from the book?
Wow, this question is amazing because it made me realize I have tons of favorite moments, lines, and jokes in this book! Whew. I’ve sat here way too long trying to think of my most favorite, and it’s just impossible, so I’ll pick a romantic one: After Hannah and River wrap up renovations on the cabin, their mutual crushing is in absolute full swing, but Hannah is fighting it. After growing up watching her own mama’s relationships implode one after the other, Hannah is scared to jump into something new with River on the heels of her major break up from her baby’s father. But when River unexpectedly joins Hannah and her friends for an evening at the local apple festival, her defenses finally crumble. Maybe it’s seeing him hold a sweet, baby chick in his palms, or the way he makes her best friends laugh, but she is gone. They have this moment on the hayride under the stars, and she feels that first thrill of his touch, his arm encircling her on a chilly October night, and it’s just dreamy sigh. Later, she gets some powdered sugar on her cheek from funnel cake, and he kisses it softly off, and ooh-la-la sigh! Writing that scene felt like reliving some of my own best romance.
What is something readers will find in Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair that they may not realize based on the
synopsis?
While being set in a small town in the Georgia mountains, Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair has a lot of queer folks living their best queer lives. Hannah herself is bisexual, and her two best friends are a lesbian couple. When Hannah first moves to Blue Ridge, she doesn’t know anyone, but she quickly meets Zoe Brennan, local vineyard owner and proud lesbian (and star of my second book!), who takes her under her wing and introduces her to a wonderful new group of friends. As a bisexual myself, I’ve always enjoyed stories that feature women in straight-appearing relationships with men that still have their full identities represented on the page. It doesn’t have to be a plot point—there’s value in showing that side to Hannah casually without making her as the character display it, because that’s how it is in real life, after all. Bisexual folks don’t have to prove anything to be who they are.
What’s something you hope readers will take away from Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair?
I hope that readers that beat themselves up for not being perfect adults can learn from Hannah’s own mistakes in that regard. It’s so easy to feel like we have to optimize every aspect of our lives to be successful, “real” adults—from saving aggressively for retirement to eating vegetables around the clock to buying local to home composting—the list of ways we should live our lives is virtually endless. And my God, if you’re a new mother? It’s even worse! I hope that Hannah’s story is a gentle reminder to anyone who feels chronically inadequate that you are the only person that gets to set the standards for success in your life.
What are three books you would recommend if someone enjoyed Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair?
Mrs. Nash’s Ashes by Sarah Adler: If you loved the fun and quirky characters in this romcom and their laugh-out-loud conversations and banter, you’ll love Hannah Tate, too.
Planes, Trains, and All The Feels by Livy Hart: I adored the hot-mess heroine in this funny, steamy romcom, and if you did, too, voila! Hannah Tate is for you.
The Lovelight series by BK Borison: Hannah Tate gets compared to this series more than any other, which absolutely delights me. Dreamy small-town romance fans, please come hither!
Lee, Laura Piper. Zoe Brennan, First Crush. Union Square & Co. Jan. 2025. 336p. ISBN 9781454955221. pap. $17.99. LGBTQIA+ ROMANCE
Zoe Brennan works hard to keep the vineyard her parents started in Blue Ridge going. When her father decides to return home to Italy and help his family, he also informs Zoe that he's already hired a replacement vintner, who turns out to be Laine Woods, the first woman Zoe ever had a crush on. Laine has returned to Blue Ridge after a spectacular, almost career-ending failure. Seeking redemption, she dives head first into her new job. She knows how to grow the best grapes and bring out nuanced flavors in the wine--and she could put her skill to good use, if only Zoe would stop micromanaging everything. When a prestigious wine festival begins scouting locations, Zoe is determined to make sure her family's vineyard is chosen, which requires collaborating with Laine instead of arguing. It also means spending long hours together, planning, tasting, and flirting, but Zoe is worried Laine will leave her behind for bigger and better things. VERDICT This steamy romance has everything readers could ask for: excellent writing, well-developed characters, an atmospheric setting, and a forced-proximity workplace romance. Fans of Anita Kelly and Ashley Herring Blake will adore Zoe and Laine and clamor for more from Lee (Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair).-- Heather Miller Cover
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/
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Cover, Heather Miller. "Lee, Laura Piper. Zoe Brennan, First Crush." Library Journal, vol. 149, no. 10, Oct. 2024, pp. 104+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A813629170/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=2e9d50dc. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.
Lee, Laura Piper ZOE BRENNAN, FIRST CRUSH Union Square & Co. (Fiction None) $17.99 1, 21 ISBN: 9781454955221
When a vineyard owner reunites with her first-ever female crush, complicated feelings arise.
Zoe Brennan has turned the family vineyard she runs with her dad into her whole life--as a single woman in a Georgia mountain town with a tiny queer community, she doesn't really have a choice. She focuses on Bluebell Vineyards and tries to ignore her loneliness, even though it "feels like a boulder inside of [her], separating [her] from everyone [she] love[s]." But when her dad decides to return to his native Italy to see his dying mother, Zoe's world is thrown into chaos. She's trying desperately to get a fancy wine festival to hold its showcase at Bluebell, but with her dad--Bluebell's vintner--gone, she's not sure how she'll ever make it happen. But luckily--or unluckily--her dad has just hired a talented vintner to be his replacement: Laine Woods, also known as Zoe's first crush, her mortal enemy's sister, and the woman with whom she accidentally had a blindfolded threesome (it's a long story). Clearly, Zoe and Laine have some history, but even aside from their one-night stand and Zoe's sexual awakening, it's not clear if they'll be able to work together. Laine has been in Napa, far away from Blue Ridge, Georgia, and she brings in a ton of snobbery around the tiny vineyard. Zoe's not sure she can handle the changes Laine wants to make to her family's wine--it feels like Laine is stomping all over her parents' history. However, neither of them can deny their potent chemistry. Zoe has to decide if she's willing to open herself up to love, even if it involves the risk of being crushed. Lee creates a lovely, cozy world in Blue Ridge's wine community. Zoe's zany friends add a sparkle to the story, while her relationship with Laine is full of intense longing and creative sex scenes.
A funny and very steamy romance about the importance of being open to love and all that life has to offer.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Lee, Laura Piper: ZOE BRENNAN, FIRST CRUSH." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Dec. 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A819570252/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=37da0610. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.
Zoe Brennan, First Crush
Laura Piper Lee. Union Square, $17.99 trade paper (336p) ISBN 978-1-4549-5522-1
Returning to Blue Ridge, Ga. (after Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair), Lee delights with a sensual sapphic rom-com as heady and complex as the wines it describes in breathless detail. For years, Zoe Brennan has worked tirelessly alongside her father to keep her late mother's dream, Bluebell Vineyards, running smoothly. When she learns that a notable wine festival is scouting locations nearby, she hopes to pitch Bluebell as the host and beat out a competing winery run by her "best-friend-turned-enemy" Rachel Woods. Her plans are impeded, however, when her father reveals that his ill mother requires his assistance in Italy, leaving the vineyard without a vintner. To relieve her mounting anxiety, Zoe agrees to a blindfolded threesome with her friend-with-benefits and a stranger--who, she learns after the fact, turns out to be Rachel's intimidating older sister and Zoe's first queer crush: Laine Woods. Hoping to swiftly forget the encounter proves impossible when Zoe discovers that Laine is the temporary vintner her father hired. The pair clash, but behind Laine's arrogance and Zoe's stubbornness is intense chemistry. Moments of reflection, comedic episodes, and plenty of steamy encounters balance this heartfelt story about honoring loved ones' legacies while still realizing one's own aspirations. This demands to be savored. (Jan.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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"Zoe Brennan, First Crush." Publishers Weekly, vol. 271, no. 44, 18 Nov. 2024, p. 42. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A817760136/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b6412e69. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.
Lee, Laura Piper. Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair. Union Square. Feb. 2024.336p. ISBN 9781454948841. pap. $17.99. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
DEBUT A thirtysomething new mom gets a second chance at love in Lee's debut novel. Hannah is stuck in a toxic job and permanently perfumed in spit-up from her darling baby boy, Bowie. After finding an engagement ring in her boyfriend's closet, she's thrilled at the prospect of having the perfect family she dreamed of growing up. Her dreams are dashed when she comes home from date night with a breakup instead of a diamond. Reeling from the split and a sudden employment termination, she heads to the mountains of rural Georgia, where her mother and stepfather give her the opportunity to redesign a rental property. Their hot neighbor River is an off-the-grid, treehouse-dwelling carpenter who works alongside Hannah to build her dream rental and help her heal from heartbreak. Over the course of the autumn, Hannah redefines family, purpose, and love. Her foray into new motherhood is handled with candor and care, and the secondary characters are vibrant and fully developed as part of her village of support. VERDICT This is the perfect balm for millennial new mothers learning to navigate love and life after having a baby. Recommended for fans of small-town romance and relationship fiction.--Shanel Slater
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/
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Slater, Shanel. "Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair." Library Journal, vol. 148, no. 11, Nov. 2023, p. 51. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A773380721/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=833c5459. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.
Lee, Laura Piper HANNAH TATE, BEYOND REPAIR Union Square & Co. (Fiction None) $17.99 2, 13 ISBN: 9781454948841
Nursing a broken heart, a newly single Atlanta mother moves to the Georgia mountains, where she befriends her sexy yogi neighbor.
Ten weeks into motherhood, Hannah Tate can't help but feel like one milk-filled, showerless hot mess. It doesn't help that Killian Abbott, her musician boyfriend, is out playing gigs while she's busy deciphering which type of newborn baby fluid is congealed in her hair. When she finds an engagement ring hidden in Killian's boot, she thinks he's finally willing to settle down but then, instead of proposing, he dumps her. No amount of "conscious co-parenting" can convince Hannah to stick around, and since she's also just been fired from her heinous disaster communications job while on maternity leave, she decides to leave the big city behind in search of a better, less messy existence. Hannah 2.0 takes shape in the middle of the Georgia mountains, with a promise to renovate her mom and stepdad's dilapidated Airbnb. Soon enough, her new normal is taxidermized animals, snake sightings, and gun-toting, baby-holding neighbors. Not all her neighbors are Wild West material, though: There's also the "emotional vagabond" River Aronson, who lives in an epic treehouse and does yoga shirtless. When River agrees to help reno the Airbnb in exchange for Sunday night dinners at the Tate cabin, Hannah can't help but imagine her chiseled neighbor as part of the family, but first she has to decide if she's ready to let another man into her and baby Bowie's lives. Lee's romance is witty and heartwarming, a refreshing take on family dynamics and loving yourself first. Hannah, though a self-proclaimed mess, is a strong mother intent on creating stability for her son and finding success in her personal life, and readers will easily root for her victories in love, life, and motherhood.
Babies, bears, and B&Bs reign in Lee's cozy rom-com.
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"Lee, Laura Piper: HANNAH TATE, BEYOND REPAIR." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Jan. 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A777736702/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=878929ab. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.