Once Upon a Time in Dollywood
Berkley. October 2025.
A 2023 selection for LitUp with Reese’s Book Club.
Eve Ambroise may be a rising star playwright, but her personal life is falling apart. 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 time 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 just something about Eve.
What starts out as a fling quickly becomes serious, and it’s not long before Eve is running scared 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 and Eve’s lives keep falling into sync. A fairytale ending could be in the cards, but only if the new couple can get out of their heads and put themselves first—something neither of them have ever been able to do.