{"id":80770,"date":"2025-10-09T08:00:48","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T12:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=80770"},"modified":"2025-10-09T06:14:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T10:14:07","slug":"release-arc-review-take-this-heart-windy-harbor-1-by-willow-aster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=80770","title":{"rendered":"Release & ARC Review: Take This Heart (Windy Harbor, #1) by Willow Aster"},"content":{"rendered":"

Take This Heart by Willow Aster is live!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The first book in a brand new series from Willow Aster, this is a small town, enemies-to-lovers, billionaire romance with fantastic chemistry, sizzling sexy time and so much heart, and I loved this book!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Amazon Worldwide<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

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Blurb<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A sizzling, small town, enemies to lovers, workplace romance by USA Today bestselling author, Willow Aster<\/strong><\/p>\n

After an annoying, albeit sexy, encounter with Milo Lombardi, he\u2019s the last person I want to see in Windy Harbor, Minnesota. Being in my favorite small town near Lake Superior with my family is my idea of heaven, and after clashing with Milo at an art event, and then kissing his face off right after \u2013 I\u2019d be fine if I never saw the man again.<\/p>\n

Even though he is sinfully gorgeous, and knows how to use those unforgettable lips.<\/p>\n

But my dad has other ideas, and because he\u2019s been dealt a blow that threatens to turn our family\u2019s world upside down, I want to do what’s best and keep the peace.<\/p>\n

Which means, I\u2019m stuck working on a project with Milo, all day, every day.<\/p>\n

And if I thought we didn\u2019t get along in the beginning, it\u2019s nothing compared to dealing with him on a daily basis. He has a unique way of bringing out the worst in me, while showcasing his annoying smirk in the process.<\/p>\n

If only I could forget how his mouth felt on mine, and the way his strong arms felt wrapped around me.<\/p>\n

Take this Heart<\/em>\u00a0is book one in the brand new, interconnected standalone Windy Harbor series.<\/p>\n

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Add to Goodreads<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Review<\/strong><\/h4>\n

4.5 stars<\/b><\/p>\n

The first book in a brand new series from Willow Aster, this is a small town, enemies-to-lovers, billionaire romance with fantastic chemistry, sizzling sexy time and so much heart, and I loved this book!<\/p>\n

Goldie is the best friend of Addy from Crazy Love<\/a>\u00a0(Single Dad Playbook, #5). She is an artist and designer, and is back in the small town of Windy Harbor where she spent her childhood holidays. Her father is planning to build a resort on the lakeside, and he wants Goldie and her four brothers to be a part of it. But it just so happens that the architect on the job is Milo Lombardi, a man she met a few days ago, fought bitterly with and then kissed wildly. They were both left them dumbfounded by the encounter, but Goldie wants nothing to do with the stupidly handsome and charming billionaire.<\/p>\n

Milo is shocked to see Goldie again but sees this as his chance to win her over. Her outright animosity only encourages him, and the banter between them is so freaking entertaining. It\u2019s snarky but flirtatious, and you can see that there\u2019s so much more behind it, and watching the build up to what you know will be inevitable is so much fun. Goldie is a stubborn one, she\u2019s been hurt badly before and is determined to keep her walls up, but Milo is patient, sweet and so open-hearted, and I fell so hard for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have invaded every thought and turned my life upside down. I couldn\u2019t stop thinking about you if I tried, and I don\u2019t want to. Yes, I\u2019m scared. I\u2019m scared you don\u2019t feel the same. I\u2019m scared you\u2019ll let your fears about relationship frighten you away from me. I\u2019m scared you\u2019ll change your mind. I\u2019m scared you\u2019ll never fully let me in \u2026 I\u2019m scared because I\u2019ve never felt this way about anyone, not even close to it, and it\u2019s fucking overwhelming.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The romance is the perfect mix of fun, emotional, sexy and swoony. It takes them a little while, but once Goldie lets down her guard, they are so freaking good together. The relationship is sweet and funny, and their passion for each other is insane! They\u2019re functional and open, and though they have challenges to face, the love story had me swooning and grinning, and I loved seeing them come together.<\/p>\n

There are strong family themes, with both Goldie and Milo having close relationships with their families, and I particularly loved getting to know Goldie\u2019s brothers. This is a seriously close-knit group, their text conversations are so much fun, and I\u2019m looking forward to getting to know them more as the series continues.<\/p>\n

This is such a great read, and a strong start to the series as the family all slowly start to return home.<\/p>\n

I loved it \u2013 4.5 stars<\/p>\n

An Advanced Reader Copy was generously provided by the author for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Windy Harbor<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\"\u00a0\u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\"<\/h4>\n

Take This Heart (#1) <\/strong>(Milo & Goldie)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

What It Takes (#2) <\/strong>(Camden & Juju)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

All For Love (#3) <\/strong>(Dylan & Dahlia)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Endless Summer Nights (#4) <\/strong>(Tully & Lola)
\nTo be released 9 June
\nPre-order:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Now and Forever (#5)<\/strong>
\nTo be released 12 November
\nPre-order:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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About the Author<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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Willow Aster is a\u00a0USA Today\u00a0Bestselling author and lover of anything book-related. She lives in St. Paul, MN with her husband, kids, and rescue dog.<\/p>\n

Connect with Willow:<\/p>\n

Website\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Goodreads\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Amazon\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Facebook Group<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Instagram\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Twitter\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Tiktok<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Bookbub\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Pinterest<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Take This Heart by Willow Aster is live! The first book in a brand new series from Willow Aster, this is a small town, enemies-to-lovers, billionaire romance with fantastic chemistry, sizzling sexy time and so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":80004,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":4.5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[179,86,9,29],"tags":[59,48,1105,1637],"class_list":["post-80770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-billionaire","category-enemies-to-lovers","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-review","tag-willow-aster","tag-windy-harbor"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Take-This-Heart.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-l0K","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/80004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=80770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=80770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}