REVIEW: Avalanche by Jillian D Wray (Ricochet Ridge #3)

AVALANCHE

Ricochet Ridge - Book Three

by Jillian D Wray

Release Date: April 30, 2026

Review

Hanlon and Stone had a complicated relationship. Step brothers, with parents determined to have them become a family, an age gap, and Hanlon’s disability meant that their parental attention was skewed.

They both loved each other as people, but Stone needed to go, to find his own path, his own identity. He’s carved out a life on the Mountain preventing avalanches.

The avalanche he couldn’t see coming was Hanlon joining his team.

Their journey wasn’t easy or calm, but the chemistry was clear, and they discovered something that was worth fighting for.

One more to go, which, truthfully, I’m a little cautious about because Logan displayed some problematic behaviour, but I’m always ready for a redemption story.

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Synopsis

A LOVE THAT COULD BURY US BOTH.

Four years of silence, two thousand miles, and a love their parents will never forgive.

STONE It wasn’t Hanlon’s fault our parents pampered him while pushing me to the brink. But I still resented it. I left to get out of Hanlon’s orbit, to live my life without having to worry about him. Four years later, we’ve barely spoken until he shows up on the doorstep of my ski patrol office, ready to start his internship. Neither of us is thrilled. It doesn’t take long before my protective instincts kick back in, but so do the lessons I taught him all those years ago. When his independence threatens his safety, I realize my feelings for Hanlon have shifted, creating a problem bigger than any avalanche threatening this mountain.

HANLON My diagnosis left me with physical limitations most people get hung up on. Except Stone. He’s the one person who always made me feel like I could do anything. And then he left, never knowing how much his absence nearly destroyed me. I didn’t ask to be placed at Ricochet Ridge, but as Stone and I figure out how to work together, the energy between us shifts. When he finds out I’m gay, it shifts again, threatening to pull us both under.

THE RISK Their connection is a ticking time bomb. If their parents find out, the fallout will be catastrophic, tearing the family apart forever. But on the mountain, the "rules" of their family tree feel less important than the heat rising between them. Stone remains the only person who looks past Hanlon’s physical struggles to see his strength, creating an intimacy that is as healing as it is dangerous. Attraction isn’t the only danger on the mountain. With each new inch of precipitation, the snowpack weakens, threatening to break free, and while the threat of an avalanche feels metaphorical, the physical danger it poses is paramount.

Stepbrother Romance

Forbidden Love

Enemies to Lovers

Disability Rep

Slow burn with an HEA

Avalanche is an interconnected standalone with a guaranteed HEA. You can start here or read it out of order without spoilers for the rest of the Ricochet Ridge series.

About Jillian D Wray

Jillian lives in North Carolina with her incredibly supportive husband and three awesome stepkids. After over ten years in the healthcare industry, it was time to pursue a new passion. An avid reader her whole life, she sat down one night and let the words begin to flow. Four hours and ten thousand words later, a love of writing was discovered.

She writes spicy, bingeable reads that encourage self-discovery and come with all the angst and excitement of a new relationship.

When she isn’t reading or writing, you can either find her in her vegetable garden, at CrossFit™, or on a plane headed toward her next adventure.

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