Tender Roots

By Alix Marren

Breathe in. Breathe out. And meet her halfway.

Senior project manager Adelaide Carter measures her life in Gantt charts and urgent emails. When burnout finally catches up with her, she escapes to the remote Heartwood Retreat with a simple goal: execute the perfect recovery and get back to her life. But the mountain air-and the maddeningly serene woman leading morning meditations and forest-bathing sessions-have a way of ruining her plans.

Thea Payne knows the cost of ambition all too well. Three years after a health scare forced her out of a ruthless corporate career, she's rebuilt her life around quiet mornings, therapeutic landscapes, and the art of moving slow. She's perfectly content with her unhurried existence until the retreat's newest high-strung guest knocks her rhythm off balance.

As the week unfolds, Adelaide and Thea find themselves drawn together by shared wounds, unexpected laughter, and a chemistry that simmers beneath every touch. Their slow-growing connection forces them both to confront control, surrender, and the possibility of a love that heals as deeply as it burns.

Tender Roots is a swoony sapphic romance about the beauty of slowing down. Features a cozy mountain retreat, a black cat who judges everyone, and a simmering slow burn with enough sparks to light up a blackout.

Guaranteed HEA. Contains mature themes.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HBCSLV9Z
• ISBN13: 9798188824976
• Release Date: July 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 254 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"