Where the Monkeys Wake at Dawn
(2026)(The first book in the Later in Life Romance series)
A Story by Peter Jaksa
She flew to Costa Rica searching for rest. She never expected to find herself—or a love that would change everything.
At forty-nine, ER nurse Elena Mercer has spent decades holding everyone else together. Patients in crisis. A failing marriage. Two children she adores. But after years of exhaustion, chronic pain, and putting herself last, her body finally refuses to keep going. Desperate and burned out, Elena books a ten-day yoga retreat on the Costa Rican coast, convinced she's making an expensive mistake.
What she finds instead is Bahía Escondida—a lush sanctuary tucked between rainforest and sea—and Mateo Vargas, the retreat's compassionate thirty-three-year-old somatic healing teacher. From their very first meeting, Mateo sees what Elena has spent years hiding: a woman who has forgotten how to receive care. As gentle conversations become moonlit walks, shared grief, and an undeniable connection, Elena must decide whether she is brave enough to embrace love again—and whether a relationship separated by age, countries, and carefully guarded hearts can survive beyond paradise.
Set against the breathtaking backdrop of Costa Rica's wild beauty, Where the Monkeys Wake at Dawn is an emotionally rich later-in-life romance about burnout, healing, female friendship, and the extraordinary courage it takes to choose yourself. Perfect for readers who love heartfelt second chances, soulful romance, and stories that prove happily-ever-after doesn't expire with age.
Because sometimes the greatest love story is the one that brings you home to yourself.
Genre: Romance
At forty-nine, ER nurse Elena Mercer has spent decades holding everyone else together. Patients in crisis. A failing marriage. Two children she adores. But after years of exhaustion, chronic pain, and putting herself last, her body finally refuses to keep going. Desperate and burned out, Elena books a ten-day yoga retreat on the Costa Rican coast, convinced she's making an expensive mistake.
What she finds instead is Bahía Escondida—a lush sanctuary tucked between rainforest and sea—and Mateo Vargas, the retreat's compassionate thirty-three-year-old somatic healing teacher. From their very first meeting, Mateo sees what Elena has spent years hiding: a woman who has forgotten how to receive care. As gentle conversations become moonlit walks, shared grief, and an undeniable connection, Elena must decide whether she is brave enough to embrace love again—and whether a relationship separated by age, countries, and carefully guarded hearts can survive beyond paradise.
Set against the breathtaking backdrop of Costa Rica's wild beauty, Where the Monkeys Wake at Dawn is an emotionally rich later-in-life romance about burnout, healing, female friendship, and the extraordinary courage it takes to choose yourself. Perfect for readers who love heartfelt second chances, soulful romance, and stories that prove happily-ever-after doesn't expire with age.
Because sometimes the greatest love story is the one that brings you home to yourself.
Genre: Romance
Used availability for Peter Jaksa's Where the Monkeys Wake at Dawn