My first foray into cowboy romance, and I got such a treat!

There's a lot I loved about this, and some I didn't, so it's a proper overall 4 stars from me.

Let's start out with what I loved: Rhett and Summer. Misconceptions about both of them are allowed the grace and self-reflection to be corrected, and their chemistry is fantastic. I also enjoyed how they were still their own people and had motivations outside of romance to propel things along. I loved the Eatons, and am very excited to see Cade's book next.

Things I disliked: The plot had some thin spots between very important beats, almost to the point of gaps. I was left with more than a few feelings of "drama for drama's sake" when those moments could have been massaged better into the plot with a few lines here or there to justify why they had to go X-hospital, or see Y doctor. Don't mistake me, those beats were entertaining as hell, but I needed a little more justification to suspend my disbelief from a narrative standpoint.

This absolutely gets the certified steamy rating from me, and despite the slow burn to get there, a lot was promised and delivered.

Polarizing tropes:

Spoiler

For those who dislike the 3rd act breakup trope, myself included, I didn't dislike this one a ton. It felt appropriate and not outsized, and the grand gesture moment was perfectly timed and executed.

Overall, I'm looking forward to the next book in the series and looking forward to these rough characters shaping their own happily ever afters.