Hadley Powell comes back to her family's ranch in Idaho after her fiancé leaves her upon learning that she cannot have children. There, she encounters Declan Brewer, a wrangler employed by her father. They quickly establish a strong friendship; Declan inherently understands Hadley. As their bond evolves into a secret romance, Declan is determined to show Hadley that he is the one who can truly cherish her.
▪︎ Friends to lovers
▪︎ Age gap
▪︎ Late-night trail rides
▪︎ Forbidden
▪︎ One sleeping bag
▪︎ Healing
▪︎ He falls first
▪︎ Cowboy biker
▪︎ Surprise pregnancy
▪︎ Small town
▪︎ Cinnamon roll MMC with a dirty mouth
Hadley and Declan were so much fun to read, I couldn't get enough. The story pulls you in from the start and does not let go. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers vibes with a twist of Hart of Dixie. Possessive alpha male who's got other ways of solving a fight? 🤭 Sign me up! Declan is a man who knows what he wants and won't be scared to show it.
This book truly emphasizes how swiftly life can change. It hit home when Hadley said, "𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆."
And I must say… the MMC and cowboy extraordinaire Declan is absolutely 🔥🔥🔥. His emotional maturity was off the charts at 10/10. I appreciated how he was straightforward, got to the heart of the matter, and was completely honest about his feelings. He was incredibly supportive, attentive, and patient, which I believe significantly contributed to Hadley’s character development and her journey to discover what she truly wanted.
I adored how they instantly connected, and whenever Hadley felt overwhelmed or anxious, she instinctively turned to Declan. Their transition from friends to lovers was crafted beautifully, with a medium burn that allowed the flirtation and tension to build perfectly. I particularly enjoyed their camping trip at the hot springs, baby goat, and of course, the moment he carried her out of the bar over his shoulder. 😍
I melted for one of my favorite mini-tropes:
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“𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏,” 𝑫𝒆𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒉. “𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈?” “𝑾𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆.” “𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆?” 𝑰 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆. “𝑮𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕.” 𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆. "
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I was delighted to receive this as an ARC. Having adored Emma’s Tarnished Angels series, I was certain this one would be fantastic; the appearance of Mia and Colt had me screaming with excitement!! 🥰
Huge thanks to the author Emma Slate for providing yet another outstanding book. ❤️❤️