What do you think?
Rate this book
The Sweet Life
Alexis takes her job very seriously. As one of the younger account executives, proving herself in the workplace is much more important than having a love life. And now that she’s been assigned a dude ranch account, she’s more determined than ever to show her doubters that she has what it takes.
Unfortunately there’s a tall, hot-tempered, brown-eyed cowboy who manages to distract Alexis from her goal by grabbing her attention…in a non-professional kind of way.
Mitch is the cowboy of her dreams—and also a distraction her career can’t afford.
And the real doozy? He also happens to be the ranch owner’s son, and this little fact alone has the potential to ruin everything for this city girl.
Unfortunately there’s a tall, hot-tempered, brown-eyed cowboy who manages to distract Alexis from her goal by grabbing her attention…in a non-professional kind of way.
Mitch is the cowboy of her dreams—and also a distraction her career can’t afford.
And the real doozy? He also happens to be the ranch owner’s son, and this little fact alone has the potential to ruin everything for this city girl.
176 pages, Paperback
Published March 28, 2018
73 people are currently reading
735 people want to read
About the author
Dakota Star
6 books103 followersFirst, a little about me. I’ve always loved animal (especially horses and dogs), nature, reading, and spinning a tale or two. All of those influences came together in A Haunted Love and The Sweet Life. If I’m not hiking or horseback riding, I’m bent over the computer creating a new adventure.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 4, 2018
While I did get an ARC of this book, I read it through Kindle Unlimited, so even though I have changed my review since initially posting it as part of a blog tour (things bothered me after some reflection), she at least got some money out of it. I have removed the post from my blog so as not to ruin her tour and contacted the organiser to remove me from the schedule altogether.
May is Cowboy Month on Love in a time of Feminism, and we're kicking things off with a very sexy-looking book. (I will admit I was drawn in by that cover...) And luckily, it had some sexiness on the inside, too. But a lot of it was also a mess.
Alexis was clearly very good at her job as a marketing consultant, working her way up the ranks at a company in New York. She was used to the city, with all its snazziness. When given a dude ranch as a special client, she headed out with her friends to spend a weekend scouting the place out, and this is where her limitations showed up. Because, honestly, she completely missed the point of the place on first arrival, suggesting things like big TVs and fast wifi in cabins when the place should be a retreat from the fast-moving city. She was definitely in need of a break herself, and the ranch was actually a perfect assignment for her.
Mitch was definitely hot, but there was more than that. I couldn't quite make up my mind about him. At times, he was patient and kind with everyone, and he clearly cared about the ranch and its animals. But then sometimes he was a bit too forward, too rushed. He assumed she'd want to do things like go back to her room or makeout in private; he never straight out forced her, giving her room to back out, but he didn't really ask. He just assumed, and he could sometimes be a bit condescending, while other times he was sweet. Also, there was a bit just randomly thrown in about him toward the end that was fine in essence but didn't actually make sense in the story. He originally came from Texas, though the ranch was based further north, and I would have liked a bit more of the southern charm and manners.
My biggest issue was that things were rather rushed. This book was really short, and things moved really quickly. We didn't get nearly as much time as I'd have liked to enjoy the relationship developing gradually, and there was a bit of insta-lust and insta-love going on that didn't seem natural. A lot of the issues with the relationship (e.g. her living in the city while he lived in the country) were brushed over without full discussion. Even the sex scenes were rushed, a lot of brushing over most details and basically saying "we had dinner and then he made me feel good the rest of the night" instead of actually going into it. And before you say "maybe this was just a tamer romance", I will counter with the only detailed sex scene involving nipple clamps.
My other issue was the completely unnecessary sub-plots that seemed to be added for drama, one shoved in at the end without build-up, and the other bringing sexual harassment into the story as a plot device that actually did nothing for the plot whatsoever. My advice for improving this book would be to take out these two silly things and flesh out the relationship between Alexis and Mitch, really dive into their initial attraction, getting to know each other, working out the issues of him being her client's son and them living in different places. Because none of this was really talked about. The blurb talked about "oh no, he's the client's son" and it was a problem for all of one night, the next morning the two of them being back at it without any real discussion. So much more could have been done with this story to develop the chemistry, characters, and drama.
This was a good start to Cowboy Month, though. A little teaser, shall we say, for the potential of the month.
May is Cowboy Month on Love in a time of Feminism, and we're kicking things off with a very sexy-looking book. (I will admit I was drawn in by that cover...) And luckily, it had some sexiness on the inside, too. But a lot of it was also a mess.
Alexis was clearly very good at her job as a marketing consultant, working her way up the ranks at a company in New York. She was used to the city, with all its snazziness. When given a dude ranch as a special client, she headed out with her friends to spend a weekend scouting the place out, and this is where her limitations showed up. Because, honestly, she completely missed the point of the place on first arrival, suggesting things like big TVs and fast wifi in cabins when the place should be a retreat from the fast-moving city. She was definitely in need of a break herself, and the ranch was actually a perfect assignment for her.
Mitch was definitely hot, but there was more than that. I couldn't quite make up my mind about him. At times, he was patient and kind with everyone, and he clearly cared about the ranch and its animals. But then sometimes he was a bit too forward, too rushed. He assumed she'd want to do things like go back to her room or makeout in private; he never straight out forced her, giving her room to back out, but he didn't really ask. He just assumed, and he could sometimes be a bit condescending, while other times he was sweet. Also, there was a bit just randomly thrown in about him toward the end that was fine in essence but didn't actually make sense in the story. He originally came from Texas, though the ranch was based further north, and I would have liked a bit more of the southern charm and manners.
My biggest issue was that things were rather rushed. This book was really short, and things moved really quickly. We didn't get nearly as much time as I'd have liked to enjoy the relationship developing gradually, and there was a bit of insta-lust and insta-love going on that didn't seem natural. A lot of the issues with the relationship (e.g. her living in the city while he lived in the country) were brushed over without full discussion. Even the sex scenes were rushed, a lot of brushing over most details and basically saying "we had dinner and then he made me feel good the rest of the night" instead of actually going into it. And before you say "maybe this was just a tamer romance", I will counter with the only detailed sex scene involving nipple clamps.
My other issue was the completely unnecessary sub-plots that seemed to be added for drama, one shoved in at the end without build-up, and the other bringing sexual harassment into the story as a plot device that actually did nothing for the plot whatsoever. My advice for improving this book would be to take out these two silly things and flesh out the relationship between Alexis and Mitch, really dive into their initial attraction, getting to know each other, working out the issues of him being her client's son and them living in different places. Because none of this was really talked about. The blurb talked about "oh no, he's the client's son" and it was a problem for all of one night, the next morning the two of them being back at it without any real discussion. So much more could have been done with this story to develop the chemistry, characters, and drama.
This was a good start to Cowboy Month, though. A little teaser, shall we say, for the potential of the month.
added-it
September 7, 2018💝FREE on Amazon today (9/6/2018)!💝
Blurb:
Alexis takes her job very seriously. As one of the younger account executives, proving herself in the workplace is much more important than having a love life. And now that she’s been assigned a dude ranch account, she’s more determined than ever to show her doubters that she has what it takes.
Unfortunately there’s a tall, hot-tempered, brown-eyed cowboy who manages to distract Alexis from her goal by grabbing her attention…in a non-professional kind of way.
Mitch is the cowboy of her dreams—and also a distraction her career can’t afford.
And the real doozy? He also happens to be the ranch owner’s son, and this little fact alone has the potential to ruin everything for this city girl.
Blurb:
Alexis takes her job very seriously. As one of the younger account executives, proving herself in the workplace is much more important than having a love life. And now that she’s been assigned a dude ranch account, she’s more determined than ever to show her doubters that she has what it takes.
Unfortunately there’s a tall, hot-tempered, brown-eyed cowboy who manages to distract Alexis from her goal by grabbing her attention…in a non-professional kind of way.
Mitch is the cowboy of her dreams—and also a distraction her career can’t afford.
And the real doozy? He also happens to be the ranch owner’s son, and this little fact alone has the potential to ruin everything for this city girl.
April 15, 2018
City girl meets hot cowboy. This is an enjoyable and cute story. I was happy to have read an advanced reader copy for my honest review.
July 9, 2019
Disgusting
I thought I was going to read a sweet story of a old fashion romance, instead this book is about sex within days of the main characters meeting. Swearing and more sex! Like movies books should have ratings!! I am sick of authors who believes we all want to read about the sex act. Needless to say I DID NOT finished this book.
I thought I was going to read a sweet story of a old fashion romance, instead this book is about sex within days of the main characters meeting. Swearing and more sex! Like movies books should have ratings!! I am sick of authors who believes we all want to read about the sex act. Needless to say I DID NOT finished this book.
April 8, 2018
The Sweet Life is the story of Alexis, a young business woman in New York, and Mitch, a cowboy who runs a dude ranch in upstate New York (I'm guessing, it wasn't very clear). Alexis is given the case of The Sweet Life Dude Ranch, and her job is to go in and help make them profitable again.
In order to get a good feel of what the ranch is like, Alexis and her two friends, Jo Jo and Nicole head there for a girls weekend. When they arrive, they are greeted by Mitch, a stunning cowboy who works on the ranch. Alexis is immediately attracted to Mitch, and the feeling is mutual. They quickly act upon their attraction, which is great, until Alexis realizes what Mitch is to the ranch - the owner's son.
There is some insta-love in this book, which I don't love, but I liked Mitch a lot. Mitch was a really sweet guy. He was very good to Alexis and his animals (nothing sexier than a man who loves animals).
Alexis, however, while likable, was incredibly accident prone. I didn't love that part of the story. There was also two side stories that were both silly and unnecessary - one was with a co-worker of Alexis and the other was at the ranch. They both added drama, but didn't make the story better. There was also very little "steam" in the book.
My biggest complaint, however, was there was no epilogue. This was a short book that moved at breakneck speed, and I believe over 8-10 months, but there was no epilogue. Romance readers need closure.
Another complaint would be that since this book was told in the third person, it was often difficult to know who was talking when Alexis was with her girlfriends. I often found myself confused and wondering who was talking.
I like the "city girl meets country boy" trope, and overall, this was a cute story. Would have given it a higher rating had it contained an epilogue.
Blog --> https://tvaddictedbookworm.wordpress....
Twitter --> https://twitter.com/tvaddictbookwm
Instagram-->https://instagram.com/tvaddictedbookworm
April 14, 2018
The Sweet Life is a sweet story that takes the country boy meets city girl and gives it a shake up. I loved the strength and determination of Alexis, the way Mitch stands up for his ranch, but really enjoyed their first steamy encounter and how quickly it turned when Mitch realizes just who Alexis is and what she is at his dude ranch for.
I did find it hard to stay involved in the story line with the basic formatting and editing issues, but once I got past that, the story really pulled me in.
I look forward to reading other works by Dakota Star.
I did find it hard to stay involved in the story line with the basic formatting and editing issues, but once I got past that, the story really pulled me in.
I look forward to reading other works by Dakota Star.
April 16, 2020
Not completed
The book ended abruptly.If their meeting was about the changes been made to the Ranger, it would have been nice to know if Alexis was successful at her job and what was done to ensure the couple understood each other views.
The book ended abruptly.If their meeting was about the changes been made to the Ranger, it would have been nice to know if Alexis was successful at her job and what was done to ensure the couple understood each other views.
April 9, 2018
Alexis is a city girl, who is very successful as an account executive at her firm, but she's worked many hours proving herself, so she hasn't had much of a love life. When she gets a new account for a dude ranch, her & her besties take a weekend to look things over, and that's when she meets Mitch, a hot cowboy. She feels a very strong chemistry with him, but when she finds out that he's the owner's son, she feels like she needs to nip it in the bud. However, she has to travel back there for a meeting, and this time, that chemistry won't be denied. And the problem becomes how they would make it work, since she isn't a country girl, and he's not a city slicker. So that's all that I'm going to reveal, as this is a fast read, so more details would have spoiler douchery appearing. This is a sweet story that I enjoyed, and I loved Alexis & Mitch together, as they were super hot! And the entertaining cast of secondaries that brought laughter to the table throughout. Then there were a couple twists that I never saw coming, as it was a sweet journey, so I was able to let go of my f-bombs. But what kept this from being a perfect read was the ending was too rushed for me, and the third person sometimes confused me with who was talking. (Please remember this is only MY OPINION.) In the end, I really loved Dakota Star's talented writing style, and am excited to read more of her work in the future! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
May 17, 2018
Fans of cowboy romances with a little erotic twist will surely enjoy The Sweet Life by Dakota Star.
I think the best part of this book was the anticipation of how Alexis and Mitch would overcome all that stood in their way. Absolutely love cowboy's and their laid back control. There is just something about these guys and I think Dakota Star did a fabulous job with Mitch. He was no stranger to the city and that is why I think I enjoyed him so much. He was CERTAIN that country life was it for him and he just needed to convince Alexis that it was for her too! There were so many misses for them while trying to get together that when it finally happens, readers will practically weep with Joy! He is one fine cowboy!
While I do love my controlling cowboys, another thing I enjoy reading is strong women and Alexis is definitely that! Career minded, she knows what she wants and is very determined to get it. There was just a little bit of drama which was great to keep my attention.
All over this was a great read. Didn't take too much time, so perfect for an afternoon read.
Giving The Sweet Life 4 stars.
Review by Corrie H for Lamplight Review and Promotion
**I received an ARC for an honest review
I think the best part of this book was the anticipation of how Alexis and Mitch would overcome all that stood in their way. Absolutely love cowboy's and their laid back control. There is just something about these guys and I think Dakota Star did a fabulous job with Mitch. He was no stranger to the city and that is why I think I enjoyed him so much. He was CERTAIN that country life was it for him and he just needed to convince Alexis that it was for her too! There were so many misses for them while trying to get together that when it finally happens, readers will practically weep with Joy! He is one fine cowboy!
While I do love my controlling cowboys, another thing I enjoy reading is strong women and Alexis is definitely that! Career minded, she knows what she wants and is very determined to get it. There was just a little bit of drama which was great to keep my attention.
All over this was a great read. Didn't take too much time, so perfect for an afternoon read.
Giving The Sweet Life 4 stars.
Review by Corrie H for Lamplight Review and Promotion
**I received an ARC for an honest review
April 6, 2018
When Alexis is tasked with turning around the fortunes of a ranch with her marketing skills, she and her friends head there for a weekend away to experience it first hand. She discovers her affinity for nature and Mitch, the owner's son. She loves the charm and the beauty of the place and the time there and Mitch makes her question her priorities and her future.
This started out one way and turned into something else along the way. I would have liked a little more exploring of this something else as felt a little rushed despite the time lapsed. I loved the simplicity and serenity of Alexis' time at the ranch. I loved how Mitch stayed true to himself throughout and gave Alexis the strength to be true to herself.
A sweet romantic read.
***Reviewed for LBM Book Blog***
This started out one way and turned into something else along the way. I would have liked a little more exploring of this something else as felt a little rushed despite the time lapsed. I loved the simplicity and serenity of Alexis' time at the ranch. I loved how Mitch stayed true to himself throughout and gave Alexis the strength to be true to herself.
A sweet romantic read.
***Reviewed for LBM Book Blog***
April 12, 2018
This book was sweet with the inside look at how a dude ranch works! Alexis has always worked hard at her career and loves her life in New York until she meets Mitch on the dude ranch. Their chemistry is exposive. Mitch loves his life on the dude ranch, which is owned by his surgeon father. Can these two find love and live somewhere the other is not used to?
Very well written with believable characters! I love reading books with cowboys in it! I can not wait to read more from this author.
☆☆☆☆☆
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.
Recommend this book? Yes! Author? Yes!
Read more from this author? Yes!
Happy Reading!
Melissa
April 7, 2018
When Alexis is tasked with using her marketing skills to save a ranch, she is not prepared to cross paths with sexy cowboy Mitch. As their relationship progresses, Mitch has Alexis questioning her ambitions and future plans. This is a well written, sweet romance, and the only downside, in my opinion, is that the story felt a tad rushed in places, however, I would like to read more of this authors’ work.
April 24, 2018
A quick contemporary romance featuring two fun characters with great chemistry. It’s city girl meets country boy with a sweet ending. Alexis is a strong and fiery character that is easy to like. She is a great pairing for Mitch who is strong and passionate about the Dude Ranch. This book is short and sweet. It is easy to fly through and great for anyone interested in a quick romance read.
July 16, 2018
I was completely immersed in this story from the get-go.
The characters were probably my favorite part. I really enjoyed each of their stories. I didn't feel like anyone was out of place or didn't fit.
The plot was smooth and I liked the way it flowed from chapter to chapter. The romance had a sweet build up that led into multiple HOTT moments.
And might I add a gorgeous cover?
The characters were probably my favorite part. I really enjoyed each of their stories. I didn't feel like anyone was out of place or didn't fit.
The plot was smooth and I liked the way it flowed from chapter to chapter. The romance had a sweet build up that led into multiple HOTT moments.
And might I add a gorgeous cover?
August 15, 2020
The Sweet Life : By Dakota Star
I really enjoyed "The Sweet Life" By Dakota Star I loved this book. Mitch and Alexis are great together until Mitch finds out she is there to look around too see what could be done to draw in more people at the ranch . That's when they start to have problems .I recommend 18 and up .
I really enjoyed "The Sweet Life" By Dakota Star I loved this book. Mitch and Alexis are great together until Mitch finds out she is there to look around too see what could be done to draw in more people at the ranch . That's when they start to have problems .I recommend 18 and up .
August 31, 2020
When The City Meets The Country
Alexis loves her life in the city. When she and her girlfriends visit a ranch that has recently become a client, she is blown away by one certain cowboy. She isn't worried about much, until she finds out he's the owner's son. Then all bets are off.... or are they?, she simply can not stop thinking of him ~
Alexis loves her life in the city. When she and her girlfriends visit a ranch that has recently become a client, she is blown away by one certain cowboy. She isn't worried about much, until she finds out he's the owner's son. Then all bets are off.... or are they?, she simply can not stop thinking of him ~
April 29, 2018
The Sweet Life by Dakota Star is a wonderful story that takes place on a dude ranch. A lovely story of unexpected romance that is well written. The characters are unique and well-developed with amazing backstories. Overall, an enjoyable romantic read.
June 18, 2019
Mitch & Alexis
The Sweet Life is just that, Sweet. This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and I think it might be her debut novel. I enjoyed the storyline and and the authors writing style, I’m looking forward to reading more from Dakota Star in the future.
The Sweet Life is just that, Sweet. This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and I think it might be her debut novel. I enjoyed the storyline and and the authors writing style, I’m looking forward to reading more from Dakota Star in the future.
Read
June 14, 2021A good ranch
An interesting look at a real ranch and what it encompasses. All the horses and what it takes to keep those horses fed and healthy. I never thought much about what it takes to run a ranch.
An interesting look at a real ranch and what it encompasses. All the horses and what it takes to keep those horses fed and healthy. I never thought much about what it takes to run a ranch.
April 7, 2018
This book was a great read full of romance and adventure. I loved the western dude ranch setting and relatable characters. This book has everything you want in a romance and more!
April 20, 2019
Enjoyed this western romance.
April 3, 2018
I'm so in love with this sexy cowboy.
These two have a great connection from the beginning but they find they have some really big hurdles to jump over. This is a very fast book that was so easy to read I got it all in one day. Don't worry it maybe a fast read but it defanetly doesn't leave out the good parts.
These two have a great connection from the beginning but they find they have some really big hurdles to jump over. This is a very fast book that was so easy to read I got it all in one day. Don't worry it maybe a fast read but it defanetly doesn't leave out the good parts.
Read
May 19, 2018DNF
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews