Honestly, I liked this one better than the previous. It still had its issues. Then all promising that she would never be left alone, hence no need for methods to alert for help like whistles, and then promptly leaving her alone are tortured tools to force plots. As someone who is hearing impaired, and a domestic abuse survivor, I'm always aware of my surroundings. I have several methods to protect myself and alert others. A cowardly dog that runs from squirrels is not an defender. And guys who leave to go hunting for the entire day aren't any better a method of defense. Especially as other hunters have shown up on their property. I will give Rue props for not turning the other hunters into predatory leches looking to harm Echo, who as a mute would be a great victim. But come on, she stared at the whistle and then said, "nah" then immediately needed it. You're going to be in the woods, you can't tell for help. Short of packing a tambourine or maracas, maybe a triangle, what are you going to do to call for help? No cell signal. And btw, they can afford a multitude of electronics, toys, and such. Why haven't they bought a satellite phone?? My final complaint is the pregnancy. She's on the pill. Clearly she didn't want to get pregnant. At least not yet. But she does become so (which happens, it's how I got my little heathen- a product of the pill and condoms, she was determined to exist) and is immediately ok with it. No adjustment of thought, no hesitation, not even a blink, just boom, baby equals happy. So, while I thought this one was better, it still had its pitfalls. At least for me. But then maybe I'm old and jaded. But all the books with older characters are cozy mysteries and I loathe those tropes lol. So, for RH romances my choices are mostly limited to academy (ew, they're babies), younger heroines (still young, but usually at least closer to 20-25), bully (which just no, no), or rejected mates (which to me just scream bully but paranormal).