I'm not usually a huge fan of cowboy books but I love a good second chance book, so I gave this a try. I am now a HUGE fan of Harper Sloan as I LOVED this tale of a broken rodeo rider and the girl who's heart he broke.

I put my hand up now and say this book made me ugly cry more than once. I'm glad it was too long to read in one evening as I needed a chance to recover from the emotion and passion that runs throughout this entire story. A story that was so very easy to read, has a smoothly flowing style of writing and very natural dialogue.

The hero and heroine were both likeable and believable characters, with such hot chemistry my kindle was in danger of melting. There are some flash-back scenes at the start of the book that help us understand what happened when Leigh and Maverick were teenagers. I really liked this way of filling in the back story, it worked particularly well as the book is written from both POV's so it gave us an insight into their emotions and the reasons behind their actions. Reading Maverick's POV, and seeing the feelings he is often hiding, left me falling a little in love with this broken and hurting cowboy and desperate to see him get his HEA. Leighton isn't some kick-ass heroine, although she is a very funny drunk, but she has a quiet strength that you can't help but admire.

"Quinn sent me a picture of you two on graduation night, two years after I had left, and it was like a punch to the gut when I looked into your smilin' face. I knew that, while I might have it all, I had nothin' because I didn't get to see that smile every day."


There are also several other wonderful characters, and a few amazing cameo's, in the book - Ms Marybeth Perkins made my howl with laughter. Whilst there didn't seem to be lots of different events/action happening in the book, the pace was good and I was well and truly drawn into the plot. The story will take you on a ride that will tug at your heartstrings but will fill you with hope and leave you feeling all warm inside.

"It's too soon, but in the same breath, it's ten years too late."

Standing ovation for Harper Sloan!!!

Her stories have always been some of my favorites, but now I can add her to my favorite authors of Country Romance!!

Maverick and Leighton have been destined for each other since the start, but life isn't always easy.
This book captures the purest of love that will leave you breathless and wanting more.

"Tell me you want me."
"I-I want you."
"Tell me you've always wanted me...Give me the words, darlin'"
"Maverick, please."
"Tell me now, Leighton. Tell me it's always been me."
"It's always been you."
"Try again. It's always been you, Maverick."
"It's always been you, Maverick, God help me, but it's only ever been you!"

I couldn't put this book down!!
I found myself almost obsessed with wanting to know how their story played out.
I needed to know!!

Maverick's story will absolutely break your heart, but seeing Leighton's unwavering love for him makes it such an amazing love story.

You fight for them as much as they do!
You feel their pain, their love, their struggle.

"I know with the same certainty that the sun will rise in the east and set in the west and that what we will have together will be the most beautiful kind of love that ever did exist."

This story hit my heart very hard.
It took me back to young love that was lost.
It healed me with the reunion of said love.

Maverick and Leighton tell a story about forgiveness, love, friendship, and learning to live again.
They show us the true struggle of what it takes to keep a relationship going.

"He's stronger.
I'm stronger.
Together I just know we'll be unbreakable."

"Sometimes it takes hitting rock bottom to find your way again. You have to be lost before you can ever be found."

Thank you, Harper, for giving us these two amazing characters!!!
Love me some Maverick and Leighton!!

And I can't wait for Quinn and Clay's stories!!!!!
This family has stolen my heart!!

So good!!
So, so good!!!

"Honey, all I did was love you."
"And that love saved me."

Ten years ago, Maverick Austin Davis left Pine Oak to follow his dreams, leaving behind a broken hearted Leighton Elizabeth James, his little sister best friend and his crush. Now he's back and it's time to face his family and Leighton. He's determined to make Leighton forgive him and conquer her again, but Leigh isn't the same naive girl he left behind.
Will Mav win Leigh's heart again?

I loved Lost Rider. The book is amazing and has an incredible sweet, funny, and sexy story. It hooked me from the first page and I couldn't stop reading.
I loved the banter between Leigh and Mav. It's hilarious! And the chemistry between them? Off the charts!
I also loved the little glimpses of what happened in the past and that the story was told from Leigh's and Mav's POVs.

Maverick Austin Davis is a rodeo star. Or was. Due to his injuries, he had to give up his career. Now he's reluctantly back home. The only good things about behind back are his siblings and Leighton. He has a lot of demons to deal with and they're all related to his parents. He loves Leighton and knows he made a huge mistake when he hurt her and then left. Now he wants to win her back. I loved how he never gave up when trying winning Leigh back.
Leighton Elizabeth James always had a crush on Maverick. But he crushed it the day before he ran away from Pine Oak. She lost a lot in the past ten years, but she's content with her life and the success of her shop. She really wants to hate Mav, but deep down she always loved him and always will. I loved that she made him grovel a little before allowing him back into her life.

Another amazing book by the awesome Harper Sloan! An incredible sweet, funny, and sexy second chance romance. The story is amazing and the characters are great. Lost Rider will suck you in from the first page and you won't be able to stop reading. I can't wait to read Quinn's and Clay's stories!

Maverick's story ripped my heart out and gutted me. This was a heartbreaking read about a second chance at love, it was a long rough road but there is a HEA at the end.

Leighton had a HUGE crush on Maverick when she was a teenager but Mav did something so horrible I wanted to smack him upside his head, he made sure he crushed her before he left town...and I mean he really crushed her. The words he used cut deeper than a punch in the gut. I couldn't understand why he would do such a thing but later on in the story it was revealed on why he had to do it and while I do not agree with his actions I do understand why it was done.

I was pulled in at the very beginning of and while I didn't want to put the book down there were times that I couldn't see past the tears in my eyes so I did have to take a few much needed breaks. I cannot recommend this book enough, whether you enjoy your romance stories that have a damaged hero or you just enjoy the emotional ride I can say without a doubt that you will enjoy this book. I look forward to reading the next book in the series but I honestly cannot wait for Clay's story which will most likely be the third book in the series.

http://gisspotreviews.com/index.php/2017/04/27/review-excerpt-tour-lost-rider-coming-home-1-harper-sloan/

A second chance romance, so utterly heartwarming and beautiful, you can't help but fall in love. I absolutely loved every minute of reading this book and I could not put it down. The writing is stunning. The characters are so real and so moving.

Everything about this book was just amazing. I don't want to go into the storyline, but I will say that this book is definitely one of my favorites this year. I can't wait to read more in this series.

3.5 Stars

Sweet, sexy, small-town romance with not a lot of angst or tension. I am a huge fan of Harper Sloan's writing and her oh-so-sexy Alpha males so I had high hopes for this story. This is Maverick's book, he is a famous bull rider on the rodeo circuit but must cut his career short due to injuries.

He returns home to the family and town he left behind and the sweet and beautiful Leigh, who has loved him since she was a young girl. She also happens to be Maverick's sister's best friend!

There are plenty of sweet, sexy times in this book but the central conflict was worked out pretty early on. There are also lots of down-home, small-town feels to this book and all in all, it was an easy, steamy read. Of course the best scenes are between Maverick and Leigh. This book was perfectly enjoyable but it just didn't thrill me like Harper's earlier books. 'Lost Rider' is a great summertime read when you crave some sweet, country lovin'.


"I can’t fix the past… I can’t erase it, no matter how hard I wish I could. Hell, I can’t even promise that I’ll ever be able to forget it… The only thing I can do is to make sure that each day I live is worth somethin’, from this day forward."

with Lost Rider you better be ready for the angst! This book is full of all sorts of emotions - both Maverick and Leigh go through a lot to find happiness, plus there are secrets in the Davis family that cause a little tension to go with all the love between these siblings. It doesn't make for a simple read but it definitely helps make a worthwhile one.

I've heard of Sloan before but this is the first of her stories that I've read. And I can guarantee it won't be my last :) She's got a real writing style, delivering earthy country people with a down home realism to them. They are honest and natural in their reactions, living life as big as the Texas sky ... even when it means running from their troubles. But they grow them tough in the South and when push comes to shove they figure things out.

As long as you are OK being a little worn out when you finally get done, Sloan's new series will definitely give you a ride to remember. And have you looking forward to what comes next!

*** I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s. ***

I can never get tired of a good ol' cowboy love story. There's something about the rugged cowboy hero that just turns my insides to jelly. Maverick Davis is just that and a slice of pie. He's got issues and one of hell of a past that makes him a very intriguing. There's a lot of brooding that's going on, of course, that adds to his dark and mysterious character. His off-the-charts chemistry with Leighton is thrown in your face from the get-go. Between flashbacks of when they were teens to how things are between the two in the present, we're served with a lot of steamy scenes and a lot of highly-charged emotions. Leighton was literally his girl-next-door, the one he secretly pined for but loved enough to let go and "set free". She never knew why he left, though, so she was in over her head with hurt. She tried to move on and did a pretty decent job, or so she thought, until Mav moves back home a decade later. The story of Maverick and Leighton's second chance is a nice one, the story flows nicely and the writing is decent and easy to get through. The only reason for the 3 instead of 4 stars is because I felt that Mav "won" Leighton back way too easily. I get that she never got over him and vice versa but damn...if I were in her shoes, there'd be a hell of a lot more fight on my part and a whole lot more grovelling on his part! Aside from the lack of conflict, the story was enjoyable and a great start to the series!

I really really loved and enjoyed Lost Rider. I love anything to do with cowboys and this one hit the spot! I was hooked right from the start and dint let anything get in the way of me reading this book. Harper is one of my favorite authors and this book is a little different from what she normally writes but it still felt like a true Harper Sloan book, which is always. This series is off to a really great start and I cant wait to read more.

Generally I love all of Harper's books. This one was missing... something. Maybe it was the vocabulary they used in the flashbacks to when they were teenagers. (Loathed it) I held on to that grudge while reading the entire book for words that were used in the beginning. They were made to sound "too country" in my opinion. Overall the storyline was entertaining and I enjoyed Maverick as a character.

What a marvelous story. Once I started, I couldn’t seem to put it down. I felt this book was very well written, and the characters had depth, which is one of the things I enjoy most about books. This one one you will for sure want to pick up!

3.75 stars--LOST RIDER is the first installment in Harper Sloan’s contemporary, adult COMING HOME erotic, cowboy, romance series focusing on the Davis siblings. This is rodeo star Maverick Austin Davis, and bakery owner Leighton James’s story line.

Told from dual first person points of view (Maverick and Leighton) including memories from the past, LOST RIDER is a story of second chances, family, betrayal and heartbreak. All of her life Leighton James’s was in love with Maverick Davis but ten years earlier Maverick walked out of her life, leaving family, friends, and his hometown behind. Raised by an abusive father, and a mother who abandoned her family years before, Maverick’s need to leave was fostered by his love of bull riding. Fast forward ten years, wherein the now injured Maverick, returns home to Pine Oak, Texas for the funeral of the man who almost destroyed his life. Enter Leighton James, the woman that calls to Maverick’s soul, but the woman whose heart he broke without looking back. What ensues is the rebuilding relationship and romance between Leighton and Maverick, and the revelation behind the many reasons Maverick left town so many years before.

Leighton has never forgiven Maverick for walking out of her life. A successful business owner, Leighton has a difficult time forgiving the man that destroyed her heart, abandoning his siblings to deal with the father from h*ll. Maverick’s younger years were filled with abuse and neglect, and Maverick believed the only option was to run when the opportunity presented. An all star rodeo rider whose career is cut short by too many injuries, Maverick returns home to reclaim the woman he loves, and move forward from a dark and destructive past.

We are introduced to Maverick’s older brother Clayton, and his younger sister Quinn. Quinn is Leighton’s best friend and champions her brother’s need for the woman that calls to his heart.

The world building looks at fractured family dynamics, abuse, betrayal, friendships and love. Pine Oak is a small town with a close-knit population where everyone knows everyone else’s business including Leighton’s broken heart, and Maverick’s abusive past. The slow building story line meanders as Maverick struggles with the truth, and the potential loss of his relationship with the siblings he left behind. There is plenty of self-loathing as it pertains to our story line hero.

LOST RIDER is an emotional and heartbreaking story about one man’s need to escape his past, and one woman’s struggle to heal her broken heart. The premise is engaging; the characters are broken, tragic, passionate and inspiring; the romance is captivating and fated.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley

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This book has given me back my faith in the romance book community. Lost Rider for me is one of those books that you just can't manage to get over. It sits in your mind and on your heart and you just want to tell everyone that this needs to be their next read and you hope like heck that everyone loves it the way you do because otherwise we just can't be friends any more. *wink* The crazy thing about loving a book this much though is that, I in turn, find it difficult to review since all I really want to do is throw books at people shouting 'YOU MUST READ THIS!' I don't want to tell you anything because I want you to hunker down, read, and fall in love as hard as I did so that then we can talk about ALL THE THINGS!

I want to talk about how emotional the story is. I want to talk about how heartbreaking it is. I want to talk about how beautiful it is, how romantic it is, how freaking hot and swoon worthy this couple is. I want to talk about how we have all now become obsessed bull riding fans and how we are going to jump in my Honda Odyssey and truck it down to Texas so we can follow the circuit....but we have to take our families with us otherwise we're Maverick's mom and that is a big NO so, CARAVAN!!!!!

I want to talk about Maverick and this guy:


(photo credit: Andrew Giangola)

Bolton Bonner



(photo credit: Mario Testino for V Magazine)


and how I don't know if he was the inspiration for Harper, but he is totally my pick for Maverick. I want to swap picture after picture with you and follow Instagram and Twitter feeds. I want to, gasp, start watching Dancing with the Stars, something I have never done, haha. I want to talk about how much I adored Leighton who may have had her heart broken in so many ways but never once gave up on her dreams. Who may have become stand offish and frightened because the people she loves never stay, but still opens her heart up to possibility. I want to talk to you about how reading this book will remind you that our dreams are just there waiting for us to fulfill them and that we just have to have a little faith in ourselves and those that we love. I want to talk about how no matter the hurt we may have suffered we can't quit, we can't give up. I want to make pie and have picnics, I want to sit around a bonfire and wear colorful cowboy boots. I want to buy my husband a black Stetson and a pair of Wranglers. I want you to want all of those things too so you have to read this book. You have to see what made me fall so hard for this story, to not want it to end, to be anxious for Quinn and Clayton stories, to want to see little Mav and Leighton babies running in the bluebells. I want you to fall in love with reading again, if like me you found your self tired of the same old thing. I want you to fall in love with love and I want you to read this because this book will give you that. Maybe it just came at the right time for me but I don't believe that, I believe that this book is a book everyone can love. I feel like I am putting myself out on the line a little by saying that because you know some people just don't like the same things I do, I can't understand it but its true, *wink*, weird people, lol. Truly though this book is just simply a beautiful story that is easy to open yourself up to. It's a book that will melt your heart and have your soul smiling by the time you get to the end. I hope that you will love it as much as I did and when you are done reading I hope that you will come find me so we can have all the chats about Mav, Leighton, Quinn, and Clayton. I'll be here anxiously waiting for you!


~ HAPPY READING ~

Lost Rider by Harper Sloan......This book was amazing, I could not put it down. Leighton and Maverick were awesome characters and very likeable you will fall in love with them. I loved seeing the story play out for these two. This is my first book by this author and it will not be my last. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book from publisher via NetGalley.

The blurb of this story caught my eye so when I was able to read this story, I went for it. Maverick and Leighton grew up together. Leighton was the best friend of Maverick’s younger sister. She was a part of their family and of course she had a huge crush on Maverick. But Maverick had dreams and wanted out. Fast forward ten years later and Maverick is home for good. When these two reunite, how will things go?

The story alternates a little from past to present. I did enjoy the flashbacks to the past. It helped showed Leighton and Maverick’s relationship and what happens until he leaves. In current times, it was interesting to see how the past affected the present. Maverick and Leighton had that deep connection but they needed to work through some obstacles. I did like reading about them defining and working on their relationship. I liked the time they spent together-Harper was able to show the love between the two. And though it wasn’t all roses, that bond between them made the love shine. Though this story wasn’t just about their relationship. Maverick is going through some changes and I enjoyed reading about what he will do and how things will play out. I also liked Maverick’s siblings. They were great and there is so much more to them. I know the next book is about the sister, Quinn so I can’t wait to dive into that one when it’s out. And I’m hoping Clay gets his own book. There is so much more to the story of the Davis’ siblings and I just need more.

This was pleasant read. There were more things that I liked then didn’t. And I find it interesting enough to finish. Overall, I did like it.

5 Stars!

Harper Sloan... you have completely outdone yourself with your brand new series. I've been a fan since day one and seriously.... this book will go down as a top favorite of all time (and cowboys are totally not my thing!).

Lost Rider is the first sexy and sweet standalone novel in the Coming Home series and it is hitting all marks... proving that time and distance don't lessen the love we have in our hearts.

He left ten years ago and never looked back, shattering her heart. She was left to pick up the broken pieces. Now he's back in town... and ready to go all in, lay it on the line, and get the girl who had always owned his heart.

Packed with a beautiful second chance and a serious punch to the heart, Leighton and Maverick are going to come in and steal your heart like a thief in the night, leaving you breathless and desperate for more.

Be still my besting heart..... Man I loved Maverick and Leighton! These two were so amazing... swoony, fun, broody, complicated, intense, passionate, and hit me with all the feels in all the right places. Epic.... their story was epic and the setup for the future surrounding the secondary characters, just yes!

Man oh man, if you haven't read this author then right NOW is the time to jump on board because she is out, brand new with her first traditionally published book that is set your heart racing and on fire.

I highly recommend this book.

I've got to admit. This is my first Harper Sloan book. I have always had things by her on my TBR list but with this one, it's the first time I've taken the plunge. I'm glad I did. I really enjoyed this book. Western/Cowboy books are usually not my thing. I tend to not read them just because they never peaked my interest. I'm not sure why this one did though. It was a pleasant surprise.

The story is a 2nd chance romance and a childhood one at that. I liked Maverick a lot and I also liked Leighton. I thought they worked well together. I would have liked to have seen their romance be more of a slow build and not so quick but other than that it was fine. There was too much internal dialogue for me but I kinda just skimmed some of it when I got to that point.

I liked this book and I hope you do to. I am looking forward to Quinn and Clay's book. I think that one will be a good one as well.

I don't know what I expected from this book, but I do know I did not expect to love it as much as I did! I can't wait for the rest of the series and I have to read more of Harper Sloan's books, because I am just enamored with her characters and writing. The story was nostalgic in the best ways and immediately made me flashback to my first love/teenage crush and its fierce intensity, as well as the crushing heartache that I felt when things didn't work out as I wanted. It also made me so giddily happy to see the characters get their own sweet HEA after everything they'd been through. I think that my favorite part of the book was, even though the end was sort of rushed, none of the real issues that were discussed were glossed over or ignored, and the characters COMMUNICATED with each other from beginning to end, instead of internalizing every thought or making assumptions. It was so refreshing! Plus the sex was hot :) I give Lost Rider 4 out of 5 wine glasses and I'm totally stoked for the rest of the Coming Home series!

Favorite Quote: “Are you drunk, baby?” Maverick smirks at me.

I nod.

“You want to keep getting drunk or go home?”

“That depends,” I whisper huskily, crooking my finger so he’ll bend closer to me. “Do I get to ride my cowboy in both scenarios or only one?”

I’ve never read Harper Sloan (I plan to hit her back list hard after this one) and when I saw in the blurb the hero is a retired rodeo star, I decided to try it. I’m so, so glad I did because I really enjoyed this book and this author’s voice. The way she writes her hero (and maybe even her heroine) reminds me a bit of Kristen Ashley, which is a good thing.

Maverick is an asshole to start – and I have to say, an asshole hero done right is my catnip. Two things happen that make him a successful asshole: one, he is redeemed by the end of the book (dare I say, he turns quite mushy after starting off VERY intense) and two, Leighton, our heroine, stands up to him and gives it back just as good as he dishes it out. I adored her.

Maverick and Leighton grew up together in Pine Oaks, Texas, and Leighton crushed hard on Maverick who is a few years older than her. When he is eighteen, Maverick decides he needs to leave this town and explore his dreams of being a rodeo star. In a desperate attempt to gain his attention, Leighton goes to a bonfire shortly before he leaves, dressed in a more…mature fashion..and overhears Maverick saying how she is trying too hard and she has the body of a boy. Devastated, Leighton flees, and Maverick leaves for rodeo stardom, not to be seen again for years.

But Maverick won’t be gone forever. Ten years later, he has had one too many concussions and can’t ride anymore. At the same time, he learns his father has died, so he grudgingly goes back home for the funeral, and to see his brother Clay, his sister Quinn and back to the family ranch. He doesn’t like ranching, but he also feels like with his rodeo career over, it’s time settle down and help out his brother and sister. Maverick had an abusive father and a mother who abandoned the family – so there is no love lost over the death of his father. His father never once supported his rodeo career:

Instead, all I can focus on is the fact that, even at my peak, I wasn’t good enough for him to be proud of me.

No matter what, the silence from him over the years said it all. He couldn’t give two fucks what I accomplished out there on the circuit.

It took me a long time to realize that I had been pushing myself for so long to prove to him I was worthy, but even when I fucking knew it wasn’t worth it, something inside me still wanted to matter to Buford Davis.

When Maverick arrives back in Pine Oak he is bitter, pissed off, and in no mood for friends or family. And then he sees Leighton at the funeral.

Leighton has spent the years with Maverick gone, well, thinking about him. She has opened a very successful pie shop in town, and is happy – but her love for Maverick has never wavered. She is extremely close with both Quinn and Clay – they have become her family and she knows the tension with Maverick being gone so long and not really part of the ranch or family is pretty intense. She knows Maverick will be back for the funeral and her tension is ramped up too. Their reunion at the funeral however, doesn’t go so well. Maverick doesn’t even recognize her at first, thinking she is a random girlfriend of Clay’s:

“How well do you even know her? You haven’t said one word about have a new piece of ass so she must not have been in the picture long. Best I can tell, I’m not too far off the mark.”

“How well do I know her?” He laughs bitterly. “I’d say pretty well, considering she’s been Quinn’s best friend for twenty-six fuckin’ years. Why don’t you let that sink in, you fuckin’ asshole?”

My eyes leave his instantly and I look over to his truck, trying to see past the black tint that hides her from my view. No fucking way. It couldn’t be.

But even when he realizes this random woman is Leighton, he still can’t be nice. He is such a jerk – because he obviously secretly loves her, but he is so bitter over his past with his dad, and feels guilty over how he treated Leighton all those years ago – it’s easier to be a big jerk than to apologize

“Yeah. Like I said, you ain’t over shit. I was out of line. We need to put it behind us so I can go back to the ranch.”

His words hit me, the meaning clear, and I’m suddenly even more pissed than I was just a second before.

“So you can go back to the ranch?”

“That’s what I said.”

“Why, you good-for-nothing jerk. You didn’t come over here to apologize for showing your ass, but to what? You get put in time-out by Clay? Or Quinn? You could have saved us both the trouble and just driven around in that flashy little truck of yours for a red-hot minute before heading back and reporting to them like a good little boy that you had done as ordered.”

“Now, you listen here—” he starts, stepping forward, our chests just a foot apart.

“Oh, I don’t think so, mister. You might think the sun came up just to hear you crow, but I assure you that I don’t need your cocky ass lighting my doorstep.”

I love Leighton SO much. She can take his surly attitude and throw it right back in his face. She never gets whiny or acts immature – her feisty attitude made me smile over and over again. She fully admits to herself that he is still so damn sexy, even when he is scowling and shooting off his mouth. She doesn’t deny their attraction, but doesn’t let him get away with anything either. Heck – she even throws a pie in his face!

“You want your pie?!” I yell, my voice coming out more like a high-pitched screech. My ears roar as my heart picks up speed with my anger and I feel like I can actually hear the blood rushing through my veins. “You want your blasted pie?” I knock him in the gut with my shoulder hard enough to make him shuffle back a step as I push past him and walk over to the fridge that’s closest to my office. The one that I keep all my special pies in. Wrenching the door open, I grab the closest cookie dough creation before slamming the door back.

{…}

“You want your pie, Mav?” I ask again, this time hiding my anger behind a sticky-sweet voice and a little smile.

He doesn’t speak, and honestly, I’m not sure I’m capable of giving him a word in anyway. Without a second thought, I bring my arm back before I swing it forward and slap the whole pie into his face.

“There’s your goddamn pie, you good-for-nothing jackass!”

Have I mentioned yet that this book is sexxxxy?

With quick and impatient movements, he pulls his hips back, moves his hand from my hair and down to my hips—mirroring the hold of his other hand as he lifts me from him and slams me back down over his hard cock, impaling me completely.

He growls deep in his throat.

I scream loud enough to wake the dead.

His head falls forward, forehead to my sweat-slicked chest.

My head falls back, forehead to the ceiling.

They have explosive sex pretty quick…and then they take a step back and sort out their true feelings. Maverick goes from pissed off asshole to a pretty mushy romantic hero pretty quick in this one. I kind of wanted him to stay jerky for just a bit longer because the sexual tension was just so delicious, but his romantic side and they way he decided to court Leighton properly made me smile as well.

I also loved Clay and Quinn (her book is next). Clay is just as intense as Maverick and is extremely protective of Leighton – he squares off against Maverick when he first comes back home and their scenes are so well done. There is a lot of growly words between them.

And Quinn is a riot – when she learns that Maverick and Leighton are giving it a go at a relationship she made me laugh:

“Ohmigod. Ohmigod. Oh. My. God,” my sister mutters under her breath, eyes even wider. “Clay,” she says with a gasp, reaching out blindly behind her to find him, not looking away from the two of us. “Clayton!” she screams when her hand can’t find him.

“Jesus, Quinn, take a breath,” he grumbles, grabbing her hand before she can slap him.

“It’s happening,” she breathes.

“You are the weirdest person in the world,” Leigh says, laughing.

I highly recommend this one. Maverick, with his southern drawl and all his “darlin’s” and his Stetson and dusty boots are going to make you swoon. And Leighton is such a fun heroine. Dying for Quinn’s book.

Grade: A-