I thought that it was a reay slow burn.
The characters were sweet, but it wasn't for me.

I enjoyed this book. I immediately felt connected to the main characters, Lane and Finn, and I liked their back-and-forth banter along with the "Will they?" or "Won't they?" dynamic. The angst in the first third of the book built the best dramatic tension. However, that tension ran to the halfway point of the book, and I felt as if I was reading the same thoughts over and over to the point of me being frustrated. Looking back, I realized I was frustrated because I was connected to the characters and wanted them to have time together. So the good part - I was invested in the characters! After the halfway point of the book, the plot picked up and became an easy read for me. If you like angst and cowboy stories, I recommend this one!

I love this whole series, each story is unique in it's on way and doesn't come as familiar with the other books in this series. Finn and Lane have been best friends for the last ten years. Finn has harbored a crush for Lane this whole time and now he is having a hard time keeping it under control. Lane has been keeping secrets from everyone and something comes up that reminds her and she is losing it. These two together are just perfect, they get one another. When their feelings come to surface will they embrace them or will they try to hide them deeper? This is a really good love story, with the love being a slow burn that turns into full blown deep down connection.

Njoyable story. Nothing outstanding. Sometimes her stories cane begin gob feel very similar.

Lane knows how to give it to Finn straight, no beating around the bush with her, “no one else is cooking for you, Finn. Because you’re a cranky *****le. So maybe you should show a little more appreciation.” Lane is seriously cute, "the color in her cheeks got darker. “I’m also not sure I can talk to you while you’re naked.” I really liked this book, Finn and Lane had chemistry, they understood each other and I loved watching the banter between the two.

Maisey Yates is hit or miss for me. This book was more of a miss. I dont usually enjoy friends to lovers stories but felt this one dealt with the feelings a bit better than most. I felt like too much of the book was internal dialogue. Both the hero and heroine had glimpses of funny banter and interesting personalities but seemed to overanalyze everything. I did like the dynamic between Finn and his brothers and look forward to reading about them

Maisey Yates stories are meant to sweep the reader off her feet and Slow Burn Cowboy is no exception. Yates's writing is clear, concise and romantic, everything that readers want and it doesn't hurt that her cowboys are hot as Texas.

I've had the pleasure of interviewing Maisey and she is as delightful as her books.

This was an enjoyable story and I enjoyed the setting of Copper Ridge. If you love a grumpy hero, then you will love Finn. He does grumpy very sexily. His best friend is Lane, and Finn has always resisted her, until he can't anymore because his secret attraction is out.

In previous book Lane's best friend almost hooks up with Finn and thats how Lane starts seeing Finn as a guy and a guy she needs to have. Finn is feeling life changing on him and it makes him extra grumpy. His grandfather has died and his half brothers are back and they now own a part of his ranch.

So all this unsettles both characters and gets them to open their eyes to the possibility. This is a great friends to lover story and I really loved Lane and how she pushes Finn to get him grow and change .

3.5 stars

I always enjoy books in this series, so I just request when I see Maisey's name.

I liked Lane and Finn. She's snarky and he's stoic and their friendship works. Everything was a bit more complicated with Finn's brothers showing up, but I liked the dynamic. Oh and their chemistry is palpable.

I did enjoy the BFF to more; honestly, it's one of my favorite tropes. In this instance, the drama and the arguments did get a bit repetitive. Thankfully, the time between the inevitable break up and grand gesture didn't last too long.

As always, it was another enjoyable piece of sorbet. I just wish it would have been a bit more fluffy.

**Huge thanks to Harlequin Books and NetGalley for providing the arc free of charge**

SLOW BURN COWBOY – Maisey Yates
Copper Ridge: The Donnellys, Book 1
HQN
ISBN: 978-0-373-80194-7
April 2017
Contemporary Romance

Copper Ridge, Oregon – Present Day

After being abandoned as a child by his father, and then his mother, Finn Donnelly moved in with his grandfather and helped run the family ranch. After the old man dies, the ranch is left jointly to Finn and his three half-brothers, much to Finn’s annoyance. One by one, his half-brothers show up, and suddenly Finn has a full house. Luckily for Finn, his best friend’s sister, Lane Jensen, is there to help provide meals and moral support. Since Lane moved to Copper Ridge ten years ago, she and Finn have been best buddies, and he’ll do just about anything for her. But with the upheaval in Finn’s life, he is thrown off-balance, and they grow even closer. He also begins to become aware of Lane as more than just friends. But should they break up a friendship and become lovers?

Lane moved to Copper Ridge to escape the turmoil in her life and has settled in nicely, running a gift store. She values her friendship with Finn, and getting romantically involved with him has to be wrong. Yet, she’s looking at him differently—as a desirable man—and it’s scaring her. After what happened to her in her teens, which led her to flee and come to Copper Ridge, she’s afraid of commitment. It doesn’t help that the reason for her teenage turmoil happens to be in the news all the time. Lane and Finn are two troubled souls who just might need to trust each other. But passion comes first . . . .

A best friends to lovers tale that slowly builds into a searing romance, SLOW BURN COWBOY will have readers rooting for Lane and Finn to give into the fiery passion that simmers just below the surface. Finn had a troubled childhood, but all that changed when he moved in with his grandfather. He thought the ranch would be his once the old man died, but instead it’s divided four ways to include half-brothers Finn barely knows. He’s angry, and it’s Lane he can talk to about his feelings. They have been each other’s rock through the years and neither wants to change things. With Finn’s upheaval in his life it rocks the boat between him and Lane. Suddenly, they’re very aware of each other in a sexual way.

Because of the abandonment by his parents, Finn is reluctant to trust falling in love. What if the woman he marries decides to walk out, like his parents? Lane has deep secrets that she hasn’t shared with Finn or anyone else, but that someone from her past keeps popping up in the news to haunt her memories. Lane will need to share with Finn the truth . . . and trust him to be there for her. Finn must accept that Lane won’t walk out of his life if he gives her his heart. As you can see, SLOW BURN COWBOY has a “been burned and don’t want to deal with it” couple at its core.

If you haven’t read the Copper Ridge books before, then you might be curious about some of the other characters who pop in and out of scenes with Finn and Lane. However, SLOW BURN COWBOY can be read as a standalone without too much difficulty. This book starts a new series within the Copper Ridge “family” and features the Donnelly brothers—Finn, Cain, Alex, and Liam.

Finn and Lane thought that friendship was the only thing they wanted from each other, but as they discover in SLOW BURN COWBOY, falling in love is even better. Give yourself a treat by picking up and reading SLOW BURN COWBOY.

Patti Fischer

RATING: 3 out of 5

Slow Burn Cowboy is the latest book in Maisey Yates’ Copper Ridge universe; it is the first of The Donnellys — four half brothers: Cain, Finn, Liam, and Alex, who get together again after their grandfather died and left the ranch to them. Even though Finn is the only one staying and taking care of the ranch while the rest of the brothers build their lives somewhere else.

Lane is Finn’s best friend for the past decade. He has been pressing his feeling for Lane because he doesn’t want to ruin their friendship. But with his brothers coming to stay indefinitely, Finn feels like his life is changing and he cannot control it. Then suddenly his feeling for Lane is getting stronger more than ever…

I do love friends-to-lovers theme … BUT there is a downside to it, unfortunately. The arguments can be really repetitive and frustrating. And that was what I felt here. I liked the beginning just fine. I could get why Finn is upset when his half brothers are all coming down to the ranch, taking what they consider as legally theirs when they never help Finn with the ranch all these years. I’m probably going to be quite bitter too.

It is Lane that I was having trouble to connect. Yes, Lane had a past, but I failed to see why it made her reacted the way she did. I couldn’t understand her arguments when she pushed Finn away after he made the first move. I just didn’t get it. I thought Lane’s past wasn’t 100% her fault (**SPOILER** Lane got pregnant when she was sixteen and then gave the baby for adoption)

Lane has been Finn’s friend for so long, she knows him well, does she really think that Finn will blame her? Does she think that Finn is not good enough for a steady relationship? I guess, I thought Lane was being a bit unreasonable. When Finn challenges Lane, that she seems to only needs Finn to do things like changing the light-bulbs, or getting rid of a mouse, simply because he’s a man, I could totally see Finn’s point.

Simply put, Lane frustrated me because her reasons are not convincing enough for the hot and cold attitude she put on Finn. And THAT made the book less enjoyable for me.

We did have a a turn-around with Lane suddenly being the one wanting more and Finn that says he can’t — and for me this also didn’t feel convincing with how both characters act with each other prior to that particular moment.

The epilogue is sweet though 🙂

While this isn’t my favorite of the series, I’m still quite intrigued with the next story. It will be about the oldest brother Cain, a single father with a teenage daughter and Alison, Lane’s good friend who is previously in an abusive relationship. I think that has potential, right?

SLOW BURN COWBOY is a friends-to-lovers story that pulls out all the feels. And the cover truly pops!

Finn and Lane have been friends for a while when the book opens. Finn has been interested in taking their relationship further, but is convinced Lane doesn’t want more. Lane comes across oblivious to Finn’s hotness for longer than I liked, but she does note the appeal of his muscular body and personality.

The book has a slow(er) start, and I found myself irritated at times with Lane, because she couldn’t see Finn that was the right guy for her. And then she fights it too long. But, I guess that’s standard for a friends-to-lovers romance.

I enjoyed reading about Finn and Lane, as well as the secondary characters, who feel fully fleshed out. The book has some nicely steamy scenes, and a satisfying happily ever after. I look forward to Maisey Yates’ next book in this series.

Thank you Netgalley, Harlequin, and Maisey Yates, for giving me a copy of Slow Burn Cowboy in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't get into it. So much so that I didn't even finish it.

Another great romance in the Copper Ridge series! Finn is trying to keep the ranch running well after his grandfather dies. When he finds out that the ranch goes in equal shares to him and his siblings, he's furious. He's been doing all the work. But his siblings have problems of their own and his best friend, Lane, is getting harder and harder to ignore. Lane's overcoming her past and starting to see that Finn is her future. Great read!

I hate to give this less than 4 stars but the rambling was irritating. I might have been able to get over the main character's tendency to ramble when nervous or stressed but there was also a lot of repetition in the story. This book may not be my favorite in the series this far but it adds to the Copper Ridge family. Finn needed his friends and family, and we needed his story.

Lane and Finn have been "just friends" for 10 years. A decade of husband and wife duties without side benefits. Finn aims to change that without offering legitimacy. Lane might be okay with the theory but when put into practice she needs more. She doesn't want to issue an ultimatum but how can they stay friends and lovers within this state of limbo?

Everyone always lets you down. Finn's mantra is a self-fulfilling prophecy. He believes that as long as they stay friends, and nothing more, they will be immune from hurting each other. Both of them have been trapped by secrets for far too long. It will take everything they have to overcome fear and face the uncertain future together.

Found it extremely difficult to understand or sympathize with two main characters. Perhaps if author shortened book to a novella and removed pages of useless material (not relevant to the story), it might be better received.

Oh Dear God! Finn is so annoying with his rude/immature behavior & Lane just wouldn't shut up! I didn't totally hate these characters per se or the storyline, but I was so annoyed with the dialogue that I couldn't get into it.

Deep passion is finally found between these two best friends, although love takes awhile to come to the surface. I really enjoyed getting to know more about Finn and Lane, both characters have pasts that hold them back. It is really fun to see Lane tease Finn. Another great Copper Ridge book. I can't stop reading this series.

On the surface, this is a friends-to-lovers story. Slow Burn Cowboy is more than that, however. Yates wrote a story that got me emotionally involved. There were times when this book made me angry - Finn is the brother who stayed in Copper Ridge with his grandfather and "literally bled" for the ranch, as he points out several times in the book. Now that his grandfather has died (his worthless parents died much earlier), the ranch is left equally to he and his brothers. Now there's a kick in the teeth for you. He is justifiably angry. I was angry for him.

The brothers - well, Finn is a jerk to them. I was angry for them. They will presumably all have books of their own where we will learn more of their terrible lives before arriving at Copper Ridge (as far as I can tell, there are no happy backstories in this book). They take Finn's rudeness in stride and start working the ranch and all of a sudden everyone seems to get along, so I was happy for them.

Then there is Finn's relationship with Lane. Finn realizes that Lane is his wife except they've never been married and they don't have sex, but they do lots of chores for each other and are friends. So they have sex. And again, I'm a bit angry because he's a bit of a jerk. But he is right in the things he says, so I have to like him. And he's hot. Don't forget that.

This was a book that got me hooked. Finn and Lane are great together, eventually. The relationship rockiness that so many authors try to put in books is successfully done in this story. The sweetness that goes into relationships is also successfully added. I liked this story so much that I tried another one in the Copper Ridge series (it was good), and I look forward to the next book.