3.5 When Fantasy Becomes Reality Stars
* * *1/2 Spoiler Free
Maisey Yates has taken the awakening of two people from their years'-long assumptions of just who they are.

Beatrix Leighton has always been the caring one...the one to look out for those she saw who needed her...the critters and wounded animals. She was someone who didn't want attention; she hides and stayed in the background. She was seen as a "little sister" to the older brother of her sister in law. Bea fell hard all those years ago. It was easy to love a man she wasn't around...he could be seen as the perfect cowboy/bull rider. As long as he was on the circuit, Bea never had to challenge her deep wishes for this man...the perfect fantasy.

Dane Parker knew who he was...he conquered bulls and rode them like a champion. He had the muscles, the determination, and focus to make those 8 seconds work to his advantage...At least he did until he was taken down by a serious injury which sends him home to heal. It also causes Dane to doubt his rodeo future.

It is Dane's sister knows this healing process will need someone to assist Dane and Bea is the perfect person to do it. Only Dane doesn't want any help but sucks it up because he knows he needs it. He sees Bea as his sister's little bestie...never thinking of her as an actual woman.

Until he does...

This is a story which takes a long look at how we can get locked into our assumptions of how we have categorized people. Having an idealized vision of Dane, a fantasy which was safe to hold on to...was something Bea had to let go of. Here he was, needing her even though it took months for him to realize the depth of his feelings. Dane had to let go of the idea Bea was this little sister...and when he did, all her beauty, strength and heat drew him to her.

This is part of a series and I was able to read without reading all the others before it.

A gifted copy was provided by HQN Books via NetGalley for an honest review.

Maisey-Yates romances breed like bunnies. Yet another one on the recent horizon, fifth in the Gold Valley series, Unbroken Cowboy, features two of my favourite sequel-bait characters from previous books, animal-loving Bea(trix) Leighton, and bull-trampled rodeo star-no-more, Dane Parker. Because, like Betty Neels, I read and review every Yates romance, my review will always be tainted by my mood, whether Yates’s brand of theme and ethos work for me “in the moment,” or not. When they’re published as close together as Yates seems to produce them, I tend to feel less well-disposed. When a whiley-while goes by, then I’m eager to immerse myself in her world. If my introduction to Yates had been Unbroken Cowboy, I’d have been all in with enthusiasm and praise. As it’s one of many and followed by the recently reviewed, Need Me, Cowboy, I read it more for because she’s Yates and I read’em all. No surprises here. In “yatesian” fashion, hero Dane and heroine Bea experience personal transformation, in this case, as the title suggests, from brokenness to wholeness. The glue that brings their resurrection about is the mystical power of love.

The novel opens with Dane’s literal brokenness. Dane was trampled by a bull, sustaining injuries so grievous, they put him in a wheelchair. He physio-ed his way to walking with a limp, but his injuries are permanent and he’ll likely never see the bull ring again. His bodily “brokenness,” however, is a reflection of his broken spirit. When we meet Bea, she appears the stronger. Bea has loved Dane forever, living under the shelter of his little-sister affection for years. She knows she’s never been in Dane’s radar as a woman and plans to take her love-secret to the grave. For the time being however, as Dane is “stuck” in the big house on the property where Bea has her cabin, she is his annoyed-to-his-surly-‘tude caregiver: “She never lost her cool or brought harm to any being. But she was close, very close, to administering grievous bodily injury to one extremely irritating cowboy who was — no doubt about it — the worst patient she had ever tended to in her life.” Dane’s retort to her ministrations tells us all we need to know about Bea: ” ‘Your problem is that you’ve never met a stray you didn’t like.’ ” Bea works at the local vet clinic and, from the vantage of her hermetic cabin, takes in injured and abandoned wild animals (Evan, her raccoon, figures prominently and provides much-needed comic effect to this angsty romance).

Bea and Dane’s contrast between where they are in life seems, at first, to be in Bea’s favour, her strong sense of purpose and place in the world and Dane’s loss of purpose, his success and fame in the ring. But as Bea coaxes Dane back to life, slowly and surely and beautifully, by giving him an old dog to walk and care for for example, chinks appear in Bea’s armor as Dane dons a new one. As is Yates’s wont, deleterious parental figures are at the heart of her hero’s and heroine’s inner woundedness. And her usual reversal happens: love is the crux, focus, blessing and frightening new state that sends hero and heroine into a tailspin of crisis emotions and erratic behaviour. When Bea and Dane become lovers, Bea is empowered by her new-found sense of identity as a lover, woman, sexual being. But when Dane the fantasy becomes the flesh-and-blook man who wants commitment and connection, Bea’s insecurities and fears come to the foreground. Dane, on the other hand, is renewed by his new-found ability to care, slow down and just be with another person in place of chasing the crowd’s applause and approval. Yates’s courtship dance is always fraught, with a back-and-forth movement between approaching the other and/or running away from.

It’s a dance that Bea and Dane trip to, limp in, and finally take beautiful, smooth, long strides. Their HEA is lovely. The journey, however (sorry about all the mixing of metaphors) bogs down. There’s a point in the narrative where Bea and Dane become Yates’s mouthpieces for her view (and I’m sympathetic to it, hence, why I keep reading her) of love as a means of personal resurrection by admitting love, care, and need are what we’re made of: what are necessary to give and ask for if we’re to live a complete, full, and fulfilling life. At a certain point, Yates’s theme is the strongest voice in the narrative. It broke my concentration and immersion in Dane and Bea’s journey. With Miss Austen, we concur that Unbroken Cowboy offers “real comfort,” Emma, but didn’t rock our world.

Maisey Yates’s Unbroken Cowboy is published by HQN Books. It was released on April 23rd and may be found at your preferred vendor. I received an e-ARC from HQN Books, via Netgalley.

I’ve been waiting for Beatrix and Dane’s story for quite some time. Bea’s been present as a secondary character in the prior books; a woman who seemed happy to blend into the background, but her unrequited crush and longing for Dane came through in the short number of pages she turned up on. It was clear that Dane didn’t see Bea as anything but a friend, a little sister type of girl.

Dane’s back in Gold Valley after he’s injured badly in a rodeo accident, and he’s not happy about how long it’s taking to heal. Bad tempered and feeling useless he agrees to help Bea with a project. Of course, you can guess what happens when they start spending all kinds of time together. Dane finally sees Bea as a vibrant woman, and the revelation is a jolt! The lightbulb comes on and suddenly Bea is irresistible. He doesn’t resist, at least not for long!

I was worried Dane would crush poor innocent Bea’s heart, especially since he’s had a steady stream of “buckle-bunnies” in the past to warm his bed as a star bronc rider on the rodeo scene, but Dane was a total sweetheart. Well, if you ignored the bad-tempered brooding, which I couldn’t blame him for. I wouldn’t be in the best mood if I was in pain and was worried about healing time, too.

It was Bea who made things a bit angsty, struggling with the reality of their relationship, and a future. I was happy that Bea wasn’t the wallflower she’d sort of been (or at least let everyone think she was) in the previous books. I enjoyed seeing her make steps to take hold of the life she wanted, and finally speak her mind.

Unbroken Cowboy was fun and steamy in parts, but also gets serious with characters that feel real with normal flaws and insecurities, making Dane and Bea’s journey to a HEA a pleasure to read!

Dane got roughed up being a bull rider and has to heal for now dealing with a limp. Beatrix is a natural caretaker and has loved Dane for a long time and was there for Dane when he got injured. Beatrix needing help for an animal sanctuary asks for Danes help while he's still trying to heal with light work. Thing is with this time they are going to have to spend with eachother feelings between one another get stronger. Both have their own set of issues, now its working past that to see if something can become of anything.

I liked this book, I really enjoyed getting to know the two characters. They both have had such difference lives and it was interesting getting to know them. After all that they've both went through readers can't help but want these to find to find a HEA with eachother. I loved seeing how the books played out and the little hijinks that were caused by Evan which was pretty entertaining. Overall it was a pretty great book, if you love western contemporary romances you'll love this.

I have mixed feelings about this book. For the most part, even with the sex between Beatrix and Dane that doesn't happen until halfway through the book, this is a sweet read. Bea is adorable, until she has sex with Dane.



Allow me to explain. She's a poor little rich girl with a lot of issues because of family stuff. (To say anymore would be a spoiler) She's crushed on Dane and is a 24 year old virgin as a result.



REALLY! WTF!



This is a trope I'm getting sick of.



Pine....pine...pine over one guy...never knowing or getting involved with anyone...because that one crush has just spoiled you for the whole world.



Uh...NO!



I can deal with the virginity thing if this were a Christian based novel..but nope..not that.



And Dane is a rodeo rider who got pretty messed up..and Bea is taking care of him because he's quasi- family. Her brother was married to his sister.....



Is your head spinning yet?



Dane has spent his life working to be something and to make something to prove that he's important to his dad, who he hasn't seen since he was 13.



There's a lot of Daddy issues in this book, did I mention that?



Dane is also pretty grumpy, but his situation warrants it really. He's in pain and he's fighting with himself over what he can actually do now that his career may be over.



But the two get together and things should be happy happy joy joy. Right?



No that's not how romance works..there must be conflict.



Only the conflict made me want to beat Bea with a stick or a crowbar or drop an anvil on her head.



These two characters both had a pity party theme about them that drove me a little bit nuts at times. Bea was sweet though, and I loved that she was a caring animal lover. I adored Evan, the panty thieving, Cheerio eating raccoon. Even Dane, grumpy though he was, wasn't as bad boy as he might seem.



It was a good enough read, but definitely not something that stood out for me.

I was a little apprehensive about this book going in. I’m always a little leery when the heroine has been in love with the hero basically her whole life. And Beatrix HAS been in love with Dane her whole life. Now he is recovering from a bull riding accident and she helping to nurse him back to health.

What sold me on this story was the distinction between a longtime crush and real love. Bea is self-aware about her infatuation, she realizes she didn’t really know Dane, and didn’t have any expectations about a real future for them until he was interested in her as well. I thought Bea and Dean’s transition from family friends to lovers was pretty seamless and made sense.

Maisey Yates writes the most romantic prose. I think I highlighted half of this book because I just kept swooning over her poetic and passionate words. I felt like the story had an almost fantastical element, in the best way, because of the location, a secluded cabin, and the gorgeous writing.

Dane’s abrupt change of heart was just that… abrupt. I didn’t really believe his priorities had/could change that fast. Luckily, I love the way he loved Bea so I will forgive him. But it did keep me from giving this book five stars.

While this book does stand alone, I was really glad I read GOOD TIME COWBOY first. Lindy was a big part of this book and many of the events that were resolved in this story happened in GOOD TIME COWBOY.

Overall, this was another lovely and emotional escape read. I can’t get enough Maisey Yates in my life!

**I received an ARC of this book in order to provide an honest review**

Unbroken Cowboy by Maisey Yates is book 5 in the Gold Valley Series. This is the story of Beatrix Leighton and Dane Parker. I haven't yet read the previous books, so for me this was a standalone book.
Bea has always had a crush on Dane but of course to him she felt he treated her like a little sister. Now in the present day she is further involved with saving and loving animals. Dane escaped is trailer life to become a bull rider, but now he is injured being on the sidelines. Bea works to get Dane to help her with her animal sanctuary but is finding those old feelings just growing. One think Bea learned growing up was that love can her. Dane thinks that Bea is rescuing him like she does her animals but one thing is changing is his feeling towards her.
Sweet Romance Read.

This was a book that I totally loved. I was very easily swept up into Dane and Bea's story and was rooting for them all the way. The entertaining plot pulled me in with its combination of sweetness, charm, humor, deep emotions and romance. The characters were interesting and layered. They both had emotional baggage that weighed heavily into the story. In my opinion Bea was such an incredible character. She was a unique blend of shyness with a backbone of steel. Big hearted and spunky. She was someone that I would love to have as a friend. Dane was as growly as an injured bear and so darn incredibly stubborn about seeing what was right in front of his face. Both these characters deserved love and a HEA and I am so happy that I got to take this journey with them.

After having read the previous books in the Gold Valley series and waiting for Bea and Dane’s story, I have to admit that it was very anticlimactic for me. While I realize that Bea is sweet and unassuming, caring for her woodland creatures and making a cozy nest for herself in her cabin, I never actually thought of her as childish and immature. But many of her actions seemed petty and young. And while Bea crushed on Dane for years, it was a little girl’s crush. Any physical feelings she felt for Dane developed a hot minute before they had sex.
While I wasn’t infatuated with Dane, I didn’t hate him either. But for him not to realize that Bea was crushing on him for years...that’s ridiculous. There’s self absorbed, which he never really came off as being when he was a secondary character, and then there’s just plain clueless.
Overall, this couple just didn’t wow me like I thought they would. I felt strangely let down, not by the writing or plot, as all the elements of a Maisey Yates were presents...but by my own expectations.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC, whch I am reviewing voluntarily.

I knew when I was getting into this book, that Beatrix Leighton, aka Bea, was a character that would leave a mark in my heart. From the very first when she was introduced, I was drawn into her like a kindred spirit, in an oddly strong way. Dane Parker, on the other hand, was the headstrong, bull riding, womanizing daredevil, who didn't deserve the devotion Bea had for him. This was my preconceived notion of protagonists even before opening the book, and boy did the author manage to pull the rug under me and my assumptions.
Absolutely in awe of this story that dealt with some real and serious issues, from parental conflicts and family drama to abandonment issues and trying to please the parents, trying to earn the attention and love, as they did not feel that they were worth anything on their own. These questions are dealt with thoroughly, and in a matter that made me stop and think and re-evaluate, as I was reading the book. And I love when that happens!
Bea and Dane, there was this fragile adoration that was growing in between them, and the author captures the nuances of falling for your soulmate in such delicate detail, it honestly took my breath away. There are so many deep emotions, moments when your heart cracks open, and when your soul recognizes their mate, or when the physical attraction first dawns on him -- Bea and Dane's tale is such a beautifully written love story, even the conflicts they face felt so real, true, painful, and raw.
In general, I cringe when in a romance novel the woman is the virgin and man is 'well experienced', to put it nicely, it just seems like so yesteryears. But in this story, Bea's virginity is such a part of who she is and how she grew up, it works, and when I got over my previously mentioned preconceived notions, that wasn't an issue to me, in this case, after all.
In Unbroken Cowboy, the feels are deep and real. There are passion and lust, great banter and laughs, but mostly there are heartfelt, intense questions about life, future possibilities, following your dreams, and daring to open your heart, your soul, and your life to your another person, taking steps out of your comfort zone, and trusting the other is there to cheer you on, even to catch you if so needed. All these life's a-ha moments are delivered wrapped into this vastly entertaining and touching tale, and I could not help but love every moment of it.
A delightful and tender love story, a story about life, family, and learning to appreciate the path you have to take to find your place in the world. A story that captured my mind and heart, made me smile and sigh, think and ponder... just like literature is supposed to
~ Five Spoons!

Bea loves every animal she meets and she spends a lot of time taking care of them nursing them back to health and for the past eight months she has taken care of Dane the man she has been in love with since she was 16 years old.
Dane was thrown from a bull and has been feeling sorry for himself since but Dane, like Bea is trying to fill a gap in his life. Bea finally has had enough of Dane and his pity party so she sets out to fix it it she and Dane may get a whole lot more than either of them expected. Bea is kinda shy and keeps to herself and her animals and Dane refuses to feel anything for anyone until they show each other a different side to life.

UNBROKEN COWBOY is a fantastic Western romance. Beatrix is a bit of an odd duck- she has never quite fit in anywhere, but she has made a home for herself in a small cabin on her family’s property with the animals she rescues. She has a passion and a true ability for finding animals in need and bringing them back to health. She has an idea to start an animal sanctuary- something she is already informally doing. She decides to ask for Dane’s help to give him some additional purpose.

Bea has had a huge crush on Dane for a long time- since she was 16. He’s actually her ex-sister-in-law’s brother. Dane has been living on the family property in a house since his injury. As a bull rider, danger is part of the job, and a particularly bad accident has left him still in pain eight months after. Dane enjoys spending time with Beatrix, who he mostly sees as a younger sister type. He believes in her and her dream. When her rescued raccoon steals her underwear and dumps it in the river, he starts to see Beatrix in a whole new light- definitely not as a sister.

As the two come together, the results are magic. Each character is absolutely three-dimensional with their own issues to work through. They complement each other perfectly, as personalities and as romantic partners. The romance is off-the-page steamy and super-swoony. I highly recommend for anyone who loves cowboy romances- this one (and the whole series) is top notch! We also see former characters in this one which is always fun in a series, and I love the way these relationships develop. This is such a fantastic installment in a great series!

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Unbroken Cowboy is a novel that reminds me why I read Maisey Yates's books. This novel was hot, sweet, and fast-paced. Reading it was a pleasure. The beginning is funny. The middle was tense filled with explosive bombs that would or could go off any minute. As for the ending, that was perfect. 

A young woman who cares for all creatures is treated a bit like a silly girl. All treat her like that except for her long-time crush, Dane Parker. Dane is one hot tough cowboy until he's injured. He's still hot but tought to deal with. Dane is dealing with a lot of his family and friends treating him like a piece of class. One bad rodeo ride ended up in the hospital and took his riding dreams away. Dane still falsely hopes to ride again. But deep down he knows that never will be. His father left him and so did his mom. Dane deals with family issues of not feeling like he's worth something. But that all changes with one woman. Bea.

Bea works part-time at the vet clinic. She is going back to school to be a vet tech. But she's not expecting to pass. School was tough for her. I really liked this character. She is a complete softie but has a tougher exterior than most think. With determination and a bit of a challenge, Bea can accomplish anything. But when it comes to seducing her crush, that's where things get wild. 

Overall, I loved reading Unbroken Cowboy. A story about healing and love. Believing in oneself was another major theme portrayed here. Family and friends were the other two. I enjoy a good romance with a lot of intensity and emotional factors. This book delivered in all those areas, as well as others. I recommend this novel to all contemporary and western romance readers alike.

It will post soon at Romance Reviews Today: http://romrevtoday.com/

UNBROKEN COWBOY – Maisey Yates
A Gold Valley Novel
HQN
ISBN: 978-1-335-04112-8
April 23, 2019
Contemporary Romance

Gold Valley, Oregon – Present Day

After a bull riding accident, rodeo cowboy Dane Parker returned to Gold Valley to recover, where he has been under the attentive care of his neighbor, Beatrix Leighton. Everyone sees Bea as a quiet little mouse who rescues any animal she comes across, even a raccoon that has the run of her house. But few realize that Dane is not just another rescue for Bea, that she’s secretly attracted to him. Dane, for his part, usually ignores her, but after he agrees to help her to process the paperwork needed for her to open an animal rescue, they begin to interact more—and his eyes are opened to the fact that she is a woman. No longer is Bea that annoying kid he remembers.

Bea would love to have Dane notice her, but once that happens, what would she do with his attention? She’s a virgin, surely not someone Dane would want. Plus, Bea has lived years with the realization that love is not something to be relied on. Dane also thinks love doesn’t last after watching his parents divorce. Can a couple who are afraid of love have a chance for a future together?

Dane has been feeling like a caged animal for months as his recovery is slow and he has been warned by his doctor that he can’t return to bull riding. Since this is all he’s ever done, he feels there is no future for him. As Dane grouses about his future, Bea is always hovering around, as if she is “rescuing” him. She might be a pain in the rear, but he has to admit she has been helpful. Okay, he’d never tell her that…

Bea moved out of her parents’ home at the tender age of sixteen after discovering that the man she thought was her father…wasn’t. Turns out her mother had a “little” indiscretion years ago and Bea is the result. It’s like her life has been a lie. Bea turns to animal rescues as a part of her dream to be a veterinary tech; she’s currently taking online courses for a degree. Dane has yelled at her and tried to refuse her help, but that doesn’t stop Bea from still wanting him. The more they’re around each other, the greater the chemistry heats up between them. Will their newfound friendship lead to more after a few heated kisses?

UNBROKEN COWBOY is the latest tale in the Gold Valley series by Maisey Yates. Bea and Dane have been minor characters in prior books in this series, so readers will be familiar with them. We finally get a chance to see the romance between them played out. Bea is sweet and adorable, while Dane is grumpy at times. Their interactions are adorably funny as they bounce off one another. They seem to be polar opposites, yet deep down they are meant for each other.

Once Bea and Dane get a taste of each other, their passion is insatiable. But will it flame out before they can discover that they are falling for each other? Find out in the refreshingly fun and sensual UNBROKEN COWBOY.

Patti Fischer

Bea is known for having a huge heart whether it comes to her friends or the animals that she rescues and loves. She has had feelings for Dane since she was a teenager, but he has never seen her as more than his sister’s friend and she has realized that they will never be more than friends.

Dane left town to pursue his dreams and has forged a career as a rodeo star. The last bull he faced has left him with possible career ending injuries and he is trying to adjust to a future he never planned for. Bea is determined to help him heal and to ensure that he doesn’t push his recovery too far or too fast.

As they spend time together working on her animal sanctuary and for the first time Dane starts to see her as a woman. The chemistry between them ignites but Bea worries that she will never be enough for Dane for the long term while Dane doesn’t understand why she can’t trust him. If they are going to have a future together, they must deal with the pain in their pasts and give each other their whole hearts.

I fell for Beatrix the moment I met her.  How can you not love a girl whose sole mission in life is to make animals better by giving them a safe place to live, food, and medical care?  She's also genuinely sweet and kind, giving because she wants to, not because she thinks it's expected or because she wants to look better than others.  She really endeared herself to me with how she treated Evan, a racoon she rescued and nursed back to health.  However, there was a part near the end where I think she did a complete reversal and all the character growth she'd made up to that point had backtracked.  Thankfully, both her friends and Dane were able to help put her back to rights.  Bea is definitely the kind of friend you want to have on your side because she'd truly do whatever you needed and never think twice about what it cost her.  

Dane, on the other hand, took some warming up to before I started to understand why Bea liked him so much.  Yeah, he was definitely handsome, but he was also grouchy as heck for most of the story.  I gave him some leeway knowing he'd been injured and cooped up at home for eight months, but something's gotta give, Dane.  Once he acknowledged his attraction to Bea, he did lighten up and started being happier, which is great because you truly begin to see more of his personality.  

Unbroken Cowboy is about more than simply an injured bull rider.  It's about family, forgiveness, and moving on.  Although the couple had their rough spots, they were able to eventually see eye to eye and find a way to make things work.  Despite both of them being broken in one way or another, together they fit together as a whole.  A very sweet - and steamy - story reminding you that even troubled people can find love and happiness.

Both Bea and Dane surprised me! I knew there was more to Bea then meets the eye, but she was such a wallflower in previous books, I simply wasn’t expecting somebody so frustratingly stubborn! I underestimated Bea just as much as everyone else, minus Dane.

As for Dane, he was such a grump due to his rodeo accident that I didn’t think he could be as charming and thoughtful as he was. I was rather shocked when he stepped up to the plate and acted quite maturely when things turned serious with Bea.

Needless to say, I was happily surprised by the turn of events in their relationship! The matter of fact approach Bea took with Dane to make him wake up and smell the coffee was diabolically simple and I adored the smaller, intimate moments the two shared as they learned new facets of one another.

Now the cast of characters were interesting and plentiful, doing their fair share of helping Bea and Dane realize what was in front of them, but nobody stole the show as much as Evan, Bea’s Cheerio raiding, underwear stealing raccoon! I couldn’t ask for anything better then nature’s own version of a cute and furry masked bandit!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Beatrix Leighton has loved Dane Parker since she was 14. The privileged daughter of filthy rich parents, Bea wants nothing so much as to take care of the animals that cross her path - not something that her parents wanted her to aspire to. When Dane is thrown and stomped by the bull he'd been riding, his injuries take him into Bea's territory. As she cares for him in the house she grew up in, she falls even deeper, but will he ever see her as more than a pesky little sister?

Dane never felt any significance, until he started riding bulls, and winning rodeos. As one of the top bull riders in the nation, he's got endorsement deals, and enough money to retire a happy man. Getting stomped was not in his plans. The only light in his depressing days comes from Bea. Her care keeps him from giving up altogether.

What happens when Dane finally SEES Bea, as more than a "sister"? Yeah, they've never been related, but she was a sister to his brother-in-law, and his real sister still considers her family in spite of her divorce. When he finally wants more out of their relationship, will Bea see that she can finally have it all?

I have enjoyed these stories set in Gold Valley, and so far, this one was my favorite. At first glance, Dane and Bea seem too dissimilar to work as a couple, but they click in a big way. I definitely would recommend Unbroken Cowboy, to anyone who likes their romance with a little bit of steam and a whole lot of angst. While this is part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone. It has an added bonus of being written by Maisey Yates. I'll read pretty much anything if her name is attached to it!

Maisey Yates continues to reel me in with her sweet, sexy cowboys! All of the books in this series has had me crushing hard but Bea and Dane have my heart!
After a potentially career ending injury, Dane is determined to get back on his feet and back to the rodeo. It would be so easy for him to lock himself away while pushing his body too hard too fast. And that's exactly what he would do if not for Bea.
Bea is sweet and caring. She spends all of her time taking care of animals. She has been quietly in love with Dane for years and is sure he will never see as more than a little sister figure. After his injury, Dane's sister asked her to help care for him.
I loved watching these two grow as they became closer and I couldn't get enough! Their story had me turning the pages as fast as I could. I highly recommend not just this book but the others in this series as well! I cannot wait to see what Yates brings us next with this series.

There are a few things I enjoyed about this book but ultimately I found it very easy to put down (and did, several times). It wasn't that it was bad, I just really wasn't invested. It comes down to a will they or won't they commit and try to make it work and I already knew the answer, so nothing else was really drawing me into the story.

In all honesty, if this was written by Lisa Kleypas, I would've assumed Beatrix was a descendant of Beatrix Hathaway, with the love of animals and her family acknowledging her different approach to life. The difference in that though is that Beatrix Leighton's family is mostly exasperated with her about it but the Hathaways accepted it as her nature. Beatrix Leighton doesn't even tell her family she's finishing up her vet tech certificate and there's a lot of judging going on about what she's up to when they don't even really ask her about it.

I did like how Dane noticed Beatrix - thanks to a mischievous raccoon, naturally - when her white dress got wet in the river (is this a combined tribute to Mr. Darcy in the miniseries or to a white t-shirt contest? You be the judge). He realizes he's attracted and whoa, what is happening? And then he just keeps noticing her. I also really liked that it's him who's all in once he decides.

Beatrix struggles to feel that she can be loved due to her family history. At a certain point though, her not moving on from this makes the plot stutter, and you just want her to go to therapy and want to build a healthier life. Dane is also coming to terms with his life changes as he admits he can no longer go back to the rodeo circuit as a contestant.

It's hard to judge this one as it was fine. Readers will enjoy catching up with characters from earlier books in the series and finally seeing how Beatrix and Dane get together.