My heart breaks each and every time I read a Clean Slate Ranch book. But I know, in the end, it will be mended and I will be smiling. That is just one reason why I always look forward to the next book in the series. Each and every one of them have a story to tell, have a background that isn't all hearts and roses but usually heartbreak and thorns. How they come through it all, change their lives and get through to the other side is heartwarming and gives us hope.
Derrick had a good life. A wonderful family and now a beautiful niece. But, he doesn't trust easily. His past showed him that you can't trust without having your heart broken. But, there is something different about Slater. It may have been a wedding hook-up but he can't stop thinking about the chemistry, the man or what could be if given a chance.
Slater doesn't deserve love, or so he thinks. When the unthinkable happens and he's placed in a situation where he needs to depend on people, place his life and possible future in their hands, things change. He may have made an agreement with the one man who could change him and make him believe that things could be different. Derrick shows Slater that he can let people in, let them get to know him. He deserves love, his daughter and family no matter what happened in the past. Slater has decisions to make and isn't sure where his life is supposed to be any more. It takes his 18 year old daughter to make him see what he's doing, what he's giving up by walking away and just what could be.
Both of these men know that there is something more there than casual. Too bad both men are stubborn, want the other to make the decision, to ask, to voice their feelings first.
A. M. Arthur knows how to tell a story. She knows how to draw us in and give us a gritty yet heartfelt story. She lets us feel the pain, the happiness, the confusion and the love. She writes characters that you can't help but fall in love with, feel for and hope that they come through the other side unscathed. And, when they do, she lets us feel the elation of knowing that they found their true love.

I usually enjoy AM Arthur's books, and this was no exception -- a solid 4 stars.

What I especially liked:
~ the dual-POV -- this is one of my favorite aspects of Arthur's approach; I really appreciate getting insight into both of the main characters;
~ the fake boyfriend trope -- unlike other books I've read with this device, Arthur actually gave realistic reasons for the pretense, and I felt like Derrick's and Slater's relationship progressed in a natural manner;
~ the secondary characters -- especially Dex, Morgan, and the twins -- I like the people who fill these books. Even those this series hasn't fit my tastes as thoroughly as Arthur's All Saints series, I'm still enjoying meeting these characters;
~ the relationship between Slater and Derrick -- they fit together unusually well, and although they both had communication issues (ugh) which were frustrating, the rest of the time, they were a solid match.

What wasn't quite as strong:
~ the relationship tension -- as mentioned above, I'm not a fan of communication issues being the main reason for tension in a relationship; still, I think Arthur gave more realistic reasons than might be typical for those issues;
~ the friendships between Slater and the rest of the Clean Slate crew -- this is only the second book of this series that I've read, so I don't have the background knowledge of the ranch group that I probably should ... still, I felt like those characters were glossed over, and for anyone else who hasn't read the previous books, they won't feel very solid, I suspect.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read, and I think Arthur is pretty much an auto-read for me. :)

I have not read other books in the "Clean Slate Ranch" series so I was at a disadvantage at times reading this book which references couples from past books, and I would have liked more character development for Derrick, but overall "Hard Ride" works as a stand-alone.

Derrick and Slate meet one hot summer night after a wedding at the Clean Slate Ranch and literally go to the mats in the ranch gym for steamy no-holds barred omigawd hot sex. When Slater falls off the side of a mountain to save a young rancher, Derrick offers him a place to recover near city medical facilities ... and act as his fake boyfriend in a series of family weddings over the summer.

I'm a fan of the "fake boyfriend / marriage of convenience" theme, but it's hard to get involved here with two men who bottle up just about everything and can't communicate their way out of a damp paper bag. As their relationship moves from convenience to real emotion, each man's unwillingness to speak honestly makes it difficult to ultimately care about them getting their HEA. 3 stars.

I've been a fan of the Clean Slate guys from the start. One of the things I've liked the best about this series is how A.M. Arthur has been able to make each one unique, whether it's their relationship dynamic or just a fun mystery, each book in this series is different from the rest.

Sadly, neither one of these characters really grabbed me, and I didn't really buy their romance. The opening scene is scorching hot, and they're terrific friends, but it doesn't work for me as a love story.

Slater's story is well done, and there's a wonderful cast of supporting characters. Hard Ride is still a good novel, for me it just isn't as good as the earlier ones in the series.

This one is a 3 1/2 rounded up to 4 stars. It was a good read, but didn't quite make the full four stars as it did drag very slightly in the middle.
The story is about Slater and Derrick, who after a late night, one-off hook up, decide to become fake boyfriends. It's a storyline that I've come across a number of times before and while it isn't very realistic I do enjoy it. The relationship between Slater and Derrick is good and they clearly really click. The only slight problem is that most of the book is taken up with them both wanting to take things further, but not actually telling the other and taking any steps to do anything about it. Obviously there needs to be some conflict in order to make the plot move along, but for me the whole I love him but I don't know how he feels about me from both of them began to drag a bit.
I enjoyed the conclusion of the book and the two men finally getting their happily ever after. They worked well as a couple, I'd just have liked them both to realise that just a little bit sooner.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Great continuation of the Clean Slate series. It was nice to be able to see Derrick as an actual person and not some flaky guy looking for hookups.

It would seem that the main hallmark of this series is the absolute lack of communication which drives the main plot point of preventing two people who quite clearly have big feelings for each other getting it together until almost the end.

And, like my ridiculously long sentence above, it can be a bit wearying.

However, with this book I actually liked both Slater and Derrick enough as individual characters that their repeated introspections about how they other person had to be the one to say something didn't annoy me as much as it might have done.

I love the setting, the found family and how they all have each others' backs and I love the messages of hope that the Clean Slate Ranch series gives for people who might have made mistakes in the past.

This one's medium steam but it works for the narrative as Slater's recovering from literally falling down a mountain for most of it and red hot sex would have utterly broken the realism!

I've always erred on the side of liking the books in this series more than disliking them and this one's even more towards the I really liked it end of the scale.

Hard Ride starts out with an incredibly hot hook up scene that turns in to a beautiful slow burning romance. The fake boyfriend scenario is hardly new but here it is just a formality, a small detail in a wonderfully plotted story (that is the last in a series but a great stand-alone book) by A.M. Arthur.

Though the story centers on the hook up turned romance of Derrick and Slater, there are so many good supporting characters in this story. The ranch scenario doesn't play as big a part as in the previous books, but its impact is still felt throughout. Plenty of testosterone in this one. I especially loved the stereotype-breaking aspects that really help to color the creativity of Arthur's writing.

Hard Ride is romantic and a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience. Great, positive role models.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'll be honest, I struggled with this book. I'm between a 2 and 3 star rating, but since I love the series in general, enjoyed having past characters make appearances and liked the premise of second chances, I'll give it 3 stars.

Derrick is a character we met in previous books when he visited Clean Slate Ranch. He was portrayed as a playboy, but we quickly learn in this one that he was just looking for someone to love and return the same to him. He was certainly misunderstood. He's been cheated on often and it left him afraid to love. And then when he finds people to love, they don't love him back or have moved on with their true loves.

Derrick ends up hooking up with Slater at the beginning of the book (and it's hot). Slater works at Clean Slate Ranch and after a fall off the side of the mountain (literally), he finds himself needing some assistance in his recovery while his ankle heals after being broken. Having gone through ankle surgery last year, I know exactly how tough that is and could sympathize with Slater. Derrick proposes that Slater move in with him in exchange for Slater attending 5 family weddings with him to get his family off his back. So the whole 'fake boyfriend' plot is developed, cliche, yes.

I loved the first and last chapters. Everything in between just seemed blah. It was the same internal dialogue over and over again each chapter. 'I really like him and want him to like me, but am afraid to say something in fear of getting hurt.' Rinse and repeat. There are 5 weddings thrown in there and some blah sex, but it all seemed like filler. The part I liked most was Slater's reconnection with his daughter and making their relationship better. I also liked the supporting characters in the house and that they all got to know one another better and provided the support each other needed. But it got really tired of reading the same thing over and over. At least throw in some hot sex to keep things interested. But that was lacking as well and it was all summarized in a couple paragraphs and wasn't even that interesting.

Maybe it's just me. Even though past Clean Slate characters made appearances and Slater worked there for a chapter in this one, it felt disconnected from the series and I missed that dude ranch storyline.

I am interested in the next book that may come out of this one with George and Shawn's riding partner (I can't remember his name of right now, starts with an L). It seems like it would be closer to other books with the plot.

I'm not usually one for western romance novels but have loved the vast majority of Carina Press's queer romances. This one was no exception! I felt like this one took a lot of western tropes and made them fresh again through a unique and compelling queer romance.

The fake boyfriend premise is contrived and strange, but I guess that's to be expected. The characters weren't bad, but I didn't connect to them. Maybe it was just how they first meet and the short timeline of the romance, but it wasn't a big hit for me.

This goes from 0 to sexy in 1 chapter! Things I loved about this book are: how the relationship is one of mutual respect and support, the supporting cast in general, Dez in specific, Slater being a subversion of the brooding cowboy, Derrick being a god dang delight (he is a cinnamon roll and I love it), and profane cross stitch.

I couldn't get into this book. I didn't care for the characters or the storyline. This book was a miss for me.

I've always liked A.M. Arthur and I have a soft spot for this series.

We first met Derrick Massey in the first book of this series and through out as Derrick is known for being a bit of a player and has some flings with the boys at the Clean Slate Ranch.

As Derrick is back for a wedding he finds himself lonely and runs into Slater. I don't recall Slater from the other books but if he was mentioned it would have been as a small character.

Slater and Derrick have great chemistry and they both need each other so Derrick proposes an idea that could benefit the both of them. They both agree and Slater ends up at Derrick house while he recoups from a bad accident.

I always feel that A.M. Arthur does justice for writing stories in the the LGBTQ community and with different elements of this community/genre.

"... And since when are you gay?"
"When did I ever tell you I was straight?"

My biggest pet peeves in so many stories are when the main characters assume and don't communicate. Unfortunately Derek and Slater had too much of these traits. Instead of talking to each other they just assumed and assumed and assumed.


"God, men are so stupid sometimes. Why can't you two just sit your stubborn asses down and talk to each other?"

~ Was it really as simple as a misunderstanding because they couldn't just fucking say the right thing to each other?~ Yes it was.


Would have liked it more if there was more than assumption and miscommunications to the story line.

After starting out with a titillating sex scene, the book devolves into an unending exhibition of boredom. The fake boyfriend scenario wasn't actually believable. And it seemed unnecessary tbh. I also didn't need the multiple perspectives. It's a fake boyfriend cowboy contemporary romance. This book takes itself way to seriously for me to.

I received this arc from NetGalley for an honest review. I have read some of the other Clean Slate books and did not enjoy them as much as I enjoyed this one. Loved both main characters along with Morgan and Dez too. I loved all the side stories and the scenes were hot too.