I have to admit I requested for this ARC hoping to like it, but I ended up LOVING IT!

I'm not usually into cowboy girl/ city guy tropes, but this one felt super natural for me!
I liked the complexity of the characters a lot and had me on edge a couple times.

He has bought land on her town. She wants to preserve the beauty of its nature and the animals, but also expand her rescue center.

The horse protection center was my least favorite trope on this book but it was still very entertaining to see him covered in mud.

It was a funny enemies to lovers small town romcom and I enjoyed it a lot.

Thank you to Net Galley for giving me the chance to read this book in advance of the release date! It has been an incredible experience and I will most likely read from this author again!

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

I truly enjoyed this "enemies to lovers" story. An unlikely match for sure.

Everest is the owner of a non profit to rehabilitate horses in a small town. Gideon is an owner of a development company from Boston. They meet when Gideon is working to purchase and develope adjoining land to Second Chance Stables. A country girl and a city boy, a local and a visitor, it is fun to watch how they interact. They definitely have some great banter going on.

I highly recommend. Perfect for a vacation!!

This is the first book I’ve read by E. F. Dodd, and I will definitely read more! 👏🏻

Everest runs a horse rescue in a small town in North Carolina. Gideon works for a development company in Boston. His company wants to purchase the land beside the rescue, but Everest wants to purchase the land to add to the rescue.

I became so invested in the town of Mimosa and all the lovable characters right away! The writing flows so easily in this book, and I kept wanting to know more. I loved the playful arguing between Everest and Gideon. It made me giggle that Everest was so irritable! 🤣

Need a little spice?
This book has that too! 🔥🔥

I truly enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read another book by this author. 🤍

Thank you to @NetGalley for the chance to read and review!

Ok, this book was seriously so sweet! I'll admit that it was the cover that pulled me in initially, but the story itself is just as adorable.

A Higher Standard tells the story of Everest Kennedy, the owner of Second Chance Farms, and Gideon West, a successful real estate developer. When Gideon arrives in town with plans to develop the land next to Everest's farm (that she has been hoping to secure for herself for future expansion!), Kennedy instantly takes a dislike to the charming man. Of course Gideon doesn't do himself any favors on the day they meet - talk about a hilarious and unique meet-cute!

Though Gideon is instantly smitten with Everest, she continues to rebuff him and his charms. I think my favorite part about this book is how open and honest these two are about everything. Gideon lays out his entire development plans for Everest without holding anything back and Everest explains her resistance to the development is about more than just losing the land for the expansion of her farm. As someone who really despises the miscommunication trope, it was refreshing to see!

I wasn't sure I was going to like the charming businessman routine, but Gideon promptly changed my mind. What a charmer that guy is! And I absolutely loved how witty Everest was. The banter between them was great! I really appreciated how strong and secure in herself Everest was. I also really enjoyed the side characters! I didn't think I was going to be a fan of Gideon's business partners, but by the end of the book I was cackling at the friendly teasing between them all.

Read this book if you like:
- small town
- witty banter
- charming, rich MC
- tough, independent FC
- horses & animal rescues

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to Sugar Beaver Books & Netgalley for a ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was absolutely adorable! I finished it in a day because I couldn't put it down! The characters where all very likable and I felt connected to them. The storyline was simple and not over done.

Both our main characters had nice developed backstories and there was character growth for our FMC. Everest is basically a bad-ass who thinks she can do everything on her own and I loved how Gideon showed her that it's actually okay to let others in and accept help. Gideon is basically boyfriend goals... Swoon.

There is just enough banter and spice, with a few twists to keep your interest peaked.

I will definitely be adding this book to my physical library as soon as I can get my hands on it! It's an easy read for a day at home or at the beach/vacation read!

After reading a couple of books that were mediocre at best before this one I was glad I got approved for it. I'm not usually a cowboy/western kind of person and even though this wasn't necessarily considered a 'western' I wouldn't normally have given it a chance given the fact that it's based on a ranch centering horses.

I'm not usually someone who loves to read romance books and on the off chance that I do I usually prefer to read novels centered around books (bookstores, editing, or writing) so this absolutely having me engrossed came as a major shock. The characters throughout the book had me loving the book even more. The fiery attitude of Everest had me rooting extremely hard for Gideon (even though I know it's a romance and they wind up getting together) to get in her good graces. Gideon and his flirty comments had me wishing Everest would pull her head out of her butt and just kiss him already. Everest's ranch hand had me laughing out loud at his comments but also tearing up when he was trying to get Everest to understand the importance of delegating responsibilities. The delegating responsibilities bit really hit home for me because I am that person. I can't let someone else handle something if I know that I can just as easily do it and make sure it's done well.

For the most part the book was pretty much the same as any other typical romance book. They start off hating eachother, something happens to bring them together and they wind up working well together and then they start to fall for eachother, sexy times ensue, they fall in love but don't want to admit it, something happens to make them question whether they should be together, they figure out they should and then BOOM happily ever after. Like I said, was it the same formula for almost all of the other romance books I've read? Yes. Did I absolutely love it and devour it in under a day? Indeed. I don't regret requesting this off Netgalley in the slightest.

I just want to say a huge thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to be able to read this early! If you're looking for a fun, light and fluffy romance novel definitely pick it up May 16, 2023 when it releases!

3.5 stars ⭐️ this was a super cute book with really likeable characters! Overall I really enjoyed reading this, definitely an easy enjoyable read. The main thing I wish I could’ve changed is the development of the relationship between the male and female main characters. To me it felt like the speed at which they started to be interested in each other was a little abrupt and I would’ve preferred it to have been a series of events and exposures to get to that. Most likely a matter of personal taste though and definitely worth a read if you like small town romance/enemies to lovers tropes!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Everest wants to expand her horse rescue, but a lack of funds to purchase the neighboring property has her waiting. Enter Gideon, an out of town developer who wants to purchase the neighboring property. After a runaway horse causes Gideon and Everest to meet, Everest plans to do everything in her power to get her way and turn off the development. However, neither expected to fall for one another.

This book was an easy read and while generally predictable, Gideon and Everest’s story is fun and light. I’d recommend this book and look forward to reading more by E.F. Dodd.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a very cute unique story!! Gideon and Everest are almost star crossed in their love for each other, thinking that there’s no way their lives could actually combine and they can be together, but of course this is a romcom and it has the happiest ending!!! I loved both these characters from the start— Everest is a hard working, takes-no-shit kinda woman who is dedicated to saving abused and neglected horses; and Gideon is such a sweet, charming city boy learning more how his work that he’s proud of can be used for so much good (and he’s dedicated to that, not just making money). I love these two together, but I rrealllllyyyy wish Everest would have had a little more trust and faith in Gideon and their relationship, but that was something she clearly needed to work through, it wasn’t going to come easy to her.
Overall, I loved their story and their happy ending, and I especially loved the cuteness of the horses ❤️
Thank you for the ARC!!!!

I love romances like this. It was so good I so fell for Gideon, Everest and Monty. I wish their story had been 200 pages longer because I did not want it o end!! Thos was so wonderful. I will definitely be buying this in paperback to add to my forever keep because I loved it shelf.
I just reviewed A Higher Standard by E.F. Dodd. #AHigherStandard #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

E.F. Dodd is one of my favorite new authors! She writes smart and charming romance novels with strong, relatable female characters and swoon-worthy leading men. A Higher Standard is her newest book and it was no exception!

Everest is an incredibly driven, no-nonsense woman from the small town of Mimosa, North Carolina. (Side note - who doesn’t want to live in a place called Mimosa??) She has built her own successful horse rescue from the ground up, but has trouble letting go enough to create a life for herself outside of work. She meets Gideon when she sees him struggling to gain control of his runaway horse. She rushes over to the neighboring property to help him, but he definitely doesn’t make the best first impression. Come to find out, Gideon is a developer from Boston there to tour and buy the land next to Everest’s rescue and develop it into a new community. This throws a wrench into Everest’s plans to expand her rescue onto that land, especially because the money he’s offering is just too good for her to beat.

I enjoyed reading this book so much! First of all, the writing is so smart and witty. The characters’ senses of humor and banter had me giggling throughout the whole novel! Everest was the perfect heroine for this story - intelligent, secure, an animal-lover. I loved her! And Gideon may have started off on the wrong foot (hoof? 🤣) in those first couple pages, but I grew to love him, too! And I just loved the ending! I won’t go into detail, but I thought it wrapped up in such a sweet and satisfying way!

If you love small town romance, dual POV, enemies to lovers, or laugh-out-loud funny romcoms, this book is for you!

Thank you to @e.f.dodd, @netgalley, and publisher Sugar Beaver Books for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book. My first book from this author. Made me a total fan with this book. would read this again and again.

This is a fun romantic story. I did enjoy to read it from the start to end. I like the concept and the conflict within. It was fun and dragged me into it.

Don't judge the book by its cover (I'm sorry, i really dont love this cover).

A cute, light-hearted fun read that is a great for a Sunday afternoon. I wish for a leeeetle more drama (I love a good make-up scene or them grand gestures), but I'd read this again for sure.

Enjoy!