I was a huge fan of the first book, so when it came to Perry and Carson it was definitely a MUST read. This book gets a 4 because I felt that the angst was a little too drawn out and the author relied on the same memories over and over again. After 25 years of friendship, you'd think there'd be more than a handful of situations to go back to. I understand that are certain moments that are more pivotal than others, but still. I agree with some of the other reviewers, who said conversations were a little awkward, however that'd didn't bother me much.

I think the will-they-won't they bit was pretty realistic, along with everyone else knowing they're endgame except them. While both MCs are in their 30s, they definitely acted less mature than you would expect - at least in regards to each other. Both did show a LOT of character growth, which I enjoyed. I really like how the author pairs each story with a journal from the MC's ancestor.

I loved revisiting Rustler Mountain, seeing the rest of the Wilder family, and glimpses of some of the other secondary characters (will Dalton get his own book?!). Can't wait to continue this series!

]Thank you Kensington Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Outlaw Lake pulled me right in with its emotional depth and the kind of friendships and loyalties that make small-town romances so addictive. I love a friend who will bend over backwards, and this story gave me exactly that kind of steadfast devotion that makes you root for the characters from the very beginning.

That being said, the bar scene was an uncomfortable one for me to read — not because it was poorly written, but because it hit a raw, awkward tension that made me squirm right along with the characters. Ultimately, I was glad they finally found their way to each other and aligned, but it definitely took some patience to get there.

One thing I wish the book had explored further was his experience in the military. It was such a meaningful part of who he was and could have added even more richness to his character arc. That said, Maisey Yates balances vulnerability and resilience so well, and she delivered a story that kept me invested until the very end.

Overall, Outlaw Lake was heartfelt, layered, and exactly the kind of small-town romance I enjoy picking up.

Outlaw Lake is a sweet, emotional, and beautifully written small-town romance that explores friendship, grief, and hidden love. Perry Bramble has secretly loved her best friend, Carson Wilder, since childhood, but after years of unrequited feelings and Carson’s struggle with the loss of his wife, she’s finally ready to move on. Just as Perry starts to let go, Carson realizes his feelings may run deeper than friendship after all.

This is a heartfelt friends-to-lovers slow burn, with the perfect balance of charm, humor, and steam. Perry and Carson’s journey is tender and frustrating in equal measure, but so rewarding once they finally find their way to each other. The small-town setting adds warmth and charm, and the supporting cast (especially West!) makes me excited to see where the series goes next. The truth about Alyssa was bittersweet, but it gave the romance real emotional depth and made the ending all the more satisfying.

Fun, sexy, and deeply heartfelt, Outlaw Lake is a romance that lingers long after the last page.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars)

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Well I read Book#1 really enjoyed it, Book #2 is good but not as good a Book #1. The 2 books intertwined well, but the first one was somehow more involved. Nevertheless this was an enjoyable read. Looking forward to Book #3. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy. Al thoughts and opinions are my own.

Outlaw Lake is a warm, character-driven romance that explores friendship, grief, and hidden love in a cute small town. It’s emotionally engaging and beautifully crafted slow burn romance.

I rarely have to do this but unfortunately had to DNF at 15%. I really struggled to engage with the characters and the inner monologues between the two characters. The very slow back and forth conversation was quite jarring and there wasn't much character building and even at 15% in realistically I knew very little about the characters and felt that there was more chemistry between the MMC & his siblings.

I love a good friends to lovers romance — and this is one of the best that I have read. Perry Bramble decides she is going to change her life and leave her crush on Carson Wilder behind. After all, this widower had left her behind before. But things don’t always go according to plan - and you know what they say about best laid plans! I greatly enjoyed the sexy and heartwarming romance.

Thank you to @Kensingtonbooks and @NetGalley for this sweet and steamy romance. The opinions are all mine.

4 Stars

Perry x Carson were so sweet albeit very frustrating! It was a slow burn before it suddenly flipped and I adored how it did. It was fun, sexy and so heartfelt - i understand needing to get away from an unrequited romance and I’m glad they were able to get through it.

The truth about Alyssa was sad but also oddly a relief. Plus I’m glad that Carson could sort his feelings out. I especially loved him crashing out at the bar about West - it was a fun/mostly non-toxic display of jealousy and I was here for it.

I really hope we come back around to West eventually too later in the series.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the eARC - this is my honest review*

First off, I adore these retro-inspired covers that we are seeing more and more of in the cowboy/small town/western romance genre. They are gorgeous.

Unfortunately, I struggled with this book on several aspects. The first of which was the best friends to lovers trope. We were being told constantly that the FMC and MMC were best friends. While I agree that they were lifelong friends, I didn't see that deep "you're my human" connection between the two. The banter was lacklustre and the conversations didn't have that easy flow that you will see between folks who have been friends for decades. Frankly, I saw more ease between the MMC and his siblings than I did between FMC and MMC. And if this human is your human of all humans, how could you not have the deeply meaningful and life-altering conversations? It just started to feel like the friendship was surface-level. And maybe that was intentional on the author's part - they had kept the romantic part at arm's length for so long that the deep and dark and hard parts of a friendship were also kept at bay. It just made it difficult for me to believe in the relationship.

Secondly, the internal monologues were extensive in both quantity and length. There were many times that I'd forget entirely what the actual scene was until the other person would say something, and then I'd remember that they were even there. I'd have to look back to see where the characters were and what they were doing. If we had started to see character development through these internal wanderings, then I would have less of an issue with it. But at 50% I was still going "okay, you've said this all in your head multiple times in this book alone... maybe say it out loud..... please". There is a balance between angst and frustration, and unfortunately, I started to lean towards frustration.

Thank you to Kensington Publishing and Netgalley for a digital advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Outlaw Lake is a sweet and emotional story about two best friends, Carson and Perry, who have always been there for each other. Carson is still dealing with the loss of his wife, and Perry has secretly loved him since they were kids. Now she’s ready to move on with her life, and maybe find someone who loves her back.
As Perry gets ready to leave, Carson starts to realize his feelings for her might be more than just friendship. The story takes place in a small town full of charm, with funny and heartfelt moments that make it easy to connect with the characters.
If you like friends-to-lovers romances and stories about figuring out your true feelings, Outlaw Lake is a great read.

Maisey Yates knows how to get your bones shaking and goosebumps going. She knows how to write a love story! I could not put this down. Loved it!!

This was a light and lovely romance story. Perfect to read when you want to juat snuggle with a book and block out ths world.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book. This is my honest and voluntary opinion.

Outlaw Lake is book #2 in the Rustler Mountain series. I haven't read the first book but judging from Outlaw Lake there is quite a bit of family history and background established previous to this.
I enjoyed the historical factors throughout the story, the quotes on each chapter were interesting to follow along. I also enjoyed Carson's family - the characters seem interesting, and I'll consider reading the rest of the series.

I really struggled to connect with Perry and Carson - there's a strong emphasis on them being best friends - but as an outsider looking in, it seems more like a toxic trauma-bond neither could bare to escape from. I think the 3rd person POV was a big factor in this.

There was plenty of angst and tension but frustratingly repetitive and drawn out across multiple chapters unnecessarily. They were best friends but tortured themselves throughout miscommunication and seemed hellbent to sabotage each other's happiness for selfish reasons.

I'm glad Perry eventually realised she deserves better than what Carson was meekly offering and spoke up. It was her character growth that pushed this up to a 3 star. There is a HEA eventually, but I wouldn't be surprised if they end up divorced or Carson perishes in 'an accident' later on in the series.

My emotions were all over the place reading Outlaw Lake. Perry and Carson's story began back in elementary school. Her family moved in next door to the Wilders, but was not allowed to go over to their house because they were a horrible people. She had to sneak over. How do you listen to someone that is secretly at terribly horrible person?

For years they were best friends. For years they were each others support. With the passing of time, Carson feared he would loose Perry. He couldn't loose what he needed most. Carson was Perry's best friend. He was her everything. From an early age she knew he was hers, but did he know?
,
Outlaw Lake is their emotional journey to acceptance and a future. When Carson opens up, the dam burst and the tears flowed. I fumed over how his parents actions messed him up so badly. I no longer questioned his fear of loosing Perry. She was his everything, but to afraid to admit it.

Perry's heart is breaking. How do you stay when all hope is gone. How do you standby, watching and waiting, for a love that never comes. Perry has a strength that is inspirational. Perry knows things much change. The only question is how. This is a slow moving romance

I loved the premise for this, but the execution was a slight let down. I did absolutely love the historical aspect of the story, as well as the characters. I just wish that there was a little more depth and a whole lot less miscommunication. I am very excited to keep going in the series however.

⭐️⭐️ My review: Friends to lovers isn't always my favorite romance trope, but it's not horrible. What does bother me is what a book can be avoided if the two main characters just had one conversation early on. If Carson and Perry ever had a conversation this book would be a short story. Yes, they both had childhood trauma. But just talking about it when it happens off book doesn't draw the reader in that much. There was a lot of stream of consciousness with both MCs, and it seemed repetitive. Again, a conversation between two adults was necessary before the last 10% of the book. I found myself skimming parts that seemed to go on and on.
This is the second book in a series and I never read the first (centered around Carson's older brother) but I could figure out what I missed for the most part.
I love western/cowboy romances and this book hinted at that, but didn't go all in as I hoped. One scene with decent spice. More books in the series are forthcoming.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for an advance digital copy in exchange for my review.

Outlaw Lake takes us back to the small Oregon town of Rustler Mountain and the home of the Wilder clan. In this book, we learn about the second oldest Wilder man, Carson, and his life-long best friend Perry. After much self-reflection, Perry has decided that she and her best friend of 25 years, her former neighbor Carson Wilder, are holding each other back from living their most fulfilling lives. Having reached this decision, she decides to move to a neighboring town an hour away for a bit of a fresh start, the only problem is breaking the news to Carson. What follows is a story that had me laughing out loud at the banter between characters, sighing at romantic declarations, and face palming when the whole 'miscommunication trope' rears its ugly head time and again. In fact, that is really the only less than stellar comment I have about the whole story is that there are times, long stretches of internal monologue as these two characters have realization about their motives at respective times in their lives. At times they felt a bit long, and we would have to read through a version of them again when the bearer of them finally told the other one what they had realized. Other than that, this was a fast-paced, steamy 'best friends to lovers' romance with enough yearning to make even the most hardened reader swoon. I really enjoyed the semi-large cast of Wilder clan characters and their friends, and I'm looking forward to finding out who's story we get to learn next in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kensington Publishing, and Maisey Yates for allowing me to read an eARC of this novel to review.

Outlaw Lake is an emotional, slow-burn friends-to-lovers romance that tugs at the heartstrings. Maisey Yates beautifully weaves grief, healing, and second chances into Carson and Perry’s journey of discovering the love that’s been there all along. With tender emotion, small-town charm, and the poignancy of letters from the past, this story shines with depth and heart. A must-read for anyone who loves heartfelt romance filled with longing, hope, and the courage to choose love.

I'm a sucker for a good cowboy romance, but Outlaw Lake just didn't quite hit the mark for me. I never really warmed up to Carson, and didn't like how he treated Perry. Overall though, wasn't bad, just not for me.

This is my third time reading a Maisey Yates book, stumbling across Happy After All as an arc, A Cowboy Christmas and now Outlaw Lake! I applied for this book as an arc through netgalley and was overjoyed to be accepted. I didn’t realise this book was the second in a series until i was halfway through reading however i will go back and read the first book, and reading out of order doesn’t change the flow of the story! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love Maisey’s writing style and i loved how the story was told through the main characters Perry and Carson’s eyes but also through Mae Tanner and her relationship. Perry has always loved Carson but growing up friends, he never showed that he loved her back. Through adulthood, Perry realises she has to move on with her life and completely separate herself from Carson in order to progress to children & marriage. We learn that Carson and Perry experienced childhood traumas - abandonment and domestic violence. We see that Carson has feelings for Perry but can’t act on them as he doesn’t want to turn out like his father or ancestors who have a bad name. Throughout the story you see Carson and Perry try to date others, but realise all they want is each other. Perry confronts Carson and says she can’t be with him if he can’t love her back and break his walls around her. Carson soon realises he wants no one else and they end up getting married and living happily ever after!
Such a sweet romance and i love how Perry was a strong role and didn’t let Carson in knowing how she felt about him until he worked on himself. Excited to see what Maisey Yates has in store for the next book in the series!! 4⭐️