Part Time Cowboy by Maisey Yates

So we all know how Lisa can't resist a cowboy romance. This makes no sense at all, because I have been to the rodeo and at least half of them wear their pants so tight you can't believe they can sit, let alone ride a horse.  Despite this, I can't resist so of course I requested Part Time Cowboy.

Here's your summary:

A onetime bad girl comes home to small-town Oregon in the first in a sexy, heartfelt new series from USA TODAY bestselling author Maisey Yates 

Sadie Miller isn't expecting any welcome-home parades on her return to Copper Ridge. Least of all from part-time rancher, full-time lawman Eli Garrett. The straitlaced, impossibly hot deputy sheriff glares at her as if she's the same teenage hoodlum who fled town ten years ago. But running from her demons has brought Sadie full circle, ready to make a commitment at last. Not to a man, but to a bed-and-breakfast. On Garrett land. Okay, so her plan has a tiny flaw… 

Eli works too hard to let a blonde ball of trouble mess up his town. But keeping an eye on Sadie makes it tough to keep his hands off her. And if she's so wrong for him, why does being with her feel so right?

Guys. This book is HOT. A lot of romances (but not all, let's not go to that stereotype, k?) contain s-e-x. Honestly, most of the time it's not exciting and I skim it for dialogue or internal dialogue. It's not that it's bad, or purple prose (at least not any more) but it's just not what I care about. THIS book tho? It's believable and hot and the tension is delicious.

Eli is going down (that's what she said!) as one of my favorite heroes. He is straight as an arrow and feels responsible for the entire world. He carefully maintains control of every detail of every aspect of his life, and attempts to control everyone else's. His youth was not happy, and while he logically knows the problems and situation weren't of his making, he can't shake the idea that if he can only control everything that nothing bad will happen again. Of course we can all see how this could turn out badly, right? Sadie is something he absolutely can not control, not the person and not his intense reaction to her. Only around her can he forget about everyone else for any time at all. Most people would revel in this bit of release from responsibility, but Eli sees it as abandoning his duty. These two things ultimately clash at the end, and it's just beautiful.

Sadie isn't really as wild as the summary, and Eli, believe. She too has a a serious history in this town, a secret history of heartbreak, and she's back to try and face that. Eli was a central figure in the events leading to her disappearance ten years ago and Sadie has to face up to the fact that he wasn't actually to blame. I hate that I can't say more without giving it away, but trust me when I say that her exploration of what really happened and his need for ultimate control, always, come together in a fairly heartbreaking manner.  They are so perfect together and you really just want to cheer for them. No one steps out of character and the resolution comes from both of them. I believe in them.

The dialogue is both witty and brutal without getting overly dramatic or hokey. The scenes with the siblings play out just as well as the ones between Eli and Sadie. The cast of secondary characters really round out the book. I've already got the second book, about Eli's brother Connor, on my Kindle and can't wait to dive in. I can't see at all how Yates is going to dig him out of the grief he feels for his dead wife.  Even Lydia, who also wants Eli's attention, is terrific. It looks like there are three potential books here (Eli, Connor, their sister Kate), plus a little novella, but I'd love to see the whole town get some action (Lydia, the bartender Ace, Alison.)

With Part Time Cowboy, Maisey Yates and jumped right onto my list of "grab every title you see" and I am seriously hopeful that she stays there.