Brokedown Cowboy by Maisey Yates

Yowsa. Guys, I have a new autobuy (well, auto-read, I rarely buy) author. Remember when I read Part Time Cowboy and loved it so much? I had already requested the next book in the series (this one), and even though it wasn't coming out for months, I could not resist jumping into it. I couldn't stand not knowing how she brought Connor back to life. Was I disappointed? No, not at all. In fact, I'm chomping at the bit to read Kate's story too.

Here's your summary:

There are lines best friends shouldn't cross, but in Copper Ridge, Oregon, the temptation might be too much… 
If practice makes perfect, Connor Garrett should be world champion of being alone. Since losing his wife he's concentrated exclusively on his family's ranch. Until Felicity Foster needs a place to stay and Connor invites her to move in temporarily. That's what friends do. What friends don't do? Start fantasizing about each other in their underwear. Or out of it… 
Since high school, Liss has kept her raging crush in check. But helping Connor rebuild his life only reinforces how much she longs to be a part of it. One explosive encounter, and she'll discover that getting what you always wanted can feel better than you ever dreamed…

Friends to lovers! Cowboys!  Explosive hot attraction! This book has it all.  I am turning into such a fan girl.

Ok, so. Connor is grieving madly. He married his high school sweetheart, his first love, who tragically is killed in a car accident. (Years before the series starts. This is no spoiler.) Connor is frozen in time. He's so afraid to move on and take another chance at life, at all. He's not just afraid to love again, but to enjoy any part of life. He's even afraid to put himself back into the ranch. He really just wants to stay home and drink himself to sleep every night so that he can't feel anything. But... mayyyybe it's all fear, and not so much mourning, not when he really examines it. Can he possibly let go of his fear? Connor has so many terrific quirks and his history is pretty entertainingly straight and narrow. He was so believable in both his grief and his struggle to hold onto it.

Liss' last relationship ended badly as well, for both the relationship and her credit when her ex took off with her new truck and made some new debt in her name. Now her landlord is selling the house and Liss has no place to go because no one will rent to her. Connor wakes up from his stupor long enough to realize that a good friend would let her live with him, and offers her a room. Liss has some reservations, she HAS been in love with him for most her life, but doesn't see that she really has a choice. Things start off friendly, but heat up pretty quickly in such close quarters. They both fight so hard to not let it happen, and then to not repeat it, and then not not feel anything else, and then it all dissolves in bewilderment and heartache. (Before the requisite happy ending, of course.)

Did I ultimately believe in their love story? Yes, I did. Was the tension and the dialogue every bit as delicious as Part Time Cowboy? Yes, it was. Did I love ALL the book to pieces? Well, no. There were moments when I really felt uncomfortable about the way Liss felt about Connor. She was willing to take whatever scraps he'd give her before and after the death of his wife, and while she certainly didn't put her life on hold while he was married, she seemed pretty internally desperate to be with him, and only him. I'm a huge fan of friends to lovers, and this typically would not be a turnoff for me, but something about it gave me a tiny tiny twinge of uncomfortableness. All that said, I'd still give it 4.5 stars on Goodreads, if that were possible, and will likely just go on and give it a full 5.

Brokedown Cowboy is released today.

Big Sky Christmas by C.J. Carmichael

It's been a really long time since I read a romance novel with a baby on the cover. 15 years ago, they were a staple of my romance reading, but since having kids of my own it's just not as romantic as it was. Regardless, the title of this one and the Montana setting made me request a copy. (Apparently I outgrew babies but not cowboys.)

Big Sky Christmas is the fourth book in the Coffee Creek series and it really shows.  Winnie has come back home after 18 months away- 18 months after her fiance was killed on their wedding day, and 11 months after the birth of their son. One of the first people she encounters is Jackson Stone, foster brother to her late fiance, and the man who carries a secret torch for her. And that's... pretty much the entire plot.  This book is so incredibly light weight that I can't think of anything to even say about it.  It's pretty obviously the final book in a series, all the other characters are paired up into neat pairs, and the ranch setting is an obvious series element.

There is nothing  outright objectionable about this one, but there's nothing to really recommend it either- unless of course you've read the first three and have a need to wrap it up. (I have not read the first three.) The Christmas setting isn't overwhelming. The ranch tidbits are perfectly paced.  Winnie and Jackson are both perfectly nice perfect people.   The background story explaining how Jackson came to be part of the story is a nice touch.  Do I feel compelled to track down the first three books? Unfortunately, no, this one is pretty darn forgettable.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read it- Big Sky Christmas will be out October 1st.