Ugh, it was okay. But the third book in the series is still the best. Robin and Shawn are a cute couple but their age difference just doesn’t make this as plausible.

Okay, this was a nice story, with a lovely setting. I love the Clean Slate Ranch, with its appealing vibe of founded families and very strong friendships.

But the story... *sighs* Don't get me wrong, it is not bad and it is not boring. It's just that there isn't anything new, either.

I think that I will avoid stories which only are about the romance from now on, and stick with the ones with mysteries on them. There are my true love, after all *laughs*

Greg Boudreaux does an excellent job with the narration, though.

I really enjoyed this book which is the 4th book in this series. Enjoyed it so much that I will be going back to read the first three books!
The basic premise: a ranch and a ghost town attraction established by secondary characters in this book (who I am assuming were MCs in a previous book) is the home to cowboy Robin and sous chef Shawn. The ghost town is closing down for a couple months over the winter and Shawn, who lives in his car, is worried about where he’ll go and what he’ll do for money. Opportunity presents itself when the cook at the ranch is injured and Shawn temporarily replaces her. There he meets Robin, a man carrying some serious baggage after the death of someone close to him. Robin is attracted to Shawn and vice versa. Angst and drama ensue.


Both Robin and Shawn are carrying tons of guilt and self-loathing. Both men are being saved by the family they’ve discovered at the Clean Slate Ranch. This is a tale of redemption and swallowing your pride and allowing others to help you as well as the importance of trust and communication. Shawn gets a little whiny for me and the secrets behind the back stories are dragged out a bit too long (I tend not to like this device of continually referencing something that hasn’t been clarified yet. It doesn’t build dramatic tension for me...it builds irritation!) and not really for reasons that are clear to me. The points are which they are each finally clarified make nice moments in the book, but the payoff didn’t alleviate the annoyance for me, Robin’s especially since the other person involve there definitely should have known better. That however is probably more a pet peeve of mine that a true knock on the book and overall I did really enjoy the story.
Shawn is a sweet character and you kind of just want to wrap him up in a hug because he seems like such a lost soul. His background story was rough but there was an element to it that didn’t make any sense to me (debt to his grandparents to pay for a lawyer) as the way the situation is described it doesn’t explain why they needed a lawyer at all. Since that is offered as the reason for his homelessness it is pretty integral to the story so it should have made more sense. Again, I think this is a fault of leaving the big reveal to the end...it becomes afterthought when it shouldn’t. And again, I’m pretty detail oriented so this might not be something that bothers other people as much as it does me.
While it might not make seem like it given what I’ve written in the previous two paragraphs, I really did enjoy the book, will read more in the series and do recommend the book to other readers.
*I voluntarily read an ARC and this is my objective review *

I really like the setting of AM Arthur's Clean Slate Ranch series, the found families and friendships between the men and women involved are joyous to behold.

The series has been mostly a hit for me and this fourth book is no exception to the rule. However, I also found both of the characters frustrating at times and I simply couldn't understand why Robin had such a sticking point over telling people how his husband had died.

I mean, I totally got the trauma of his husband's death, the guilt over thinking it was his fault, but when a similar situation arises with the person you're trying to build a new relationship with, not talking about it just felt utterly alien to me.

Anyways, that aside, both men had issues with communication which skirted on becoming too much for me to enjoy the read but AM kept things tightly controlled without too much internal monologuing or introspection which mean this was a really good slow burn romance in the end.

I liked how they took their time to get to know each other, there's an eight-year age gap which, while small, was actually pretty huge in terms of life experience. Shawn's past (which he also refused to talk about!) played a big part in the time Robin took to move things beyond just kissing and heavy petting.

This really made the book shine for me, the care between both of them, even as their lack of communication (on the previously mentioned two specific issues only) - the rest of the time it was beautifully expressed dialogue about their fears and hopes - frustrated me.

There are great guest appearances from all the previous couples in this series, and Miles and Reyes remain my favourite of them all, and a few hints are dropped as to where things might go next and I'm excited to find out more about Levi, Hugh and the rest.

#ARC kindly received from the publishers Carina Press via NetGalley in return for an honest and unbiased review

I had mixed feelings about this book. I really liked the main character, Shawn. He was a lovely guy who had been through a hell of a lot. One of the biggest challenges I had with the story was that nearly everyone was gay! I refer to these kinds of books as "Gay Disneyland'. When most of the ranch hands turned out to be gay and all partnered in healthy relationships ... I began to find it difficult to suspend my disblief.

I also had trouble with the fact that every character in the novel was open, caring and very emotionally expressive whenever they spoke to each other. It just didn't come across as 'real' to me. Now, that being said, I know this is a romance so the point is for people to be parnered up.

I just like a little bit of realism in the stories so I'm probably not the right audience.

The book is well-written and the author fully committed to the characterizations!

Received an ARC via Netgalley

This is a great installment in the clean Slate Ranch series. Lucky Break is a very heartwarming love story. Shawn's struggling to stand on his own two feet and make ends meet while searching for his place in the world. Robin's making it day by day after losing his husband in a tragic accident he blames himself for. The way they come together is very sweet and slow. It's not breakneck speed, there's no outside drama or angst. It's just two people healing themselves and coming together to be a support with and for each other. I feel like there's some set up for the next book, and I'll for sure be reading it.

Enjoyable read.
I haven't read this author before, and I'm keen to go back and start from the beginning, find out more about this world.