*CHECK TRIGGER WARNINGS

5⭐️/ 4🌶️

Give me a cowboy romance, and I will jump at the chance to read it! This book immediately caught my eye from the beautiful cover, and the synopsis. This story was filled with angst, heartache, sadness, a love story formed at a young age during a difficult time, and of course starts a ruggedly, handsome, protective cowboy. This was also my first book to read by Jewel E. Ann and just from the first few pages, I was hooked!

This story followed Indiana “Indie” and Milo Odell. Indie was… shall we say “adopted” by Fletcher Ellington for his wife, Ruthie. Ruthie absolutely adored and cherished Indie with all her heart, and despite not being blood related, Ruthie and Indie cared for one another deeply. Indie had the fondest memories with Ruthie from gardening, reading stories, and always being together. Until one day, the day that Ruthie had passed away, and Indie’s world changed. Feeling like she had no one else to turn to not even her “dad” Fletcher, it seemed like Indie was all alone, but there was still someone there for her, Milo Odell. Milo was Fletcher’s right hand man, and had always been the person that Indie had a secret crush on. With the passing of Ruthie, Indie felt like she had no one else to turn to except for Milo, the man who made her burnt grilled cheese sandwiches, drove her to school, and protected her whenever he could. Immediately from the beginning first few pages, I was not only heartbroken over what Indie experienced early on, but also wanted to hug Indie so much. 

Now, in the few cowboy romance books I’ve read so far, I haven’t read a book like this that had a lot of angst vibes alongside the rustic, ranch style of the story. Indie and Milo had their own struggles, but when it came to them being around each other, it was another level of angst. Indie had always had a crush on Milo since she was a kid, but over the years as she grew up, she couldn’t stop thinking about him, and imagining him being with her in a romantic way. There was that tension that started to build up as Indie was older,(which by the way, OH MY GOSH! AHH! TENSION CENTRAL IN THIS BOOK!). Milo then started trying to maintain boundaries with Indie because, one he didn’t want to cross a line with her that would mean a variety of different things/ potential trouble with Fletcher, but also she was in a way off limits. For the longest time, Milo had taken care of Indie, been there for her through a dark time in her life, and provided a sense of safety she lacked after losing Ruthie. Indie loved Milo ever she was she young, and no matter how much she wanted him, it seemed like there were still obstacles and people that got in the way of her truest desire, Milo. 

All Indie wanted was to get away from the so called “home” she was brought to, and most of all, she wanted Milo Odell, but unfortunately for her the women she hated a.k.a. her cousin would have Milo instead. From a young age, Fletcher’s side of the family didn’t like or treat Indie with any kindness so, for Indie to have to see Jolene end up getting engaged to the only man she has ever loved her entire life was a soul crushing moment for her. Again, the angst and tension was all throughout the story, and the knowledge that Milo had to enter this engagement at the behest of Fletcher, he had no other choice but to obey. While reading it gave me the feeling of, “what would you do in this complicated situation when the one you love can’t be with you?” Despite Milo’s reluctance to cross any lines with Indie, he knew he cared for her deeply and couldn’t deny the strong pull and attraction he felt for her. Side note, Milo didn’t start to develop romantic/intimate feelings for Indie UNTIL she was older (eighteen), but even then he still felt at odds with feeling differently towards her now that she was a young woman, and of legal age. 

There was a forbidden aspect to Indie and Milo’s relationship since, Milo was engaged to Jolene and Indie was the boss’s daughter. With a love that was forbidden to happen due to so many different things, it didn’t stop Indie and Milo from stealing passionate kisses, stolen moments of spending together, and sharing deep , raw honesty between each other. Like I’ve mentioned several times now, Indie had always loved Milo, but when things started to actually happen between her and Milo, she knew in her soul that if she could give up everything to just have Milo, she would do it without a thought. Some would say that it’s easier to not get hurt if you keep a distance from the thing or person who can cause it, but for Indie, having any time with Milo was worth the inevitable heartache so, when she got the chance to have Milo in the most intimate ways possible that she had always fantasized about, she seized it, and Milo was on the same wavelength as her. 

Oh. My. Goodness. Gracious! GIRL! The spice in this book was…WHOA! This book initially started off as feeling all kinds of angst and sadness, but then the spice came along and WOW! Milo, you sexy, protective, hot as HELLO MANLY MAN GOT IT! WOO! It was no surprise that Indie wanted Milo in every way possible, and the spicy scenes in this book had me rewinding back like, “OH SNAPS! THEY DID WHAT?” Even the things that Milo and Indie said to each other made my jaw drop such as when Milo said, “if I could go anywhere in world, Indie…it would be inside you.” OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!! You cannot tell me that was not only hot, but DANG! IMAGINE IF MILO SAID THAT TO YOU IN PERSON?! I’d just about faint and go to the heavens if I heard him say that to me, r.I.p. me lol. 

This story was also split into parts to further illustrate Indie and Milo’s story over the course of years. In part one, it showed how Indie’s life changed from the moment Ruthie (her adopted mom) passed away to the eventual romantic relationship she had with Milo briefly. I cannot stress enough how much the first part of the book had me feeling sad, heartbroken, angry, emotional over what occurred in Indie’s life but also the complicated situation that Milo was in that was intertwined with Fletcher (Indie’s adopted dad). Once I got to part two, immediately with the time jump I was shook! The plot twists, the truth behind…My goodness, Jewel had me all over the place with this emotional rollercoaster filled with angst, but hey despite the pain and suffering, I still couldn’t stop myself from simultaneously enjoying it, and wanting to protect Indie and Milo at all costs! I’m telling you, when reading this you’ll feel such a strong inclination to wanting things to turn out better for Indie and Milo because, those two couldn’t catch a break, they deserved a happy ending. 

Oh. My. Gosh. I. Cannot. Get. Over. This. Book! I went into this book only thinking, “oh, it’ll be a cowboy romance with some angst, and what not”, oh no, this book went above and beyond my expectations and shook me to my core! I can’t believe the stuff that went down, especially in part two! Wow! Indie was such an amazing character, she really grew into becoming such a strong woman, overcoming all the grief, hurt, heartbreak, and getting her happy ending. Milo also had his fair share of grief, loss, heartache, and more, but fought for his and Indie’s life together. Jewel E. Ann wrote this story to absolutely perfection and I’m in awe that way she crafted this simply cowboy story to be so much more! Filled with so many great plots twists, sadness, big reveals, and a romance that grew to be so much more compelling over the course of the story, I absolutely loved it, even when I was on edge and feeling worried for Indie and Milo. The way that the story ended made sense for Indie and Milo, especially with the way Indie came to a resolution with Jolene, Indie was definitely the bigger person because, I sure wouldn’t have parted peacefully with Jolene, but good for Indie. I adored the epilogue and just getting to see Indie and Milo finally get their moment in the sun, they’re happily ever after, and having the life they had always dreamed of having together. I’m officially in love with Indie and Milo and dang, I want to re-read this book all over again! Love this book to infinity and beyond! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!