Thoroughly enjoyed being back in the Sugarland Creek world again. It has a way of feeling like home which is something I think a lot of “cowboy romance” series try to achieve; this is the only series that has achieved that for me.

I ADORED the FMC - Harlow - so much. While she was a virgin, she wasn’t written with the stereotypical, over the top ‘Good Girl’ vibe that I hate. There wasn’t any focus on ‘corrupting’ her as much as just simply ‘teaching’ her how to be comfortable talking to men, engaging in sexual situations and - most importantly - ensuring she was being treated how she deserved to be treated when it came to sexual encounters & potential partners.

And of course Waylon. My heart ached for him. As soon as I started the prologue, I knew we were in for a bumpy ride for him. If you’re used to this series, you know every book starts with a prologue that takes place in the past of something traumatic that happened. In the other books, the ‘bad thing’ that happened was ultimately happening to a character we didn’t really know, with the characters we DO know and love being left behind to pick up the pieces. In this one - and this isn’t a spoiler because it’s the first chapter - the ‘bad thing’ happens to a character we’ve loved for several books now and while Waylon is left to pick up those pieces, we still feel the heartache of seeing Wilder in pain as well and it just felt like a double whammy lol.

I adored Waylon’s character as well. I just wanted to wrap him in a blanket and keep him away from all of the bad things in the world and only let Harlow come to visit. Even when he found out her identity and made a bit of an ass of himself (though it’s understandable why), I adored him. I love that he is self-critical and selfless (to his own detriment sometimes though) and patient and kind. There’s something about these Hollis boys, I tell ya