With a game-changing investment opportunity and Jay Cade’s skills, the Cade family ranch is on the verge of starting its transformation into an equine therapy destination, but Jay doesn’t have the courage to take the reins from his oldest brother’s hands until Billie—the hacker who crashed into his life the previous year—crashes into it again. Billie’s beautiful, smart, and not sorry about it—wearing her confidence as a mask, no one knows that she’s been alone in the world for far too long. When the ranch’s millionaire investor goes missing in mysterious circumstances, leaving his distraught, blind sister in the Cade family’s care, Billie and Jay set out to search for him. On the road together, the tension between them sizzles and sparks, but Billie has the world’s strongest firewall around her heart, and if Jay can’t find his way through, she’ll be the one disappearing.

Although Braved didn’t carry the same tension or intensity as Burned, I enjoyed the mystery aspect of the novel; it created an interesting setting for the romance and carries the overarching plot well. I tried really hard to like FMC Billie—she’s sassy, snarky, and smart, and usually she’s the exact type of FMC that I love—but, even understanding that she had serious issues to work through, how she treated MMC Jay was awful and put me way off at times. If not for my strong investment in Jay’s story, his development, and the overall Cade Ranch journey, I’m not sure I’d have continued. That being said, the character growth is solid, especially in the latter half, redeeming much of the ill feeling I had towards aspects of the narrative. Jay is an intriguing character, and I enjoyed seeing his progress and, as always, loved the interactions between the Cade boys. Whilst not my favourite of the series, Braved ultimately sets up a solid foundation for the finale, Blinded.