Rival

by S.E. Green

Clayborn Hughes is the enemy

Jaxon ~ I’ve never hated someone more than Clayborn. He’s the reason my sister is gone and if I ever get the opportunity, I’ll destroy everything he holds dear. I just didn’t know about her connection to him.

A monster and an abuser

Mason ~My family has been feuding with the Hughes’ for generations. Every member of that family is vile. They’re useless, destructive rodents, and I plan on outlasting them until the bitter end. Which means the one girl I refuse to fall for is her.

He’s also Edith’s father

Griffin ~ Clayborn has been nothing but an acquaintance my whole life. Never someone I’d call friend. Especially now that I know what kind of monster he really is. They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend, so I guess I need my ‘friends’ to help me bring her home.

Underestimating us will be his last mistake


~ ~ ~ ~ ~

RIVAL is an age-gap why choose romance novel, which means the main character won't have to choose who she ends up with. This is a MFMM 18+ novel that has elements some may find triggering. Main warnings include DV (not an mmc) and unplanned pregnancy (no loss). Please read the trigger warning at the beginning of the book, and if you find any topics you think will push you, please don't read.

Genres: Why Choose, Enemies To Lovers, Westerns, Friends To Lovers, Second Chance, Romance, Contemporary

524 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 1, 2024

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. This was a semi-interesting betrayal / grovel, age gap, surprising pregnancy RH. But there were parts of it that didn’t work.

The plot: the heroine is 20 and still lives at home with her abusive father. The 3 heroes are all around 36 to 38, and they’re not friends with each other at the start. The heroes have jobs like owning a construction business, or being a cowboy running a farm. She sleeps with all 3 of them without protection in the span of 1 week, gets pregnant, they react badly to it, then there’s grovel.

There were several things to like about this. I like an age gap RH. I like heroes who aren’t billionaires or CEOs, and have jobs that get their hands dirty. I don’t normally like RHs where the guys aren’t a pre-formed group and don’t even like each other. But in this book, that actually worked. Because after the pregnancy reveal, the 3 guys spend time becoming friends and forming a unit. That was the best part of the book, it was nice to see the guys build that found family.

So, why 2.5 stars? I understand that the heroine needed to have sex with 3 guys without protection in the span of a week, in order for the “who is the father?” plot to work. But, it all felt a little too Maury / Jerry Springer (it also felt implausible that she’d go from a virgin to 3 guys in 1 week. And, that she’d be stupid about protection not just once but THREE times). It felt like there had to be a better way for this plot to happen.

But, the main reason this is 2.5 stars is the heroine. She was in a bad situation, living with an abusive father. But she was 20 years old. Why didn’t she leave sooner, as soon as she turned 18? We don’t know, this book never says! It briefly mentioned that she needed money in order to leave. But if a situation is THAT bad, she could have gone to stay in a women’s shelter. She had a church lady friend who mentioned having connections to a women’s shelter, so why didn’t she take her up on that sooner? We don’t know, this book never says! She could have stolen enough money for a bus ticket – or hitchhiked – to another town, and gotten a job waiting tables. There were a lot of options for her to leave her terrible dad. And this book didn’t bother filling in why the heroine hadn’t taken any of them!

Had she tried to leave before, and her dad caught her and beat her even worse? I would understand why she stayed for so long if that was the case, but that didn’t seem to have happened (or if it did, this book never says). Why didn’t she tell anyone he was beating her - was she scared they wouldn’t believe her? We don’t know! The book never says! There’s so much about her character and behavior that’s just BLANK.

I like a heroine in a bad situation, but it’s VERY hard for me to like her if it doesn’t feel like she’s proactive about trying to get out of it. I’m not trying to victim-blame someone who is in an abusive situation. In real life, I wouldn't probe at why a person stayed so long, I'd just try to help them. But in fiction, I need it to fill in the dimensions of the story and the character, including WHY the person doesn’t leave. Otherwise, it feels thinly sketched. Sure enough, that's what this heroine feels like – a stick figure drawing of a character, rather than a fully fleshed out person with depth and reasons for her behavior.

[Isabelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

After enjoying the previous standalone in the series, I was really looking forward to this one but it just wasn't for me.
It started off well, but then it just focused on the MMCs whilst the FMC was away and recovering from the trauma. It ended up distancing me from the FMC, as one of the biggest things she is trying to get through (the attack and betrayal from the MMCS) she does it away from the reader. So for a big chunk of the book, you are just following the MMCS realising how they messed up and trying to put things in place to make amends. And whilst I LOVED this aspect, I really think the author should have included the FMCs POV of her going through the healing process. I wanted to feel the raw, gritty emotions she would have been experiencing.

[Sue Miz · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I’m not trying to hurt any of you, but you have to know that in my story, you’ve all been my hero and my villain.”

Ms Green, what are doing to me? 🥺🥺🥺❤❤

I am on a binge read of S.E Green books cause I finally found another RH author I can vibe with

⚜ rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
⚜Genre: Contemporary Romance
⚜Theme: RH Ranch Romance
⚜Targeted audience: Adults
⚜Characters: Edith, Mason, Griffon, Jaxon
⚜Representation: none
⚜Pace: medium
⚜TW: BIG ONE for DV
⚜ tropes: age-gap, Why-choose, Enemies to Lovers, Grumpy/Sunshine, grovel, Friends to lovers, Strong-willed FMC, found-family
⚜ POV: multiple first-person
⚜ spice 🌶🌶🌶🌶
⚜standalone: yes
⚜Ending: HEA
⚜Book read: KU

I always wonder when I read a book with outstanding character arcs and intense emotions whether the author intended this or came naturally as the story went. Either case, I hope Ms Green continues writing such beautiful character development.

Let me start with what I didn't like

NOTHING.... There is nothing I didn't like .. even the "oops we didn't use protection" worked in the book.

Now let me tell you why this was perfect

1- I was always a believer that for an RH romance to work, the men should have a very strong connection to be able to look past the jealousy and accept the sharing. Their bond must be irrefutable. So to read a book where the men started out hating each other was a shock! How would this work??? Let me tell you that the way the story progressed paved it for a strong bond. Edith became the reason and the glue for these three men coming together as a family.

2- The interaction between Edith and each of the men separately was phenomenal. You can see their connection building. Each had to lower their walls to accept her and she wiggled her way into their lives.
In a way each gave her what she needed, the Savior, the Friend, The Lover. And in turn, she completed their lives and gave them a purpose and a sense of belonging.

3- I absolutely love a character that starts out looking as if she is weak, submissive, and accepting of her fate only to find her determined and planning to get herself out. Edith has been the victim of her circumstances all her life. She was daily abused and misused by the person who was supposed to love and protect her. And yet, she is kind, helpful, and resourceful. She was looking for a way out when she met the three men. When their harshness hit, she did not fall quickly back into their arms. She showed them that she is worth fighting for.

4- And of course the major reason I read this book in the first place, the betrayal and the grovel. I am not gonna spoil much, just that each one put in the effort to win her back.

I have definitely pre-ordered the next book in the series.

[Aurora Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the one - the one you’re looking for. The one where the harem is built of smutty, jacka$$ cowboys that end up wrapped around your little finger.

RIVAL IS AMAZING. Edith is just absolutely in need of protection, and I wanted to give it to her the entire time. Meanwhile, Griffin, Mason, and Jaxon are 🔥🔥🔥 and also clueless (but aren’t they all? 👀). By the time we get to the heavy groveling, you’ll love all three of them as much as Edith does. Throw in a meddling pastor’s wife and ADORABLE kittens, and you have a solid winner here.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

All the angst and grovelling … sigh. It even got some tears out of me.

[H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was first book by this author. Just randomly found this and it was really good. Good story good writing. Different than other things I've read. Will read other things by author.

[Amandaa Starr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa this one pulled at the heart stings a lot. Tissues were needed. Highly recommend checking TWs. Was another great read from this author.

[VoraciousReader · Rating 1 out of 5]

The plot of this book was just way too unbelievable for me.

• The h, Edith, was a completely naïve virgin who had been isolated and physically abused by her father for most of her life. Her father kept her completely under his thumb making sure he knew where she was, what she was doing and who she was seeing 24/7. But, somehow, she managed to start an affair with THREE men and sneak out to spend time having $ex with at least one of them every day.

• With two of the men, she had unprotected $ex; I could understand it on her part because of her naivety but the men were all older and experienced. They knew they had forgotten to use a condom, and they knew she wasn’t on any kind of birth control, but they didn’t seem concerned by it at all. With the third one, the condom broke but he didn’t seem worried about it either. None of them told her about the “morning after” pill and suggest she take one. Then, when she ended up pregnant, all three were either shocked or furious.

• After the way the three men betrayed her, Edith disappeared and for a large part of the book, the focus was on the three men. After initially looking for her, they just seemed to accept her disappearance and went on with their lives. They spent time together going out for drinks, going to the Danielson’s for counselling sessions and going out for dinner together. They completely got over their jealousy of each other and even developed a friendship.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.25 to 3.5⭐️ I think

This took sooooo long to get into. I understand it had to be set up to explain how Edith would end up sleeping with 3 guys within 10 days but I felt like it took up too much room and we didn’t get enough of them together after because of it.

So Edith is 20 and lives with her dad, he basically treats her like a maid and is always annoyed and angry at her presence and he’s physically abusive behind closed doors. Her mom left her with him when she was a baby and took off.

So the guys-

Griffin is an acquaintance of her dad and spends a little time with her, he takes her virginity but then the next day her dad pulls up to the house and Edith freaks out because she’s scared but Griffin is a dumbass and thinks she’s ashamed of him or something so he basically says it was fun and we don’t have to repeat it. The h is really hurt and confused but doesn’t know how to respond so she just nods along.

Mason is her neighbour, he owns the ranch next door and has major issues with her dad. Edith meets him when she finds some stray barn kittens and begs him to let her keep them in his barn and she’ll work for him in return. He agrees so that he can fuck her dad over by having him work for her. One day he’s pissed at her dad and says he wants to take his frustration out on her since she stopped him hitting her dad and she lets him, he fucks her over the tailgate of his truck. He’s such a dick and pretty rough and cold to her. After he feels bad and within a few days he softens somewhat towards her and they start a sort of FWB thing. She’d asked him what it meant that they were sleeping together and he said “Let’s just keep it simple. This doesn’t need to have a definition, we can have our fun.”

Jaxon she meets when she’s volunteering at a barn raising and he’s the contractor in charge. They become friends and he does like her but he’s put off by the age gap but she does tell him about the guy who took her virginity and then she tells him about the FWB guy and he’s kinda pissed at himself for holding back that he might have missed his shot. He doesn’t just want physical with her, he wants to date her. They get caught in a rain storm and end up having sex in his truck. He tells her he wants to date her and she thinks she’ll need to tell Mason the fwb is over because she wants a relationship too and not just sex. But Mason goes out of town to help his aunt or something before she can tell him so she asks if they can talk when he’s back.
The thing about Jaxon is that when his sister was 15 she got drunk at a party with Edith’s dad and when she wouldn’t put out he ditched her and she had to walk home and was killed by a drunk driver, so Jaxon hates her dad with everything but at this point didn’t know Edith was related to him..


Few weeks later Edith goes to the doctor to finally get on birth control 👀 and finds out she’s pregnant. She goes to Jaxon first because she’s freaking out and she needs the support of her friend. She tells him she’s pregnant and really scared because her dad is going to kill her. He asks who her dad is and when she tells him he loses it on her. Accuses her of playing games or manipulating him and then he says-
“I don’t want any fucking part of that kid, especially if it’s got Hughes’ blood in its veins. When you manage to push it out, I’ll submit to a test and if it turns out to be mine, all you’ll get is money. Nothing more.”

So after this she’s scared and devastated and she goes to Masons barn to see the animals and ends up falling asleep. Wakes up the next morning and realises she didn’t go home so her dad is gonna be pissed but Mason comes in after getting back from his aunts and she’s blurted out she’s pregnant and what does this asshole do? Absolutely nothing. Freezes there and basically zones out after those words. Her dad who was looking for her, overheard and dragged her out of there while Mason is still in his fog.
Her dad brings her home and starts beating the shit out of her but he’s interrupted by Griffin who pulls him off her and hits him but when he turns back Edith is gone. Her dad gets arrested then bailed.

Edith goes to her friend Ruth- the pastors wife and she helps her get out of town. The 3 dickheads come to their ‘senses’ and start looking for her but Ruth tells them she won’t come back to town until the legal stuff with her dad is sorted and she can be safe. So while she’s gone for a few months the 3 guys form a friendship of sorts and wait for her to come back. So her dad ends up dead from drunk driving so she comes back and then they all grovel and tell her they don’t care who the father is and that they all want her and the baby. She has the baby- it’s Masons but they all still stay and fall into a little family unit and she doesn’t have to choose.

So I was kinda judging her sleeping with 3 guys in 10 days and being such a doormat for her dad but I think she was just so conditioned by him to accept his abuse and so limited in her options from living in a small town. And with the guys I think she was so starved of affection and attention that she kinda dove straight in with each of them without much thought. Absolutely judging the grown ass men though who were fuckin clueless in their treatment and reactions to her. But it all worked out in the end. I would have loved to see more of their established unit once she properly forgave them, idk if it’s just me but they didn’t seem very solid. Also it’s kinda hard to pick a favourite here because 2/3 were major dicks and 1 was mostly a dumbass. But I would have to say Griffin would take the number 1 spot followed very closely by Mason. Jaxon can fuck off, I hate the trope of blaming the daughter for her father’s sins and he was majorly guilty of this.

-Multi PoV
-Age gap h20, H,s were late 30s
-1 fmc, 3 mmcs
-Why choose with no mm- never shared before.
-No owd at all- H’s were experienced but no mentions of their past or last time etc
-Omd- I’d say the mmcs were the omd lol since she slept with them all separately before they were together and Jaxon knew about the other and was jealous.
-Pregnancy (she finds out at 56%)
-HEA
-Epilogue 4 years later still together and happy with their daughter and hoping to get her pregnant again

[Kassey J · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book really. The writing was good, and the plot was there, but.... I felt as though the fmc was a bit too sheltered. I get that's supposed to be a part of the plot, but they literally said the fmc stopped being home schooled in 9th grade. I know the author told us in the beginning we were to suspend belief about how are fmc got pregnant and how they advocate for safe sex but come on now when are fmc finds out she's over here saying "you can't get pregnant the first time you have sex right" like that's beyond trying to overlook how she became pregnant. Idk the book just took a turning point for me at that point. Also, she was too much of a pick me person. I get that's from the abuse she suffered, but damn it got to be a bit too much for me. The book also needs editing. Idk I can't rate it higher than a 2.5 rounded to a 3 for rating.

[GrumpyGenX · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would rate this 3.5 if I could. First half of the book depicts frequent, on-the-page verbal and physical domestic abuse — not committed by any of the male main characters. It was difficult to read and maybe some of it wasn’t necessary for us to get the point. My personal response makes it difficult to give an objective review.

This is a “why choose” or “reverse harem” novel in which two of the three relationships are friends to lovers and one is enemies to lovers.

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not believable! MFC is naive beyond belief and I just don’t believe that all the MMCs would get along!

[ChatterBoxReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

The angst! The drama! The romance!

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Edith 🫶 Jaxon, Mason, Griffin

Never thought I’d see the day where just the word “Girl” used as an endearment could make me swooon but here we are. Damn!

I loved every second of this! And you can bet your bottom dollar I bought me a trophy copy 😍

****

Abused by her father and lonely in her misery; innocent Edith finds herself tangled up between small town rivals. Jaxon is the gentle local construction company owner, who becomes her first close friend. Griffin, is her father’s friend and a forbidden attraction who opens the world of intimacy up to a wide eyed, Edith. And Mason is her grumpy neighbor who reluctantly gives our heroine her first ever job in exchange for refuge for her kitten(s).

Totally new to relationships and intimacy, Edith fumbles her way between Griffin, Mason and Jaxon. Confused and vulnerable, all Edith truly wants is for someone to love and care for her, but her misguided quest results in an unplanned pregnancy. Unsure of who the father is, she resolves to simply be honest with each of the men, and lay her cards all out on the table. When none of them reacts how she expects, Edith’s entire life takes a left turn leaving her undeniably hurt and with tough decisions to make.

***
I think what I loved most about this book was how imperfect all the MCs were.

Edith, was so sheltered that she really didn’t know anything about the world. She made lots of mistakes but I think that’s what made her feel real and relatable. Her confusion over what she was doing with each man and how she felt about them, made me so sad for her. They really didn’t do right by her in the beginning, she was so vulnerable because of her abuse and lack of stable upbringing. Regardless, she was strong despite her naivety and she pulled herself together for her baby.

Griffin, I liked in the beginning, but damn how I hated his dismissal of her, thinking he was doing the right thing. He should have done more to understand her if he was truly feeling so strongly about her. In the end he managed be the one to ease Edith back into opening herself for a relationship again, so points to him, even though he was a huge dummy, plus he was the first to beat Clayborn’s ass and he was hilarious!

Mason, I hated his guts after that one scene where he was angry (iykyk), ooh I wanted her to slap him so bad…BUT I will say for such a grumpy asshole his apology and subsequent softening towards Edith redeemed him in my eyes. He truly became my favorite in the end. He was so happy about the baby! Ughh every time he got emotional about the baby and Edith, I was in a flood of tears. From prickly bastard to tender hearted sap; just how I like ‘em!

Jaxon, I did not see the hurt he would inflict on Edith coming, AT ALL. Omg talk about shock! I was blubbering like a baby through those chapters. But you know what? The regret afterward was delicious. I just love a story where the MMC is tormented with shame and regret over hurting the FMC. He earned his forgiveness in the end, and Ruthie and Edith had this man groveling beautifully.

ALSO, 100000/10 for Mrs.Ruth Danielson, the kindest, most adorably ruthless, and always meddling, God fearing lady there ever was ❤️ She was a real one ✊. The way she stood up for Edith and put all three of those country boys in their place, was everything (had me sobbing 😭)

***

S.E. Green writes the most heart wrenching romance with the greatest top tier grovel I have ever encountered!!!!! I want to own every single book she writes (this is literally my new goal in life rn—pray for my wallet y’all 😌)


Do yourself a favor and read this book! You won’t regret it, especially if you need a good cry and some drama!!

Highly recommend! This is a new fav author of mine 🫶

[Melissa Dickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars. Easily.

This is probably one of the best books Ive read all year. 1000% going in my “Top 10 of 2024” list.

Tropes
🌻Cowboys🥵
🌻Age Gap
🌻Heroine w/ a dad who hvrtş her
🌻Dad’s friend MMC
🌻Demon kitten (seriously. Its delightful)
🌻Rivals to lovers
🌻neighbors to lovers
🌻Forbidden romance
🌻Why Choose
🌻Surprise Baby
🌻All. The. Angst.
🌻Betrayal/Grovel
🌻MMC’s all hate each other and then become friends for her
🌻 “We dont care who the dad is. We all want it.”
🌻Virgin FMC
🌻Forced Proximity
🌻Alpha Males
🌻FMC w/ trauma
🌻Parental abuse (check your triggers)
🌻Grumpy x Sunshine
🌻 “What have we done?”

Listen there’s way more..but good god this book.. I cant even begin to explain the way it took my soul and crushed it and put it back together.

Our heroine,Edith, is so sweet- she’s 21 and lives with her father who is a total freaking a-hole. He hurts her, is a jerk to her, and makes her feel like absolute shit no matter what she does. But this is all she’s ever known her entire life.. and he wont let her get a job or do anything outside of going to church.

She and her father live next door to another farmer/cowboy and her dad and his have been Rivals forever. Edith is a bit of a kitten whisperer and is afraid her dad will hurt the barn cats that keep showing up at her home so she takes them to the neighbors and begs him to let he keep them in the barn and offers to work on the farm as payment.

Mason is the quintessential broody, older jerk. He wants to use Edith to get back at her father, but as he spends time with her he realizes that shes an amazing woman and nothing like her dad. Shes hard working, kind, and amazing with his animals. He falls for her pretty quickly.

Then we have Jaxon- hes the owner of a construction company in their small town, and he meets Edith when hes roped into overseeing a barn raising that the church is in charge of. As Edith’s dad will only let her do church related things, she jumps at the chance to help and she and Jaxon meet and he falls for her pretty quickly. Theres just one issue — Jaxon HATES Edith’s dad, and he has no idea she’s his daughter. To say things get insane when he finds out is an understatement. Freaking gut punch of epic proportions and I was sooo here for it.

And last but not least, we have Griffin. Griffin is the younger brother of Edith’s dad’s best friend. So hes a friend in a way but not really.. he kind of just tags along with his older brother for something to do,… and once he finally gets his eyes on Edith he goes out of his way to be at their house as often as possible. Griffin is a safe space for Edith.. hes the first real “friend” she has and she falls for him quickly.

Honestly, I dont want to give much more away because I want ya’ll to experience the betrayal/gut punches and not see them coming. It was just sooooo delicious. And the spice in this book?? Holy hell it was HOT. I mean just absolutely phenomenal. It was absolutely heartbreaking and the grovel was on point for what happened. The surprise pregnancy was just soooo good and I was totally here for it. And for my girlies who love seeing the guy(s) with their pregnant girl… you def get plenty of that in this book.

Seriously 5 stars, and I cant wait to see what SE Green comes up with next!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone Deserves Love

🅁🄸🅅🄰🄻: Book Two Broken Vengeance Series
By S.E. Green

🐾 Age Gap 🐾 Why Choose 🐾 Enemies to Lovers 🐾 Unplanned Pregnancy 🐾 Hurt/Comfort

Another amazing Why choose romance from this talented author. Every book bring a different contemporary set of characters with real emotions and struggles. I think each one is going to be my favorite but they are all so good this one was no exception!

RIVAL features Edith the FMC who has only known abuse her whole life. All she wants is for someone to love her. Even suffering she still brings a positive personality to everything and has so much compassion. Reading this and seeing how she was treated made my heart hurt for her I just wanted to reach out and hug her.

“𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.”

This was not a fall right into everyone being comfortable or friends. All the guys kinda hate each other to start and each one of the guys has something to make up for when it comes to Edith. I would say the spice starts in this before the half way mark. I was glad that it wasn’t forgive right away and forget they had to work to find that forgiveness and trust that is broken. As well as learn to get along Amongst themselves.

“𝘐 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵… 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.”

This was a standalone in the series and is told in DPOV. The age gap between Edith and each of the guys is about 15 years. Special mention for Mrs. Danielson she was the funniest with her snark 😂 also Billy is a spitting ball of fluff.

[M Janee · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐

⭐ didn't like/DNF
⭐⭐ was okay but I probably won't look for any sequels
⭐⭐⭐ it was good I'll likely read the next one
⭐⭐⭐⭐ I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was great and I'll definitely be looking for any sequels
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I loved it so much I'm adding it to my cart to buy paperback
--

LOVE.

My favourite character is the lil devilish kitten, Billy 😂 but close second is Mason. His character development was just so good. He hated her father, hired her to plan to get back at him but very quickly changed his tune about that and was a sucker for letting her bring stray after stray to stay in his barn 😂 even Billy who loved to attack his feet lol
Whilst it kinda is an enemy to lovers, it's also not. The 'rivalry' is actually between the mmcs. They do not like each other. There is an accidental pregnancy, and they don't handle it well (cough Jaxon), but they band together to win her back and form a bond.

[Mandy Robitaille · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gave me all the feels!

It was a slow burn, angsty romance. Edith is a sweet girl who is certainly suffering under the hands of her terrible father. She slowly starts becoming close with 3 very different older men. I loved the different bonds she had with all the guys, but Mason was definitely my fav. He was super grumpy but couldn't say no to sweet Edith.

When she accidentally gets pregnant, things take a wild turn. The grovel that Edith makes these men go through is good, but Mason, Griffin, and Jaxon work hard to show that they love Edith and their little girl.

There was some super sweet moments, along with some tender & spicy ones. I laughed, I cried, & felt all the feelings in between.

SE Green always delivers an emotional ride & this one hit the spot.

Tropes:
- Cowboys/Small Town
- Age Gap
- MMCs are Enemies
- Heroine in Peril
- Accidental Pregnancy
- Angst/Betrayal/Grovel

[Katie MacLeod · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5
So this is the second book in her cowboy/small town collection and can be read as a standalone because none of the books overlap or interconnect at this point. It follows Edith, who really seems naive at times but also really wants to escape her current circumstances. Along the way, she meets three men who really brings different things to her life and show her there can be light outside of the darkness that surrounds her current life. When things go sideways and everyone abandons ship, there's some real moments where we have to sit in these moments of personal failure and how to grow out of it. The GROVELLING! It takes so much for Edith to find her HEA with these guys but when they all come together, it’s so sweet. The growth between all the men and Edith is so special. The harem really forms so naturally into a why chose that makes the most sense for their situations, this it was the most natural thing in the world for them. This book will make you swoon, cry, throw up in nervous energy, but most of all, believe people can grow.

[Doom Sunshine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I almost DNF'd this book, but I stuck with it.

The FMC has been mistreated and abused her entire life and ya know, I wish the author allowed the FMC to act like it.
There were very few instances of the FMC working through her trauma with internal monologues; she allowed herself to be treated as a second class citizen by everyone in her life; she failed to set realistic and appropriate boundaries; and while this story was about finding love, I never felt the love between all of the MC's.

There is a good story in there, but the author just doesn't go into a lot of detail or depth with emotions. Author does a lot of explaining and not enough showing.

[Scarlett Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heat level: 2/5. I'm so hype of being one of the first to read this woman's stories as her editor every time. I'm loving this new cowboy series. This virgin FMC also has 3 MMCs and all 3 are older than her. Age gap, yes please. Though I feel like only 2 of the 3 are real cowboys, but the third is a hard worker who works more with machiney things. You get enemies to lovers and friends to lovers in this slow burn. Check those warnings because the FMC is in an abusive home with her drunk sperm donor and it gets rough.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, I’m not sure how to rate this. On the one hand, I stayed up all night reading. That’s how hooked I was. First 60% was chef’s kiss 🤌🏻 Always enjoy reading about heroine in trouble. After that it felt a bit anti climatic, everything that went down with Clayborn. It felt a bit rushed and I was waiting for Edith to talk more about her past and her trauma, but it didn’t really happen, what was the main plot on the first part of the book kind of become a loose end, and we were left with many unanswered questions. So yeah, after 60-70% mark I was a bit disappointed.

[Athena Que Será, Será · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tags: abuse, age-gaaap, betrayal, boss-employee, child_abuse_alert, cowboy-rancher, cruel-cruel-hero, dads-bestfriend-taboo, damaged-broken_hero, damaged-broken_heroine, enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, friends-with-benefits, grovel-remorseful, hero-hurts-heroine, heroine-leaves, office-workplace-romance, older-hero-younger-heroine, poor-heroine, read, rejection-contemporary, rh-contemporary, rh-standalone, rivals-like-same-girl, shy-heroine, small-town, virgin-heroine

[Colleen Townsend · Rating 5 out of 5]

Went in blind & my oh my what a story. This will be in my top 10 for the year for sure. How to describe this it hard with out spoilers but it’s cowboy, why-choose, enemies to lovers with lots of spice & angst. Also some pretty adorable farm animals.

Edith is prob the sweetest & strongest FMCs I’ve ever read.

[Mahin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable read

There were some things that could have been handled better (why the fmc didn't tell anyone) but overall, this was a fun read and the relationship between the guys was great!

[Sharon Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grovel Fest

This is THE BOOK y'all have been begging for. Those guys are put through the grovel machine HARD.

Buy this book now!

[Pinkitnl · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,75/5 ⭐️

[Tracey Milito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

This book had me on a rollercoaster of emotions. Edith’s story was heartbreaking and beautiful. I was hooked from the first page to the last.

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

So beautiful

This book broke my heart into tiny little pieces and then put it back together again. SE Green you are an amazing author

[maskflora · Rating 2 out of 5]

so... yeah the girl pet name... the disrespect. girl atp leave men alone

[Amalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hated the first part of this book, but surprising enjoyed the second part.