DNF at about 30%
I got suckered in at the idea of a dark cowboy romance (especially since I've read a couple good ones in the past month or two), but this was a solid pass for me
Yes, I came for the cowboy smut, but I still look for tension between the characters to make it all feel believable, of which I felt none :/ Honestly, up to the point where I decided to call it quits, Brynne just behaved like a brat and Booker behaved like an asshole, with no real chemistry. I often enjoy a brat/dom dynamic, but there still needs to be a spark. The smut also came out of nowhere really fast and just felt forced and out of place, which is where I was like "Nope, pass!"
I wasn't really feeling the whole plotline of forcing Brynne to stay on the ranch to get back the deed from her ex, let alone forcing her to stay and wanting to put her to work. If Booker wanted her help, he should be kissing her ass, not making her do manual labor lol. But that's more of a minor issue for me with the book 😆
Overall, I feel like Brynne and Booker were written to be typical dark romance characters -- the bratty FMC forced onto her knees by the filthy-mouthed, arrogant MMC -- inserted crowd-pleaser dialogue, mostly on Booker's part, but left out all the things that make a book a romance, even for a darker one