The Mountain Echoes

Wildflower Canyon #2

by Maya Alden

He's my enemy, and I don't trust him.
So why does he make my heart beat faster?

I'm Aria Delgado, and this is my story.

Ten years ago, my fiancé betrayed me in the worst way—he chose my sister. I swore I’d never set foot on Longhorn Ranch again. But now, I don’t have a choice. My father is gone, the family ranch is on the verge of collapse, and half of it belongs to me, the other half to my sister, and she can’t sell it fast enough.

I won’t let that happen. My ancestral home is more than dirt and fences—it’s my legacy. But the odds are stacked against me. The debts are too high, and someone is trying to drive me out of my land.

As the pressure mounts, one man keeps appearing in my Maverick Kincaid, the powerful, relentless rancher who wants Longhorn for himself. Smooth-talking, sharp-eyed, and my sister's close friend—he’s everything I don't trust. But when danger comes knocking, he’s the one who steps in to protect me.

The tension between us is a slow-burning wildfire, and I don’t know if I want to put it out or let it consume me.

Every stolen moment with Mav is a risk. Every touch is a gamble. I’m terrified that history is going to repeat itself and that, once again, the man I'm in love with is going to choose my sister.

The Mountain Echoes is part of the Wildflower Canyon cowboy romance series and features your favorite

🐎 Enemies to Lovers
🐎 Cowboy
🐎 Other Woman Drama
🐎 Age Gap (10 years)
🐎 Small town
🐎 Slow burn
🐎 Betrayal & Grovel
🐎 Complete Standalone

Genres: Enemies To Lovers, Romance, Westerns, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Small Town Romance, Second Chance

390 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 15, 2025

About the author

A top 20 Amazon Bestselling Author, Maya Alden pens angsty contemporary romances.

Reviews

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve read quite a few of Maya Alden’s books, and usually, her stories pack a good punch — you get that high angst, the MMC who’s oblivious and mean to the FMC, followed by a satisfying realization and some proper groveling. It’s the kind of emotional tension that really grips you and makes your heart ache a little. Unfortunately, that was missing in this one. Everything just felt really mellow compared to her other books.

I had high expectations for Maverick, especially after how he was portrayed in the previous book — he came across as level-headed and dependable. But here, that side of him didn’t really come through.

The story follows Mav wanting to buy Celeste and Aria’s ranch after their dad passes away. Aria had moved out years ago after her fiancé, Hudson, left her for her sister, Celeste. To make things worse, their dad sided with Celeste, telling Aria to get over it since Celeste was pregnant — essentially kicking Aria out. She hasn’t been back to the ranch since.

Now, Mav has this preconceived notion about Aria based on everything Celeste says. For the record, he and Celeste have never hooked up — they’re just friendly. But one of my biggest pet peeves pops up here: he constantly compares the two sisters. He goes on about how Celeste is soft and feminine, while Aria is more masculine and rough around the edges. Aria’s just hands-on and hard-working, like Eleanor from the previous book, whereas Celeste is all leisure and appearance.

The plot mainly revolves around Mav trying to “help” Aria, secretly hoping she’ll fail so he can swoop in and buy the ranch. Of course, he underestimates her completely and eventually realizes how capable she actually is. There’s an age gap — over ten years, I think — but the emotional depth just wasn’t there.

When Mav says some really harsh things to her (basically calls her ugly and says he’d never sleep with her), the moment that should’ve hit hard just… doesn’t. The angst is missing. And when it’s time for groveling? It’s almost non-existent. He apologizes, sure, but that’s about it.

Later, Aria overhears Mav talking to Celeste about their original plan — how he was helping her with the hidden hope she’d fail so he could buy the ranch. Naturally, she’s hurt, but she forgives him far too easily. His excuse? He was just trying to figure out who was sabotaging the farm. It all felt weak and rushed.

Even when they finally get together, I couldn’t connect with him. His personality just didn’t work for me. Everything was about control — when he “proposes,” he doesn’t even ask her. He just tells her, we’re getting married. There was no heart, no depth, no redemption moment that made me root for him.

I just normally expect very high angst from her books and I just felt like this one didn’t deliver. I couldn’t connect with the characters together and yeah, like I don’t know what it was. I just felt like the story just didn’t work for me.

[Mairi Swan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not so gripping as the first one despite having angst and drama. I didn't feel so much the connection between Mav and Aria, though I was so eager to read Mav's story even from the previous book where he made his appearance.

[Athena Que Será, Será · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tags: age-gaaap, cowboy-rancher, cruel-cruel-hero, damaged-broken_hero, damaged-broken_heroine, enemies-to-lovers, hero-hurts-heroine, heroine-loved-or-loves-om, hurtful-words-overheard, mean-mean-girls-women, older-hero-younger-heroine, om-cheats-on-heroine, om_drama, ow-drama, read, rich-hero, second-chance, small-town

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

maverick goes through so many personality changes it’s unrealistic

Ehhh look - the MFC, Aria, is gaslit by everyone in this, I swear.

Her sister and her ex fiance get what’s coming to them which is unusual in an Alden story

But Maverick? The male lead? Nahhhh. He’s terrible to her, down right mean, says some terrible demeaning stuff, admits her sister will always win in the looks department

Conspires to screw her over by giving her enough rope to hang herself and goes behind her back to the bank — and conspires with her evil sister about it

Then the will gets read …..

Suddenly he has a complete 180 interest in her - wants her like he’s never wanted another woman before, she’s attractive and beautiful…. while simultaneously telling friends and his sister he’s pretending to help her and she’s doing to fail and when she does she’ll thank him for sweeping in to save her and the ranch (yuck)

He then further changes abruptly to being madly in love with her all of a sudden and wanting to get her in bed - even though he called her unattractively masculine

Then the MFC over hears him parroting his whole TRUE plan to her sister — as a ploy to get the sister to back off of her evil doings — and convinces the MFC that despite what she heard, she knows it’s not true and he would never do that her — and for her to trust her heart

Uhhhh hello?? That’s EXACTLY what he did. That’s why he did it. That’s SO FAKE and it’s called GAS LIGHTING dressed up as “true love”

He absolutely was pretending to help her and wanted her to fail - even if it later morphed into something else; that’s still a HUGE plot point that should’ve caused way more tension for the MFC Aria . It’s glossed over so quick and just ignored. Everyone knew about it too

Unfortunately Alden’s MMC are written in such a way that they never show any true growth or progress and they’re never apologetic and they don’t properly grovel —- and when Alden tries to write one, like in this story, the MMC ends up coming across as someone with a personality disorder that gaslights the MFC for “believing he could ever do anything like that to her”

[Serial Romance Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m enjoying this series, especially the western setting with *swoon* cowboys!

What I liked:
How strong Aria was
Evil man-stealing sister OW drama
Her ex got his comeuppance
Mav was super cruel and judgmental at first

What I disliked:
Mav’s abrupt 180 that came out of nowhere
Death of a beloved character
Poor ex didn’t deserve the end he got, necessarily
Why’s she offering to pay for her sister’s attorney!? She caused the death of one of Aria’s father figures

[Danny Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, but was too long and drawn out. Had to skim because I was falling asleep. I much prefer the hero from this series compared to her others. He was unapologetically pushy, and an asshole, but fit his cowboy persona. I can say Maverick in that sense outshined the herione Aria here. She was done pretty dirty from her family. And Mav said some pretty hurtful shit, but he was easily forgiveable. I like assholes in my romance fiction so 🤷.

[Ioana Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 farmer stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3.5🌶

[Carole Copeland · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tough sell

This was a tough book to get through. Took me way too many days but I couldn't keep reading after so many pages. First, we barely, have to two main characters in the same scene for pretty much half the book. Then, the author goes on and on (like in other of her books) with her knowledge on, in this case, ranching. At some point hitting the highlights are ok and let's get back to the story. Next, we won't talk about the timeline and events. Not a fan of the warning before a chapter. I get in the description of the book can have warnings but this just gave away what and to who it was going to happen to. It wasn't overly emotionally written to warrant the warning. There really wasn't much conflict between the two main characters. The author glosses over that quickly while dragging the story down with descriptions. This had the same theme as the other in this series and looks like the next one does as well. Hopefully it is better written and more interaction with the main characters. I didn't really have a standout moment where I'm like, "Oh, that was good." With this book. He fell for her too quickly. I was excited to finally enjoy a "plain" woman's journey to getting the guy but the author made the spark too quick. Even before they even really spent time together.

[Joanne Farley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story that will Echoe through your mind for a long time to come.

Ten years ago Aria was betrayed by her father when he told to leave her home after Celine her sister betrays her in the worst possible way. When her father dies, she comes home to bury him and face her past. Aria is a strong but vulnerable woman who has been let down by all of her biological family. What she comes to realise is that she has a chosen family that loves her. While coming home is bittersweet for her, she is finally able to see people for what they are allowing her to move on. She knows what she wants, and she know what needs to be done to get it.

Heavily influenced by Celine, Maverick had a preconceived of the person that Aria is this causes him to be less than nice to Aria at times. I loved Mav and I still loved him in this book when he was being a pain. When he decided Aria is for him he is all in and he goes all out to get her
This is a book you are going to grab you from the first page and it will not let you go until the last page. As with all of Maya’s books there are support characters that you are going to love and side characters you are going to hate.

I loved this book and I love the world Maya has written.

Remember ladies hide a cowboy save a horse.

[Debbie DiFiore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dragged in parts

Celine was as evil as the come. I was so sick of her by chapter two. Just a conniving piece of flotsam! Aria was good and maverick was just okay to me. His thoughts at the beginning were just so disgusting about aria's looks and Celines, that I just didn't like him. There's A lot to process here but there is no cheating. There's sadness and grief and sabotage. I liked the story but didn't love it. Easy to read, A little boring in parts, but overall a sound read. I will not be reading the next book Time after Time. It sounds yucky.

[Kathleen Lemke (Kathy Page) · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating: 4 Stars

What I loved: I liked the strength Aria(h) shown. With everything thrown at her, she still got the ranch back to the way it should be. Loved how Maverick(H) was with her every step of the way once he realized the sister was crazy.

What I didn’t like: I hate when a character I love dies. Earl deserved to see the ranch make it. Also, I wanted to see the sister suffer more. Would have been great if we got a scene with her getting interrogated by the sheriff…that’s me being greedy :)

***Major Spoilers/ Details/Triggers: H says hurtful things to the h, death of a parent(h’s dad) and of a father figure (h’s ranch hand that she was close too), ow drama (h’s sister)
h comes back home due to her father’s death. In the past the h was asked to leave the ranch if she couldn’t play nice with her sister. The sister took the h’s fiancé. The fiancé leaves the h for the sister because sister was supposedly pregnant. h not wanting to play nice with them leaves. Sister and the ex fiancé marry. The father never asks the h to come back or make any effort to call her. h is the one to always call. In the present, the h is home for the funeral and to see what will be done with the ranch. The ranch is in debt due to the sister and husband, plus poor management by the father. The sister makes it known that she isn’t happy the h is there. The H is a friend of the h’s sister and owns a ranch next to theirs. The sister lies to the H that the h is mean, selfish and is there just for the money. She says nothing about how she stole the h’s fiancé. H wants the ranch and tells the h that he will buy it from her. h turns him down. When H sees her out at a bar, he tries again but h turns him down. When h asks if he is sleeping with her sister he tells her no. When she insinuates that he is a liar, H tells the h that he heard she likes going after men that her sister has been with, but to not worry because she doesn’t make the cut, that he likes his woman soft not unattractive, masculine. At the reading of the will the h finds out that she and her sister both will own the ranch equally. That they both have to agree to sell. The father also apologized to the h in the will. H starts to realize that the sister/ow hasn’t been honest about the h. The sister wants the h to sell the ranch but the h refuses, telling her she can get it running again. The sister and the husband need the money. H decides to help the h build back up the ranch. He tells the sister/ow he is doing it so he can see her fail and then he can buy it. H helps the h and starts to have feelings for her. They starts a relationship. While getting things ready to make money, someone starts sabotaging the farm. H helps the h through it all. When the sister hears about how the H is really helping the h, she has a ranch hand plant a bomb. On the day of the auction, the ranch hand, who was like a second father to the h, gets hurt and dies. Then a bomb goes off in the barn killing the ex fiancé/sister’s husband. After that everything becomes clear that it was the sister behind it and the ex fiancé/sister’s husband found out and was trying to diffuse the bomb. HEA with the sister in jail, h owning the ranch and the H and h get married.

Final thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. The hero really was a great guy (besides the mean comment he said), I truly felt he proved that the heroine was it for him. I’m hoping Bree gets a book.

[Aarann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad at all, and I had fun reading it but at the end of the day, not much to remember. I enjoyed the sister dynamic, the MMC was (in)appropriately shitty to be followed by a come-to-Jesus, but I just didn't feel like what he did when he didn't know her was all that bad in the first place. Sure, he said some awful things to a near-stranger for no real reason, but from this author, that's just the equivalent of "Must be Tuesday." Once Mav got his act together, there was minimal angst from him, and the story focused on Aria's efforts to keep the ranch together.

This was a bit similar to the previous book in the series where a rancher father who behaved terribly dies and the prodigal child comes home. Both ranchers/fathers had terrible taste in wives, and treated the daughter (or daughter figure in the case of The Wrong Ride Home) horribly due to their own failings, and seemed to know it, only to never really make amends. The rest of the books diverged from there, but there was a similar theme.

Not bad, but not terribly memorable either. I'm still looking forward to the third book.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG

This book was amazing. I think it is my all time favourite of Maya Alden!

The main characters were awesome. Strong, sweet, honest and their chemistry off the charts. Aria is everything I want to be when I grow up!

There was so much drama, intrigue, love and steam. Except for the villains of the story the secondary characters were so well written they were coming to life.

I loved this book!

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story!

I loved going back to Wildflower Canyon! I loved Maverick in the first book and it was nice to finally read his story! Aria was such a strong character, I really liked her! Their relationship was very mature and I loved that! Super refreshing!

Her sister was crazy and I’m glad she got her karma!

I can’t wait to see who’s story we get next! I would love to see if it’s Joy’s or Hunt’s or Tate’s?

[Rachel Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading The Mountain Echoes by Maya Alden and it was such a powerful story. The book was not just about romance but about healing, trust, and finding strength after heartbreak. I could really feel how deep the emotions ran between Aria and Maverick, and the slow way their relationship grew made the story even more meaningful. It was not rushed and every interaction between them added another layer that showed how love can rebuild even when trust has been broken in the past.

What stood out most to me was how real the characters felt. Aria’s pain and determination made her easy to connect with, and Maverick had a quiet strength that made him unforgettable. Their journey together was not simple, but that made it feel authentic and relatable. By the end, I truly felt the love that had developed between them, and it left me thinking about how powerful second chances can be. This was a deep and heartfelt read that I will remember for a long time.

[Marisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ngl, I prob should have dnf

[Hillary · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best I’ve read from Maya!

I love me a good cowboy romance, and this delivered. Maverick and Aria’s relationship was endearing and really suited what a relationship between someone in their 30s and 40s would have. I loved how they worked together too. By the end, I was so invested in that ranch that I was ready to cry if it wasn’t saved.

The side characters were better than normal for a Maya read too. These ranchers felt like family. Aria’s actual family did feel like one-dimensional villains, but I’m not complaining. It’s kind of fun to read books like this where you know exactly what you’re getting from the antagonists.

I think I’ll go back and read the previous books in this series now - just to stay in this world a bit longer.

[Susan (susayq ~) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another page turner in this series! Aria has come home for her father's funeral after being betrayed by her sister years before. Mav immediately dislikes her because of what Aria's nasty sister has been saying about her, not to mention he wants to buy the ranch the girls own. However, once he gets to know Aria, he realizes not only was Celine lying, but he ends up falling in love with her.

There was a touch of romantic suspense in this one, just like the previous one in the series. I love that! Celine was a HORRIBLE person! My heart broke for Aria with all she had gone through at Celine's hand.

[Brodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite Maya books! I was desperate for Mav’s story and this did not disappoint. I loved Mav and Aria 🩷

[JoAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 star read, still thinking about Aria and Maverick's story ❤️

[Melanie Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mav and Aria are so cute together.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aria was such a doormat when it came to her sister Céline who caused the death of two people etc…

[Jessica Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had a good time.. def a vibes read

[Premala Sangarananda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unrealistic characters

The story is simple. The people could be real. The work honest and the land beautiful. However Maverick is unrealistic. There is no way a man of 40 years would suddenly wise up and feel so much and stand by one woman without huge shifts in his personality. He is a player that she did nothing to turn around. The drama alone would have pulled him away. Aria never deals in the book with any of the real pain of being eldest child who is neglected and discarded. Again not realistic. In fact I think books like this is what sets women up for failure in our relationship. Did Maya Alden actually talk to any guys to know if they think like this? Ladies this sets a bar so high for men when in reality all men think about is their work, sports or what happening now.

[S K · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few things:

Her sister is the absolute worst. The. Worst. The heroine's cheating ex was a close second.

What I still don't understand was her father. According to others he loved her but He was spineless.

The hero was not my favorite in the beginning but grew on me. And his betrayal was, in my opinion, not as angsty as many other novels by this author.

I liked the action and suspense in this book. More than just straight romance.

Finally. I want to live on a ranch.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great angst, flawed characters, betrayal! It’s got it all! Honestly, I thought Aria was such a good character, didn’t take crap, walked. I seriously wanted to hurt the sister and her husband, Maverick, once over his strop was all in, I really enjoyed it.

[Meggi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Mountain Echoes was an excellent follow up to The Wrong Ride Home. This second installment in Alden’s new Wildflower Canyon series follows Maverick, who featured heavily in Wrong Ride, and Aria, who we hadn’t seen. I was eagerly awaiting this book, because I loved Maverick in the first book and wanted more of him. This book didn’t disappoint! I really loved TWRH, but I may have loved this one more. It had all of my favorite tropes, OW drama, overheard betrayal, age gap, he falls first. He falls harder, no cheating, and a HEA. It wasn’t super spicy, but the love story and writing were so great that it didn’t need it. One thing that I also appreciated was that there was no drawn out third act. It’s a pet peeve of mine in books. It’s like everyone says, and now we need to come up with a way to break them up no matter how lame it is. Thank you Maya Alden for breaking from the norm and not adding some drawn out, trumped up reason to break them up!

Aria was a strong character that had been through a lot of emotional trauma and came out stronger on the other side. I loved her strength and persistence and that she never gave up in the face of all her struggles. I loved watching her open up and start to trust again.

What can I say about Maverick? I loved him in the first book and I loved him in this book! I will admit to being a little upset with him at the start and his manipulative nature, but his heart shown through. He was a good man who would do anything for those he cares about. He also loved the land. Above all else, he loved Aria and I loved seeing him put her first. She needed that and he saw her and supported and loved her.

Celine was a narcissistic sociopath. I was stunned at the lengths she went to hurt Aria. I liked seeing justice served with her.

I can’t wait for the next book and am dying to know if it’ll be Kaz or Joy or even the good doc, Sarah! I love Wildflower Canyon and wish it were real to visit!

I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book for an honest review. :)

[Pooh Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

skimmed through most of it. Most of the book is about ranching and the fmc saving her ranch.

[JillyB · Rating 5 out of 5]

This stand alone(part of a series) story brings us back to charming, rough and ready Wildflower Canyon. Evil and greed are lurking in this small mountainside town. Yet, the wildflowers bloom right along side a new and forever love story. In the following summary, I attempt to check off the finer points as stated on Amazon.

The following may contain some slight spoilers, but for the most part I kept things pretty basic and general.
🐎 Enemies to Lovers-The hero, Maverick, believes that the heroine, Aria, is nothing more than a gold-digging, father abandoning harlot, who has come back for her dad’s funeral to cash in. Aria believes that Maverick, enjoys sleeping with married women(specifically her sister) and is interested in getting his hands on her family ranch anyway he can. Underneath this misplaced dislike for each other, there is something simmering , something that neither one can explain….but might want to explore

🐎 Cowboy-Oh, no darling there are CowboySSSS, Ok so Maverick is the hero and is the prime cowboy, but let’s not forget the supporting cowboys…shirts off, exposed
6 packs, sweat glistening off their skin down their Adonis v, while drinking an ice cold sweet tea…..…Ok, sorry that last part was totally in my head, way too many reels on facebook showing up on my feed. 😂

🐎Other Woman Drama(and some om too!) Oh Beautiful Celine, younger sister of Aria. Where Aria is tall, Celine is a pocket Venus. Where Aria is an athletic build, Celine is slim with curves. Aria is dark, taking after her father’s side of the family, while Celine is blonde and sophisticated. Now those differences are physical, the bigger difference between the two, is their character(or in the case of Celine lack there of). When 20 year old Aria brought home her fiancee for the summer, it didn’t take long for 18 year old Celine to seduce him. Hudson, the fiancee, broke it off brutally with Aria, to wed the now pregnant Celine and they lived on the ranch for their HEA(well at least their EA not so sure about the H part ) Meanwhile, Aria was told by her father to either get on board with the changing of the brides, or get out. Aria got out and ended up landing on her feet successfully on a vineyard in California.

🐎 Age Gap (10 years)-The hero Maverick is 40; heroine Aria 30

🐎 Small town-Acres of ranch land, everyone knows your business. Aspen is where people go for a more affluent cultured feel

🐎 Slow burn-This story takes a little more time setting the stage for the characters. It gives us a feel for their personalities, misconceptions, and motivations. I enjoyed the build up with them being enemies for the first 30 percent of the book. For my angst loving friends, this has some angst to keep things interesting, but I wouldn’t say it was on the angst meter.

🐎 Betrayal & Grovel-There was quite a bit of betrayal going on in this book, but the hero was only part of some of it. While he and Aria are still in the enemies stage, he says some very cruel things to her and her attract-ability making unfair comparisons between her and her sister. She basically tells him thank you for the compliment, because I do not want to be my sister. He instantly regrets his remarks and starts making amends right away. He also takes off the rose color filter and starts to see Celine in a different light(he has never loved her, but he thought she was the injured party of the 2 sisters).
🐎 Complete Standalone-Yes! Now you will see our couple, Duke and Elena, from the Wrong Ride Home, and there are some other returning characters as well. However, they are not integral to the story, and you definitely do not need to read the first one to understand. You will meet some new characters and I am already hoping one of them will get a story in the future.

This was another enjoyable read for me. This hero was one of Maya’s more likable ones. He had his moment of cruelty, but for most of the story, he was Aria’s biggest champion. He also fell first, and he had no issue saying I love you. It took Aria a bit longer to get there, but given her history that makes total sense. This story also had some extra drama with some sabotage to the ranch. It was fun trying to figure out the connections and the who did it?

I will say that this story was a little less emotional than the Wrong Ride Home, that isn’t to say that Aria had it easy and there were some sad parts, but she did have a successful career in California and very good friends. Also, the evil doers get their comeuppance, and we get a great wrap up of the story with an additional epilogue to sign up for. I received this as an arc, so that means it wont be released for a couple more months. Therefore, I am leaving out a lot of details, but I think I have given a general overview.

[Ala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Random Incoherent Thoughts (in the name of a review) Incoming:

I'm perfectly capable of keeping myself safe, but the hottest thing a man could do for me is standing up for me.

And Maverick Kincaid did just that for Aria 😭❤️... I'm happy for my girl. She's as tough as it comes, she's got this, she needs no man. But damnit when he stood up for her, I was just so happy for this girl.

I finished the story at 3.16am with a strong urge to go buy a pencil first thing in the morning— bcoz Miss Aria needs to learn where to draw the line with her narcissistic sister.

It's kinda embarrassing how quickly I fold when it comes to fictional men. Another day, another book, another man I wish was real.

Okay so at the very beginning of the book, Maverick said some really mean stuff to Aria and tbh I don't wanna hold onto that. You cannot forever hold a person to something mean that they've said. You need to learn to forgive and move on if the person's trying his damnedest to redeem himself. And I'm happy for Aria that she could that. Truly I am. But if it was me, I'd have forever held on to that stuff despite the bs that I just spewed. But since it was a book, all that hatred just added fuel to the burning enemies to lovers to trop so I was SAT. Coz uk what they say...the bitter makes the sweet taste sweeter.

Also, a moment of pure respect and admiration for Aria's resilience. Coz the ranch that she was supposed to be inheriting was in deep S. And she kept facing challenges after challenges. And yet she shined so stable, so constant. Showing up day, after day. This is a woman with a lot of quiet power.

Love that she got her happy ending.

Also, also, alsoooo. This is my first time reading this author. I randomly came across this book. And I really like her writing style and the way she talks about the pure grit of a ranch lifestyle. This is an author who knows her stuff. Her writing style is informative, easy to read, and very éloquent all at the same time. I was hooked from the get go.

Quotes and Thoughts

I wasn’t allowed to touch anything, but Celine was.
As a child that hurt. As an adult…fuck, it still hurts.

And after speaking with her, I am certain, there’s fire under the quiet.
She won’t be cold in bed.
She’ll be a live wire.

I don’t like this woman, I think at the same time as I wonder what it will be like to fuck her, make her submit.

Celine told me her sister’s a cold fish. And standing here now, I believe her, despite the way Aria lay down beside her father’s grave like a child waiting for him to wake up.

I don’t want to be part of the Delgado family drama, but I feel an irrational need to defend Aria.
--
Chapter 1, and my boy's already on his A game

Joy rolls her eyes. “Why is it men see a woman with a damsel-in-distress look and immediately assume she’s innocent?”

I can’t be strong all the time. I just can’t.

“Damn, woman, if you get any chattier, I may have to ask you to shut the fuck up,” I joke, but I can’t stop the steel from entering my voice.
--
I'm so weak, coz why's this so hot.

But if you’ve got a front porch, a little stretch of sky, and someone who knows where you’ve been, you’re doing just fine.

“And in any case, I like my women soft. Classy. The kind who don’t confuse attitude for value. Not angry little girls who wouldn’t know femininity if it slapped them in the face because they’re too busy pretending they’re tough when they’re merely unattractively masculine.”
--
Pass on what he said. But SMASH coz the ENEMIES to lovers is firing.

She gives. In small ways and big.
She gives with her smile.
A cup of coffee.
A touch on my shoulder.
A kiss.
Her silence.

No one has ever defended me quite so brutally as Maverick just did. I didn’t need to be defended. I can handle a few mean girls in my sleep with my left hand—but it was nice to have him tell them
--
baby girl I get you 🥲❤️

Behind me, a woman whispers, “You see the way he’s lookin’ at her? I think I got knocked up just watchin’ that, Mary Anne.”

“But if I so much as hear you’re planting roses or some shit for a wedding venue, I’ll burn it to the damn ground myself.”
I raise a hand, palm out. “I swear to treat it like I’d treat my own land, Aria. And I fuckin’ hate weddings.”
So, when we get married, we’re gonna elope.
--
Holy. My. HEART

As much as Celine has taken from me, I won’t let her influence my values. I will stay true to myself.
--
Love that for you, girl. But even if u don't, I hope karma makes its rounds!

Broken and twisted she may be, Celine’s still my baby sister.
--
Girl first thing tomorrow morning, I'll go buy you a pen. So you can draw the line at some point.