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Boots Beneath Her Bed
A mysterious horse trainer with a dark past ropes the heart of a guarded ranch foreman in this steamy cowboy romance by debut author Taylor Esposito.
Grace Underwood has been hiding a dark secret about the night her parents died. Only her tyrannical Uncle Bellamy knows the truth, and he’s been using it against her ever since. He’s been treating her like dirt for a decade, forcing her to work tirelessly on his ranch, but once he crosses the line too many times, Grace finally risks everything to walk away. With nowhere to go, she can’t pass up the horse trainer position that lands in her lap at Halcyon Ranch, one of the biggest ranches in the state–and her uncle’s most despised competitor. But the foreman, who’s also the owner’s son, isn’t going to make her job easy.
Crew Caldwell knows that any association with Bellamy spells bad news, and he’s not about to allow anyone to come in and sabotage his ranch. Still, he can’t deny Grace’s talent for breaking horses, or how quickly she’s embraced by the other ranch hands, and his family. If she’s hiding something, he knows he’ll have to work fast to uncover it before she works her way into their hearts… and possibly his too.
As Grace tries to keep her distance, it gets more and more difficult to resist the heat between her and Crew. With her deepest secrets still hidden and business with her uncle unfinished, will she lose the only place—and person—that has ever felt like home?
Grace Underwood has been hiding a dark secret about the night her parents died. Only her tyrannical Uncle Bellamy knows the truth, and he’s been using it against her ever since. He’s been treating her like dirt for a decade, forcing her to work tirelessly on his ranch, but once he crosses the line too many times, Grace finally risks everything to walk away. With nowhere to go, she can’t pass up the horse trainer position that lands in her lap at Halcyon Ranch, one of the biggest ranches in the state–and her uncle’s most despised competitor. But the foreman, who’s also the owner’s son, isn’t going to make her job easy.
Crew Caldwell knows that any association with Bellamy spells bad news, and he’s not about to allow anyone to come in and sabotage his ranch. Still, he can’t deny Grace’s talent for breaking horses, or how quickly she’s embraced by the other ranch hands, and his family. If she’s hiding something, he knows he’ll have to work fast to uncover it before she works her way into their hearts… and possibly his too.
As Grace tries to keep her distance, it gets more and more difficult to resist the heat between her and Crew. With her deepest secrets still hidden and business with her uncle unfinished, will she lose the only place—and person—that has ever felt like home?
464 pages, Paperback
First published April 21, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 242 reviews
March 21, 2026
Slice of life narrative with gorgeous descriptions of ranch life, the Texas setting, and mouth-water food with a bit of mystery and romance.
This book packs a lot of emotional depth and the writing/prose is absolutely stunning, but if you’re hoping for a fast-paced sexy cowboy romance I’m not sure this is going to hit.
Who will this book work for? Those that like emotional depth & a slice of life narrative. I felt like I was right there in the room chopping onions next to the crew while cooking dinner, jumping into the watering hole, and dancing at the hoe down. If you don’t mind a slower pace and enjoy languishing in the details this will be a great read for you.
While I enjoyed this book, I was hoping for a bit tighter pacing and a strong emphasis on the romance.
I will absolutely be on the look out for more books by this author in the future!
3.5⭐️| IG | TikTok |
Thank you Berkley for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.
This book packs a lot of emotional depth and the writing/prose is absolutely stunning, but if you’re hoping for a fast-paced sexy cowboy romance I’m not sure this is going to hit.
Who will this book work for? Those that like emotional depth & a slice of life narrative. I felt like I was right there in the room chopping onions next to the crew while cooking dinner, jumping into the watering hole, and dancing at the hoe down. If you don’t mind a slower pace and enjoy languishing in the details this will be a great read for you.
While I enjoyed this book, I was hoping for a bit tighter pacing and a strong emphasis on the romance.
I will absolutely be on the look out for more books by this author in the future!
3.5⭐️| IG | TikTok |
Thank you Berkley for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.
March 27, 2026
Oh boy. Oh boy oh boy.
This is a weird cross between a slice of life romance and a ton of trauma porn. And I don't mind either one on its own but like, pick a lane. Both of these together don't make for a great combo.
This one features a third person present single POV (for the most part) and the Grace, the FMC , starts the book as a damsel in distress and in major need of rescue. She ends the book much the same way and at some point, I wanted to see her fight back. She does do it briefly, when she finally quits her abusive uncle's ranch and walks away but then he threatens her with harm to the people she's come to love and she just folds and listen, the man calls you and says he had someone intentionally run her current bosses off the road and they were grievously injured, possibly even dead (they're not but at the time of this phone convo, no one knows this) and instead of alerting the police, she returns to him to avoid more harm being caused to her new employers, especially the son who is the MMC.
This brings me to my next point, why does she fall for him? It feels like she falls for him because she goes from an extremely abusive situation with her uncle to one where she's being treated with kindness and respect which are all good things, but not enough to warrant falling in love, necessarily. It just feels like this romance is predicated on the fact that for once in her adult life, she's surrounded by good people who treat her with basic decency. There's got to be more than that to warrant falling in love with someone.
Third, she announces that she's never had an orgasm, either with a partner or solo. And then immediately afterwards, the MCs fool around and she has her first orgasm! Amazing! Miraculous! I mean, should we maybe excavate why this woman in her mid 20s has never allowed herself to orgasm, on her own or with another person? Should we maybe examine that further or even have a conversation about it? (And by we, I mean the author, obvs). Magical penis isn't a real thing.
Fourth, a lot of this book treats love as a cure all for all of Grace's emotional and physical trauma and it's not. This girl needs therapy. She needs to really come to terms with all the harm that's been done to her for so many years. And THEN maybe we can talk about her having a serious relationship with someone (though, IDK if Crew is the best option).
Speaking of Crew, all we know about him is that he's the eldest son, did 2 tours in Afghanistan, and then returned home to help run the enormous ranch and is the ranch foreman. He's grumpy and taciturn (listen, if you're gonna write a grumpy, taciturn hero, there needs to be a hell of a lot more character work than was done here) and distrusts Grace and then trusts her and falls for her, in very short order but also not, because it took a lot of pages of describing ranch life (slice of life part here) to get to that.
This book had some good lines of prose in it but overall, it misses the mark on character development (Grace begins and ends much the same way, a damsel in distress in need of a rescue and that final scene with her uncle is annoying bc she's so out of it, she can't even speak and Crew and his siblings basically do all the talking) and Crew basically is a one note character who we know very little about. The romance doesn't work, there's no real yearning, and also, let's reflect on the fact that he's the ranch foreman and will inherit this massive ranch one day and she's been hired on as a horse trainer, so there's definitely a boss/employee vibe going on here. Which, given her sense of vulnerability and lack of familial support and resources, it feels very very lopsided.
I feel like I could write more but I think I have more than made my point that this book did not work for me. It might for some people but I am not in that target audience. It felt like an old-school contemporary in some ways and I just wanted it to be something it wasn't.
ARC from publisher, review is all mine.
Content Notes: abusive, toxic uncle and ranch hands, assault resulting in broken bones and hospitalization, intentional harm of horses resulting in death of horses, animal abuse, other assorted criminal activities, murder in the past off page, attempted murder by way of car crash
This is a weird cross between a slice of life romance and a ton of trauma porn. And I don't mind either one on its own but like, pick a lane. Both of these together don't make for a great combo.
This one features a third person present single POV (for the most part) and the Grace, the FMC , starts the book as a damsel in distress and in major need of rescue. She ends the book much the same way and at some point, I wanted to see her fight back. She does do it briefly, when she finally quits her abusive uncle's ranch and walks away but then he threatens her with harm to the people she's come to love and she just folds and listen, the man calls you and says he had someone intentionally run her current bosses off the road and they were grievously injured, possibly even dead (they're not but at the time of this phone convo, no one knows this) and instead of alerting the police, she returns to him to avoid more harm being caused to her new employers, especially the son who is the MMC.
This brings me to my next point, why does she fall for him? It feels like she falls for him because she goes from an extremely abusive situation with her uncle to one where she's being treated with kindness and respect which are all good things, but not enough to warrant falling in love, necessarily. It just feels like this romance is predicated on the fact that for once in her adult life, she's surrounded by good people who treat her with basic decency. There's got to be more than that to warrant falling in love with someone.
Third, she announces that she's never had an orgasm, either with a partner or solo. And then immediately afterwards, the MCs fool around and she has her first orgasm! Amazing! Miraculous! I mean, should we maybe excavate why this woman in her mid 20s has never allowed herself to orgasm, on her own or with another person? Should we maybe examine that further or even have a conversation about it? (And by we, I mean the author, obvs). Magical penis isn't a real thing.
Fourth, a lot of this book treats love as a cure all for all of Grace's emotional and physical trauma and it's not. This girl needs therapy. She needs to really come to terms with all the harm that's been done to her for so many years. And THEN maybe we can talk about her having a serious relationship with someone (though, IDK if Crew is the best option).
Speaking of Crew, all we know about him is that he's the eldest son, did 2 tours in Afghanistan, and then returned home to help run the enormous ranch and is the ranch foreman. He's grumpy and taciturn (listen, if you're gonna write a grumpy, taciturn hero, there needs to be a hell of a lot more character work than was done here) and distrusts Grace and then trusts her and falls for her, in very short order but also not, because it took a lot of pages of describing ranch life (slice of life part here) to get to that.
This book had some good lines of prose in it but overall, it misses the mark on character development (Grace begins and ends much the same way, a damsel in distress in need of a rescue and that final scene with her uncle is annoying bc she's so out of it, she can't even speak and Crew and his siblings basically do all the talking) and Crew basically is a one note character who we know very little about. The romance doesn't work, there's no real yearning, and also, let's reflect on the fact that he's the ranch foreman and will inherit this massive ranch one day and she's been hired on as a horse trainer, so there's definitely a boss/employee vibe going on here. Which, given her sense of vulnerability and lack of familial support and resources, it feels very very lopsided.
I feel like I could write more but I think I have more than made my point that this book did not work for me. It might for some people but I am not in that target audience. It felt like an old-school contemporary in some ways and I just wanted it to be something it wasn't.
ARC from publisher, review is all mine.
Content Notes: abusive, toxic uncle and ranch hands, assault resulting in broken bones and hospitalization, intentional harm of horses resulting in death of horses, animal abuse, other assorted criminal activities, murder in the past off page, attempted murder by way of car crash
July 3, 2026
I was really excited about this book ever since I read its blurb last month, and I’d been eagerly waiting for its release so I could finally dive in. It seemed to have all the right ingredients: a western romance, a ranch setting, found family, an FMC who’s a trainer at that very ranch, and an MMC, who also happens to be the foreman and the ranch owner’s son. So yes, there was a lot of potential there. But the let-down was that the chapters began in a third-person present POV, which immediately put me off, and then there was the amount of graphic abuse. I only made it through the first few pages before I copped out.
February 20, 2026
This book is written the way I want all romance novels to be. The pacing was perfect, there was just enough plot, the descriptions of feeling were SO well done, everything felt super genuine.
What I loved about this is that you really felt like you were reading a book about two people who live and work on a ranch. Grace is tough, Crew is capable, and all the characters are all into the same things I would expect a bunch of ranch hands to be interested in: drinking, jumping into ponds, mudding, horses, etc. The setting descriptions, dialogue, and activities all combined to create an atmosphere that felt authentic and very Texas.
This book is going to be compared to Yellowstone, and from what I have seen of Yellowstone (6 episodes max) the comparison definitely tracks, though this book focuses more on the romance and character growth of Grace than it does on the crime side plot. Which I preferred! Yellowstone was too unsettling for me, so this book was perfect!!
The only thing I have to say about this book is that they fuck in his bed almost exclusively so…boots beneath HIS bed might’ve been a better title. Boots beneath THE bed?
What I loved about this is that you really felt like you were reading a book about two people who live and work on a ranch. Grace is tough, Crew is capable, and all the characters are all into the same things I would expect a bunch of ranch hands to be interested in: drinking, jumping into ponds, mudding, horses, etc. The setting descriptions, dialogue, and activities all combined to create an atmosphere that felt authentic and very Texas.
This book is going to be compared to Yellowstone, and from what I have seen of Yellowstone (6 episodes max) the comparison definitely tracks, though this book focuses more on the romance and character growth of Grace than it does on the crime side plot. Which I preferred! Yellowstone was too unsettling for me, so this book was perfect!!
The only thing I have to say about this book is that they fuck in his bed almost exclusively so…boots beneath HIS bed might’ve been a better title. Boots beneath THE bed?
April 25, 2026
I mean c’mon lol
February 6, 2026
Really big thank you to Berkeley Publishing for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. 💕
I really wanted to love this one because I’m a big fan of cowboy romances and fresh start stories, especially when they center characters who have had difficult beginnings in life.
While the premise had a lot of potential, the story struggled to totally reel me in. The opening didn’t establish a strong hook for me, and the overall pacing and writing style felt fairly low energy throughout. The story is told in third person POV, and I found that the emotional depth, particularly the angst and yearning, was missing from the dialogue and character interactions, which made it harder for me to feel fully connected to the main characters.
Unfortunately, I also didn’t feel much chemistry between the MCs. Although the FMC’s traumatic upbringing is an important part of her story, I was really hoping to see more personal growth and agency from her over the course of the story. I tend to gravitate toward romances that lean into empowered and resilient FMCs, and this portrayal didn’t quite align with what I personally look for in current romance. Women are strong! 💪 Give us more of that!
With that said, the MMC was written as respectful and kind hearted sort of from the get go, which I thought was a breath of fresh air from my typical enemies to lovers or hate to love books I usually grab. I also loved the found family aspect and the way the surrounding family offered safety and stability for the FMC. Readers who enjoy gentler romances with a strong family dynamic and a softer emotional tone may connect with this story more than I did.
Overall, this didn’t end up being the perfect fit for me, but fans of small town cowboy romance and comfort driven stories will still find a lot to enjoy here.
What to expect:
💕 fresh starts
💕 horse trainer FMC
💕 slow burn
💕 third person POV
💕 cowboy romance
💕 trauma rep
💕 found family
I really wanted to love this one because I’m a big fan of cowboy romances and fresh start stories, especially when they center characters who have had difficult beginnings in life.
While the premise had a lot of potential, the story struggled to totally reel me in. The opening didn’t establish a strong hook for me, and the overall pacing and writing style felt fairly low energy throughout. The story is told in third person POV, and I found that the emotional depth, particularly the angst and yearning, was missing from the dialogue and character interactions, which made it harder for me to feel fully connected to the main characters.
Unfortunately, I also didn’t feel much chemistry between the MCs. Although the FMC’s traumatic upbringing is an important part of her story, I was really hoping to see more personal growth and agency from her over the course of the story. I tend to gravitate toward romances that lean into empowered and resilient FMCs, and this portrayal didn’t quite align with what I personally look for in current romance. Women are strong! 💪 Give us more of that!
With that said, the MMC was written as respectful and kind hearted sort of from the get go, which I thought was a breath of fresh air from my typical enemies to lovers or hate to love books I usually grab. I also loved the found family aspect and the way the surrounding family offered safety and stability for the FMC. Readers who enjoy gentler romances with a strong family dynamic and a softer emotional tone may connect with this story more than I did.
Overall, this didn’t end up being the perfect fit for me, but fans of small town cowboy romance and comfort driven stories will still find a lot to enjoy here.
What to expect:
💕 fresh starts
💕 horse trainer FMC
💕 slow burn
💕 third person POV
💕 cowboy romance
💕 trauma rep
💕 found family
June 24, 2026
4⭐️
We meet Grace when she is still working and living under her awful uncle's thumb. She's a horse trainer on his ranch but also a general ranch hand and the person he turns to when he feels like being an even bigger asshole. She finally quits and her salvation comes in the form of Rinata Caldwell, who hires her to be the new horse trainer at Halcyon ranch.
Here Grace meets Crew, Rinata's oldest son and the foreman of the ranch. And boy oh boy does he not trust her. He knows exactly who her uncle is and doesn't want her working on his ranch. Grace slowly wins him over with her capability around the ranch and all around demeanor- she's so genuine and kind and she really brings out Crew's gentler side.
I loved these two together. I loved that their relationship was on the slower side, so we really got to see them develop before they jumped each others bones- this wasn't just about sex. But they also got together and then we got to see them together. How into each other they were, how soft Crew was with Grace and how Grace really began to see that this- Halceyon but also just Crew- could be home for her.
"Tell me something no one else knows."This is Taylor Espisito's debut novel and honestly I think she knocked it out of the park. I loved this!! So filled with tension and longing and a little bit of danger, I really enjoyed the ride.
"It didn't feel like home again until you got here. No one else knows that"
We meet Grace when she is still working and living under her awful uncle's thumb. She's a horse trainer on his ranch but also a general ranch hand and the person he turns to when he feels like being an even bigger asshole. She finally quits and her salvation comes in the form of Rinata Caldwell, who hires her to be the new horse trainer at Halcyon ranch.
Here Grace meets Crew, Rinata's oldest son and the foreman of the ranch. And boy oh boy does he not trust her. He knows exactly who her uncle is and doesn't want her working on his ranch. Grace slowly wins him over with her capability around the ranch and all around demeanor- she's so genuine and kind and she really brings out Crew's gentler side.
I loved these two together. I loved that their relationship was on the slower side, so we really got to see them develop before they jumped each others bones- this wasn't just about sex. But they also got together and then we got to see them together. How into each other they were, how soft Crew was with Grace and how Grace really began to see that this- Halceyon but also just Crew- could be home for her.
April 29, 2026
Am I the only one that honestly hoped this was a sapphic western romance because this cover screams sapphic to me.
This was fine. I didn't connect with the characters but it was interesting.
This was fine. I didn't connect with the characters but it was interesting.
January 30, 2026
TL;DR: A gripping slow-burn romance with heart, mystery, and a hot but respectful cowboy. Grace’s dark past slowly unravels alongside her chemistry with grumpy-but-sweet Crew. Perfect for readers who love emotional depth, found family, and a farm setting that’s far from cringey.
Full Review: After escaping her Uncle Bellamy’s ranch, Grace lands a job as a horse trainer at one of the wealthiest ranches in Texas. She has a dark past, but that doesn’t stop Crew, the foreman, from falling head over heels. Will Grace’s history come back to haunt her?
This book instantly sucked me in. I was immediately intrigued by Grace and her story. The author slowly reveals her past, piece by piece, letting the reader discover it alongside Crew. It keeps you glued to the pages, wondering what happened to her and how she ended up under her cruel uncle’s control.
Crew and Grace are quite the pair. Both are guarded because of past traumas, which makes their slow-burn romance so delicious. Crew is an excellent leading man—grumpy with everyone except Grace, who is the only one he lets in. When he calls her pet names, my heart completely melted. Honestly, that trope will never get old.
At its core, this book is about escaping past traumas and finding a family of your own. It’s such a heartwarming combination, and I loved seeing Grace finally get the love she deserves after such a tough journey.
And of course, who doesn’t love a hot cowboy story? As someone from the city, I love getting immersed in farm life. And as a liberal reader, it can be hard to find cowboy romances that aren’t overtly sexist—but this one is perfect. Crew and the other ranch hands are all respectful gentlemen, making the setting immersive without the cringe. Even if you usually shy away from cowboy stories, give this one a go!
Thank you, NetGalley and Berkley, for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. I’m honestly honored—I don’t know what I did to deserve four Berkley ARCs this month, but I am so grateful.
Full Review: After escaping her Uncle Bellamy’s ranch, Grace lands a job as a horse trainer at one of the wealthiest ranches in Texas. She has a dark past, but that doesn’t stop Crew, the foreman, from falling head over heels. Will Grace’s history come back to haunt her?
This book instantly sucked me in. I was immediately intrigued by Grace and her story. The author slowly reveals her past, piece by piece, letting the reader discover it alongside Crew. It keeps you glued to the pages, wondering what happened to her and how she ended up under her cruel uncle’s control.
Crew and Grace are quite the pair. Both are guarded because of past traumas, which makes their slow-burn romance so delicious. Crew is an excellent leading man—grumpy with everyone except Grace, who is the only one he lets in. When he calls her pet names, my heart completely melted. Honestly, that trope will never get old.
At its core, this book is about escaping past traumas and finding a family of your own. It’s such a heartwarming combination, and I loved seeing Grace finally get the love she deserves after such a tough journey.
And of course, who doesn’t love a hot cowboy story? As someone from the city, I love getting immersed in farm life. And as a liberal reader, it can be hard to find cowboy romances that aren’t overtly sexist—but this one is perfect. Crew and the other ranch hands are all respectful gentlemen, making the setting immersive without the cringe. Even if you usually shy away from cowboy stories, give this one a go!
Thank you, NetGalley and Berkley, for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. I’m honestly honored—I don’t know what I did to deserve four Berkley ARCs this month, but I am so grateful.
Want to Read
September 27, 2025Read the excerpt, joined the fanclub!
I read the excerpt for Boots Beneath Her Bed by Taylor Esposito, and I’m thrilled with how it turned out. Esposito delivers a cowboy romance with higher stakes and a darker edge than what’s currently popular in the genre—exactly what I’ve been craving.
From the first page, Grace’s dark secret is teased, a danger she’s carried for the past decade. When she risks exposure by fleeing her uncle’s ranch to apply for work on Crew’s family ranch, the tension only deepens. Crew may come across as guarded, but in their one shared scene, enough glimpses of his good heart shine through to leave me eager for more.
I read the excerpt for Boots Beneath Her Bed by Taylor Esposito, and I’m thrilled with how it turned out. Esposito delivers a cowboy romance with higher stakes and a darker edge than what’s currently popular in the genre—exactly what I’ve been craving.
From the first page, Grace’s dark secret is teased, a danger she’s carried for the past decade. When she risks exposure by fleeing her uncle’s ranch to apply for work on Crew’s family ranch, the tension only deepens. Crew may come across as guarded, but in their one shared scene, enough glimpses of his good heart shine through to leave me eager for more.
June 29, 2026
4 ☆
The tension in this book?!?! Omg it was so good! I’d been craving a western romance for a long while and every book I kept picking up and trying in that specific genre just didn’t work for me or wasn’t good. Then this one fell into my lap. I absolutely connected with Grace and loved Crew. She’s more reserved but extremely hardworking and he’s broody but so beyond observant and I eat that dynamic up every time. I genuinely think the pacing of this book was phenomenal and loved the 3rd person pov. This is an incredible debut and I’m so excited for book two in the series. I will say the third act made me dox a star because it was just a bit different than I was anticipating and at moments extremely cliche but that’s not without saying I still would revisit this book again in the future.
The tension in this book?!?! Omg it was so good! I’d been craving a western romance for a long while and every book I kept picking up and trying in that specific genre just didn’t work for me or wasn’t good. Then this one fell into my lap. I absolutely connected with Grace and loved Crew. She’s more reserved but extremely hardworking and he’s broody but so beyond observant and I eat that dynamic up every time. I genuinely think the pacing of this book was phenomenal and loved the 3rd person pov. This is an incredible debut and I’m so excited for book two in the series. I will say the third act made me dox a star because it was just a bit different than I was anticipating and at moments extremely cliche but that’s not without saying I still would revisit this book again in the future.
June 18, 2026
It’s giving Elsie silver but if the two main characters were Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley 💕 which I love. I always love a traditionally published fan fic 💁🏻♀️
May 4, 2026
So this book gave me life. I actually could not put it down?!!! I also cried for the last 30% so do with that what you will🥲💅🏻🧎🏻♀️
If you love Devney Perry books, cowboy romance, and lots of pain, READ THIS BOOK.
Supposedly it’s adapted from a fan fiction and to that I say, well that’s why this book was so good. Crew and Grace had everything you could’ve wanted. Some tension, some banter, some cuteness and some spicy moments😫 I love them so much. I already miss them.
If you love Devney Perry books, cowboy romance, and lots of pain, READ THIS BOOK.
Supposedly it’s adapted from a fan fiction and to that I say, well that’s why this book was so good. Crew and Grace had everything you could’ve wanted. Some tension, some banter, some cuteness and some spicy moments😫 I love them so much. I already miss them.
May 24, 2026
"I can't change the past. I can't hold you through all of that lost time and tell you how precious you are. I wish I could... But I can hold you now."
This was beautiful. Taylor Esposito's prose is so seamless and poetic at times, truly captivating. Her writing and dialogue really shine here. I felt like I knew the setting of the ranch so well, felt the overwhelming, heavy Texas heat, and also felt the love in the people that Grace meets.
I really enjoyed seeing the relationship between Grace and Crew. I thought his growing tenderness toward her was so captivating, and while I don't think the relationship was as strongly developed as it could have been, I still felt the chemistry.
I do feel the story does get a little slow, making the narrative feel a little long. I also would have liked to see Grace gain a little more strength and confidence, and see her personality shine more. But overall, this was an enjoyable read , and I'll definitely keep my eye out for more titles by Espositio!
Thank you endlessly to Berkley for the eARC!
This was beautiful. Taylor Esposito's prose is so seamless and poetic at times, truly captivating. Her writing and dialogue really shine here. I felt like I knew the setting of the ranch so well, felt the overwhelming, heavy Texas heat, and also felt the love in the people that Grace meets.
I really enjoyed seeing the relationship between Grace and Crew. I thought his growing tenderness toward her was so captivating, and while I don't think the relationship was as strongly developed as it could have been, I still felt the chemistry.
I do feel the story does get a little slow, making the narrative feel a little long. I also would have liked to see Grace gain a little more strength and confidence, and see her personality shine more. But overall, this was an enjoyable read , and I'll definitely keep my eye out for more titles by Espositio!
Thank you endlessly to Berkley for the eARC!
April 30, 2026
Ugh. I wanted to like this but ultimately it fell flat for me.
I was honestly interested up until about the 70% mark. The relationship went from 0 to 100% and I found myself unable to believe it. The story is rather slow with little interactions between our MCs dispersed throughout. But at no point did these characters have a real and deep conversation and then next thing I know he’s finger banging her in a lake. The next day they do it, and she’s in love… it felt very juvenile? Like puppy love? Also the fact that she’s come from an abusive environment and latching onto the first man who treats her nicely… I just lost a believability in this relationship and that really crumbled the story.
While these characters had backstories, they still somehow felt shallow… I want to know the little details that make a person quirky. That’s what makes you fall in love with characters. And I couldn’t tell you much about these characters other than, abusive past, served in Afghanistan, cares about family… I want to know their favorite movie… where thy go when they’re sad.
The villain felt very one dimensional. He seemed evil for the sake of being evil. Why did he care so much about getting Grace back after she left? She’s an adult? There’s plenty of people to work the ranch. I didn’t understand his need to get Grace back. Other than keeping her mouth shut?
I honestly think 1st person POV may have helped this story out in connecting to Grace a bit more.
I was honestly interested up until about the 70% mark. The relationship went from 0 to 100% and I found myself unable to believe it. The story is rather slow with little interactions between our MCs dispersed throughout. But at no point did these characters have a real and deep conversation and then next thing I know he’s finger banging her in a lake. The next day they do it, and she’s in love… it felt very juvenile? Like puppy love? Also the fact that she’s come from an abusive environment and latching onto the first man who treats her nicely… I just lost a believability in this relationship and that really crumbled the story.
While these characters had backstories, they still somehow felt shallow… I want to know the little details that make a person quirky. That’s what makes you fall in love with characters. And I couldn’t tell you much about these characters other than, abusive past, served in Afghanistan, cares about family… I want to know their favorite movie… where thy go when they’re sad.
The villain felt very one dimensional. He seemed evil for the sake of being evil. Why did he care so much about getting Grace back after she left? She’s an adult? There’s plenty of people to work the ranch. I didn’t understand his need to get Grace back. Other than keeping her mouth shut?
I honestly think 1st person POV may have helped this story out in connecting to Grace a bit more.
March 27, 2026
Thank you Berkley for the advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
ARC Review: Boots Beneath Her Bed
Pub Date: April 21, 2026
Ya'll this is it - it's my favorite book of the year so far! It's gritty, emotional, and exactly what I wanted. I genuinely cannot believe it's a debut and cannot wait to see what this author does next!! I loved both MCs and especially appreciated Grace's journey from being abused to finding home at Halcyon Ranch. The found family is top notch and I loved just every single character (except Grace's uncle, that man can go die in a hole). And let me tell you - the spice is the absolute cherry on top of this book!
Honestly there wasn't a single thing I didn't like about this book - though be warned, you won't be able to put it down at a certain point! But I promise that it's worth it. It's a really compelling read with really likeable characters. There's enough romance to appeal to romance readers but also an engaging plot that will keep you invested.
Read this for:
- Cowboy Romance
- Horse trainer
- Healing
- Found family
- A lil bit of suspense
- The bad guy gets what he deserves
ARC Review: Boots Beneath Her Bed
Pub Date: April 21, 2026
Ya'll this is it - it's my favorite book of the year so far! It's gritty, emotional, and exactly what I wanted. I genuinely cannot believe it's a debut and cannot wait to see what this author does next!! I loved both MCs and especially appreciated Grace's journey from being abused to finding home at Halcyon Ranch. The found family is top notch and I loved just every single character (except Grace's uncle, that man can go die in a hole). And let me tell you - the spice is the absolute cherry on top of this book!
Honestly there wasn't a single thing I didn't like about this book - though be warned, you won't be able to put it down at a certain point! But I promise that it's worth it. It's a really compelling read with really likeable characters. There's enough romance to appeal to romance readers but also an engaging plot that will keep you invested.
Read this for:
- Cowboy Romance
- Horse trainer
- Healing
- Found family
- A lil bit of suspense
- The bad guy gets what he deserves
February 15, 2026
My new favorite cowboy romance
June 1, 2026
This is not a traditional cowboy romance and does not fall under the romcom genre. This is a character-driven, slice-of-life book about a horse trainer with a dark past who finds herself on a new ranch, where she’s given the opportunity to have a fresh start. There is a romance subplot that builds up, but it is not the main focus of this story. This angle was not what I expected, but it is one that I came to enjoy. For a debut novel, the most impressive thing about this story was the setting. The author’s writing is beautiful and atmospheric. It was so impressive that Esposito made Halcyon Ranch come to life the way she did. I could visualize the open fields, the horses, and the bunkhouse so vividly. I *felt* the Texas heat pressing in!!! Esposito’s writing style is the kind to draw you in and keep you coming back for more.
While I felt so immersed in the setting itself, there were other things about the story itself that made it feel distant. The first one was the two main characters. The story is told in third person present tense, focusing on Grace. Her character is originally presented as independent, strong, and distrustful of others (for good reason). However, as the romance starts to build up, her character reverts to this damsel in distress type the more the love interest comes to save her, and this persists throughout the rest of the book. For me, Crew’s character read as 2 dimensional with his whole “stoic and broody” personality being the only thing we know about him. We also find out that he did two tours in Afghanistan. The characters go from disliking/distrusting each other to all of a sudden being attracted to each other with no seeming explanation or description. The lack of development felt disjointed to me. While their chemistry was *amazing* once they did get together, I couldn’t get past the lack of explanation for why they started liking each other in the first place.
It felt as if Crew and Grace’s romantic relationship suddenly solved all of Grace’s trauma. While I understand the sentiment of wanting this to be a romance and have the lighthearted undertones that come with a romance novel, this didn’t work for me due to the severity of Grace’s past. It is really heavy and dark, and she needed therapy. She has been deeply abused and is traumatized. [SPOILER FOR THE LAST CHAPTER] Grace’s reunion with her horse Vesta was so bittersweet and made me cry. I would’ve loved that scene to have ended with her reuniting and interacting with her horse rather than staying by Crew’s side. It would’ve been a nice way to tie everything up from the hurt and loss that came with Vesta being sold in the beginning. Overall, there were things I enjoyed but a lot of things that didn’t work for me.
If you like slow paced, slice of life stories, I would recommend this solely because of the gorgeous writing and setting. I am looking forward to seeing how Esposito grows as an author and what comes next! (I have a feeling that there might be another book focusing on Caia and Easton…). Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for the arc!
While I felt so immersed in the setting itself, there were other things about the story itself that made it feel distant. The first one was the two main characters. The story is told in third person present tense, focusing on Grace. Her character is originally presented as independent, strong, and distrustful of others (for good reason). However, as the romance starts to build up, her character reverts to this damsel in distress type the more the love interest comes to save her, and this persists throughout the rest of the book. For me, Crew’s character read as 2 dimensional with his whole “stoic and broody” personality being the only thing we know about him. We also find out that he did two tours in Afghanistan. The characters go from disliking/distrusting each other to all of a sudden being attracted to each other with no seeming explanation or description. The lack of development felt disjointed to me. While their chemistry was *amazing* once they did get together, I couldn’t get past the lack of explanation for why they started liking each other in the first place.
It felt as if Crew and Grace’s romantic relationship suddenly solved all of Grace’s trauma. While I understand the sentiment of wanting this to be a romance and have the lighthearted undertones that come with a romance novel, this didn’t work for me due to the severity of Grace’s past. It is really heavy and dark, and she needed therapy. She has been deeply abused and is traumatized. [SPOILER FOR THE LAST CHAPTER] Grace’s reunion with her horse Vesta was so bittersweet and made me cry. I would’ve loved that scene to have ended with her reuniting and interacting with her horse rather than staying by Crew’s side. It would’ve been a nice way to tie everything up from the hurt and loss that came with Vesta being sold in the beginning. Overall, there were things I enjoyed but a lot of things that didn’t work for me.
If you like slow paced, slice of life stories, I would recommend this solely because of the gorgeous writing and setting. I am looking forward to seeing how Esposito grows as an author and what comes next! (I have a feeling that there might be another book focusing on Caia and Easton…). Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for the arc!
April 20, 2026
3.75⭐️
Grace has been trapped under her uncle’s control for years, forced to work for the abusive, criminal man in exchange for his silence about a mistake she made—one she believes she deserves to be punished for. She trains horses for him and does whatever else he demands, until one day, he goes too far, and she runs for her life. Grace gets a second chance working at Halcyon ranch where she meets Crew, the foreman and son of the owners, who doesn’t quite trust her. And when her uncle’s long reach threatens the people she’s begun to care about, Grace is willing to sacrifice everything to protect them.
This was a great cowboy romance, with a strong, hardworking FMC who’s been neglected and abused most of her life. She believes that kind of treatment is all she deserves, until she finds herself somewhere she’s genuinely cared for, included, and seen for who she truly is. Watching Grace grow and come into her own at Halcyon was truly satisfying. The MMC is a little harder to understand and connect to. We don’t get much about Crew’s background except what we’re told and he starts off as particularly distrustful of Garce. This rapidly changes, making him go from suspicious to enamored and seemingly committed rather quickly. While the tension between them is great and their eventual relationship is rewarding, having Crew’s POV or more insight into his thoughts would have made him feel more complete as a character and potentially easier to connect to! The found family dynamic was one of my favorite aspects: the ranch hands and Crew’s family gradually bring Grace into their fold despite her initial hesitation made those relationships feel warm and genuine.
The writing is strong, and the plot moves at a steady rate without lagging or making you lose interest. This isn’t a light, fluffy cowboy romance; it’s gritty and dark. There are some heavier themes described, so please check content warnings beforehand. I think some readers might question decisions that Grace makes and the repercussions from her actions, but I felt these were very anchored in her emotional and mental state based on her past experiences. There were multiple factors at play that led to the ‘third act breakup’, but they were rooted in pertinent character psychology, making it feel plausible.
Overall, this was a great cowboy romance full of romance and action, emotion and grit and set on a beautiful ranch with lush descriptions and plenty to enjoy for cowboy romance lovers! However, there is some heavier content sprinkled in. This plays out like a season in Yellowstone, so if you enjoyed the show, but wanted a bit more focus on the romance, then this might be the book for you! There’s horse training, ranch life, evil antagonists and just enough romance and tension! I especially intrigued to see what awaits Crew’s little sister Caia and her potential love interest that we got a glimpse of in the next installment!
Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
This one is out April 21, 2026!
Grace has been trapped under her uncle’s control for years, forced to work for the abusive, criminal man in exchange for his silence about a mistake she made—one she believes she deserves to be punished for. She trains horses for him and does whatever else he demands, until one day, he goes too far, and she runs for her life. Grace gets a second chance working at Halcyon ranch where she meets Crew, the foreman and son of the owners, who doesn’t quite trust her. And when her uncle’s long reach threatens the people she’s begun to care about, Grace is willing to sacrifice everything to protect them.
This was a great cowboy romance, with a strong, hardworking FMC who’s been neglected and abused most of her life. She believes that kind of treatment is all she deserves, until she finds herself somewhere she’s genuinely cared for, included, and seen for who she truly is. Watching Grace grow and come into her own at Halcyon was truly satisfying. The MMC is a little harder to understand and connect to. We don’t get much about Crew’s background except what we’re told and he starts off as particularly distrustful of Garce. This rapidly changes, making him go from suspicious to enamored and seemingly committed rather quickly. While the tension between them is great and their eventual relationship is rewarding, having Crew’s POV or more insight into his thoughts would have made him feel more complete as a character and potentially easier to connect to! The found family dynamic was one of my favorite aspects: the ranch hands and Crew’s family gradually bring Grace into their fold despite her initial hesitation made those relationships feel warm and genuine.
The writing is strong, and the plot moves at a steady rate without lagging or making you lose interest. This isn’t a light, fluffy cowboy romance; it’s gritty and dark. There are some heavier themes described, so please check content warnings beforehand. I think some readers might question decisions that Grace makes and the repercussions from her actions, but I felt these were very anchored in her emotional and mental state based on her past experiences. There were multiple factors at play that led to the ‘third act breakup’, but they were rooted in pertinent character psychology, making it feel plausible.
Overall, this was a great cowboy romance full of romance and action, emotion and grit and set on a beautiful ranch with lush descriptions and plenty to enjoy for cowboy romance lovers! However, there is some heavier content sprinkled in. This plays out like a season in Yellowstone, so if you enjoyed the show, but wanted a bit more focus on the romance, then this might be the book for you! There’s horse training, ranch life, evil antagonists and just enough romance and tension! I especially intrigued to see what awaits Crew’s little sister Caia and her potential love interest that we got a glimpse of in the next installment!
Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
This one is out April 21, 2026!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the eARC!!
First of all- first ever Berkley approval!!!! That was a goal of mine when I started doing ARC reviews so this was an exciting one for me!
I really enjoyed reading this. It’s an incredible debut with a lot of depth and I think it tackled so much for a first novel. This book deals heavily with an abusive family member and does not shy away from detail, including violence.
One of my favorite elements was getting to see more ‘slice of life’ ranch scenes. There’s a lot of description of everyday task and life on a ranch that you don’t typically see in a cowboy/ranch romance (I don’t think that’s how I would describe this book but more on that later). We really get to know several of the ranch hands and get a good picture of what Grace’s everyday life is like.
I did really enjoy Grace as a main character for the most part. She’s determined, capable, and ready to do what it takes to get out of a bad situation. She grows a lot over the course of the book.
Crew had less obvious character development but I would argue it’s even more of a change by the end. He’s very distant at the beginning of the book and while we don’t see a lot of outward progression through most of the book, it’s very clear that he softens by the end and prioritizes Grace and his family.
The actual relationship development between Grace and Crew felt less evident. There was a very clear attraction and I was absolutely rooting for them to get together. However, their actual conversations left me wanting a lot more depth and some more time for things to develop.
I think most of my little issues with this book were mainly due to the POV choice. This is written in third person present which made me feel so disconnected from the story. Especially for a book that tackles some rough topics and tries to focus on personal growth. I think we could’ve gotten a lot more from Grace’s character arc in first person. I think that heavily impacted the relationship development as well. A new POV was added in chapter 22 which was a necessary perspective on events Grace wasn’t present for but it was VERY jarring.
I’m also hesitant to just say this was a romance. I found it through the romance category on NetGalley and it’s classified as romance on Goodreads. It absolutely has romance and a HEA. However, this book packs a heavy punch that I think most romance readers would be surprised by if they picked it up thinking it was a “cowboy romance”. This book deals heavily with verbal, emotional, and physical abuse of the main character. It does not shy away from detail. The description doesn’t do justice for how dark some of these scenes are. There are no content warnings (at least in ARC form) and there is a scene toward the end of the book with pretty graphic violence that made feel ill. I’m not saying I wouldn’t have read the book if I had known but I do think readers should be prepared for that in a book that is marketed as romance.
First of all- first ever Berkley approval!!!! That was a goal of mine when I started doing ARC reviews so this was an exciting one for me!
I really enjoyed reading this. It’s an incredible debut with a lot of depth and I think it tackled so much for a first novel. This book deals heavily with an abusive family member and does not shy away from detail, including violence.
One of my favorite elements was getting to see more ‘slice of life’ ranch scenes. There’s a lot of description of everyday task and life on a ranch that you don’t typically see in a cowboy/ranch romance (I don’t think that’s how I would describe this book but more on that later). We really get to know several of the ranch hands and get a good picture of what Grace’s everyday life is like.
I did really enjoy Grace as a main character for the most part. She’s determined, capable, and ready to do what it takes to get out of a bad situation. She grows a lot over the course of the book.
Crew had less obvious character development but I would argue it’s even more of a change by the end. He’s very distant at the beginning of the book and while we don’t see a lot of outward progression through most of the book, it’s very clear that he softens by the end and prioritizes Grace and his family.
The actual relationship development between Grace and Crew felt less evident. There was a very clear attraction and I was absolutely rooting for them to get together. However, their actual conversations left me wanting a lot more depth and some more time for things to develop.
I think most of my little issues with this book were mainly due to the POV choice. This is written in third person present which made me feel so disconnected from the story. Especially for a book that tackles some rough topics and tries to focus on personal growth. I think we could’ve gotten a lot more from Grace’s character arc in first person. I think that heavily impacted the relationship development as well. A new POV was added in chapter 22 which was a necessary perspective on events Grace wasn’t present for but it was VERY jarring.
I’m also hesitant to just say this was a romance. I found it through the romance category on NetGalley and it’s classified as romance on Goodreads. It absolutely has romance and a HEA. However, this book packs a heavy punch that I think most romance readers would be surprised by if they picked it up thinking it was a “cowboy romance”. This book deals heavily with verbal, emotional, and physical abuse of the main character. It does not shy away from detail. The description doesn’t do justice for how dark some of these scenes are. There are no content warnings (at least in ARC form) and there is a scene toward the end of the book with pretty graphic violence that made feel ill. I’m not saying I wouldn’t have read the book if I had known but I do think readers should be prepared for that in a book that is marketed as romance.
April 29, 2026
When I was a teenager somebody gave me Julie Garwood's For the Roses. I fell for it hard, reading the rest of that series and any other of her historical romance novels that I could find. It's many years later and she's still my Gold Standard for main characters with complex backstories, found family, beautiful settings that act as a supporting characters, and deep romance that goes beyond girl-meets-boy, girl-and-boy-have-hot-sex, girl-and-boy-live-happily-ever-after.
Taylor Esposito has come close to matching that with Boots Beneath Her Bed.
Based on the title, I expected more of the surface girl-meets-boy-etc. sort of romance novel. I'd have been fine with that. If that's the sort of novel you're looking for, you might end up feeling duped with this book because of the title. And honestly, his boots don't end up beneath her bed at any point in this book. She's always in his. So that's a bit misleading.
But if you get past that and into the heart of the story... more is better, simply put.
Grace has a tragic, haunted past that she's trying to escape from. Her wildly abusive uncle is something of the stereotypical villain you'd expect in a romance about a haunted woman trying to escape her past, but he works well enough as a thing which she needs to run away from. I've seen other reviews saying Grace might not have been strong enough, fought hard enough for herself, but given her vivid backstory that's slowly revealed, it makes sense that she would be uncertain if she was worth fighting for.
Crew has a mysterious, somewhat haunted past as you'd expect from a brooding cowboy romance. I do wish it'd been explored a bit more because the novel does give him near equal status to Grace as a main character, but the details are there and they're current enough that it's fairly easy to fill in the rest as you're reading.
The best part of the novel for me was the found family aspect. Sure, Grace and Crew are adorable and hot together, but Grace finding family in both Crew's family and the other ranch hands is what ties it all together. She needed that even more than a romance. The way the ranch hands are given colorful, unique personalities to bring them alive on their own and as supporting characters to Grace is really quite nice. It'd have been so easy to just make them... ranch hands who do their work and crack jokes.
So while there are a few issues with this book, mostly that stereotypes and tropes were occasionally met and not expanded as well as they possibly could have been - and the title thing, it's an absolutely fabulous book that I'm so happy to have read. And I'm in line for the sequel!
(Thanks to NetGalley, Berkley, and Taylor Esposito for the chance to read an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest & original review. I reviewed a digital copy, but Goodreads is being finicky and I don't want to fight with it so I'm posting under the paperback listing.)
Taylor Esposito has come close to matching that with Boots Beneath Her Bed.
Based on the title, I expected more of the surface girl-meets-boy-etc. sort of romance novel. I'd have been fine with that. If that's the sort of novel you're looking for, you might end up feeling duped with this book because of the title. And honestly, his boots don't end up beneath her bed at any point in this book. She's always in his. So that's a bit misleading.
But if you get past that and into the heart of the story... more is better, simply put.
Grace has a tragic, haunted past that she's trying to escape from. Her wildly abusive uncle is something of the stereotypical villain you'd expect in a romance about a haunted woman trying to escape her past, but he works well enough as a thing which she needs to run away from. I've seen other reviews saying Grace might not have been strong enough, fought hard enough for herself, but given her vivid backstory that's slowly revealed, it makes sense that she would be uncertain if she was worth fighting for.
Crew has a mysterious, somewhat haunted past as you'd expect from a brooding cowboy romance. I do wish it'd been explored a bit more because the novel does give him near equal status to Grace as a main character, but the details are there and they're current enough that it's fairly easy to fill in the rest as you're reading.
The best part of the novel for me was the found family aspect. Sure, Grace and Crew are adorable and hot together, but Grace finding family in both Crew's family and the other ranch hands is what ties it all together. She needed that even more than a romance. The way the ranch hands are given colorful, unique personalities to bring them alive on their own and as supporting characters to Grace is really quite nice. It'd have been so easy to just make them... ranch hands who do their work and crack jokes.
So while there are a few issues with this book, mostly that stereotypes and tropes were occasionally met and not expanded as well as they possibly could have been - and the title thing, it's an absolutely fabulous book that I'm so happy to have read. And I'm in line for the sequel!
(Thanks to NetGalley, Berkley, and Taylor Esposito for the chance to read an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest & original review. I reviewed a digital copy, but Goodreads is being finicky and I don't want to fight with it so I'm posting under the paperback listing.)
April 28, 2026
✨️Ｂｏｏｋ•Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ✨️
Thank you to @berkleyromance and @prhaudio for the #gifted copies of this book. All opinions are my own. #Berkley Partner #PRHAudioPartner
𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Boots Beneath Her Bed
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Taylor Esposito
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: Berkley Romance
𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐋𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡: 13h 11m, 464 pages
𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫: Amanda Stribling
𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐲: PRH Audio
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐬:
Enemies to Lovers
Cowboy Romance
Small Town Romance
Romantic Suspense
Slow Burn
Forced Proximity
Found Family
𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
What a fantastic debut novel! WOW! I cannot say enough good things about this gem! This book was such an emotional roller coaster!
Grace has a hidden past that she just can’t run away from no matter how hard she tries. She is down on her luck when she received a blessing to start fresh with a new horse training job at a new ranch. Crew is her new boss - while he has his reservations on Grace, he keeps trying to fix things and make her life better,
Cowboy Romances are some of my favorites! These MC’s were perfect for each other. I love the banter, the side characters are fantastic and I loved the story itself. While I wish that Grace had stuck around and talked things out, with her past it was definitely understandable. At times, I felt that the book had some pacing issues but overall, this was a fantastic read! There were a few cringy situations but I was happy to see that karma was Grace’s friend!
🎧 I did an immersive reading with this gem and Amanda Stribling was amazing! She brought all of the emotion to this read -especially when Grace went back to the ranch.
𝐅𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞(𝐬):
"You deserve to be loved. You deserve to be happy every single day of your life. I can't change the past. I can't hold you through all that lost time and tell you how precious you are. I wish I could. But I can hold you now."
Thank you to @berkleyromance and @prhaudio for the #gifted copies of this book. All opinions are my own. #Berkley Partner #PRHAudioPartner
𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Boots Beneath Her Bed
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Taylor Esposito
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: Berkley Romance
𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐋𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡: 13h 11m, 464 pages
𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫: Amanda Stribling
𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐲: PRH Audio
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐬:
Enemies to Lovers
Cowboy Romance
Small Town Romance
Romantic Suspense
Slow Burn
Forced Proximity
Found Family
𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
What a fantastic debut novel! WOW! I cannot say enough good things about this gem! This book was such an emotional roller coaster!
Grace has a hidden past that she just can’t run away from no matter how hard she tries. She is down on her luck when she received a blessing to start fresh with a new horse training job at a new ranch. Crew is her new boss - while he has his reservations on Grace, he keeps trying to fix things and make her life better,
Cowboy Romances are some of my favorites! These MC’s were perfect for each other. I love the banter, the side characters are fantastic and I loved the story itself. While I wish that Grace had stuck around and talked things out, with her past it was definitely understandable. At times, I felt that the book had some pacing issues but overall, this was a fantastic read! There were a few cringy situations but I was happy to see that karma was Grace’s friend!
🎧 I did an immersive reading with this gem and Amanda Stribling was amazing! She brought all of the emotion to this read -especially when Grace went back to the ranch.
𝐅𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞(𝐬):
"You deserve to be loved. You deserve to be happy every single day of your life. I can't change the past. I can't hold you through all that lost time and tell you how precious you are. I wish I could. But I can hold you now."
May 7, 2026
Boots Beneath Her Bed is THE slow burn romance of the summer!
Big thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the eARC! My opinions of this book are my own.
Our FMC, Grace, has had a tough go at life. She's a young horse trainer stuck under the thumb of her grimy Uncle Bellamy. No other family, no friends- just her horse Vesta and the hope for something better. But her nasty, no good uncle betrays her for the last time and she leaves the only ranch she has ever known. She wasn't alone for long before she was picked up by the Halcyon family to work their ranch. Grace finds so much more than work at the Halcyon Ranch- stability, friends, family. Best of all? She finds Crew, the ranch's foreman and the owner's son. And their slow burn was delicious.
This book is perfect for those who love emotional romance with real life grit. Grace experiences a a lot of trauma and that does influence her to not make the best choices. There is no insta-love or fast and freaky romance so if that is what you are looking for, this isn't the book for you.
I appreciated the depth of Taylor's characters in this book! We learned so much about Grace and Crew and their characters were well developed in my opinion. The pacing of the book was a bit slow at first but picks up quickly as Grace gets acquainted at the new Ranch. Crew is slow to open up to Grace so we are also slow to know what's really going on in his head. And because this story is told in 3rd person POV, we don't often get glimpses into what the MCs are thinking until after the fact.
I would love additional books covering the other two Halcyon siblings! Highly likely to read more from this author!
Big thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the eARC! My opinions of this book are my own.
Our FMC, Grace, has had a tough go at life. She's a young horse trainer stuck under the thumb of her grimy Uncle Bellamy. No other family, no friends- just her horse Vesta and the hope for something better. But her nasty, no good uncle betrays her for the last time and she leaves the only ranch she has ever known. She wasn't alone for long before she was picked up by the Halcyon family to work their ranch. Grace finds so much more than work at the Halcyon Ranch- stability, friends, family. Best of all? She finds Crew, the ranch's foreman and the owner's son. And their slow burn was delicious.
This book is perfect for those who love emotional romance with real life grit. Grace experiences a a lot of trauma and that does influence her to not make the best choices. There is no insta-love or fast and freaky romance so if that is what you are looking for, this isn't the book for you.
I appreciated the depth of Taylor's characters in this book! We learned so much about Grace and Crew and their characters were well developed in my opinion. The pacing of the book was a bit slow at first but picks up quickly as Grace gets acquainted at the new Ranch. Crew is slow to open up to Grace so we are also slow to know what's really going on in his head. And because this story is told in 3rd person POV, we don't often get glimpses into what the MCs are thinking until after the fact.
I would love additional books covering the other two Halcyon siblings! Highly likely to read more from this author!
May 10, 2026
3 stars. I thought Crew and Grace had a lot of chemistry at the beginning of the book, and the author did a great job building tension between them. However, the romance shifted from a slow burn to something super fast-paced very quickly, which felt inconsistent with how their relationship was originally developing. Their backstories were never fully explored or revealed, and as a result, their character development felt fairly superficial.
I also felt the story had some plot/stucture issues. Bellamy was supposed to feel like a constant threat in Grace’s life, but he never fully came across as a villain because his role in the plot felt inconsistent. His character would disappear for large portions of the story only to suddenly reappear at the end in a major way. The same thing happened with Crew’s sister, Caia—she seemed largely unimportant, and returned to be the hero of the story at the very end. If they were meant to be such significant characters, I wish they had been more consistently integrated throughout the story.
And then there’s Easton. He was barely mentioned in the book, and the reader is never given any explanation about his history with the Caldwells. Then, suddenly, he reappears near the end as if he’s supposed to be important, despite contributing very little to the actual story. It felt unnecessary.
Overall, the story had potential, but it needed a bit more structure and consistency to justify its 400+ page length.
I also felt the story had some plot/stucture issues. Bellamy was supposed to feel like a constant threat in Grace’s life, but he never fully came across as a villain because his role in the plot felt inconsistent. His character would disappear for large portions of the story only to suddenly reappear at the end in a major way. The same thing happened with Crew’s sister, Caia—she seemed largely unimportant, and returned to be the hero of the story at the very end. If they were meant to be such significant characters, I wish they had been more consistently integrated throughout the story.
And then there’s Easton. He was barely mentioned in the book, and the reader is never given any explanation about his history with the Caldwells. Then, suddenly, he reappears near the end as if he’s supposed to be important, despite contributing very little to the actual story. It felt unnecessary.
Overall, the story had potential, but it needed a bit more structure and consistency to justify its 400+ page length.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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April 28, 2026There are several points in this one that made me feel icky.
Grace telling the group, including the man who is "more of a father to me than my own" that she hasn't had an orgasm was peak middle school peer pressure.
Grace being fawned over by the family for making friends with the horse (the job she's literally being paid for).
The power imbalance, which was never as stark as when the MMC tells the other employees "I *AM* HR" when they joke about the relationship.
The graphic violence inflicted on Grace, the animal abuse by the uncle, and the poisoning/murder of horses.
And still NONE of these pissed me off as much as the narration. I need to know - does everyone pronounce the B in SUBTLE in the south? Because every single time the narrator pronounced it "SUB-tull".
We also had several close but not real words - unclear if these are the responsibility of the author or the narrator - but:
galliant
nave-i-tay
mallable
well-"owned" reflex
and surfaces in a "palatal" place
It just all needed another run through editing imo.
Grace telling the group, including the man who is "more of a father to me than my own" that she hasn't had an orgasm was peak middle school peer pressure.
Grace being fawned over by the family for making friends with the horse (the job she's literally being paid for).
The power imbalance, which was never as stark as when the MMC tells the other employees "I *AM* HR" when they joke about the relationship.
The graphic violence inflicted on Grace, the animal abuse by the uncle, and the poisoning/murder of horses.
And still NONE of these pissed me off as much as the narration. I need to know - does everyone pronounce the B in SUBTLE in the south? Because every single time the narrator pronounced it "SUB-tull".
We also had several close but not real words - unclear if these are the responsibility of the author or the narrator - but:
galliant
nave-i-tay
mallable
well-"owned" reflex
and surfaces in a "palatal" place
It just all needed another run through editing imo.
May 8, 2026
As a fan of slow-burn romance, this was so expertly done. I appreciated the story’s emphasis on plot and not being strictly a grumpy MMC spice story. By the end of the book, I felt like I knew the characters really well. Grace is a lonely and anxious type of FMC because she is hiding something from her past, while Crew is a brooding, serious type. The chemistry between the two was sizzling by the middle of the book. The romance, however, grows in small increments which is something fans of a good slow burn will appreciate. This is not a closed-door romance, but the spice is never excessive or overly detailed.
Considering I am from Texas, I may be biased, but I could immerse myself in the setting and culture. By the middle of the story, I was sure that this would go down as one of my absolute favorite contemporary romances. I love how the author, gradually told us more about the characters that will take center stage in the next installment of this cowboy romance series. We get Caia’s point of view for a few chapters towards the end (Crew’s sister). I am so excited to read Caia’s second-chance love story with Easton in book 2.
Bravo to the author on her debut romance!
Thank you Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC.
Considering I am from Texas, I may be biased, but I could immerse myself in the setting and culture. By the middle of the story, I was sure that this would go down as one of my absolute favorite contemporary romances. I love how the author, gradually told us more about the characters that will take center stage in the next installment of this cowboy romance series. We get Caia’s point of view for a few chapters towards the end (Crew’s sister). I am so excited to read Caia’s second-chance love story with Easton in book 2.
Bravo to the author on her debut romance!
Thank you Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC.
May 8, 2026
“𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙨, 𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙”
I was expecting a sweet cowboy romance and this book delivered but it was also darker than I anticipated. Now I love romantic suspense so this was a fabulous thing in my opinion. Grace was living a very trapped life, I started to describe this as sheltered but that’s not exactly right. She wasn’t sheltered, her life was awful but she was trapped. She didn’t know that she could leave, her awful uncle had convinced her so thoroughly that it was where she belonged. Crew was such an opposite to Grace and I liked the way the differences between them made the relationship work. I’m such a sucker for grumpy/sunshine and I do think that's what we have here. Grace has trauma but she tries to be sunny and Crew is uninterested in pretty much everyone but her.
I recommend this one for fans of grumpy/sunshine, westerns, and emotional storytelling! A huge thank you to @netgalley and @berkleyromance for a copy!
I was expecting a sweet cowboy romance and this book delivered but it was also darker than I anticipated. Now I love romantic suspense so this was a fabulous thing in my opinion. Grace was living a very trapped life, I started to describe this as sheltered but that’s not exactly right. She wasn’t sheltered, her life was awful but she was trapped. She didn’t know that she could leave, her awful uncle had convinced her so thoroughly that it was where she belonged. Crew was such an opposite to Grace and I liked the way the differences between them made the relationship work. I’m such a sucker for grumpy/sunshine and I do think that's what we have here. Grace has trauma but she tries to be sunny and Crew is uninterested in pretty much everyone but her.
I recommend this one for fans of grumpy/sunshine, westerns, and emotional storytelling! A huge thank you to @netgalley and @berkleyromance for a copy!
April 19, 2026
This was well written and I really enjoyed the premise of the story. I just feel like the pacing was too slow and too fast at the time. I was never certain how much time had past - it was either hours or days and it wasn’t always clear. I personally just couldn’t connect with Grace. I didn’t know her so I’m wondering how Crew even felt like he knew her. I also think it took too long for us to know the exact extent of her trauma. Sometimes she had a “woe is me” vibe and because I couldn’t connect to her, it could get annoying. I did really enjoy all the ranch hands and the female relationships that she created. Overall a solid book.
Thank you to Berkley Publishing & Netgalley for the ARC.
Thank you to Berkley Publishing & Netgalley for the ARC.
June 15, 2026
I thought I was getting a cowboy romance, what I got was a cowboy thriller/horror with romance. It felt like I was horrified by the treatment of the FMC for half the book (I was triggered) and then the other half, I was so happy she was happy. It was a bit of a roller coaster for me. I think I'll read the next one in the series when it comes out because there was a chapter preview and the FMC doesn't have the same background, so hopefully it'll just be a romance?
*Provided an advance copy from the publisher for review. All opinions are my own.
*Provided an advance copy from the publisher for review. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This was a deeply emotional and romantic book. Grace and Crew have a great connection from the very beginning. You just know something good is going to happen. Grace's backstory is truly heartbreaking and seeing her rise above all that is the best. Crew also comes back to life as the story progresses and that is also beautiful to watch. This was an awesome book and I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to read more from this author.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.
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