“You made it all worth it.”
“I’d do it all again if I knew you were waiting for me at the end.”
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Who is the Hero?
Crew Vega, Age: 34, Occupation: Contractor For Hire
~ Crew is an ex Soldier of fortune who has some high level military contacts that keep him informed. He’s “retiring” from his current line of work, but training up the next generation to take over for him.
~
“A new chapter. A new start. And fuckin’ finally, just maybe, a life.”
~ “He appears to be a bevy of contradictions—aloof yet alert, tense yet relaxed, detached yet discerning. Everything about him is simple, but still, he’s exceptionally complex.”
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Who is the Heroine?
Addison (aka Addy) Wentworth, Age: 31, Occupation: Whitetail Farms Vineyard owner
~ Addy took a chance on buying a vineyard and, along with the eclectic group that seemed to come with the purchase, she’s turning a profit.
~
“I never thought I’d own a cow, let alone five, but I inherited them when I bought the vineyard. I also inherited my caretaker, Morris, and his wife Beverly. Oh, and there’s the winemaker, Van, the tasting room manager, Evan—who’s barely old enough to legally taste wine himself—and the chef, Maggie. I didn’t know all these people came along with the vineyard when I bought it, but the day I signed my closing papers and walked into my new home and business, there they were waiting for me.”
Plot overview:
~ Harry the cow doesn’t like to stay put, so when he wanders on to the new neighbor’s land, Crew and Addy meet. After a little disagreement on fence fixing, Crew is determined to learn more about his feisty neighbor. With his high level government connections, he quickly learns all about Addison - including the fact she might be in trouble.
With Crew’s help, Addy faces the ghosts that have been haunting her for years.
**
The following are my thoughts about this book:
**
* * I was inundated with a lot of secondary characters right off the bat. This resulted in a bit of a slow start because I had to stop and reread to make sure I could keep everyone straight.
* * However, once I got beyond the initial “character overload”, the story settled down and got into a groove. I remember thinking “how am I already at 55%?”, so that was a good improvement after a little bit of a slow start
* * I’m not a fan of insta love. This kind of straddled that line because the first time he called her “baby” with some feeling was about a week after they met. However, they didn’t really profess their love until a month or so after knowing each other. So, it kind of had an insta love vibe but yet they took some time too. It probably doesn’t make sense what I’m saying, but long story short, I felt the author pulled it off.
* * Secondary characters- I am a fan of quirky, odd, nosy, loveable, supporting casts. This cast filled that requirement (including the cows 🐮 )
* * I was a little ticked at Crew that he picked his friend over staying with Addison. I kind of got it, but I kind of didn’t. Maybe the intent was to help set up the next story, but I didn’t like his choice.
* * Crew was alpha without having to prove he was alpha. A strong guy, who knew what he wanted and could kick some ass. 👍
**Overview:**
- Content Warning: nothing major. the epilogue mentions a couple miscarriages, but no detail other than that
- Setting: Virginia
- POV: besides H & h, there were also POV’s from some of the secondary characters.
- Tropes: military vibe, a tiny bit of suspense
- Hero likeable? Crew had me at “the smirk”. I really liked him.
”Crew Vega moves, even if it is slightly, tipping his head and crossing his arms. A smirk spreads across his scruffy face, and as if out of nowhere, a dimple appears.”
- heroine likeable? yes. I liked Addison from the very first cow scene and thought she had a strong backbone.
- h virgin? No
- First time they kiss: 29%
- First time they sleep together: 53%
- Safe sex? Yes. Condoms were used and then they had the “clean” discussion and got rid of condoms.
- First time they say I Love You 87%
- steamy? Yes. Descriptive bedroom scenes
- Chemistry? they had good chemistry
- OW/OM drama? Not really
- H/h cheat? No
- Time apart? they were apart while Crew was on assignment (a few weeks I think), but they weren’t “broken up” apart
- Did I skip pages? No
- Big secrets? Addison’s secrets are revealed around 32%
- Did I cry? No
- Did I laugh? No
- Did I swoon🥰? Yes. Crew had some swoony moments
- Cliffhanger? No
- HEA? Yes
- Epilogue? two years later
- Recommend? Yes
Quotes:
“Here comes Harry, slow as a snail stuck in peanut butter.”
“Well, Mr. Homemaker, if you start decorating do me a favor and rip this shit off the walls. These flowers are gonna make you grow a vagina.”
“I found hunka-hunka burning love here, making coffee in your kitchen. I gave him the what-for.”
“Not once did I think I could be who I am with anyone, let alone someone like you.”