The Bad Boy of Redemption Ranch

Gold Valley #9

by Maisey Yates

This rebel cowboy is looking for a fresh start—will he find more than he’s ever hoped for in Gold Valley?

Police officer Pansy Daniels is the poster girl for responsible behavior. Orphaned as a child, she has dedicated her life to safeguarding her local community. The last thing she needs is a hot-headed cowboy with attitude cruising into town. He may be her new landlord, but that’s no excuse for provoking her…or sending her heart into overdrive.

West Caldwell has come to Redemption Ranch to put his past behind him. Flirting with a pint-size police officer who thinks he’s bad news is definitely not part of the plan, but it’s deliciously easy to get under Pansy’s skin. Then West discovers the vulnerability Pansy keeps so well hidden, and suddenly this renegade cowboy is in over his head. In her arms, West feels like the man he always wanted to be—but can he become the man Pansy deserves?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Westerns, Contemporary Romance, Audiobook, Harlequin, Ebooks

328 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 23, 2020

About the author

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Maisey Yates lives in rural Oregon with her three children and her husband, whose chiseled jaw and arresting features continue to make her swoon. She feels the epic trek she takes several times a day from her office to her coffee maker is a true example of her pioneer spirit. In 2009, at the age of twenty-three Maisey sold her first book.

Since then it’s been a whirlwind of sexy alpha males and happily ever afters, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Maisey divides her writing time between dark, passionate category romances set just about everywhere on earth and light sexy contemporary romances set practically in her back yard.

She believes that she clearly has the best job in the world.

Reviews

[Tina Loves To Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cowboy small town romance book, and it is the 9th book in the Gold Valley series. The main characters are West who is a broken man that just got out of jail and Police officer Pansy who is a broken woman who lost both her parent when she was a young girl. I fall in love with both these characters, and I loved reading them fixing themselves by falling in love with each other. I really loved this book. I love books that I really connect with the characters, and this book was one of those books. With everything going on in the world I have really been loving reading cowboy romance books not sure why. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Harlequin) or author (Maisey Yates) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review , and I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC provided by NetGalley and Harlequin in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin publisher.

This is not going to be too long. Just getting back in the swing of things after being gone for a while. So my apologizes in advance.

West is headed to Gold Valley to get to know his half brothers, he is the illegitimate son of Hank Dalton. West was framed by his ex-wife for fraud. He's done his time and is ready to start a new chapter in his life and also to become a better man and do better for himself and others.

Pansy, she's a good girl striving to make her Father proud. Even though he's gone, Pansy is determined to become Chief of Police and make her town And Father proud. She lost both her parents in a terrible accident and has struggled with their lost ever since.

West was pulled over by Pansy when he rode into Gold Valley. From their first meeting sparks and snarky dialogue ensues. West the "bad boy" and Pansy the "good girl" theme here with a lot of back and forth. But after a bit It becameS a little tedious And over done.

A lot of family theme throughout the book which I love but at times became a little confusing in the delivery.

The relationship between the two delves into past ghosts that need to be resolved and confronted before the two can move forward with their relationship. The two try and label their relationship as a casual fling but emotions quickly enter the equation and things become complicated.

I liked their relationship development for most part, but at times found some of their problems repetitive. There were quite a few family characters introduced that had issues and that at times was a little much and confusing to the story line.

But overall I enjoy this authors romances and will always pick up one of her books.

[♥Rachel♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I’ve enjoyed the Gold Valley Ranch series. Pansy and West’s romance was steamy and thankfully low on angst. West was such a sweetheart, patient with Pansy as she worked out her feelings, and I loved that he took in Emmett without hesitation. The small-town setting of Gold Valley described so beautifully it makes me want to pull up stakes and move to Oregon.

I love Maisey Yates’ writing, she brings her characters to life with emotion and relatable feelings. However, there was a lot of repeated internal dialogue that I feel could’ve been edited down. Still, the story was captivating, enjoyable, easy Summer reading. I look forward to Ryder and Sammy’s romance in The Hero of Hope Springs next!

A copy was kindly provided by HQN via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Aou · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was bored. Maybe it's me, or just too many analysis of feelings. 🤦🏻‍♀️

[Elodie’s Reading Corner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Bad Boy of Redemption Ranch
A Gold Valley Novel Series #9
Maisey Yates
https://m.facebook.com/MaiseyYates.Au...
Release date 06/23/2020
Publisher HQN Books

Blurb :

This rebel cowboy is looking for a fresh start—will he find more than he’s ever hoped for in Gold Valley?

Police officer Pansy Daniels is the poster girl for responsible behavior. Orphaned as a child, she has dedicated her life to safeguarding her local community. The last thing she needs is a hot-headed cowboy with attitude cruising into town. He may be her new landlord, but that’s no excuse for provoking her…or sending her heart into overdrive.

West Caldwell has come to Redemption Ranch to put his past behind him. Flirting with a pint-size police officer who thinks he’s bad news is definitely not part of the plan, but it’s deliciously easy to get under Pansy’s skin. Then West discovers the vulnerability Pansy keeps so well hidden, and suddenly this renegade cowboy is in over his head. In her arms, West feels like the man he always wanted to be—but can he become the man Pansy deserves?

My review :

When love lands unexpectedly at her door, will she open it and let it engulf her ...

Mrs Maisey Yates is a new-author-to-me, and while I read very few contemporary romance, the blurb of this one caught my eyes, the police officer and the ex-con looked like a great premise, and it was more than a great argument.
I loved everything in this book, the foray in the countryside life, the many siblings from both sides, the hardships the heroes had to deal with, the bond they create and how their romance progressed.

West is such a wonderful man, he is flawed and accepts his faults, yet he paid dearly for his wrong choice of a wife. He thought he had it all when ultimately he is left with even less than before.
Still he didn’t let bitterness poisons his life, he is no more the man he was prior to his marriage, thus he can’t go back to his previous life. He needs to fix new roots, somewhere far away from the page of his life he has decided to turn over.
Why he sees humor in his first encounter with Pansy, an ex-convict and a police officer. But there is much more than irony to make him pursue her. She awakens something weird and strange he never felt before. She ignites a spark he thought long dead.
Pansy is dedicated to only one thing, her job. She made it her life goal, she even shaped herself to become the opposite of her young self to reach it. She curved her way to be what she thinks would have been the perfect girl then woman in her father’s eyes. She followed his foot steps in the hope to deserve his praise even from the beyond. But in alienating her wild child side, she erased all memories of her childhood to focus only on her intend.
And West arrival in her life is seen from her side as a disturbance, his presence reopens involuntary old wounds she has let fester.

Both are two lonely people in their own way, West because he never had someone to rely on, but that now he has found a new family, he learns slowly to open his heart and to let others in. Pansy while surrounded by her many siblings, she grew up alone trying to make up for the errors the little girl she was did, but on the road she lost her path and forgot to live. Why together they face their burgeoning relationship a very different way, he by forward when she tends to run away. And while I do not like characters acting the coward way, Pansy is no usual miss, her special upbringing while heartfelt left her with many scars time only exacerbated as all the kids had so much on their plate to be able to plainly assist each other in a deeper way.
This 5 stars tale is a scorching hot read to savor like a delicious meal, one taste at a time.

I was granted an advance copy by the publisher, here is my true and unbiased opinion.

https://www.facebook.com/429830134272...

[Stacee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m absolutely here for anything Maisey writes and will read her books without reading the synopsis.

I liked Pansy and West. She’s the “good girl” and he’s the “bad boy” and they both stay firmly in those roles. I enjoyed the button pushing, even if it didn’t feel like flirting. It was fun seeing a lot of the characters from the previous books and in this one, they came out in full force. Between both of their families, there are a ton of extra people floating around.

Plot wise, it was sort of a mess. There are a lot of moving pieces and not all of it felt necessary. The majority of the story is spent in each character’s head and while there was some conversation, there wasn’t a lot of lightness. They’re both so caught up in what they want to achieve, the sex was used as a tension release. The feelings came in at the very end and somehow it seemed like too little too late.

Overall, I kept reading for the HEA and it was delivered. I just wanted something a bit more for these characters.

**Huge thanks to HQN for providing the arc free of charge**

[Torie Piskur]

DNF. It was too slow and I couldn’t get into it. (For book club)

[Juliana Philippa · Rating 4 out of 5]

She looked at him full-on, her eyes meeting his. “Maybe I can just misbehave with you.”

3.5-3.75 stars. {ARC Review}
OUR HEROINE, Pansy Daniels (27). Police officer who has lived in Gold Valley all her life. Good girl. Lost her parents young and has shaped her entire life around living up to her memory of her father, who was police chief, and being strong and safe, following the rules, and doing what she’s supposed to.

OUR HERO, West Caldwell (33). Ex-rodeo-rider, ex-finance-guy, and ex-con, now turned rancher, who has just moved to Gold Valley in the last few months. He had a bad childhood, was framed by his ex-wife for a crime he didn't commit, and is in GV to meet his half-siblings and see if he can put down roots here, since it hasn’t worked anywhere else.

PLOT EN BREF. West is Pansy’s landlord. They first meet when she pulls him over for speeding and writes him a ticket. Is set up as a bad-boy/good-girl attraction that neither of them seems able to fight, but that undersells the complexity of their characters (see more in the "PRAISE" section). Something that developed unexpectedly and spontaneously turns important and wonderful for both of them, but they each have to contend with the fact that the other person and their pairing doesn’t line up with what they had each pictured for their respective lives.

But she wasn’t a police officer now, any more than he was an ex-convict. He was a man and she was a woman. And they wanted each other. This was a simple, beautiful thing in the world. Desire. It was honest. Of all he things on an earth littered with deceit and betrayal, desire like this was real.

REACTION EN BREF.
PROS: complex characters • great chemistry, buildup, & heat • good supporting cast • sweet pairing
CONS: they spend too much time rehashing over & over & over again their emotional baggage; gets to be very repetitive

FULL REACTION. Overall, an enjoyable read that I would recommend; but I’m torn on whether I will reread it in the future (hence the uncertainty over 3.5 or 3.75 stars). Maisey Yates has emerged as one of my favorite “small-town-series” CR authors and I have so enjoyed the books I have read from this series—to the point that although I received many as ARCs, I went ahead and purchased them in print, in addition to the ones that I skipped; I think that’s saying something. Unfortunately, this is definitely not one of my favorites of hers; 3.5 stars means it’s not in the to-reread territory, which any good romance would and should be (in my rating and romance-reading world).

PRAISE. What I loved about the book though were the characters, pairing, and exchanges, which Yates does so well. This book could have been SO killer, and it almost makes me that much more upset that the above issues were also present. Because I loved the good girl heroine—who is a LEGIT good girl heroine, follows the guideline, sleeps with the rule book, all of it—having to struggle with her feelings for her bad-boy landlord. You truly felt the inner struggle that Pansy goes through, which had much more depth than this type of character might usually have, because it was so tied up in the loss of her parents and how she defined herself and shaped herself as a result of that tragedy. There’s a scene between her and her oldest sister, Iris, where I started crying a bit, because it was just heartbreaking. It’s so vivid, how torn in two she feels, and how confused by the fact that everything she’s believed and has been doing to keep herself safe all these years might have just been holding her back and been based off of an incomplete picture of herself and her role in the family. But she’s told herself for years that she HAS to be strong, and that she IS strong, but with that “strong” meaning a very specific thing, that in the end just isolates her.

When West looked at her, she tried not to blush. But it was hard. Because all she could think about was what had gone on between them the night before.

It had left her scorched.

But every night with him did.

She had come to a place of acceptance there. Her needs with him. And she felt no guilt about finding pleasure in his arms. It was the after part that made her uncomfortable.

That when he held her close against his body in the warmth of her bed she wanted to weep. That she felt small and cherished and protected, not weak and helpless.

That she felt like she could rest, and it was the wrong time to rest.

When it comes to West, I liked that he was not a stereotypical bad-boy, because a lot of authors fall into that trap ... And honestly, even though the book is literally titled The Bad Boy of Redemption Ranch, West is kind of a failure as “bad boys” go, once you think about it. He grew up fatherless and practically-motherless, buckled down and went straight-edge all the way—getting himself a boring office job, settling down with a wife for 5 years (I think that’s how long they were married?), buying a house, etc. Yes, he’s an ex-con, but important point is that he was INNOCENT, so you can’t draw any “bad boy-ness” from that. He hasn’t slept with anyone since his wife, and he was faithful to her while they were married, so it’s not like he’s a playboy and has been sleeping around ever since he got out of prison. See? When you actually consider everything, although maybe different aspects of him and his life might seem like they could/should combine to create a “bad boy” hero, that’s not actually what he is. At all. He’s been trying to find his younger half-brother (on his mother's side), whom he had been working to get to live with him before the prison-nightmare occurred and whom his mother has been completely neglecting in the meanwhile. Seriously, he’s a very stand-up guy.

Things had been intense between them. They’d spent the last two nights together, and he’d stayed all night. He could tell that she was uncomfortable with that aspect of it. With him taking care of her. But she also wanted it. And he ...

Well, he wanted everything. He was starting to be able to identify that feeling inside of him. But he knew that in order to make it mean anything, he was going to have to give everything to her too.

And he didn’t know if she was ready to hear that.

He didn’t know if he was ready to say it. If he was really ready to try and identify all those feelings in his chest.

But he supposed he was going to have to get to a place where he was.

In many ways though, that’s kind of what ties West and Pansy together: they both have this preconceived notion of what they are supposed to be or not be, what role they’re supposed to fulfill and what pattern their life is supposed to follow. West sees himself as a bit unmoored, who faked his way into the life he thought he was supposed to want, and is now trying to build something from the ashes of his previously “successful” life, which was preceded and followed by quite nightmarish periods. He doesn’t think he’ll ever settle down; he used to want children and imagined himself as a father, but doesn’t see that in the cards anymore; he feels like he doesn’t know the first thing about being a good older brother/guardian for his younger half-brother, but he needs to play that role. His entire approach and thinking about his younger brother shows what a good guy he is though, but it’s like he can’t see that for himself.

And with Pansy, we have the opposite problem. She measures her worth by being “good” and what she thinks her father wanted her to become. If she can be a good police officer, always follow the rules, become the police chief, then she can finally convince herself that she has become a daughter he could be proud of and not the troublemaker she was (she was 10 when her parents died, so from that alone, you know that there’s some definite misalignment going on, because there’s no way her father’s opinion of a 10-year-old could be so firmly shaped). She won’t let herself be distracted, she won’t let herself need anyone, she won’t let anything interfere with this path that she has laid out for herself, that she has to follow. But why? And why is that the only way to “goodness”? And what is this goodness that she’s even trying to achieve? Where did she get this idea that this was the ONLY way she could feel good about herself, that she could make up for whatever imagined horrors she thinks she committed as a child? Why is it wrong to let herself be lost in and depend on someone like West, to open herself up to him?

You see!! There’s a ton of fantastic complexity to these characters!!!!! If only there hadn’t been the repetitiveness and long-windedness (and as you can see from this review, I know long-windedness ;-) that I detail below.

CRITICISM. I don’t know if it’s just a blip, but I mistakenly read two Maisey Yates book in the last two days and I’m finding some of the same issues with both of them: too much repetition of certain points and then so much overthinking/over-talking. I say that I “mistakenly” read two, because I read the one that comes out in July yesterday ( The Hero of Hope Springs ), thinking that it was the one that came out tomorrow ... only realized my mistake after finishing it, and since I wanted to be able to share my review on release day, that meant that today I would be reading this one. West and Pansy go over the same psychoanalytical points over and over again: with each other, in their own heads, and then with their respective siblings.

Yates set us up with good three-dimensional characters, so the material there was good and well-fleshed out ... but wow over and over and over and over we hear the same points, expressed in different (or the same) ways, constantly and repeatedly. It probably didn’t help that I read The Hero of Hope Springs yesterday, which features Ryder, Pansy’s older brother, because it meant that I spent two days steeped in the tragedy that is the Daniels family (they lost their parents, aunt, uncle in a plane crash when they were very young). I don’t mean to make light of this, because it is obviously a horrific event and, unsurprisingly, has shaped and impacted each child in a different ways. Obviously, a lot of the character development is tied to this event and how it shaped each of them, so you factor in the fact that it’s repetitive to begin with, and then that I spent two days with two siblings both talking and thinking constantly about their parents’ death ... it was all quite intense.

It isn’t just the Daniels siblings though. As mentioned above, West is an ex-con, because he was sent to jail for a fraud that his (now ex-)wife committed and framed him for. He spent 4 years in jail because of it, and it obviously created a huge disruption in his life. He also had a shitty childhood and totally uncaring mother, so he has his own messy emotional baggage to deal with—which is again, completely unsurprising, how could he not? However, we hear him go over and over and over the same emotional territory sooooo many times. His feelings about his mother, his feelings about what his wife did to him, his feelings about why he tried to establish the life that he did with her, his feelings about coming to Gold Valley to connect with his half-siblings, his feelings about what he wants from life, etc.

I’m one to criticize if romances are just lust-based and there is no character development, but I find myself in this extremely rare position of having to criticize that there was too much analysis. Though I don’t think that’s even the right way of phrasing it—rather, my problem was that the same territory was covered repeatedly, with one step forward, two steps back, or just running in place. It became exhausting. At the end, in their final love declaration scene, I shit you not, I actually skimmed portions of it. Because they were going on for one-page paragraphs each, back and forth, about things that we (and they) were now VERY familiar with.

RANDOM NOTE. I cannot WAIT for Iris’s story!! She is so restrained, elusive, reserved ... what hero is she going to be paired with? I’m SO curious to find out! Both this book and the next one really tease us, because I kind of can’t figure out whether Yates is giving us some very small hints that are supposed to indicate that she and Logan are going to get together (his mother was in the plane crash with their parents, so he’s like another member of the family and has lived there with them ever since then). After reading Ryder’s story, I feel like it’s probably not that pairing, because he and Sammy are Unrequited Love to the nth power, so would Yates give us another one with Logan and Iris? Very excited to find out.

ANOTHER RANDOM NOTE. I loved Yates’s dedication for this book: For the romance readers. You are brave. You choose to believe in love and hope, and those are two of the most powerful forces in this world. Keep shining. This is so true and I just love it. Truly, I honor all of you fellow romance readers and am so grateful to be part of this community, and to have found this genre.

Just yesterday, someone whom I’m becoming close friends with denigrated this genre; it was not at all done snidely or with malice, and I chose not to say anything in response and decided that if we do become close friends like it seems we might, then one day I will explain to her ... I don’t even know what to say. I will explain to her how amazing this genre is? How empowering this community and these books are? How positive and life-affirming they are? There is so much I could say. What a wonderful thing, that we can appreciate these stories; that despite everything that happens, we can continue to believe in these characters and these happily ever afters. I find that to be a powerful thing, not at all a point of weakness.

*This review is of an ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Some changes and/or edits may be made to the final published version.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was boring and slow and I didn't like how Pansy was portrayed.

Summary:
This book is about Pansy Daniels, a police officer with aspirations to become the police chief, and West Caldwell, an ex-con who’s come to Redemption Ranch to start his life over.

West, our male main character, is headed to Gold Valley to get to know his half brothers. West was framed by his ex-wife for fraud. He's done his jail time and is ready to start a new chapter in his life and also to become a better man and do better for himself and others.

Pansy is a police officer in Gold Valley. She is a "good girl" striving to make her father proud. Even though he's gone, Pansy is determined to become Chief of Police like her father was. She lost both her parents in a terrible accident and has struggled with their loss ever since.

West was pulled over by Pansy when he rode into Gold Valley and she gave him a speeding ticket. West is also Pansy's new landlord. From their first meeting sparks and snarky dialogue ensues. West is the "bad boy" and Pansy the "good girl" and the book revolves around that and it got boring after a while.

[Smitten · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Bad Boy of Redemption Ranch is the ninth book in Maisey Yates’ Gold Valley Series. This book is about Pansy Daniels, a police officer with aspirations to become the police chief, and West Caldwell, an ex-con who’s come to Redemption Ranch to start his life over.

I love a good opposite attract romance, and the set up of this story guaranteed there’d be a lot of work to get these two together. The first time Pansy meets West she’s pulling him over which really set up an interesting power balance in their relationship. These two seem to get off on antagonizing each other, and I was definitely into it.

Pansy is the quintessential good girl, she rarely if ever has stepped a toe out of line and has hardly any experience with men. West is her complete opposite in so many ways, and she struggles with her attraction to him even if she feels like it is an inevitability. West for his part is intrigued by the buttoned up Pansy, but he’s been burned by women in the past and isn’t interested in more than scratching a physical itch. West knows that even if Pansy is attracted to him, she’s the type of woman who wants the typical happily ever after.

I have read some other books by this author and she is a great read for anyone that loves small town or modern cowboy romances. Her style reminds me of Joan Johnston or Diana Palmer who also write similar modern cowboy heroes. Yates manages to bring the heat and the heart into almost everything she writes. This story in particular tackled a hard love story between a cop and a con, and I like how she crafted their HEA.

There were a few things that did not work for me in this book, most of them were minor, but I think they are worth mentioning here. The first is that the heroine is a virgin when she first is intimate with the hero, and the way this interaction is handled really made me dislike West. I’m a little tired of heroes that think treating the woman like crap after sex is some how saving her because she’s better off without him. This kind of thinking is just selfish and I prefer a more sympathetic hero.

My other issue is with Pansy. She is supposed to be this strong and capable police officer, but I just never got that from anything written on the page. She’s constantly in her head second guessing herself, and being neurotic. Which I understand to a point since she’d been orphaned as a child, but I don’t think that excuses some of her actions in this story. I also couldn’t stand the name Pansy, but that’s just a personal opinion.

Overall the book did a decent job of holding my attention and I liked the premise even if I think I would have liked it more with some minor tweaks to both West and Pansy. Since this is the ninth in the series there were a lot of previous characters that made appearances so I don’t think it works well as a standalone. So, if you love modern cowboys, redemption stories, and opposites attract tropes I think you’ll enjoy this book.

~ Lindsey

[Pelusa Rivera · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is and going saga i tend to forget and don't have them all. We have West who is going to Gold Valley to get to know his half brothers sine he is the illegitimate son of Hank Dalton. West has done time for a crime he never committed due to the lies of his ex-wife. It is time for a new beginning. we also have pansy who regardless that her father is dead she still wants to make him proud and she is the epitomes of good girl. Upon meeting West they go head to head, bickering but these two have demons to face before they can actually have a go at each other..

rcvd an ARC at no cost to author..(netgalley) voluntarily reviewed with my own thoughts and opinions

[Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read · Rating 2 out of 5]

Small town, sexy cowboy, opposites attract, and the first meeting is terrific - followed by some great banter in the beginning of the story. All of that should've made for my kind of romance, except that it doesn't quite work out that way. For the most part, I really like Maisey Yates' cowboy romances. They're a little over the top on angst sometimes, but I usually love the characters so much that I'm okay with that. However, I've run into a couple of occasions that I loved the cowboy but struggled with the love interest. This is one of those occasions, and try as I might, I could not make myself like Pansy. She started off okay, but the more I read of her, the less I liked her. We spend a good deal of time inside her head, and I've gotta say innocent is one thing, but Pansy is completely over the top. She's so immature that I felt like I was reading about a teenager more often than not. I'm trying not to venture into spoiler territory here, but I got thoroughly sick of seeing everything blamed on West. And I mean everything. If something didn't go her way, it was all his fault. Every bit of confusion, being late for an interview, being distracted - it's always his fault. Granted, he may the reason the reason for some confusion, some hanky panky may even be reason for oversleeping, but Pansy is 27 years old! That's right - 27, not 17, and since he didn't kidnap her, she's supposed to be a responsible adult. And this woman wants to be police chief! Gah! So, it's safe to say that I really didn't like Pansy. I get that she had some unresolved issues from losing her parents, but West has a few issues of his own, and I didn't see him blaming Pansy when he didn't get his way. Funnily enough, Pansy's epiphany comes when she gets exactly what she wanted, which is a little bit too convenient, and it surely didn't help my feelings about her. Had this epiphany come when she's sure things aren't going her way, when she's forced to see what's right in front of her, then maybe I could've come around to these two together. As it stands, I spent this whole book thinking that West was entirely too good a person for Pansy, and nothing happened to change my mind. What it boils down to is that it's pretty hard to enjoy a romance when you can't stand one part of the romantic couple, so this one ended up being a disappointment for me.

[Books and Spoons · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful heartfelt tale of family, finding yourself, finding love when and where you least expect it and finding redemption, hope, and new beginnings... I loved every moment of West Caldwell and Pansy Daniels' story, I think this is one of my favorites in one of my favorite series, so what do I give to it - six spoons?! I feel like I am still on cloud nine after the amazingly swoon-worthy ending in this book!
The meet-cute for West and Pansy was a perfect start for their fervent tale. The banter that follows, the daring actions that they take, the passion that burns scorching hot between them, as they get to know each other was charming and sort of enchanting, I could not get enough of these two.
They are by no means perfect, either of them, yet they complete each other like few people rarely do, and with each other's support and some inner struggles, they bloom to show their true selves.
Both West and Pansy have a broken past, their stories are different yet they get each other,. They understand the road each of them had to take to come to this point in their lives. They both have to learn to accept themselves and their role in their families, in their relationships, even in their community, to be able to take on the new chances and brighter future at their grasp.
The story is filled with life lessons and one-liners that I wanted to underline and ponder about later on. I adored the tangible passion between Pansy and West, and the deeper emotions taking root. The relationships with their family members were complex and complicated, which turned into life lessons and moments of growth.
As part of an ongoing series, you can always get a deeper grasp of the story if you have read the previous books, yet this tale could stand alone as well.
Loved every emotional, passionate, banter-filled moment of Pansy and Wess' love story
~ Five Spoons!

[Kent Woodger · Rating 3 out of 5]

For answering four questions on an HQN survey they sent me four paperback novels. This one was readable.

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bad Boy of Redemption Ranch is the ninth book by Maisey Yates in the Gold Valley Series. The series focuses on an area in Oregon where there is a small town and a number of ranches and farms in the area. Each book is a stand alone and focuses on another couple, however there are characters that appear and reappear in different novels.

West Caldwell has bought Redemption Ranch. He was released from prison when the police finally realized that his ex wife had set him up and he was innocent. West knows he needs a new place to start, so he decides to set up in a new place, but near his half brothers and his newly found father. West is starting over, only to be pulled over on his first drive into town by the police. A ticket for speeding is his welcome, given to him by his new tenant, policewoman Pansy Daniels. She is definitely under his skin. Pansy is a follow the rules kind of gal. She has grown up in an unusual situation and is trying to make something of herself following her father into the police force. West is making things a little too interesting and Pansy just can’t help herself.

I love this series by Maisey Yates, I look forward to each and every novel and have actually started to go backward and read some of the older novels I missed in the story. Pansy’s story caught my attention as West continued to ask questions. I like the couple together and found the story heartwarming and satisfying. West is a hot bad boy and who doesn’t like a hot bad boy who is a cowboy! The Bad Boy of Redemption Ranch is a good read.

[Elaine - Splashes Into Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a heartwarming romance with great characters and plenty of twists along the way. It is the ninth book in this series but I believe it works well as a standalone, though I have read earlier books in the series.

West Calwell has recently purchased and moved in to Redemption Ranch. He’s connected with his father and half-siblings after being exonerated and released from serving four years in prison. He’s moved to make a fresh start but certainly didn’t anticipate crossing local police officer, Pansy Daniels! She certainly seems to be on the look out to give him parking tickets with the slightest excuse – but maybe that’s just so they can interact?

This is a story of two people who had very different childhoods but both suffered. Pansy’s parents were both killed and has been brought up by her older siblings and cousins . . . . West was brought up by his Mum who struggles to care for herself, let alone caring for her two children. The support of family, the attitudes of the small town community and contrasts between following the letter of the law and helping to change attitudes are all key to this story. It is also a story about overcoming your past and daring to look forward with hope and love.

I requested and was gifted a copy of this book and this is my honest review after choosing to read it.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

If it had ended when West rode up on a white horse, sporting battered jeans and white Stetson, swept Pansy off her feet for the picnic, I was at 4 stars at that point. Instead, there was all this wah-wah stupid melodrama (Like the unending question throughout the book - will Pansy get the job of Chief of Police or not, does she want it for the right reason or just as a monument to her late father and to ‘make up’ for being such a pain in the arse when she was a kid?) and on and on. The question I asked myself is why did she have to dump all her issues on poor West and act like such a d*ck (yes, a woman can act like that!) just to come to a point of enlightenment about priorities etc. Seemed a little manufactured and, dare I say, cliche. *yawn* Cry me a river, Pansy dear, just cry me a fricking river.

[Nate Brightman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am admittedly an unapologetic fan of Maisey Yates. When it comes to small town ranching romances she’s my Go-To author. For reasons unbeknownst to me I really dig romances set in a ranching setting. Since I’m a male hetero-sexual its not for the hunky cowboys. Maybe it’s for the spunky cowgirls. But I don’t think so. There are beautiful, sexy, spunky, smart heroines to be found in every contemporary romance regardless of the setting. This book opens another sub-series of the Gold Valley series where we are introduced to the Daniel’s family who live on Hope Springs Ranch. They are brothers, sisters and cousins who were all orphaned when their parents died together in a plane crash some seventeen years ago. Maisey’s characters spend an awful lot of time spewing internal dialogue, reflecting on their lives and I’ve always enjoyed that. They also have a lot of deep heartfelt conversations regarding their feelings and thoughts regarding life and love. I also enjoy that. But in this particular story I feel like she over did. Our hero, the Bad Boy of Redemption Ranch West Chandler and our heroine, Pansy Daniels spent a lot of the story repeating the same dialogue as if stuck on a loop.
West is the illegitimate son of retired rodeo star Hank Dalton. You can read the story of Hank and Tammy Dalton and their sons in earlier Gold Valley books. West after being freed from four years in prison in Texas where he’d been wrongly incarcerated when his ex-wife Monica set him up for embezzlement has come to Gold Valley and the Dalton Ranch to meet his father and his half-brothers. He’s disillusioned and cynical. Over and over again we hear how he’d grown up fatherless with a mother who didn’t really try to parent him. He’d made a big success out of his life surrounding himself with the trappings of success with a corner office, big home and wife from a prominent family. Then it was all taken from him. While in prison he realized that none of it, all the things he thought he’d coveted, had made him happy. He’s taken what money he had left when he got out of prison and purchased Redemption Ranch in his home state of Oregon. He’s slowly bonding with his half-brothers and sister, searching for his 15 year old half-brother by a different father Emmett and then one day Officer Pansy Daniels pulls him over and issues him a speeding ticket. Which becomes awkward for Pansy when she discovers the man she’s giving a ticket to and bantering with is her new landlord. But for Pansy, right is right and wrong is wrong. The law is the law and there are no gray areas. So she gives him the ticket.
Officer Pansy Daniels along with her sisters and brothers and their cousins are orphans. Her parents, her aunt and uncle and their best friends were all killed in a fatal plane crash on their way to a trip to Alaska when she was ten years old. Her oldest brother Ryder was eighteen at the time and took over as head of the household on the family’s ranch Hope Springs. The family banded together in collective grief and raised each other to adulthood forming unique, unbreakable bonds. Pansy had been a willful and wild child pretty much doing whatever she wanted ignoring her parents instructions. Apparently much of her willfulness involved pilfering the family’s baked goods. Pansy’s father who was the Gold Valley police chief often lectured her on her impulsiveness and refusal to follow rules. The day he left and died Pansy had stolen half a pan of brownies and was hiding from him when he went to look for her before leaving for the last time. Pansy, now almost 28 years old has harbored a lifetime of guilt over disappointing her father with her behavior. After his death she decides to change her ways. She becomes a strict rule follower and dreams of becoming the Chief of Police like her dad to honor his memory. She has convinced herself that she was a bad child and that her free spirit and inclination to being mischievous are her bad parts that much be locked away at all costs. Like West’s issues we here about Pansy’s guilt and desire to atone by becoming police chief refusing to allow anything to cause her to lose focus on that goal over and over again. Between being a cop and not wanting to end up pulling over a former boyfriend or one-night hook-up or to interfere with her career goals, Pansy finds herself still a virgin as her twenty-eighth birthday approaches. The fact that the author implies that not only Pansy but her older sister Iris and her younger sister Rose are also still virgins indicates there are some serious residual effects at play from their parents deaths.
Like many contemporary romances when Pansy meets West they both feel all of those physical things that two people who are meant to be together feel. And like many contemporary romances neither welcomes the physical attraction. Pansy hasn’t got time for romance in her pursuit of the police chief job. West has been burned once in a big way by marriage. Even though he acknowledges he really didn’t love his wife he still feels the sting of her betrayal and vows that he’ll never get married again. Again like many contemporary romances they finally succumb to the attraction and West cashes Pansy’s V-card and then they do it again and again both telling themselves its just about the sex. One ultimately realizes he or she is falling in love and confesses his or her feelings to the other while the other has a near nervous break-down. Eventually true love wins out and they profess their undying love for one another. But honestly, even as a veteran reader of contemporary romances their professions seemed to be too sweet and to go on for too long.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This cowboy romance novel was just what I expected and it was fun. Silly read with characters who were fun (although at one point I definitely wanted to punch Pansy; we get it, you want to make your dad proud 🤦🏽‍♀️). The whole family got real in depth with their emotions, which not something I can relate to. However overall it made me smile and I feel like that’s the important part. Also I really want to go horseback riding now!

[Aly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Police officer Pansy Daniels always sticks to the rules. Learning that the man she just arrested for speeding is her new landlord won't change that.

West Caldwell spent 4 years behind bars before being exonerated from a fraud charge. He recently moved to Gold Valley, Oregon to meet his father and all the many half-siblings the man produced.

Pansy and West both have different reasons to want to stay away from the potent chemistry sparking between them but thank the fate that her property needs so many repairs.

The heroine was a bit too rigid but nothing to stop me from falling in love with this story. Maisey Yates have a way with words and it also translate when she's writing intimate scenes. No matter if it's sweet, raw, awkward, slow, fast, soft or intense, I always feel the connection between her characters. I love how it showed that feeling something for someone can bring different and contradictory emotions and it's not always good ones (like in this case, West makes her realize how lonely she feels). One of the greatest highlight of the book is also Pansy's "blended family" (her siblings, cousins and friends lost their parents in the same accident and they all raised each other in the same house).

If someone was to ask me why I love cowboy romance, I think I'd answer with West Caldwell's words:
"And I want to spend my life drinking Coke with you in the middle of the day in a bar. Having sex in a basement at a museum. I want to watch you put your uniform on in the morning, and then I want to take it off you at night. I want to meet this big family of yours that raised you and made you who you are. Because that woman, I love her."

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

How could you go wrong with a Maisey Yates book? Answer, you couldn’t. Not surprisingly this was another brilliant edition to the Gold Valley series with the great introduction yet again another amazing family that was known as the Daniels family that had vast amount of members that will feature in this series for the next two years. Not only did I get acquainted with the Daniels family and their background, but I got to see some familiar faces in the Dalton family that had been featured in the previous books the last year or so. But also let’s not forgot about another familiar character that had been mentioned and featured pervious stories that being West Caldwell. He had been teased and anticipated for a while now ever since he was first mentioned two or three books ago with him being the illegitimate son of Hank Dalton. And West Caldwell’s story made for a nice bridge between the Daltons and the Daniels since he fell in love with Pansy Daniels.

The relationship between Pansy and West was just so good. So entertaining. So amazing that I couldn’t help love following their growth and development of their relationship. There was just so much depth, so much emotion, and just so much complexity to their relationship that I couldn’t help but be sucked right in. I was totally invested from page one until the final page and rooting for them all the way. They made me laugh. They made me smile. They made me hurt. They made me feel so much while I was reading their story. I loved it all. It such a journey to go on with them as they both made transformations in their lives both as a couple and as individuals. It was a really satisfying ride to go on with them that it was hard to put down for even a single second because I wanted to keep going until I got to the end. Even though I knew they would get their HEA at the end, I needed to know how because at times I was little scared what was going to happen especially near the end.

What I loved the most between the two of them was how they sparked off of each, showing off their chemistry beautifully. Their first meeting started off with a bang with Pansy giving West a speeding ticket, but what made it more interesting was that West was an ex con, who was in prison not too long ago (he never committed a crime but was framed by his ex, but still went to jail), and Pansy was the good-too shoe cop that was strict rule follower. Not being a fan of cops, West gave her a bit of lip that continued on for a majority of the story. Hence a lot of head butting, bantering, tension, and major sparks going on between them whenever they were together. It was so good. I loved how West pushed her buttons just to get her all frazzled, and he totally did it on purpose. He didn’t only do it to irritate her, but also get her attention because he found more pleasure in that than anything else he had ever experienced before. The banter scenes were so good, showing off how passionate their relationship was going to be. It was amazing.

As they played this cat and mouse game together, it just really amped the sexual tension between them up to very intense levels. It was a very, steady build that created lots of great anticipation that lasted longer than I thought it was going too, but that was what made it so good. They didn’t have their first kiss scene until a hundred pages in, and their first steamy first time scene until like a hundred and sixty five pages in so there was quite a bit of hot anticipation going on throughout the story. It was a great build and made it all the more satisfying when they finally did explore their desires for each other. All the banter and sparring between them before they gave into those passions were some great foreplay between them that when they finally did kiss then later make love it set fire to the pages. That first time scene was super sexy, super steamy, and just hot hot hot. It made all that buildup that had been going on through the first half of the book to be totally worth it because how much steam was created between the two of them. I loved it.

While the first two time scenes were very much based on the passion and chemistry side of their relationship, the third time was very much about the seduction and emotions that came from coming together. It showed the bond that they shared, the emotions they had for each other, and they intimacy and closeness they yearned to share with each other. What I loved most though was that it was West that wanted a slower, more sensual type of lovemaking because he wanted to bask in her and the feelings that she made him feel. He wanted to worship her. He wanted to take care of her. He wanted to hold her. He wanted to love her. Just have a less frantic experience compared to their first two times because he wanted to savor the moment between them. It was no less intense than the first two times, but it more about their intimacy and coming together as a couple, and it was so good. I loved it.

Speaking of West Caldwell, I freaking loved that man so, so much. He gave me all the feels. He made me swoon. He made me hurt especially at the end even though I knew it was coming, but it still broke my heart none the less. I loved his heart. He was everything. He was what a hero should be in a romance. He just did it for me on so many levels.

And even though he claimed to be a bad boy, he was anything but. He was freaking marshmallow when it came to his brothers and too Pansy especially. He had just heart of gold and cared for so many people around him that it was very easy to see that he was anything but a bad guy. He level of caring of people knew no bounds, and it was so sweet. So adorable that I don’t understand how everyone couldn’t fall in love with him like I did. The things he did for Pansy were just so amazing and so romantic that it warmed my heart and made me swoon even harder for him. The birthday scene was amazing because he made that birthday so special for her and showed how much he truly cared about her that there was no doubt in my mind that he was her soul mate. Then the picnic scene where he literally rode up on a white horse so that he could take her to the this ultimate romantic picnic. Talk about swoon worthy. Oh my goodness, I literally was saying “aww” all through that scene. Again it just lifted my heart so high that I was done for him. He was amazing. Love him. Love him. Love him.

I also really adored the family relationships that were explored in this story. The big reason being that there was a great combination of the Dalton family and the Daniel family. There were a lot of characters and a lot of interactions going on, yet it didn’t take away from Pansy and West’s romance, but only added great complexity to the story. In the case of West, it was nice to see him bond more with his half brothers and just how their relationship was growing and evolving over the course of the book. It was really great to see them become more like brothers/family. It did so much for West as he came to accept that he needed and wanted family in his life. He wanted love from all facets of his life not just romantic, and that was just really cool to see him have that realization and embrace the concept of family when he was a little hesitant in the beginning. It added so much to his personal story and helped him realize that he wanted Pansy in his life to love and to cherish, which I thought was very sweet.

As for the Daniels family, this was an introduction of all the players involved and the role they will play further down the line. But I really liked seeing Pansy relationship with her sisters and with Sammy as she tried to navigate this new world that was West Caldwell. They had varying points of view on the subject, but she listened to them and they listened to her. It was great moments between them to show off the bond that was between them, and they created their own concept of family after that tragic accident that took their parent’s life. I just loved seeing the support system there and that family feel. There was also a big with Ryder, the cousins, and Logan too and see how that family dynamic worked. It was adorable and just the level of caring and respect that they had for each other. Again it added so much to Pansy’s growth whether it was the relationship with West or coming to terms with her beliefs about her parents, and just coming to terms of herself of who she wanted to be instead of who she was trying to be. I thought that was a really good part of the story. Also it teased what was to come in the future from these books by seeing a glimpse of these characters. So I was really sold on this part of the story.

There was a bit of suspense/mystery element to the story that though was in there didn’t overshadow the overall arc of the story. I think a big reason for that was the mystery was solved early on and didn’t drag on and on for all those pages. It got to the point while adding another layer to the romance between West and Pansy. It showed their true colors as they dealt with the situation together, which was cool to see.

I have to admit that I did figure out who the culprit was pretty much as soon as things started happening, and I also predicted what was going to happen to this character because it hit me like a ton of bricks because it made so much sense in the overall arc of the story as well as previous stories. I thought it was done very cleverly as it weaved into this story with this character. I will admit I had another prediction about this character that didn’t come true, or at least not in this book, but I would be surprised if my prediction got revealed somewhere down the line in future books.

I can’t tell you how much I love the Gold Valley with each book getting better and better with every book the deeper into the series I get it. This one being no exception. It may not have blown me away completely to earn that five star rating, but I still thought it was amazing. I loved it. I love the progression of the romance. I loved all the build up. I loved the anticipation. I loved the banter between Pansy and West. I loved the family dynamics. I loved and swooned over West Caldwell. There were just so many spectacular things about it that I know that I will be rereading this one again just like so many other books in the Gold Valley .

This book has gotten me excited for what is to come for the Hope Springs gang, every single one of them. This story just expanded the Gold Valley world so much more, and I can’t wait to get more of it. I have already fallen in love with the Daniels family, and I can’t wait to see them get their HEA in future installments. The only bad part of more books in the series is the waiting for them especially since Iris, Jake, and Colt’s book doesn’t come out until sometime next year. That’s going to be the hard part, but I do look forward to Sammy & Ryder’s book coming out next month and Logan & Rose’s book in October. So much to look forward to in the future.

[DeeAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am really loving this series. I think I like each book more!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the death of her parents Pansy lives her life striving to be good to make her parents proud. Shes even taken up the job of being an officer with the chance of being promoted. Things are about to shake for this lady though when West Caldwell comes to Redemption Ranch recently out of jail from something his ex had done. He can't seem to stop pushing Pansy's buttons and he might be just what she needs to break out of this ridged shell she placed herself into.

I loved this book is was pretty predictable in a way but all the fun to read with the interesting set of characters to make this story truly their own. I thought it was interesting getting to know Pansy and her past which made her who she was and unfortunately stunted her a bit where she hardly ever did much for herself in the letting go department. She was set in her ways and I loved seeing West break her out of that. He tested her and pushed her limited and it was so fun to watch. Then theres West's side of the story with his ex, then coming out of jail then just in general family issues of his own. Overall this was a pretty great read and I enjoyed it.

[Harlequin Books]

Categories
Contemporary Romance, Western Romance
Miniseries
A Gold Valley Novel

[Donna Repsher · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bad Boy of Redemption Ranch is the ninth novel in Maisey Yates’ Gold Valley series, a series I've been avidly following since its inception, and Ms. Yates has yet to disappoint me. True to form, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel and liked its characters, although I did feel it was just a tad short on conflict, and had a few issues with its main characters, which is why I'm giving it a 4-star rather than a 5-star rating.

Pansy Daniels is a 27-year-old police officer when we first meet her. She and her siblings, cousins and friends were devastated by the loss of their parents. All three couples were headed to a vacation in Alaska when their plane went down, leaving no survivors. Pansy was still a child when this tragedy occurred, but the death of the man she looked up to and admired all of her short life left its scars on her psyche. She's been haunted ever since then by the fact that she was a wild, disobedient child, and her last memory of her father is of him being both angry and disappointed by her misbehavior. The guilt she feels has left her broken. As someone who lost her mother at age 15 and wishes she could undo the last words she ever said to her mother before her unexpected and untimely death, this novel and Pansy's feelings about her father hit very close to home for this reader. From that point on, all Pansy wants to do is make her father proud of the woman she's become, and follow in his footsteps, which which is why she is so set on becoming the new Police Chief. With her sole focus on being the best she can be, there's been no time for men, dating or romance, and at 27, she is still a virgin, but that is about to change.

If you've been following this series, you already know that West Caldwell has been one of the missing half-brothers in the Caldwell family, another of rodeo legend Hank Caldwell's many illegitimate offspring, many of whom have found their way to Gold Valley in the previous novels. West left home early and grew up working on a ranch in Texas, leaving his dysfunctional mother and her many poor choices in boyfriends behind. He knew he wanted a better life, worked hard, made a lot of money, married a woman he didn't really love, a woman who later divorced him, then lied about him and sent him to prison for 4 years. He was eventually exonerated but once released, West had no desire to return to Texas, and instead heads for Oregon, buying Redemption Ranch in Gold Valley, and trying to make a fresh start. Redemption Ranch has a tenant living in a small house on the property--that tenant is Pansy Daniels, whom West first encounters on his way into town when she pulls him over and tickets him for driving 20 miles over the posted speed limit--and that's not the only ticket she gives him, as the attraction between these two characters builds.

Pansy and West are quite the odd couple, the bad boy and the good girl, and I did have a problem with Pansy losing her virginity in a dirty, dusty tack room and the way she and West treated their sexual liaison as rather trivial. West telling Pansy that he had no intention of ever falling in love or marrying again was, in my opinion, too little, too late.

Pansy also has issues with the fact that there have been a number of unsolved break-ins and burglaries in town recently, and when she and West find that the culprit is West's 15-year-old half-brother, Emmett, who ran away from home and who made the mistake of stealing a wallet full of cash from a car belonging to a nasty and snooty woman, Barbara, who is short on forgiveness and who may stand in the way of Pansy's ambition to become the Police Chief, Pansy tries to distance herself from West, and tries to do her best to set Emmett on the right path--but will it be enough?

Pansy and West are both characters broken by events and experiences in their past, and Ms. Yates exhibits are great deal of wisdom about how to move beyond the broken pieces within each of them, how to help heal themselves and each other, and how to move forward. While I wished for more of a relationship between these two characters beyond the sexual sparks between them, I felt that both West and Pansy spent a little too much time inside their own heads, expressing little of what they were each feeling to each other for most of the novel. There was indeed the expected HEA ending, which I also felt could have been explored at greater length.

While this novel can be read as a standalone, there are so many characters and their inter-relationships appearing in it from the previous novels, I'd advise reading the novels in the order they were written. This novel was a very good, very well-written addition to the series, and a very enjoyable and heartfelt read. I am happy to recommend it.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

[Donna Repsher · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bad Boy of Redemption Ranch is the ninth novel in Maisey Yates’ Gold Valley series, a series I've been avidly following since its inception, and Ms. Yates has yet to disappoint me. True to form, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel and liked its characters, although I did feel it was just a tad short on conflict, and had a few issues with its main characters, which is why I'm giving it a 4-star rather than a 5-star rating.

Pansy Daniels is a 27-year-old police officer when we first meet her. She and her siblings, cousins and friends were devastated by the loss of their parents. All three couples were headed to a vacation in Alaska when their plane went down, leaving no survivors. Pansy was still a child when this tragedy occurred, but the death of the man she looked up to and admired all of her short life left its scars on her psyche. She's been haunted ever since then by the fact that she was a wild, disobedient child, and her last memory of her father is of him being both angry and disappointed by her misbehavior. The guilt she feels has left her broken. As someone who lost her mother at age 15 and wishes she could undo the last words she ever said to her mother before her unexpected and untimely death, this novel and Pansy's feelings about her father hit very close to home for this reader. From that point on, all Pansy wants to do is make her father proud of the woman she's become, and follow in his footsteps, which which is why she is so set on becoming the new Police Chief. With her sole focus on being the best she can be, there's been no time for men, dating or romance, and at 27, she is still a virgin, but that is about to change.

If you've been following this series, you already know that West Caldwell has been one of the missing half-brothers in the Caldwell family, another of rodeo legend Hank Caldwell's many illegitimate offspring, many of whom have found their way to Gold Valley in the previous novels. West left home early and grew up working on a ranch in Texas, leaving his dysfunctional mother and her many poor choices in boyfriends behind. He knew he wanted a better life, worked hard, made a lot of money, married a woman he didn't really love, a woman who later divorced him, then lied about him and sent him to prison for 4 years. He was eventually exonerated but once released, West had no desire to return to Texas, and instead heads for Oregon, buying Redemption Ranch in Gold Valley, and trying to make a fresh start. Redemption Ranch has a tenant living in a small house on the property--that tenant is Pansy Daniels, whom West first encounters on his way into town when she pulls him over and tickets him for driving 20 miles over the posted speed limit--and that's not the only ticket she gives him, as the attraction between these two characters builds.

Pansy and West are quite the odd couple, the bad boy and the good girl, and I did have a problem with Pansy losing her virginity in a dirty, dusty tack room and the way she and West treated their sexual liaison as rather trivial. West telling Pansy that he had no intention of ever falling in love or marrying again was, in my opinion, too little, too late.

Pansy also has issues with the fact that there have been a number of unsolved break-ins and burglaries in town recently, and when she and West find that the culprit is West's 15-year-old half-brother, Emmett, who ran away from home and who made the mistake of stealing a wallet full of cash from a car belonging to a nasty and snooty woman, Barbara, who is short on forgiveness and who may stand in the way of Pansy's ambition to become the Police Chief, Pansy tries to distance herself from West, and tries to do her best to set Emmett on the right path--but will it be enough?

Pansy and West are both characters broken by events and experiences in their past, and Ms. Yates exhibits are great deal of wisdom about how to move beyond the broken pieces within each of them, how to help heal themselves and each other, and how to move forward. While I wished for more of a relationship between these two characters beyond the sexual sparks between them, I felt that both West and Pansy spent a little too much time inside their own heads, expressing little of what they were each feeling to each other for most of the novel. There was indeed the expected HEA ending, which I also felt could have been explored at greater length.

While this novel can be read as a standalone, there are so many characters and their inter-relationships appearing in it from the previous novels, I'd advise reading the novels in the order they were written. This novel was a very good, very well-written addition to the series, and a very enjoyable and heartfelt read. I am happy to recommend it.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I always strive to be as honest as possible in my reviews. You all know I adore this author and her cowboys and heroines. Full disclosure, I wasn’t sure if this one would hit me, so to speak, in the same way her other stories have. I was greatly enjoying the story, especially the banter between Pansy and West. (The ways he would come up with to annoy her just tickled me.) But I wasn’t getting all the feels. Sure, they had chemistry. I was just doubtful this story was going to pull me down this author’s usual avenue of making my heart break for one or both of the main characters. That is, until about a quarter of the way through.

That’s not really even that far into the book. Like I said, I was enjoying the story so it didn’t seem like any sort of toil to keep reading. I guess that’s the magic of Maisey Yates, I’m usually firmly swooning by this time. But she made it worth the wait. I seriously went from, “these two are fun together and I’m enjoying the will they/won’t they” to, “don’t you see how much you’re hurting her? don’t you see that he only walked away to protect you both? why does this author always make me cry?!?” In. An. Instant. All the feels, all the emotion, all the heartache I’ve come to expect from this author.

By the end of this book, I was 110% all in with this couple. They are such an amazing counter to one another. Alike in the ways that matter, but different enough to keep things fresh and exciting. Able to be the calm to the other’s storm when needed.

Other than the fantastic love story in this book, we are introduced to Pansy’s family. I’m sure all of which we will see get their HEA eventually. If not in this series, then in a spin-off series. Their upbringing and circumstances are interesting and will provide a lot of material for the author to delve into.

You would think I’d learn by now not to doubt this author or the journey she has mapped out in her stories.

You can read more of my reviews at All In Good Time.

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful story of hope and redemption- conveniently happening on Redemption and Hope Springs Ranches in Gold Valley for two lonely people. While it could be read as a stand alone, there are so many wonderful characters and backstories, that it is best to read at least a few of them before diving into this one. The writing is superb, characters well developed and a heartfelt captivating plot.

West Caldwell is one of Hank Dalton's illegitimate children, who has recently been exonerated and released from prison after having served 3 years for a crime he did not commit but had been set up by his ex-wife. He is slowly getting to know his half sibs and bought Redemption Ranch nearby. He is also reunited with his 18 year younger other half sib, Emmett, on his mother's side, who had disappeared. Pansy Daniels, along with her siblings, cousins and a family friend all lost their parents years ago when the plane the adults were all traveling on crashed and the kids banded together to stay together by running Hope Springs Ranch. Although she was just a little girl, her father was angry with her when he left and she has felt guilty ever since, changing her wild nature to follow in his footsteps; not following her heart, but doing what is right. They both think that they don't fit in and are irreparably damaged, but they learn that letting people in, heals the heart.

Little did they know that when Officer Pansy stopped West and gave him a speeding ticket, that it was a blessing for both and the way to find home. We have often tell our children that it is much less painful to learn from our mistakes rather than repeat them, but that is not the nature of children. West says it to Emmett, but in an analogy that is so relatable that it is worth remembering and repeating.

I read an ARC provided by NetGalley.com and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

[k2148 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bad Boy of Redemption Ranch (Gold Valley #9). By Maisey Yates. 2020. HQN Books (ARC eBook)

After recently being exonerated for a crime he didn’t commit and finding out his father is Hank Dalton, a former rodeo pro, West Caldwell moves from Texas to Gold Valley, Oregon in order to get to know his father and half-siblings and to start fresh with his newly acquired property, Redemption Ranch. West thinks he can put down roots in Gold Valley, if only the small town would quite thinking of him as a criminal. So he probably should stop antagonizing the police officer with the ridiculous name and a penchant for writing him tickets, but it’s too much fun.

Police officer Pansy Daniels is drawn to the ornery new rancher, but feels it’s best to keep her distance. She’s up for the promotion to Police Chief and worries that an association with West could jeopardize her chances. West seems to be able to put first impressions aside, but Pansy not so much. Yet, the two have an easy connection stemming from their determined personalities and challenging childhoods. Will they take a chance on embracing who they really are and forge a future together, or succumb to fulfilling the expectations of those around them?

The Bad Boy of Redemption Ranch is an enjoyable small-town romance about acceptance, redemption and hope. This is the first in this series I have read, but I’d like to read more, especially the book where West is first established, as this story already has West introduced and ingratiated into the Dalton clan.

*HQN Books ARC via NetGalley

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Maisey Yates The Bad Boy of Redemption Ranch both Pansy and West come from less than perfect childhoods. In fact they were downright sad. Pansy's parents along with her cousins parents and a family friend all died in a plane crash. Their survivors banded together and formed their own 'family'. Pansy had been ten years old when they died and she was racked with grief. Her last words to her father had been in a fight between them. He had been the chief of police in Gold Valley and she felt if she followed in his footsteps it would somehow redeem her.

West was brought up with a father he didn't know and a mother that didn't care. He was one rebellious child. He grew up and married only to find that his wife had framed him for fraud. That sent him to prison. It took years but he was finally exonerated. That was when he decided to start over in Gold Valley. The father he never knew was there along with his half brothers.

Both West and Pansy had to learn to believe in themselves before anyone else could and also love themselves. When West moved to town Pansy being a town cop pulled him over. It came to be that that was the best thing that could have happened to him. Sparks flew between them but they each had much to learn about themselves first. There was much to love as I followed West and Pansy on their way to a happy ever after.