3.5⭐️‘s
“I want you in my life, every day, and not just as my friend. I want an us.”
“I want this. I want you. I want to be yours, Jackson.”
**Synopsis:**
This book picks up where the prior one left off and I have to say chapter one took me by surprise.
Jackson and Bailey were quite attracted to each other in book 1 and at times couldn’t keep their hands to themselves.
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“Bailey and I had been skirting around one another since the night Ryan and Amber found us at the side of the barn during our last annual cookout at the ranch. Both of us had a little too much to drink, and if they hadn’t stopped us when they did, I’m more than positive we would have had sex right there.”
When Jackson suffers a devastating loss, he discovers Bailey also knows the pain of losing a loved one. Their bond grows stronger and Jackson knows his father was right and he’s not going to let Bailey go.
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“You know, my dad told me I was a dumbass if I didn’t grab ahold of you before someone else did.” Her eyes grew wide and I chuckled. “He said, ‘That girl right there would be good for you, Jack. She wouldn’t take your shit, and you need a woman who knows how to give back twice as much crap as you deal out. Bailey would keep you on your toes.’ He was right, ya know.”
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The following are my thoughts about this book:
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* * Ryan, Noah and Jackson….Gah, these brothers ❤️❤️❤️
* * Jackson is very domineering when it comes to Bailey. He just bulldozes his way through a situation and pretty much tells Bailey how it’s going to be. To some he will come off as strong and sure in what he wants. To others he may come off as bossy and controlling (not in a good way).
I like a strong Hero, so I didn’t have a problem with his assertiveness and take charge manner.
* * the story started off really strong for me with the loss of a parent and Bailey’s struggle in dealing with the loss of her brother. But somewhere along the way those issues just kind of got glossed over. It was like once Jackson and Bailey had each other their grief was gone. So I thought the story lacked depth.
* * I needed to read a story about a ranch for a book challenge. Even though the cover is a cowboy and the family owns a ranch, there is not much cowboy / ranch stuff that happens in this book. A little bit of horse training. So, it didn’t really have that ranch feel
* * Jackson and his father ran the ranch together. So when his dad died that left Jackson to manage on his own. No time was spent showing how this new dynamic really affected Jackson.
* * I’m rounding my rating down because there were some very difficult subjects brought up in the book, but I didn’t feel like any of them truly got addressed or that any time was spent really going deep into the issues. The glossing over of the heavy subjects made the book a bit shallow.
**Overview:**
- Content Warning: death of parent, suicide of sibling (in the recent past, mostly off page), attempted suicide (mostly off page)
- Setting: Livingston, Montana
- Do you need to read previous books in series?: yes. I would not classify this as a standalone. It has a different H/h, but the characters and and backstory from the previous book are important for this book.
- POV: Dual POV
- Who is the Hero? Jackson Michael Sawyer (age: probably around 30). Manages the family ranch
* The following words/phrases were used to describe Hero: confident, intimidating, commanding, overpowering, compassionate, cocky, likes to tease people
* H likable? Yes.
- Who is the Heroine? Bailey (age: I’m going to guess mid 20’s). Recently moved to Montana. A few years ago she lost her brother to suicide and her family fell apart after that tragic loss.
* The following words/phrases were used to describe Heroine: unsettled, feisty, untamable
* h likable? Yes.
- h virgin? No
- First time they kiss:Technically in book 1. But in this story 20%.
- First time they sleep together: 38%
- Safe sex? Yes. Condoms were used
- First time they say I Love You 54%
- steamy? Yes. Descriptive bedroom scenes
- OW/OM drama? a tiny bit. Nothing major
- H/h cheat? No
- Time apart? No
- Did I skip pages? No
- Big secrets? No
- Did I cry? the beginning was a bit emotional
- Did I laugh? Not really
- Did I swoon🥰? yes. I thought protective Jack was very swoony!
~
“When was the last time you had someone protect you? The last time someone put you above everything else and fought like hell to give you the happiness you deserve? You come first, your happiness. You can be pissed at me, you can yell and tell me I’m being an ass all you want. But damn it, Bailey, I will do whatever it takes to make sure you come first.”
- Cliffhanger? No
- HEA? Yes
- Epilogue? a couple weeks later
- Recommend? I liked Jackson and Bailey, but I just thought the story lacked depth. I’ll read the next book because I am invested in the brothers. However, Book 1 also lacked depth so I’ll set my expectations accordingly for the next book.
**Quotes**
“You done pitching a fit?”
“You done being an ass?” she countered.
I shrugged and could no longer hold back my smile. “That depends on whether you’re done throwing a tantrum.”
“That woman is enough to make even a pastor feel hellish,”
“You got me, Bay. You always have me in your corner.”
“Jackson’s sexual energy seemed to flow off him in waves. He never tried to hide it, and he sure as hell didn’t care who was around when he decided to lay it on even thicker.”
“Forget that whole “poke a sleeping bear” thing; poking the cranky cowboy may actually have worse consequences