Melanie and Wyatt have a history. From acquaintances to enemies, attraction has always meandered in the shadows. Their issues reach the boiling point when secrets start to reveal themselves little by little. What seems complicated is relatively simple, if these fighters give up the battle and surrender to their hearts. Ms. Dell checks all the boxes for any romance lover. Tempting, engaging, feel good read.

I actually started the series with this one, and after reading the others, it falls a little short.  Wyatt, raised in a wealthy, connected East Coast family, is a little too perfect to feel real.  He’s like someone dropped the billionaire trope into the wrong book. But I did really like the plot line, and how it grew naturally out of the arcs set up in the previous books. And I liked that Melanie had an actual office job, with actual office job headaches, and a temper that got her into trouble. Many of the events in this book hinge on something that’s already happened (Grace and Hank’s implosion) but I like that the reader doesn’t find out about it all at once and has to piece it together, just like real life.

I read this book before the prior ones in the series. I felt a little lost and I think that’s why. Overall, I enjoyed it. I liked the characters and feel interested in going back to the other stories.

Oh Wyatt, can I just tell you all how much I love Wyatt. He was just so sweet and wanted to save everyone and I was all but what about you! You need someone too.
Oh and cowboys! If you had not notice I really like this genre. I do have to mention that since my last one I did actually see a rodeo on tv! Whaaat? Yes it was on this sports channel, but ok so I can read, but watch it, ha, no.

To the book! Wyatt is a cutie and we learn so much about him.

Melanie used to be a great rodeo roper, but her career took more and more time, and she just stopped doing it. And she loved it. Not to mention riding. Poor Melanie, oh you will see. She had a savior complex too, this regarding her little brother (who made me so mad).

They always argue and now they are stuck together. The best banter makes for heated...talks ;)

I liked how it all happened. There was much talking things through and getting to know each other better. It was just these two working through their issues and falling hard. What is there not to enjoy.

Good romance with that ever present rodeo vibe

Narrator Johanna Parker
I like her accent and she really makes me feel like I am there. She has a good range and she is perfect for this.

Read my review at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2575758708

I give this one a slightly lower rating than the others as it was less custom made for me personally. I did want to know more about Wyatt, and Melanie certainly was a great match for him. There was very little rodeo, less family and the secret that kept them apart was super complicated. They both are very complex people, and while the author did a great job making me understand them, they were a bit much for me. They both are experts at reading people and use it to manipulate others, generally for „good“ purposes, but I like my heroes more straightforward. I was deeply touched by Wyatt‘s hunger for belonging, and his steadfastness in love and friendship. Melanie‘s struggles are very real, too, and I enjoyed how she figured out what she wanted from life. I loved how she came through for Wyatt at the end. I was also very much into the project with the bar, and watching Melanie doing her magic was great.

I have really enjoyed this series. I was disappointed with this book because it just didn't work for me. Wyatt was just not a believable character.

When I talked it over with a friend I started giving it the side eye. The secondary mess between Hank and Grace is the biggest problem.

I mean you cannot be reimbursed for adoptions. It's illegal. It's selling your baby. I thought, "maybe I'm remembering it wrong. Did I read it right?" (I rechecked it out from the library to see)

“You act like I’m a saint, and I’m not.” Grace bowed her head and laced her fingers together. “They paid me. Enough to cover all of my student loans and put something aside.”

I remembered it because Melanie's reaction was, "good for you."

Like I said this book initially was just a miss and I remembered the adoption thing being weird but when I talked to my friend I thought, "that's problematic."

Five years ago, at their friends Violet and Joe's wedding Wyatt Darrington and Melanie Brookman realised that they had off the charts chemistry, sadly they also both had large intellects and tremendous tempers and realised that any relationship between them would inevitably crash and burn, destroying their relationships with Violet and Joe forever. So they agreed to step back, walk away and never cross that line. And in five years they never have, they goad one another incessantly on the rare occasions they do meet but no more. And since Wyatt threatened to have Mel's kid brother Hank blacklisted in every rodeo in the USA Mel feels more dislike than anything else.

Then Mel discovers she has been betrayed in the worst way possible and burns her bridges with gusto, luckily Violet and Joe call Wyatt to help her out - I mean an omniscient billionaire with connections is always handy to have in your back pocket, right? Feeling like she's made a deal with the devil (and possibly endangered her heart) Mel agrees to work for Wyatt in Oregon in return for his help in tracing Hank, who has disappeared without a trace.

Wyatt realised a long time ago that it wasn't lust he felt for Melanie, but recent events have meant that he is keeping devastating secrets from her, and lying about it. It's pure torture working with a a woman who lights up his world when he knows at any second that she will discover the truth and leave him forever.

Wyatt has been ever-present in the last three novels and really deserved his own HEA. I wasn't sure if Kari could pull this off, so often the greatest characters fall flat in the romance stakes, but I needn't have worried. Wyatt's secret is a doozy and he HAS TO keep it a secret from Mel but ho boy do those sparks fly!

Great romance, worth the wait ... now do I want to read Hank's story? I'd rather read Gil's.