4 Stars from me.

Cash Dalton is back in Dry Creek, and back on the family ranch, after leaving his job at the FBI. He is dealing with the fallout from that and the fact that he has a 13-year daughter that he didn’t know about. Aubrey McAlistar is living in the cottage next to Cash after she broke up with her fiancée and in the process alienating herself from most of the town. Cash’s cousin, Jace, knows her reasons for leaving Mitch, and he is helping her even though everyone in town think they are a couple now and the reason for her broken engagement.

Aubrey is struggling to keep her job going and her life together, since Mitch is making things difficult for her in town. Right from the start there is chemistry between Cash and Aubrey and they decide to use their attraction to redirect the gossip.

Aubrey is a feisty, stubborn woman, who is not going to give up in the face of all the opposition from her former friends and acquaintances. She is keeping a potentially explosive secret that is preventing her from explaining the real reason why she broke up with Mitch. She is pretty remarkable and strong. Despite all the snide remarks, sideways looks, and bullying from the townspeople, she keeps her head high, she continues doing her thing, and she isn’t letting it get to her.

Chase is a good man, for whom family means everything. He has made it very clear that he does not intend to stay in Dry Creek or become involved in law enforcement again, but he gets sucked in anyway, because he just can’t turn a blind eye.

I liked Chase and Aubrey together. Chase’s daughter, Ellie, was an interesting addition to the story. Overall, I really enjoyed experiencing the relationship between Chase and Ellie, and Chase and Aubrey. The cattle rustling added an exciting element.

There were some things that I didn’t like. It seems that in this town where Aubrey has lived her whole life, she doesn’t have her own friends. Once she broke up with Mitch, pretty much everyone in town turned their backs on her. I find it a bit hard to believe that there wasn’t a single person, apart from Jace and the unfortunate Brett, who didn’t side with her. Through Aubrey we know that there is a lot of animosity between her and Mitch, but there were very few confrontations between them, and at the end there was no resolution between them. Mitch just disappeared there at the end in the excitement of solving the mystery of the stolen cattle.

That being said, I really enjoyed reading this book, and have read a lot from this author before. I will continue to read her books.

I received an advanced copy of the book from Netgalley to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Was I hooked by this book? Yes, I was.

Genre: Contemporary Romance.