Cowboy Christmas Redemption by Maisey Yates

Caleb Dalton fell in love with Ellie Bell the day he met her. Too bad she was always fated to marry his best friend, the eminently better man. But her husband died fighting fires and now Caleb is Ellie's rock and his family is helping her to raise the daughter her husband barely knew she was carrying. Without him, Ellie would have been lost. But now she's finally starting to come back to life, to feel as if she deserves something more. She's got a new job and she's ready to start dating. Or at least have sex. It comes as a huge surprise when Caleb is the one man who makes he feel lust. And while Ellie is coming to terms with falling in love with her husband's best friend, Caleb still has some things to work through.
I didn't love the last Big Misunderstanding - I didn't feel like it was consistent with Caleb's arc- but overall a nice Christmas read.

Four stars
This book came out September 24th
Follows Lone Wolf Cowboy
ARC kindly provided by Harlequin and NetGalley
Opinions are my love

Lone Wolf Cowboy by Maisey Yates

How much do the scars of our past affect our current relationships?
Vanessa Logan has been mentioned in past books. Her twin Olivia was the perfect child while Vanessa was the one who descended into drugs, alcohol, and debauchery eventually leaving home when she was a teen. Five years ago, she managed to pull herself into sobriety and now she's back in Gold Valley working with at risk kids.
On the other hand, Jacob Dalton is burying his own guilt from spending the day in bed with a one-night stand while his friend covered a wildfire shift and died. He's using alcohol. His family are the ones who set up the camp for the kids and he's being pulled in to just be in the classroom so that the teen boys don't decide that Vanessa is fair game.
One night, Jacob and Vanessa are each dealing with their own dragons and hook up. Neither is very proud of themselves but it does lead them to opening up with each other about their past. It also leads to them being linked in ways that they never expected.
I... didn't love the last half of the book. And I can't articulate why. Possibly because Major Plot Point (MPP) came out of left field for me. More because MPP made it so that everything was fast forwarded and I like a little more relationship development in most of my books.

Three stars
This book came out July 30th
Follows Cowboy to the Core
Followed by Cowboy Christmas Redemption
ARC kindly provided by Harlequin and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Cowboy to the Core by Maisey Yates

The youngest Dodge sibling, little sister Jamie gets her HEA in this story from the Gold Valley series. In previous books, we've gotten to see that she is restless. Growing up without a mother, she is positive that she couldn't miss what she never had. There's been nothing that has made her want to be a girly girl or become "pretty," she's just beyond ready for a change in her life. Ready to take charge of her own life and become a barrel racer. To do that, she's accepted a job taking care of retired rodeo horses at the Dalton place.
Gabe Dalton never wanted to be a bronc rider. Rather than going into the rodeo, he wanted to be a rancher. He saw how his father, also part of the rodeo scene, cheated on his mother and how unhappy it made both of them. Short-term? Sure. Can he do that with one of his employees? He's sure willing to try. Surprisingly (okay, this is a romance so maybe not SO surprising), something that's supposed to be just physical starts helping both Jamie and Gabe grow in ways they never expected.
I really wish Ms. Yates would branch out from the innocent young virgin and overly experienced older man. Like, Gold Valley is somehow populated with pristine young ladies but yet the male population has enough other women to be so practiced they probably should be getting tested even years later.  Good Time Cowboy had a woman who was previously married but that's the only one I can recall. Would be nice for more of a shake-up.

Three stars
This book comes out June 18th
Follows Unbroken Cowboy
Followed by Lone Wolf Cowboy
ARC kindly provided by Harlequin and NetGalley
Opinions expressed are my own

Unbroken Cowboy by Maisey Yates

Before a bull tap danced all over him, Dane Parker was a successful bull rider. Before that he and his sister were struggling to stay afloat in a trailer park. Now she's the owner of a winery and he's struggling to move every morning. And everyone keeps giving him these pity-filled looks. Even Bea, his sister's former sister-in-law. But is she just considering him another one of her wounded animals?
Beatrix Leighton has had a crush on Dane since his sister married her brother. But she hasn't been able to articulate that. She's just not that good with other humans. Slowly, however, she learns to be like that with Dane.

Three stars
This book came out April 23rd
Followed by Cowboy to the Core
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley and publisher
Opinions are my own

Untamed Cowboy by Maisey Yates

Kaylee Capshaw knows why she's always had trouble with men. He's a gorgeous pile of best friend named Bennett Dodge. But he barely acknowledges that she's female. They even work together at the Gold Valley's veterinary clinic.
Suddenly, Bennett's life is turned upside down. He has a 15-year-old son that he never knew about. And he turns to his best friend to help him out.
Regular Yates readers won't be disappointed. This is definitely a nice addition to the Gold Valley series. I didn't love Kaylee and Bennett's whole story but overall enjoyed the book.

Four stars
This book comes out June 19
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Smooth-Talking Cowboy by Maisey Yates

We met Olivia in the last book of the Copper Ridge series and she helps to bridge over to the Gold Valley series. She is the prototypical "good twin." Her sister went deep into the dark side so Olivia did her best to always conform to expectations. When she didn't, her parents laid down the law. She's always done what's expected of her.  At least until she broke up with the perfect boyfriend. The impetus was not so much that he didn't propose as he didn't think he was going to do it any time soon. Frustrated, she ended things hoping that he'd see how much he missed her. So far that plan's not working and now she has a flat tire. And who is it that (reluctantly) stops to help her? Her ex's nearly-brother, Luke, the man with whom Olivia has such an antagonistic relationship.
Luke doesn't much like Olivia. She's a golden girl who has never known hardship and has always gotten everything she wanted. He grew up with an alcoholic mother and was more the parent than the child for most of their life together. He just doesn't see what they would have in common. Except that he wants to buy a piece of land her father listed but refuses to let go to just anyone. And Olivia needs some help prompting her ex. Fake relationship? Sure. Except it doesn't stay that way for long.
This was a good book except that Olivia was a little too good. Not good at what she does (wish we had gotten to see her more at work) but goody-two-shoes. And it causes a lot of angst. Like, a lot of angst. And Luke is patently unmovable... until he's not. A pretty good book and I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out February 20
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Followed by Claim Me, Cowboy