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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This 7th installment of Yates’s Gold Valley series is much more intense that the earlier titles, covering such topics as drug addiction & recovery, loss of family, death of friends and subsequent grief and guilt. Jacob Dalton has become a recluse, awash with guilt over the death of his best friend. Vanessa Logan has returned to town after a painful 9-year journey from drug addiction to recovery to take a job teaching art at Gabe Dalton’s new school for at-risk youth. These two first met the night that 17-year-old Vanessa suffered a miscarriage and Jacob was the first responder who came to her aid. They are thrown together again when he is begrudgingly recruited to assist with the troubled students. Will Jacob be able to drive away his demons and take a risk to love and potentially lose another person in his life? Can Vanessa ever rid herself of the stigma of being an addict, especially in the eyes of her unforgiving family? Yates uses the common romantic trope of two damaged people who fight the idea of a committed relationship, thinking that they won’t feel the pain of rejection if they keep their distance. Ultimately, Jacob has to forgive himself and Vanessa has to forgive her family if they both want to avoid the unhealthy patterns that drove them to the brink in the first place.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from HQN through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from HQN through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.5 stars rounded up
Maisey Yates is my go-to when I am in a reading slump or if I want to keep my reading momentum going. Her cowboys never fail me.
Unlike a few of the recent ones I've read from this author, the heroine in this one is not perfect and I love it (I'm a bit over the self-conscious, doesn't know her real beauty, virginal trope).
Vanessa and Jacob ignite something in each other and I felt their rapid love story which started more as chemistry in the beginning was believable.
Its not a perfect story, and parts were a bit repetitive but its a quick page turner with an ending that doesn't disappoint.
Maisey Yates is my go-to when I am in a reading slump or if I want to keep my reading momentum going. Her cowboys never fail me.
Unlike a few of the recent ones I've read from this author, the heroine in this one is not perfect and I love it (I'm a bit over the self-conscious, doesn't know her real beauty, virginal trope).
Vanessa and Jacob ignite something in each other and I felt their rapid love story which started more as chemistry in the beginning was believable.
Its not a perfect story, and parts were a bit repetitive but its a quick page turner with an ending that doesn't disappoint.
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Miscarriage, Grief
Moderate: Sexual assault
I feel like I should preface this review by saying that I am not a romance reader. If I looked through my goodreads shelves, I'm not sure if I would find one single mass market romance other than this one. I have read some quite a few years ago, but they're not really my thing. I saw Lone Wolf Cowboy mentioned on NPR books as a good one that came out this month, so I thought I'd expand my horizons and give it a try. I mention that because I know people who are more devoted to the genre may have different feelings about that then I do, so take my review with a grain of salt.
The book starts out with Vanessa returning to her home town, which she had left ten years prior as a teenage drug addict. She got sober a few years ago, and has come back to work as an art therapist at a ranch school for troubled kids. Almost as soon as she arrives, she runs into Jacob Dalton, a former EMT who had saved her life years earlier. As it turns out, Jacob is also helping out at the new school, so he and Vanessa will be seeing a lot of each other, even though things are already awkward between them.
As their attraction to one another heats up, they both hold back from the relationship because of things in their past. Vanessa uses her history of recovering from addiction and her work as an art therapist to try to move past it, while Jacob shuts down and keeps her emotionally at arm's length. The story as a whole is about the two of them confronting things in their past and deciding whether or not they have a future together.
The reason I've given Lone Wolf Cowboy two stars is that I found it very repetitive. Every single conversation was very therapy-ish... it was just overdone. Every character in the book, not just the main ones, seemed to have a need to analyze their feelings on every page. I know that was the theme of the book, but for me it was tedious. Even though I felt like the therapy thing was pushed over the top, I do like that it was presented as a huge part of Vanessa's recovery, and that she was able to use it to help other people even if they weren't ready to jump into their feelings head first. I also would have liked a crisis with a bit more action to keep things interesting.
On a positive note, I do think I could see myself reading another book by Maisey Yates. I was interested in her characters, and her writing style was nice. I was a little afraid this was going to involve cheesy cowboy dialogue (again, this isn't my usual style of book), but that wasn't the case at all. It is also necessary to mention that she is good at writing the sexy times stuff.
The book starts out with Vanessa returning to her home town, which she had left ten years prior as a teenage drug addict. She got sober a few years ago, and has come back to work as an art therapist at a ranch school for troubled kids. Almost as soon as she arrives, she runs into Jacob Dalton, a former EMT who had saved her life years earlier. As it turns out, Jacob is also helping out at the new school, so he and Vanessa will be seeing a lot of each other, even though things are already awkward between them.
As their attraction to one another heats up, they both hold back from the relationship because of things in their past. Vanessa uses her history of recovering from addiction and her work as an art therapist to try to move past it, while Jacob shuts down and keeps her emotionally at arm's length. The story as a whole is about the two of them confronting things in their past and deciding whether or not they have a future together.
The reason I've given Lone Wolf Cowboy two stars is that I found it very repetitive. Every single conversation was very therapy-ish... it was just overdone. Every character in the book, not just the main ones, seemed to have a need to analyze their feelings on every page. I know that was the theme of the book, but for me it was tedious. Even though I felt like the therapy thing was pushed over the top, I do like that it was presented as a huge part of Vanessa's recovery, and that she was able to use it to help other people even if they weren't ready to jump into their feelings head first. I also would have liked a crisis with a bit more action to keep things interesting.
On a positive note, I do think I could see myself reading another book by Maisey Yates. I was interested in her characters, and her writing style was nice. I was a little afraid this was going to involve cheesy cowboy dialogue (again, this isn't my usual style of book), but that wasn't the case at all. It is also necessary to mention that she is good at writing the sexy times stuff.
Note: If my review is not subtle enough, there may be a spoiler in here so if you think you might read the novel, you should pass on reading my review.
I have never been disappointed in a Maisey Yates’ novel before until Lone Wolf Cowboy.
https://saschadarlington.me/2019/10/08/review-of-lone-wolf-cowboy/#.XZ4EN0ZKhPY
I have never been disappointed in a Maisey Yates’ novel before until Lone Wolf Cowboy.
https://saschadarlington.me/2019/10/08/review-of-lone-wolf-cowboy/#.XZ4EN0ZKhPY