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condygurl's review
4.0
Since this book's blurb tells so much about the book I won't go into that in my review.
I will say the characters are fun, I've not read any of the other books in the series and I do plan to now go back and read the other books to find out more.
Strong 4-star book.
I will say the characters are fun, I've not read any of the other books in the series and I do plan to now go back and read the other books to find out more.
Strong 4-star book.
tammy_m_nc's review
4.0
April and Cole - the accountant and the gambler
This is book 4 in the Three Sisters Ranch series. April is the serious, driven, accountant who takes care of everyone Grayson sister. When she is laid off from her accounting firm in Austin, she takes the risk and moves home to Last Stand to start her own accounting firm. She also decides she needs to add more wild Grayson sister to her repertoire. Her list includes a one night stand. The one night stand just happens to be with Cole Lockwood, the bad boy she had a crush on in high school. Cole was a professional poker player but has spent the last several years caring for his elderly parents who are ill and working three jobs trying to pay off the resulting medical bills and home renovations. April’s one night stand gets more complicated when it turns out she will be working in the same office as Cole while she’s doing accounting work for his boss. Cole’s gambling to make the money necessary to help his parents has the careful planner in April hyperventilating but the wild Grayson sister is trying to let it go. This book has a little bit of everything - sweet moments, strong friendships, loving families, sexy times, real life issues, imperfect characters, and so much love. I especially like when real issues - like financial problems, addiction, and medical issues - are included in romances, it makes for more three dimensional characters and more well rounded storylines. I will definitely keep reading more of this series.
This is book 4 in the Three Sisters Ranch series. April is the serious, driven, accountant who takes care of everyone Grayson sister. When she is laid off from her accounting firm in Austin, she takes the risk and moves home to Last Stand to start her own accounting firm. She also decides she needs to add more wild Grayson sister to her repertoire. Her list includes a one night stand. The one night stand just happens to be with Cole Lockwood, the bad boy she had a crush on in high school. Cole was a professional poker player but has spent the last several years caring for his elderly parents who are ill and working three jobs trying to pay off the resulting medical bills and home renovations. April’s one night stand gets more complicated when it turns out she will be working in the same office as Cole while she’s doing accounting work for his boss. Cole’s gambling to make the money necessary to help his parents has the careful planner in April hyperventilating but the wild Grayson sister is trying to let it go. This book has a little bit of everything - sweet moments, strong friendships, loving families, sexy times, real life issues, imperfect characters, and so much love. I especially like when real issues - like financial problems, addiction, and medical issues - are included in romances, it makes for more three dimensional characters and more well rounded storylines. I will definitely keep reading more of this series.
mssarahbni's review
3.0
I received this as an arc for my honest review
This was an okay story but I just didn’t feel it. It had steam alright but not really anything else that appealed to me.
This was an okay story but I just didn’t feel it. It had steam alright but not really anything else that appealed to me.
allingoodtime's review
3.0
It’s no secret that I have a problem with taking things out of order. When this book was offered up to me as an ARC from the publisher, I almost passed it by. It is book 4 in a series I haven’t read yet. But, for the most part, I have really enjoyed this author’s writing in the past with one small bump in the road with a book from last year. I decided to hope for the best since I haven’t read anything from the author in almost a year. I shouldn’t have been afraid of the 4th in series thing, it didn’t mess with the story at all. Sure, I could tell that other stories had been told before this one, but it was easy to catch onto the dynamics of the town and the people surrounding the main characters. Nope, that wasn’t my problem with this book at all. But this story also wasn’t all that I was hoping or expecting.
Overall, April and Cole are both amazing people. They both care deeply for those around them, try to help out their loved ones, and tend to give their all even when they’re not getting it back. And while I understand that we’re all human and everyone has character flaws (wouldn’t the world be boring if everyone was perfect?), some of their issues just rubbed me the wrong way.
April’s solution to Cole’s money issues was a bit annoying. Yes, she’s a CPA and had great ideas. She wasn’t taking anyone’s feelings into account though. And instead of understanding that when it was even explained to her, she still pushed the issue too many times for my liking. Which, to me, didn’t really fit with her character in other ways. April has always been the one to be responsible and take care of business in her family, but she’s not unfeeling. In fact, she has a huge heart. So it didn’t make sense.
It often felt that the author was trying so hard to explain Cole’s gambling as a job that it was a case of “the lady doth protest too much”. His justifications and explanations made total sense, until he didn’t follow his own rules and ended up making terrible choices and hurting himself and all of his loved ones with his actions. Again, it didn’t quite feel authentic to his character as he was written in the beginning.
There was still a lot that worked with this story. April and Cole have great chemistry and had me rooting for them. Their second-chance romance was very sweet since they never really had a romance in the first place so neither realized it was a second chance for the other as well as for themselves. And I always love a story where one of the characters has a list of things to do and the love interest helps them…especially when there’s skinny dipping involved!
The very first story I read by this author was Necessary Evil, the first book in the Sentinels of Babylon series. The second book in that series, Sentinel’s Kiss, came out in 2017. I’ve been waiting since that time for another book because I loved the first two. Well, I just saw that book 3 finally was released earlier this week! Now, do I try to find time in my packed schedule to re-read those first two, or just dive right in to Warden’s Woman? I think this author’s spicier (for lack of a better word) stories are much more engaging. She seems to get deeper into her characters in those stories. Those are the stories I want to read from her.
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**
You can find more of my reviews at All In Good Time.
Overall, April and Cole are both amazing people. They both care deeply for those around them, try to help out their loved ones, and tend to give their all even when they’re not getting it back. And while I understand that we’re all human and everyone has character flaws (wouldn’t the world be boring if everyone was perfect?), some of their issues just rubbed me the wrong way.
April’s solution to Cole’s money issues was a bit annoying. Yes, she’s a CPA and had great ideas. She wasn’t taking anyone’s feelings into account though. And instead of understanding that when it was even explained to her, she still pushed the issue too many times for my liking. Which, to me, didn’t really fit with her character in other ways. April has always been the one to be responsible and take care of business in her family, but she’s not unfeeling. In fact, she has a huge heart. So it didn’t make sense.
It often felt that the author was trying so hard to explain Cole’s gambling as a job that it was a case of “the lady doth protest too much”. His justifications and explanations made total sense, until he didn’t follow his own rules and ended up making terrible choices and hurting himself and all of his loved ones with his actions. Again, it didn’t quite feel authentic to his character as he was written in the beginning.
There was still a lot that worked with this story. April and Cole have great chemistry and had me rooting for them. Their second-chance romance was very sweet since they never really had a romance in the first place so neither realized it was a second chance for the other as well as for themselves. And I always love a story where one of the characters has a list of things to do and the love interest helps them…especially when there’s skinny dipping involved!
The very first story I read by this author was Necessary Evil, the first book in the Sentinels of Babylon series. The second book in that series, Sentinel’s Kiss, came out in 2017. I’ve been waiting since that time for another book because I loved the first two. Well, I just saw that book 3 finally was released earlier this week! Now, do I try to find time in my packed schedule to re-read those first two, or just dive right in to Warden’s Woman? I think this author’s spicier (for lack of a better word) stories are much more engaging. She seems to get deeper into her characters in those stories. Those are the stories I want to read from her.
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**
You can find more of my reviews at All In Good Time.