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trudyd's review against another edition
4.0
This is a feel good Christmas story. Liam had fled Copper Ridge 12 years ago. He might not have realized it but he left his heart behind. Sabrina holds his heart but he shattered hers. Twelve years have gone by and now Liam has returned.
Their dance to love was fun to watch. She is angry. He feels unworthy. He fears love. He fears Sabrina. They are forced together when Liam wants to create store blending the winery she works for and Liam's family cheese factory. Liam will do anything to keep close to Sabrina. His brilliance must be rewarded. Chemistry steams up the pages. The question is will the chemistry continue to sizzle.
Their dance to love was fun to watch. She is angry. He feels unworthy. He fears love. He fears Sabrina. They are forced together when Liam wants to create store blending the winery she works for and Liam's family cheese factory. Liam will do anything to keep close to Sabrina. His brilliance must be rewarded. Chemistry steams up the pages. The question is will the chemistry continue to sizzle.
scoutmomskf's review against another edition
3.0
Good second chance/enemies-to-lovers story, though frustration with both characters made it a little harder to invest in their story fully. Sabrina was the daughter of the local winery owner and Liam, the boy from the wrong side of the tracks. The summer she was seventeen, Liam came to work at the winery, where the two of them quickly became friends. That friendship developed into a big crush on Sabrina's part. Sabrina's father noticed and offered Liam a hefty chunk of change to leave town. Right after that offer, Sabrina offered herself to Liam. Knowing he wasn't good enough for her, he turned her down, took the money, and left town, breaking her heart.
Thirteen years later, Liam is back, a wealthy businessman who is working with his brothers at Laughing Irish ranch. He has plans to partner with Sabrina's family's winery. When Sabrina is tasked with partnering with Liam to get the new tasting room up and running, she is not happy. She has done her best to avoid him since his return, but now she has no choice. She plans to keep things professional and lock down any lingering feelings.
That viewpoint doesn't last past their first meeting. The sparks flew as they faced off over the past. I liked that they cleared the air between them, as that opened the door to a better working relationship. But physical attraction simmered under that improvement. It doesn't take too long before they decide to carry on a no-strings affair with an end-date of the tasting room's Christmas opening. The banter between them is quick-witted and fun. The more time they spend together, the closer they get, and some confidences are shared. There were some sweet scenes of the time they spent together, as well as some steamy ones. As the time for the opening grew closer, both Liam and Sabrina had to face the future. Sabrina chooses to protect her heart, while Liam was ready to keep going for as long as they could. I hurt for both of them as their roles reversed, and Sabrina was the one to walk away.
I ached for Liam. What he went through as a child was horrific, and it's not surprising that he holds back the way he does. It's hard for him to believe that anyone would want him for himself, including his family members. Be that as it may, I still became very frustrated with his attitude that he was good enough to sleep with Sabrina, but not for a relationship. I liked seeing all three brothers call him out on his attitude, and try to break through the walls he built up. The confrontation between Liam and Alex finally opened his eyes and heart.
Sabrina provided some frustrating moments also. She was so stuck in the past that she didn't do much dating, much less form a relationship with anyone. She was much stronger than she believed she was, but it took her almost the whole book to realize it. I liked seeing her confront her father over the way he treated her, then and now. It didn't make me like him any better, but I was happy to see the effect it had on Sabrina. I did wish that she dared to tell Liam her feelings, but I understood her hesitation.
The ending was emotional as Liam was able to open himself up and show Sabrina that he was there for the long haul, that he was done walking away. Sabrina could finally trust that she didn't have to fear rejection any longer. I enjoyed the epilogue and seeing where all four brothers and their families are. It was a nice wrap-up to the quartet about the Donnelly brothers.
Thirteen years later, Liam is back, a wealthy businessman who is working with his brothers at Laughing Irish ranch. He has plans to partner with Sabrina's family's winery. When Sabrina is tasked with partnering with Liam to get the new tasting room up and running, she is not happy. She has done her best to avoid him since his return, but now she has no choice. She plans to keep things professional and lock down any lingering feelings.
That viewpoint doesn't last past their first meeting. The sparks flew as they faced off over the past. I liked that they cleared the air between them, as that opened the door to a better working relationship. But physical attraction simmered under that improvement. It doesn't take too long before they decide to carry on a no-strings affair with an end-date of the tasting room's Christmas opening. The banter between them is quick-witted and fun. The more time they spend together, the closer they get, and some confidences are shared. There were some sweet scenes of the time they spent together, as well as some steamy ones. As the time for the opening grew closer, both Liam and Sabrina had to face the future. Sabrina chooses to protect her heart, while Liam was ready to keep going for as long as they could. I hurt for both of them as their roles reversed, and Sabrina was the one to walk away.
I ached for Liam. What he went through as a child was horrific, and it's not surprising that he holds back the way he does. It's hard for him to believe that anyone would want him for himself, including his family members. Be that as it may, I still became very frustrated with his attitude that he was good enough to sleep with Sabrina, but not for a relationship. I liked seeing all three brothers call him out on his attitude, and try to break through the walls he built up. The confrontation between Liam and Alex finally opened his eyes and heart.
Sabrina provided some frustrating moments also. She was so stuck in the past that she didn't do much dating, much less form a relationship with anyone. She was much stronger than she believed she was, but it took her almost the whole book to realize it. I liked seeing her confront her father over the way he treated her, then and now. It didn't make me like him any better, but I was happy to see the effect it had on Sabrina. I did wish that she dared to tell Liam her feelings, but I understood her hesitation.
The ending was emotional as Liam was able to open himself up and show Sabrina that he was there for the long haul, that he was done walking away. Sabrina could finally trust that she didn't have to fear rejection any longer. I enjoyed the epilogue and seeing where all four brothers and their families are. It was a nice wrap-up to the quartet about the Donnelly brothers.
canra's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-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? Yes
3.25
aspygirlsmom_1995's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kaynic22's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
attytheresa's review against another edition
2.0
Oh dear. This one came perilously close to being a 1 star read -- and given how I adore Christmas romances, that's saying a lot! It needed to be a good 100 pages shorter - would have made a lovely holiday novella, which Yates has frequently written.
What was so bad? Well, let's start with the 30 year old virgin trope. Seriously? Sabrina kept her virginity for 13 years after being rejected in high school by local tattooed bad boy Liam, who the day after rejecting her took a payout from Sabrina's rich but cold daddy to leave his daughter alone, left town, got a fancy college education, became a Wall Street tycoon and wealthy as sin. Sabrina meanwhile became alienated/disowned by her father, put herself through local college and basically became a 21st century nun.
Some version of the word 'virgin' is repeated 19 times in the book...about 18 times too many.
So it's now 13 years later, Sabrina has returned to town working in the family winery which is about to embark on a joint project with Liam's family's business (a ranch but with cows making cheese and selling milk, not cattle selling beef - sorry that's a farm, even in Oregon, not a ranch, but of course farmers are not nearly as romantically sexy as cowboys, hence a ranch centered on dairy production. This was a huge ding for me -- but I digress) and guess what? Super rich bad boy Liam is back in town having abandonned the Wall Street tycoon life for milking cows (like THAT would really happen!) and will be taking lead on this joint project - a tasting room in downtown Copper Ridge, OR. And there we have the basic plot: Sabrina and Liam meet again, there are fireworks because Sabrina still harbors rejection anger and Liam always lusted after her and still does, even though he's been a slut for the last 13 years and doesn't believe in relationships. Sabrina decides that to 'cure' herself of her obsession with Liam and get past the anger, she will sleep with him finally unburdening herself of that virginity mentioned 19 times (points given for the female lead to seek the 'cure' for desiring someone by having sex with them to 'get it out of her system' - usually this is a male trope). Of course, that backfires, they have an affair, insisting to themselves, each other, and all others, that they don't love each other and it can just be a temporary affair, before finally getting their HEA, one that was rushed in the last 3 chapters of the book. Also in those last 3 chapters, Sabrina reconciles with her father and Liam. Yup busy 3 chapters but they were almost worth slogging through the rest.
I deducted points because of passages like this:
"She could hardly breathe. He wanted her. He wanted her, and he was in a state of discomfort over it.
She held the keys to his celibacy."
That celibacy had existed for a whole nanosecond....
However, it got a few points for descriptions like 'drama llama', 'penis logic' and 'you spent how long playing dramatic opera heroine over the same guy?" and "did you just stand there, all stoic and unruffled." Yeah, that last one is corny but sometimes corny is just right.
Yes, there are a couple of hot steamy sex scenes .... except not so great IMHO. Sabrina has much discomfort of course initially because she's, you know, a VIRGIN! And Liam is unable to control himself and take a slower pace because oh boy, he's finally 'having' Sabrina! The second encounter is on the hardwood floor of Sabrina's living room and no she's not on top - all I could think is 'OUCH', especially as Liam, you know, can't wait. There is more than a touch of brutality rather than passion in the scenes. Even the one under the Christmas Tree in the not yet open tasting room, while starting off passionate and romantic gets a little too edgy in the end. In fact, Sabrina barely gets any satisfaction in these scenes, which pisses me off. So even the sex is dinged in my rating and that's just wrong for a Christmas romance!
There you have it - a very disappointing cowboy christmas romance read. I have a couple of Yates' novella holiday stories I'll read but I'm not about to succumb to any further. Especially not the virginal Olivia's story that was being set up in this one...
What was so bad? Well, let's start with the 30 year old virgin trope. Seriously? Sabrina kept her virginity for 13 years after being rejected in high school by local tattooed bad boy Liam, who the day after rejecting her took a payout from Sabrina's rich but cold daddy to leave his daughter alone, left town, got a fancy college education, became a Wall Street tycoon and wealthy as sin. Sabrina meanwhile became alienated/disowned by her father, put herself through local college and basically became a 21st century nun.
Some version of the word 'virgin' is repeated 19 times in the book...about 18 times too many.
So it's now 13 years later, Sabrina has returned to town working in the family winery which is about to embark on a joint project with Liam's family's business (a ranch but with cows making cheese and selling milk, not cattle selling beef - sorry that's a farm, even in Oregon, not a ranch, but of course farmers are not nearly as romantically sexy as cowboys, hence a ranch centered on dairy production. This was a huge ding for me -- but I digress) and guess what? Super rich bad boy Liam is back in town having abandonned the Wall Street tycoon life for milking cows (like THAT would really happen!) and will be taking lead on this joint project - a tasting room in downtown Copper Ridge, OR. And there we have the basic plot: Sabrina and Liam meet again, there are fireworks because Sabrina still harbors rejection anger and Liam always lusted after her and still does, even though he's been a slut for the last 13 years and doesn't believe in relationships. Sabrina decides that to 'cure' herself of her obsession with Liam and get past the anger, she will sleep with him finally unburdening herself of that virginity mentioned 19 times (points given for the female lead to seek the 'cure' for desiring someone by having sex with them to 'get it out of her system' - usually this is a male trope). Of course, that backfires, they have an affair, insisting to themselves, each other, and all others, that they don't love each other and it can just be a temporary affair, before finally getting their HEA, one that was rushed in the last 3 chapters of the book. Also in those last 3 chapters, Sabrina reconciles with her father and Liam
Spoiler
finally tells his siblings about the atrocious abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother while a child, something he had stoicly hidden from all, including his younger brother, forever (although given what that abuse was, how his younger brother didn't notice is a mystery)I deducted points because of passages like this:
"She could hardly breathe. He wanted her. He wanted her, and he was in a state of discomfort over it.
She held the keys to his celibacy."
That celibacy had existed for a whole nanosecond....
However, it got a few points for descriptions like 'drama llama', 'penis logic' and 'you spent how long playing dramatic opera heroine over the same guy?" and "did you just stand there, all stoic and unruffled." Yeah, that last one is corny but sometimes corny is just right.
Yes, there are a couple of hot steamy sex scenes .... except not so great IMHO. Sabrina has much discomfort of course initially because she's, you know, a VIRGIN! And Liam is unable to control himself and take a slower pace because oh boy, he's finally 'having' Sabrina! The second encounter is on the hardwood floor of Sabrina's living room and no she's not on top - all I could think is 'OUCH', especially as Liam, you know, can't wait. There is more than a touch of brutality rather than passion in the scenes. Even the one under the Christmas Tree in the not yet open tasting room, while starting off passionate and romantic gets a little too edgy in the end. In fact, Sabrina barely gets any satisfaction in these scenes, which pisses me off. So even the sex is dinged in my rating and that's just wrong for a Christmas romance!
There you have it - a very disappointing cowboy christmas romance read. I have a couple of Yates' novella holiday stories I'll read but I'm not about to succumb to any further. Especially not the virginal Olivia's story that was being set up in this one...
tiredfangirl's review against another edition
slow-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
attytheresa's review against another edition
2.0
Oh dear. This one came perilously close to being a 1 star read -- and given how I adore Christmas romances, that's saying a lot! It needed to be a good 100 pages shorter - would have made a lovely holiday novella, which Yates has frequently written.
What was so bad? Well, let's start with the 30 year old virgin trope. Seriously? Sabrina kept her virginity for 13 years after being rejected in high school by local tattooed bad boy Liam, who the day after rejecting her took a payout from Sabrina's rich but cold daddy to leave his daughter alone, left town, got a fancy college education, became a Wall Street tycoon and wealthy as sin. Sabrina meanwhile became alienated/disowned by her father, put herself through local college and basically became a 21st century nun.
Some version of the word 'virgin' is repeated 19 times in the book...about 18 times too many.
So it's now 13 years later, Sabrina has returned to town working in the family winery which is about to embark on a joint project with Liam's family's business (a ranch but with cows making cheese and selling milk, not cattle selling beef - sorry that's a farm, even in Oregon, not a ranch, but of course farmers are not nearly as romantically sexy as cowboys, hence a ranch centered on dairy production. This was a huge ding for me -- but I digress) and guess what? Super rich bad boy Liam is back in town having abandonned the Wall Street tycoon life for milking cows (like THAT would really happen!) and will be taking lead on this joint project - a tasting room in downtown Copper Ridge, OR. And there we have the basic plot: Sabrina and Liam meet again, there are fireworks because Sabrina still harbors rejection anger and Liam always lusted after her and still does, even though he's been a slut for the last 13 years and doesn't believe in relationships. Sabrina decides that to 'cure' herself of her obsession with Liam and get past the anger, she will sleep with him finally unburdening herself of that virginity mentioned 19 times (points given for the female lead to seek the 'cure' for desiring someone by having sex with them to 'get it out of her system' - usually this is a male trope). Of course, that backfires, they have an affair, insisting to themselves, each other, and all others, that they don't love each other and it can just be a temporary affair, before finally getting their HEA, one that was rushed in the last 3 chapters of the book. Also in those last 3 chapters, Sabrina reconciles with her father and Liam. Yup busy 3 chapters but they were almost worth slogging through the rest.
I deducted points because of passages like this:
"She could hardly breathe. He wanted her. He wanted her, and he was in a state of discomfort over it.
She held the keys to his celibacy."
That celibacy had existed for a whole nanosecond....
However, it got a few points for descriptions like 'drama llama', 'penis logic' and 'you spent how long playing dramatic opera heroine over the same guy?" and "did you just stand there, all stoic and unruffled." Yeah, that last one is corny but sometimes corny is just right.
Yes, there are a couple of hot steamy sex scenes .... except not so great IMHO. Sabrina has much discomfort of course initially because she's, you know, a VIRGIN! And Liam is unable to control himself and take a slower pace because oh boy, he's finally 'having' Sabrina! The second encounter is on the hardwood floor of Sabrina's living room and no she's not on top - all I could think is 'OUCH', especially as Liam, you know, can't wait. There is more than a touch of brutality rather than passion in the scenes. Even the one under the Christmas Tree in the not yet open tasting room, while starting off passionate and romantic gets a little too edgy in the end. In fact, Sabrina barely gets any satisfaction in these scenes, which pisses me off. So even the sex is dinged in my rating and that's just wrong for a Christmas romance!
There you have it - a very disappointing cowboy christmas romance read. I have a couple of Yates' novella holiday stories I'll read but I'm not about to succumb to any further. Especially not the virginal Olivia's story that was being set up in this one...
What was so bad? Well, let's start with the 30 year old virgin trope. Seriously? Sabrina kept her virginity for 13 years after being rejected in high school by local tattooed bad boy Liam, who the day after rejecting her took a payout from Sabrina's rich but cold daddy to leave his daughter alone, left town, got a fancy college education, became a Wall Street tycoon and wealthy as sin. Sabrina meanwhile became alienated/disowned by her father, put herself through local college and basically became a 21st century nun.
Some version of the word 'virgin' is repeated 19 times in the book...about 18 times too many.
So it's now 13 years later, Sabrina has returned to town working in the family winery which is about to embark on a joint project with Liam's family's business (a ranch but with cows making cheese and selling milk, not cattle selling beef - sorry that's a farm, even in Oregon, not a ranch, but of course farmers are not nearly as romantically sexy as cowboys, hence a ranch centered on dairy production. This was a huge ding for me -- but I digress) and guess what? Super rich bad boy Liam is back in town having abandonned the Wall Street tycoon life for milking cows (like THAT would really happen!) and will be taking lead on this joint project - a tasting room in downtown Copper Ridge, OR. And there we have the basic plot: Sabrina and Liam meet again, there are fireworks because Sabrina still harbors rejection anger and Liam always lusted after her and still does, even though he's been a slut for the last 13 years and doesn't believe in relationships. Sabrina decides that to 'cure' herself of her obsession with Liam and get past the anger, she will sleep with him finally unburdening herself of that virginity mentioned 19 times (points given for the female lead to seek the 'cure' for desiring someone by having sex with them to 'get it out of her system' - usually this is a male trope). Of course, that backfires, they have an affair, insisting to themselves, each other, and all others, that they don't love each other and it can just be a temporary affair, before finally getting their HEA, one that was rushed in the last 3 chapters of the book. Also in those last 3 chapters, Sabrina reconciles with her father and Liam
Spoiler
finally tells his siblings about the atrocious abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother while a child, something he had stoicly hidden from all, including his younger brother, forever (although given what that abuse was, how his younger brother didn't notice is a mystery)I deducted points because of passages like this:
"She could hardly breathe. He wanted her. He wanted her, and he was in a state of discomfort over it.
She held the keys to his celibacy."
That celibacy had existed for a whole nanosecond....
However, it got a few points for descriptions like 'drama llama', 'penis logic' and 'you spent how long playing dramatic opera heroine over the same guy?" and "did you just stand there, all stoic and unruffled." Yeah, that last one is corny but sometimes corny is just right.
Yes, there are a couple of hot steamy sex scenes .... except not so great IMHO. Sabrina has much discomfort of course initially because she's, you know, a VIRGIN! And Liam is unable to control himself and take a slower pace because oh boy, he's finally 'having' Sabrina! The second encounter is on the hardwood floor of Sabrina's living room and no she's not on top - all I could think is 'OUCH', especially as Liam, you know, can't wait. There is more than a touch of brutality rather than passion in the scenes. Even the one under the Christmas Tree in the not yet open tasting room, while starting off passionate and romantic gets a little too edgy in the end. In fact, Sabrina barely gets any satisfaction in these scenes, which pisses me off. So even the sex is dinged in my rating and that's just wrong for a Christmas romance!
There you have it - a very disappointing cowboy christmas romance read. I have a couple of Yates' novella holiday stories I'll read but I'm not about to succumb to any further. Especially not the virginal Olivia's story that was being set up in this one...
laceyslibrarybooksta's review against another edition
3.0
happy to be finished this series. hoping to come back to more Maisey Yates after I've taken a break.