A review by scorchingnix
Rocky Mountain Rebel by Vivian Arend

5.0

I love, love, love this series and I think it’s getting better with each book. In this one, we have a reformed bad-boy taking up with the girl that the town thinks is the bad-girl to try to rectify both of their reputations. What they find is something more precious, but will it be enough for each of them to forget the self-imposed deadline they put on their tryst?

I’m not sure what I felt overall for Vicki but they were all good feelings to have for a heroine. I pitied her upbringing and undeserved reputation but mostly I was impressed by her resilience and strength. She had had the unfortunate label of easy because of her Mother and Sister’s habits of slipping in and out of men’s beds whether they are available or not. When she approached Joel it is simply to get him to teach her about horses but their side deal allows her to figure out what she has been missing from relationships whilst trying to restore her image. Her innocence and joy at the little things he does are so sweet but I have to say thing I enjoyed the most was the fact that, even though she could have easily gone the other way, she loved discovering her sexuality and wasn’t afraid to experiment. She should have realized much sooner that she was falling for the lovely Joel as her trust in him shone through their scenes and made their romance that more real to me.

Joel is a hero that wants out of his old-life. He is tired of being one of the wild twins and wants to become a person in his own right. The deal that Vicki offers him gives him a girlfriend of his own which he thinks will show everyone that he is capable of settling down in some semblance of normality. Of course, he doesn’t quite anticipate the amount of trouble that Vicki inadvertently brings his way and, once he has discovered just how unfair her reputation truly is, the protective part of him won’t allow him to walk away from the deal. I loved him. The way he takes care of her when she has been hit, the way he never questions her innocence, the way he takes it upon herself to try to give her the things he thinks every girl should have when they are wooed...it all made me swoon. He was such a good man I couldn’t help but adore him.

The sex was not only hot but quite amusing. The warning in the blurb calls it “youthful vigor” and I couldn’t have put it better myself. They get caught in compromising positions by most of the family, they fool around whilst camping and they break a bed… Oh to be that young and full of energy again J It was ridiculously hot and adventurous but it did serve to remind me how young these two actually were. There were points in the book where I wondered if they were too young to be thinking of forever.

Overall, this is a fantastic edition to the series. Hot cowboy men, sassy women and some fantastic barn action make this book one of my favorites. It didn’t hurt that it featured cameo’s from some of the other couples too J This is one hot read…..