Publisher: Harlequin American Romance
Publish Date: Out Now
How I got this book: NetGalley
Aidan “Ace” Hart left Flynn McKinley heartbroken when he put family duty above her feelings. Then one night, the old passions were reignited and now Flynn is about to get something she’s always wanted–a child to love.Ace takes his responsibilities very seriously. Running Thunder Ranch and his busy veterinary practice leaves little time for a personal life. That’ll only get worse now that he’s spending every spare minute with Midnight, the champion rodeo stallion he hopes will save the ranch from financial disaster.
Flynn refuses to marry Ace and be yet one more “responsibility” to him. She wants Ace to “want” to marry her And until he admits he loves her, she’s determined to raise her baby alone…
*Blurb from Goodreads*
I downloaded McDavid’s novella that kicked off this new series, and I was sucked into the small town and the folks within it. So when I saw the first novel pop up on NetGalley, I knew I would have to get my dose of sexy cowboy.
Flynn and Ace are next door neighbors, business competitors, and come from families that can rival the Hatfield and Mccoy rivalry. But they have also been friends, and as kids were even star-crossed lovers. Now that they are adults, Flynn is hoping they might have a chance to pick up their relationship and move past the family BS and be together. What Flynn never expected was to get knocked up and wondering if the love of her life only wants to be with her for their child, or if he actually cares.
Ace has put his family before himself for longer than he can remember. He picks up the slack day in and day out, and the thought of adding a baby to the mix scares him as much as it excites him. Given the fact that Flynn is the mother makes Ace that much more excited. He’s wanted her for longer than he can remember, but what does a workaholic vet and rancher have to offer his dream woman?
I actually quite liked this book. There is something about the friends to lovers, star crossed lovers, secret baby, cowboy hero that just does it for me. Throw them all into one, and while it can be a little overloaded at times, I really liked both Ace and Flynn and their romance.
One of the things I really liked about this book was despite the fact that Flynn was head over heels in love with Ace, she also stuck to her guns. She didn’t want to marry him for the baby, she wanted love and affection and adoration and all the good things that come with marriage. While it was obvious that saying no broke her heart a little each time, I liked seeing her stick to her desires, and making Ace really work at courting her, wooing her. It made for a fun romance read.
While I liked Ace and was glad to see Flynn push him into really romancing her, he did annoy me at times. He was so wrapped up in his own life, his ranch, his family, that he had a hard time stepping out of the box and looking at life from another angle. He couldn’t see why Flynn wasn’t falling at his feet at the idea of a convenient marriage, and he couldn’t seem to get over his brother’s faults to see the man he was becoming. I definitely wanted to find some way to help Ace snap outta his little bubble and get him to see what was going on in everyone else life around him.
I have to say though, the little dates that Ace took Flynn on were sweet, and the romance was one that I enjoyed reading from start to finish. It was obvious that Ace tried, and once the lights started coming on for him, he really did try everything he could think of to get Flynn to stay with him, be with him.
I’m a little anxious to read the remainder of the books in this ongoing series, not because I don’t like the secondary characters, but more because the authors will be switching from book to book. When I saw the list of other authors, I didn’t recognize any of their names off hand, and while some of the secondary characters intrigued me enough to give it a shot, I will be a little hesitant to read more of the series.
All in all I really enjoyed this sweeter cowboy romance book. It wasn’t as smutty as most of the other cowboy books I’ve read, and I liked the change. Both Flynn and Ace were great characters, and watching them navigate the murky waters of feuding families and a complicated past with a baby in their future, was a sweet experience. I enjoy the theme of the series being all about one particular horse as well, I think it’s a neat way to tie together the characters and town.
I give Aiden: Loyal Cowboy a C+
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