Lucky Break
Clean Slate Ranch Book 4) Kindle Edition
by A.M. Arthur
Welcome to Clean Slate Ranch: home of tight jeans, cowboy boots and rough trails. For some men, it’s a fantasy come true.
Shawn Matthews never imagined he’d be living out of his car, trying to make ends meet, but life doesn’t always go your way—he knows that better than most. When an accident leaves the Clean Slate Ranch shorthanded, Shawn is enlisted to help cook and finds himself bunked next to the sexiest cowboy he’s ever laid eyes on.
The first time Robin Butler spots the new chef, he thinks he’s seeing an actual ghost. Shawn is the spitting image of his late husband, and it spooks the hell out of him. The former rodeo-star-turned-ranch-hand does his best to avoid the soft-spoken cook—except it’s kind of tough when the man makes the best damn grub this side of the Mississippi and has a boy-next-door charm that’s impossible to resist.
Even though the tension between them practically sizzles, Shawn doesn’t do hookups and Robin isn’t ready for a new relationship. Besides, Robin can tell Shawn’s been hurt and deserves a partner who isn’t saddled with a tragic past. But chemistry doesn’t lie. Maybe finding each other—and a second chance at love—is the lucky break they both need.
Momma Says: 2 stars⭐⭐
Lucky Break is part of the Clean Slate Ranch series, and while past characters are in this one, it can stand on its own. That said, this book drove me crazy. The pacing is incredibly slow, like moves as a snail's pace slow for about two-thirds of the way through. In fact, I set this one aside several times and even thought about giving it up more than once. I felt like I was just meandering along waiting for something to happen. I did like Robin's patience with Shawn, and both guys had their own issues to work through, but the many what-ifs began to grow tedious long before anything substantial happened between this pair. Even after they decide to explore their attraction, the doubt continues, and it continues some more. Yes, I completely get that Shawn had plenty of reason to be insecure, but his inner monologue of doubt about the relationship was repetitive and after a while, annoying. But here's the thing - these guys talk about a ton of stuff, they talk about their feelings, about their experience or lack of in Shawn's case, about family, and so on. They talk about everything except the important stuff, and when that stuff is all revealed, none of it is anything that would break them up. In fact, anyone who would leave someone over the things these guys are dealing with wouldn't be worth the time or trouble. So, in the end, I just didn't get it. This one could've easily been cut in half, and we still would've gotten the meat of the story, and the angst level would've been significantly lower. I have no problem with angsty romances, but this felt like angst just for the sake of angst. I read the last book in this series and liked it enough to continue with this one, but I think this may be the end of the Clean Slate Ranch series as far as I'm concerned.
Lucky Break is part of the Clean Slate Ranch series, and while past characters are in this one, it can stand on its own. That said, this book drove me crazy. The pacing is incredibly slow, like moves as a snail's pace slow for about two-thirds of the way through. In fact, I set this one aside several times and even thought about giving it up more than once. I felt like I was just meandering along waiting for something to happen. I did like Robin's patience with Shawn, and both guys had their own issues to work through, but the many what-ifs began to grow tedious long before anything substantial happened between this pair. Even after they decide to explore their attraction, the doubt continues, and it continues some more. Yes, I completely get that Shawn had plenty of reason to be insecure, but his inner monologue of doubt about the relationship was repetitive and after a while, annoying. But here's the thing - these guys talk about a ton of stuff, they talk about their feelings, about their experience or lack of in Shawn's case, about family, and so on. They talk about everything except the important stuff, and when that stuff is all revealed, none of it is anything that would break them up. In fact, anyone who would leave someone over the things these guys are dealing with wouldn't be worth the time or trouble. So, in the end, I just didn't get it. This one could've easily been cut in half, and we still would've gotten the meat of the story, and the angst level would've been significantly lower. I have no problem with angsty romances, but this felt like angst just for the sake of angst. I read the last book in this series and liked it enough to continue with this one, but I think this may be the end of the Clean Slate Ranch series as far as I'm concerned.
❃❃ARC provided by NetGalley and Carina Press
No comments:
Post a Comment