3.5 stars

Throughout this series, this author has (with good reason) made readers not really like Angelina too terribly much. She’s quite rigid and cold in the other books. And, quite honestly, Ange is a bit uptight compared to her siblings. That’s her nature and that’s okay. But she’s far from unfeeling, which is quickly discovered in this story. She has a certain persona that she wears as armor. Angelina has spent her life trying to prove herself to her father and those around her when she has absolutely nothing to prove. Her father is very proud of her, and would be no matter what.

Logan is the perfect mix of brooding and caring; closed off and overwhelmingly generous. He’s had so much happen to him in the last year it’s hard for him to grasp what he wants and needs from life at this point in time. He lives each day on auto pilot; keeping to himself, running his parents’ ranch, eating the same meals day in and day out. The only things that even begin to get him out of his own head are his dog and his best-friend’s wife and daughter.

The fateful day Logan and Angelina run into each other at the grocery store, they hadn’t seen each other in well over 10 years. Although they were best friends in high school and kept in touch for a long time, the last few years that contact had even petered out. Now, they are both back in their hometown at the same time. It’s obvious from that first interaction that the “just friends” mantra they fed to everyone back in high school was a cover, there are some major sparks. Plus, there’s a kind of comfort between the two that seems to settle them both.

Of course, there are many ups and downs and a myriad of issues these two must tackle before finding their HEA. For much of it, I was right on board. Logan’s story, especially, touched my heart. While I understood Ange’s issues, I found it harder to connect with her. My life and world view are drastically different than hers. I enjoy that because how boring would reading be if all the characters were just like me? But I just didn’t sympathize with her the way I did with Logan. And I have to add, I enjoy that she didn’t go to her small town from the big city and “discover” she hated the city life. The author used the more realistic approach that Angelina loves things about her hometown and loves people in her hometown, but still thrives on her city life.

As for Logan, after a time he started to lose me. There was a cycle with him and it went on one too many times for me. I would think things were getting resolved, and this couple would throw me for a loop again. Unfortunately, the last bit of this book seemed to drag because of this repetitive conflict. And then the conclusion totally threw me for a loop and seemed pretty out in left field.

So, the first ¾ of this story were a homerun. It just lost steam toward the end. But it still has a beautiful HEA and is definitely worth the read.

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Net Galley and 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.

One True Love. Finally. In this conclusion to the River Ranch series, everything finally comes to a head for the one remaining sibling who isn't yet attached. Admittedly I picked up this series halfway in, with the previous book, but here Lane does an excellent job of continuing the feel of the series (as I know it anyway) while also wrapping up long running storylines and giving everyone the HEA or coda they deserve. Truly excellent work, and very much recommended.