Jamie has been an enigma to me since we met her. I never had super strong feeling about her one way or another…until the last book in this series, Unbroken Cowboy. I didn’t feel she was a very good friend to Bea in that book, although I also tried to reserve judgment until I could read about Jamie’s own inner workings. Due to her very solid stance she took about sex, cowboys, love, etcetera in that last book, I was quite interested in what would happen once she finally started her job on Gabe’s ranch.

Of course, as I predicted (and because Maisey Yates is a master at emotions), once I got to know Jamie on a more intimate level, I could totally understand why she reacts to things the way she does. That woman tore my mom heart to shreds. The things she missed out on without even realizing she was missing them are astounding. As much as she’s a stubborn and contrary person, once Jamie’s eyes are open more to the world and interactions off of her family ranch, she is able to see the fault in her ways.

Gabe is not the scoundrel cowboy we are led to believe in previous books. I’m sure that was by design. Gabe holds onto his father’s reputation and carries it on his own back as his own burden. While he did his share of sleeping around and has never had a real relationship, he’s always been up front about what he wanted and didn’t want in his sexual encounters. He may believe it is inevitable that he become his father someday, but Jamie sees the real Gabe. She sees the true man even if he cannot.

At the same time Jamie was seeing the true Gabe, Gabe was breaking through Jamie’s armor. These two needed each other more than they even realized. They are amazingly sweet with one another and really tugged at my heartstrings.

There was a bit of repetition when it came to Gabe’s reflection of his relationships with his parents in the past. While it didn’t uproot the story or throw it off track, it did slow things down once in a while. I still loved this story and strongly recommend this book.

This review can also be found at All In Good Time.