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Review

4 stars!

The first book in the Jamison Valley series brings us to a small town in Montana, and a gorgeous romance between the uber-alpha town Sherriff and a single mother who is new to town. With shades of KA and a mystery/suspense storyline running alongside the love story, this was a great read that sucked me in from start to finish, and I loved it.

Georgia ‘Gigi’ has just moved to Prescott. She inherited a beautiful old farmhouse following the death of a dear friend, and having no other family apart from her adorable 4 year old daughter and wanting a fresh start, she packed everything up and is starting over.

Jess Cleary is the town Sherriff, and he has been responsible for looking after the Coppersmith Farmhouse as a favour to the previous owner. It was always his dream to move into the old place, so when Gigi arrives in town and moves into the home he always thought of as his, he is less than impressed.

The stage is set for some epic tension, but an attraction sparks to life between Gigi and Jess the moment they lay eyes on each other, setting up a great dynamic for fireworks.

Never in my life had I felt such an intense attraction to a man. His hotness did things to me. It made my brain misfire and my body want things it hadn’t craved in years. And I needed my brain fully engaged when he was around. I didn’t like him, but more importantly, I didn’t trust him. I couldn’t be stupid enough to fall for his perfectly handsome face and amazingly sculpted body.

There is a bit of assholery from our alpha hero, but it doesn’t take long for him to realise that Gigi isn’t the gold-digging bitch he was expecting, and that her intentions are pure. And he knows that he needs to make her his – in the way only a true alpha can.

“Do you find me attractive?”
“Uh…”
“I thought so,” he said. “Already told you tonight you were beautiful. So since we’ve got some major fucking chemistry and we get along, how about we cut the bullshit and see where this goes?”

I like a man who knows what he wants and goes for it, and Jess is that and more. There’s no game playing or messing around – he wants Gigi, he claims her, and he proceeds to barge in all over her life. This sort of behaviour can be a bit OTT, but as long as the heroine is ok with it, it works for me, and though Gigi may put up some small protests, for the most part, she is happy to go along with it, and it was so much fun watching it all unfold – the anticipation building with every chemistry-laden interaction.

“Don’t want people around town thinking we’re just friends or we’re just fooling around. We’re gonna see where this goes.”
“We’ve had one kind-of-date, Jess. And I wouldn’t call us friends.”
“Because we’re not just friends.”
“I’m not dating you. I don’t even like you. Find someone else to keep you company at the café.”
“You like me. Can see it in your eyes when you look at me.”
“Physically, yes. But personally, you’re a jackass.”
He yanked the truck to the side of the road.
“What are you–” I started but Jess reached across the cab, grabbed me at the back of the neck and slammed his mouth down on mine.”

Jess’ alphaness and Gigi’s sass creates a great dynamic, and there’s some really fun push-and-pull as they figure themselves out and settle into coupledom. They’re not perfect, and they both have their flaws, but they don’t hide their feelings from each other, they embrace what’s happening between them, and they just go with it, figuring it out along the way.

I was a man who had diligently avoided tying himself to anything but his job for the last decade. But I just couldn’t push them away. Instead, I kept trying to pull them closer.
And every time she tried to put up a wall or distance herself, I just kept pulling. She was scared, but she’d get over it. And the less room she had to run, the better.

Jess is a little on the extreme side of alpha, and some of this behaviour was a bit questionable, but he’s on a learning curve being in his first serious relationship, so I just kept reading without dwelling on it too much. Because when he’s sweet, he’s gorgeously sweet, and seeing him with little Rowen was just beautiful! The relationship they developed warmed my heart, and his open-hearted acceptance of her was gorgeous to read as Jess claimed “his girls” as his own, and showed his protective, supportive and caring nature.

“I’ve got you, baby. I swear you’re safe with me.”

Alongside the romance, Jess is investigating a series of unsolved crimes and a growing drug problem in the area. There is mystery, suspense and a bit of action as the danger grows, and hits disturbingly close to home, and it works well with everything else that is happening in the book. Though the ‘mysterious’ bad guy was easily identifiable, I still liked this part of the story, and thought it added a bit of intrigue into the book.

But it’s all about the romance, and though they have issues to overcome, for the most part it’s gorgeous. It’s intense and honest with no game playing, and a whole lot of smoking-hot, sweet and heartwarming moments, and I was easily swept up into all of the swoon as Gigi and Jess followed their hearts and fought for the future they want together.

If you’ve read Kristen Ashley, you will definitely see the similarities in the writing style, characterisations and storyline, but it didn’t bother me at all. I love the slow burn, the all-inclusiveness of their lives that we get to be a part of, and the fact that we are introduced to other residents of Prescott. There are so many stories there just begging to be told, and I’m so excited to read more from this series.

4 stars.