AUTHOR: Kaci M. Rose GENRE: Romance PAGES: 201 pages RELEASED: 5 January 2024 SERIES: Walker Lake, Texas #2 SYNOPSIS: Small-town gossip and the man I shouldn’t want could ruin my life forever. Jenna Everyone thinks I’m the aimless lost little girl. But the truth is I’m falling for my dad’s best friend. He’s everything I never thought I wanted. I spend my days writing my novel or working in the diner – dreaming of a different life. With Josh, my dreams aren’t about leaving Walker Lake anymore. Every moment I’m near him, I crave his touch. Small-town gossip and the man I shouldn’t want could ruin my life forever. Josh I know better than to want Jenna. My best friend would lose his mind if he knew how much I dreamed about a life with his daughter. When she’s with me, I feel at ease. She’s beautiful and kind. Watching her on my ranch makes me think we might have a chance. But falling for Jenna could mean losing everything else. Risking one life-long relationship for the chance at forever…
Ever since Jenna returned to home to Walker Lake after graduation, she’s had her eye on her father’s best friend Josh. What she doesn’t realise, is that the feeling is mutual. Josh knows he shouldn’t be attracted to his best friend’s daughter and someone fifteen years younger than him, but he can’t seem to get her out of his head. His feelings are dangerous and will no doubt destroy his friendship with Evan, so he’s not willing to risk it. But after spending the entire Fourth of July celebrations together while the rest of Jenna’s family is out of town, he’s surprised to find that Jenna feels the same way about him, making it even harder to resist giving into temptation. When Jenna starts spending more and more time at his ranch working with one of his horses, he can’t help but feel like she belongs there with him. As they embark on a secret relationship, both are aware that this could all blow up in their faces and destroy life-long relationships. But sometimes, love trumps everything, even your own family. THIS book is the reason I even picked up this series in the first place, and Kaci 100% lived up to my expectations with Josh and Jenna! While I’m a sucker for the age-gap trope, I’ve never actually read anything in the ‘parent’s best friend/best friend’s child’ trope - the closest I’ve gotten is ‘best friend’s parent/child’s best friend’ - but I do love me a bit of forbidden love. Kaci handled the forbidden-ness of the relationship and the questions it raised with those around Josh and Jenna really well, while also reinforcing that love knows no age gap. Kaci’s writing style really flowed in this one, and it was hard not to get sucked into Josh and Jenna’s lives as they gave into their feelings for one another. They had so much chemistry that was equal parts sweet, swoony and spicy, and despite everything that was against them, they remained committed to one another. And it was refreshing not to have the obvious third-act break-up. There was also a really interesting contrast between how Jenna’s parents reacted to the relationship and how Jenna’s brothers reacted, which added a lot of depth to every relationship between the characters. As much as I enjoyed how quickly Josh and Jenna embarked on their relationship, I do kind of wish we had gotten more time at the beginning to of the book to better establish the dynamic of Jenna’s family, especially the relationship that Josh had with everyone as a long-time family friend before he became involved with Jenna. Again, this book is part of a larger universe of books, so there are a lot of characters we get to see that have previously had their own books. Kaci very lightly touches on those stories, which would have been a nice refresher for anyone who had previously read the books, while also being a bit of a teaser for someone like me who hasn’t yet read the earlier books. I’m definitely keen to dive into the two previous series while we wait for Asher’s book! Asher was a nice character and set up really well in this book, so it’ll be fun to follow him in his book in the future, while also continuing to see Josh and Jenna’s relationship unfold. If you’re ready to get down and dirty on a Texas ranch, book your ticket to Walker Lake and find a cowboy to call your own! |
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