This is a spin-off series from the Clean Slate Ranch series…I don’t know that you necessarily need to read that series but there are a lot of characters from it in this book and we get to know Hugo in the last couple of books from that series. The premise is a little different but still sort of the same…a struggling ranch that is trying something new that offers help to those who need it when they need it most. And there is a lack of communication between characters which seems to be the theme for all these books.

A couple of times Hugo said he should have stayed in California and I’m kind of with him on that one. He did get to reunite with his childhood friend, Rem, which was good for him. But honestly, he just continued to get kicked while he was down. The Woods family does stand by him when he needs them, like when he was a teenager going through his original troubles.

As for the romance…it was kind of blah. Brand was kind of just blah. He repeatedly reminded Hugo he was an employee and that he was doing what he could to take care of said employee. When his friend tells him what he’s done…he sort of apologizes but it’s all very befuddled and even the lifetime crush thing didn’t feel right. Brand was caveman-ish when he claimed he’d do whatever it took to protect Hugo, but it just didn’t work for me with these two.

And the way Brand was brought out of the closet by his dad and the way his dad reacted was a lot.

I read this because I got it from Netgalley and I’ll read the next one because, same, but I probably will be done once I get through that one because I’m sort of over it.