Narration: 5⭐️
Rating: 5⭐️
Spice: 3.5🌶

Audiobook Review:
Firstly, thank you to @eliv_bookstagram, who recommended the audiobook for this one because, Oh. My. GOD!! It was spectacular, and I would really recommend it to everyone. The narrators—Stephen Dexter and Lila Winters—who were both new to me, were truly commendable and perfect as Cash and Mollie. Every time Cash said "Yes ma'am", I was fanning myself because that definitely did things to me. The mouth on this man AND the narration by Stephen Dexter? I was done for. I stood no chance.

When her estranged father leaves her his ranch after he passes away, Mollie Luck has no idea how to feel about it. She has no intentions of taking care of the ranch when her life is miles away in the city. However, his will has a stipulation that she needs to live on the ranch and run it for a year before she can gain access to her inheritance. Needing the money to keep her business back in the city afloat, Mollie has no choice but to agree to said terms. What she doesn't expect is the foreman of her father's ranch, Cash Rivers, to get in her way and disagree with said terms. Things between Mollie and Cash don't start off on a great note, with Mollie wanting to fire Cash immediately and Cash wanting to do whatever to make sure Mollie goes back to the city.

Mollie held on to a lot of hurt, anger, regret, and jealousy over her strained relationship with her dad that she never got to work on. She was dealing with the grief of losing her father without having rectified their frayed relationship. It was a long journey for her to come to terms with her feelings about her father and form her own opinions about him. Working at the ranch, she slowly starts remembering how freeing the feeling of ranch life had been when she was younger. It doesn't feel as terrible as her mother had portrayed it to be, and she starts feeling a sense of belonging and like a way to connect with her father, which she never got the chance to do while he was alive. And doing so helps her understand more about who she is as a person too.

She was able to understand herself better as she spent time at the ranch. How she was dedicated to her business in the city but also felt like she was a cowgirl at heart and had found the piece of herself that was missing. I loved how genuine her bond was with everyone at the ranch, which took its time but gave her the family she'd always craved. There was a lot of self-reflection on her part, which she also communicated with her mom.

Cash Rivers had to give up on his own dreams of going to college and instead had to take over the responsibility of raising his four younger brothers after his parents passed away. His life after that had been all about making sure everyone around him had what they needed and that he was always present to put out any fires. Taking care of Lucky Ranch, his siblings, and working on clearing off his family's debt so he could one day revive their ranch was all that consumed him. And somewhere along the way, he'd stopped living for himself. Losing Garrett, the man who was a father figure, mentor, and his friend, so unexpectedly had hit him hard. The man who'd taken him and his siblings under his wing after they lost their parents. He was dealing with the grief, which turned to rage towards Mollie at first for not being a part of Garrett's life without knowing the full situation.

The romance between Cash and Mollie took its time to develop from their initial dislike and distrust of each other. Eventually, the two get into a routine of sorts, which surprises both of them but feels right. They also helped each other process their grief over losing Garrett, despite having a very different relationship with him. As Mollie spends more time at Lucky Ranch, Cash starts to see that he was wrong about his initial impression of her and sees her for the strong, compassionate, and hardworking woman she is. The more he gets to know the real her, the more his feelings for her grow.

Cash was never threatened by Mollie. He acknowledged her dreams when it came to Bellamy boots and worked hard to make things easy for her so she can pursue both her business and the ranch and doesn't have to give up either of the things. He was a steady presence in her life who supported and encouraged her and never wanted her to limit her growth. Mollie helps Cash realize that it's okay to rely on others for help and that he doesn't have to carry the weight of everything on his own. She becomes his partner in the true sense and helps him realize that things will still work out fine if he takes a step back to just breathe and think about himself. That his siblings have grown up and are capable enough to handle things on their own. That it's okay to let go of the constant worry he was holding on to, the pressure of keeping things going for his family that he'd taken on from the age of nineteen. She worked hard to help him achieve his own dreams just like he did for her.

The SPICE!!!! These two were so bloody hot together. Cash and his teasing and challenging ways, which Mollie matched equally. Both were absolutely open and unashamed about their desire for each other. Love it when women are so open to taking what they need and aren't shy to take the lead either. Mollie was sexy AF for taking control the way she did and being so vocal about her need for Cash. Get me a man like Cash, who is so ridiculously thoughtful but oh sooo filthy at the same time. The things he did and said... HOLYYY FUCKKK!!! That mouth and the things it did... I could not get enough.

I loved the side characters a lot. The way they were such a close-knit group who made Mollie feel welcome and were understanding and empathetic towards her. I liked the way they spoke to her about her dad, which allowed her to get to know him the way she couldn't before.

The ending has me eager to jump right into book 2 to find out what on earth is going on between Wyatt and Sally.