Captivated by Steph

I loved this story, arguably one of the best in this series. I really enjoy how Ms Carrington writes her characters. As with her other books, Blake and Steph are so real. I feel like I know them and they are my friends. It’s great to watch how the relationships build and play out. From friends to lovers with the angry grieving in between. It’s very real, but not angsty. It’s also such a delight to see old friends from other books make an appearance (although you wouldn’t have to have read their stories to appreciate them). All in all, a delightful book. I received a complimentary copy of this book. This is my freely given, honest review.

It is fun, flirty, and heart-warming. Steph is a widow and Blake was her husband’s best friend. Five years have passed since her husband’s unexpected passing and since they’ve seen each other. This is a friends to more, later in life romance done so well.

Things I Loved:
-“Don’t lasso the llamas!”
-Inga
-Fluffy nutter sandwiches
-Tandy
-Fanny
-Reading lips
-Scaring the trespassers x’s 2
-Lucky coin
-Photoshoot
-The ladder
-Sick snuggles
-Resting her head on his back
-“Kiss me, Blake.”
-Two odd socks
-Eight seconds

This is the fifth book in the Stargazer Springs Ranch series which also loosely ties in with the Never Say Never and Cowboys of Stargazer Springs series, so it is filled with so many fun little crossovers and Easter eggs. It can be read as a stand-alone, but don’t miss out on getting to know everyone from this great ranch and small town! I absolutely cannot wait for Tandy’s story as the finale to this great series of later-in-life romances, she is just the best and I can’t wait for her HEA after all the meddling she’s done in the Stadtburg residents’ love lives.

Trigger warning: A widow and her late husband’s best friend are the MCs, so an obvious theme of grief is present, but the loss happened five years prior and it doesn’t get very heavy.

Content: Sweet, closed door read. Some innuendo in a joking manner.

Double Swoon! Absolutely loved it!! This is a sweet over 40 Cowboy RomCom where the Cowboy has fallen first with a touch of a mystery. This story does deal with the passing of a spouse and friend, however, the writer has handled this in such a way that it doesn’t take away from the RomCom. This is another great story in this series that I absolutely love and I would highly recommend it to everyone.
I received an ARC of this story, but the review is my own.