I received this manga from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

Tick tock, time is closing for my Harlequin Manga party! We are nearing the end. After this one I got one more to go and then it is over. Not sure I will ever do another big batch like this, but who knows. Maybe I will get tempted!

Another ranch inheritance, another girl accused of being a whore/tramp. I wasn’t that eager to start this one, so that is why it took me so long, but I cannot hide any longer. Here we go!

I quite loved that her mentor and friend, Charlie, gave Addison the ranch. That is so sweet, though yes, I can imagine that people may look strangely at her for getting it and may even judge her for it. A young woman getting a whole ranch from a rich guy? Especially in Harlequin world you are judged very harsh for it. Which we see happening in this one as Jacob’s instant impression is that she is a mistress/seducer. Come on, give the girl a chance!
Thankfully, she is a girl with balls and doesn’t let him say that crap to her face. Plus, I am glad that the other brothers told their brother what was going on. His reaction was good, though that last part had me snorting and I probably looked the same way as his brothers did. And dang, I guess that means the whole tramp thing is now over? At page 25 of 128? Nice. I can live with that. I was already worried that crap would run the whole story and ruin everything.

Wow, the mangaka really captured the sadness and despair in Jacob’s eyes. I love it.

Um, that guy needs to learn tact. You just don’t stalk a woman back to her home in the DARK, and then touch her, hold her against the door and kiss her. NO. Just NO. Especially when the girl is clearly saying no.
sighsBut this is Harlequin and apparently getting shoved against the door by some total stranger who just hurt and startled you is a turn-on and you may guess how it all ends. sighs

I did think things were going a bit too fast. But on the other hand I also couldn’t help shipping these guys, Jacob was quite adorable when he wasn’t judging (I loved his look when he dreamed about those fried cheese dogs).

“Eat as much as you want… we can just work it off later.”
“Jake.. we don’t have to wait until after we eat.”

I can understand both the brothers and also Jake. They care for him, as did the general, they worry. On the other hand, Jake just lost an eye and he can do most of the things with ease (though it does seem like there is quite a bit of trauma that he still needs to talk about/deal with). I can imagine it is quite restricting to get back home and feel like you are being coddled.
I wasn’t sure how I felt when he talked to those army guys in that store. I can understand why he got angry, and I am sure they also understand it, but I wish he could have been a bit kinder towards them. They are just honoured to meet you. They just want to talk and say hi. If you don’t want that let it know in a kind fashion.

I am glad that Addison’s past and how she felt about Charlie, as a father, is talked about. I was already thinking she thought of him as a father so I am happy to see it confirmed.

cries He shows her his scar (on his eye and yes it wasn’t what I expected, dang poor guy), and he says this: “This is me. It’s hideous, right?” Addison just shakes her head and kisses and embraces him and tells him this: “You’re very handsome. Thank you… for showing me.” And he also proceeds to tell her the story. I am glad he finally trusted her enough. Yes, it is a bit fast, but everyone moves in their own way. So I am just glad that he told her. That says a lot about their fast growing relationship.

Aww, shucks, this manga makes me cry. We find out more about Addison as well, and I was already crying for Jake and now I am crying for her as well. 🙁

Urggghhhh, Harlequin writers can we please stop with the unnecessary drama? This was totally not needed. And then we just skip to 6 months later? flips a table Of course, I know I know, it will all end well. Harlequin’s always end on a happy note.

And here we go! Tears are streaming from my eyes when I saw that Jake was there… waiting for her. Hoping he would catch her. He spend so long searching for her. Awwwwwwwwwwww. cries some more tears This ending was beautiful!

With the exception of a few parts here and there, I loved this story. I couldn’t help but root for these two characters. They fitted together so well, and they both helped each other out.

The art was just gorgeous. I love how the characters were drawn.

All in all, recommended!