The True Cowboy of Sunset Ridge

Somebody at some point sent me a box of books, many of which were mass-market paperbacks of various romance novels. Of course, I was thrilled. I will literally read anything, but romance has always been a particular favorite of mine. One of those books was by Maisey Yates, but it was part of a series. While they are billed as readable as standalones, I still refuse to start a series on book #8. So, thankful for public libraries, I was able to start at the beginning of the Gold Valley series. It will not go down as one of my favorite series, but it’s readable and pretty simple to get through. This one follows the story of Mallory and Colt. Mallory has recently ended a toxic relationship and Colt is a professed woman-eater. Mallory is a wee-bit wet behind the ears when it comes to physical intimacy with men, and Colt wastes no time helping her learn the ropes. In the grand tradition of Yates, everything about their relationship happens with lightning-fast speed, leaving the reader feel like there was a lot of development between the two that needed to have happened. However, as readers, we have to be realistic about what we expect from a romance, and it’s never going to be in-depth character development. We want to get to the happily-ever-after as quickly as possible, and Maisey Yates is the queen of hard and fast love stories. While it’s unlikely I’ll seek out any of the additional series by Yates, I will probably read any additional titles from the Gold Valley series. I am curious about these characters that I have come to enjoy and would like to see where they go. She’s not the greatest romance author out there, but she is pretty good at her craft.