Jake and Tor finally own their own ranch. They've just settled in when Jake receives a call that there's been an accident. His sister, Melissa, has been killed in an accident and he and Tor were named Jacob's legal guardian.

There's a lot of adjustments to be made, for everyone, but I think Owen handled it really well. Everything feels very realistic to me. I love that Tor takes over and is able to keep a clear head when Jake needs him most. He was a perfect spouse/partner, attentive and loving, taking care of what he could when Jake, his sister, and Jacob were too affected by grief. It really was tender and loving and perfect.

I was a little surprised that Tor didn't realize that Jake's sudden need to control every little thing stemmed from being unable to control his sister's death, which had been my first thought.

While there still seemed to be bunches of sex, I also thought there was a lot more plot and characterization this time around. And it was good to see that they still have to work on actually talking to each other but are making the effort.

It was also nice to see that they seem to be mostly accepted by the community. I was a little sad that the big dance had been reduced to one day. I get that it was never Jake's thing, but it seems to me the point of the dance was never about the owner, it was about giving the ranch hands a break.

There was also one of those annoying time jumps in the very beginning of the book. A year passes between the first chapter and the second. I get why they wanted to include events of the first chapter, but it may have been better to leave it out to avoid the jarring jump.

I really liked this book a lot. It seemed like a realistic continuation of the last book and I felt like the focus was more on the relationship between Tor and Jake with less emphasis on the sex. ( )