Review: Cash by Jessica Peterson

Cash by Jessica Peterson

Series: Lucky River Ranch #1

Publication date: August 22nd, 2024
Pages: 366

Spice:🌶️🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

Butting heads leads to knocking boots in this wildly sexy enemies-to-lovers, grumpy/sunshine, small town cowboy romance by Jessica Peterson.

My dad and I have been estranged for years. But as his only living relative, it's no surprise I inherit his massive cattle ranch when he dies. Something that is a surprise? The stipulation in his will, which requires me to live on the ranch and actively manage it for a year before I can access my inheritance money.

I haven't stepped foot in Hartsville, Texas, population one thousand, since my parents split when I was six. Now a city girl through and through, I never imagined having to move back to cowboy country. But I need the money to invest in my company, and a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

There's just one giant roadblock to my plan: the ranch's foreman, grumpy cowboy Cash Rivers. I don't care how good he looks in his Wranglers and chaps. He's rude, he's growly, and he wants me gone. I'd fire him in a heartbeat, but I need this cowboy to teach me the ropes of running a ranch.

We're enemies from the get-go. But turns out, Cash is really good at this ranch thing. He's got strong hands, an intelligent mind, and let's just say everything really is bigger in Texas. Working alongside him leads to conversations beneath the stars. Throw in some cheek-to-cheek dancing at the local dive bar, and it all eels so right that I start to fall in love with life on the ranch. And maybe with him, too.

But my stay in Hartsville is only temporary. And you know what they say about cowboys: they may break horses, but they also break hearts. If only Cash hadn't already lassoed mine...

CASH is the first standalone book in the brand new steamy, interconnected Lucky River Ranch Series!

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Plot: Being someone who doesn't normally read cowboy romance, this was a new type of book for me. The enemies-to-lovers vibe has always been my favorite as it is usually filled with heat and passion that is ultimately undeniable by the characters. Within Cash the plot was rooted in a sense of loss and mourning that made my heart ache for both the characters. They seemed to have both lost a father figure but without making it wriggle into a situation where they bonded as siblings. The distance between them by making Cash care about Mollie's father but not to the point of considering her like a sister, was a good call by the author. The plot was the normal basis of two people fighting over differing stances on what would become of the ranch Mollie's father left her. The fear from Cash as well as the stubborn pride from Mollie poured off the pages and made the overall story delightfully light but with some fire flickering through from page to page.

Characters: The characters in Cash were a deliciously humor cast of attractively rugged cowboys, sweet southern ladies, and two sassy and gruff main characters that fit in perfectly. Mollie was your typical sunshine sweet tea disposition while Cash seemed to growl and glare at her like she shot his horse. Mollie was not the type to give in to Cash's brooding but to instead poke at him until he finally cracked. And when he cracked you got to see what an amazing male lead he actually was. The couple as a whole were some of my favorites I have read in a while and I may just read the rest of the Lucky River Ranch series just to catch glimpses of the two.

Writing: The book was written well and carried a dose of humor that I would not have thought would accompany the setting it was placed in. The author did a good job of portraying the southern accent that the characters would have and it threw me for a loop every single time I saw a 'y'all' thrown rogue into the conversation. Being a southerner myself it was a nice representation and I think it captured the characters well. The writing was light and didn't require a lot of pondering to try to figure out where it was going or what was going on. It was written so that the reader could sit back with a cold glass of iced tea and let the warm rays of the sun beat down on them while they enjoyed a light story.

Overall: There wasn't much I could say about the book that wasn't a raving review to the author's skill. The only reason this wasn't a perfectly starred book for me was entirely personal preference. I am a dark romance lover through and through. I like the grit and the grime of a harsh story. My idea of an enemies-to-lovers story lies in just how far the characters can torment each other until they find their way to the other side. Cash and Mollie found their way through rather easily and towards the end I had hoped there'd have been some tragedy that would throw a wrench into the works but it all just remained bright and sunny. But the book was still one I would recommend to anyone who wanted a happy read with a sassy heroine and a droolworthy cowboy.