Summer Nights with a Cowboy (Kittredge Ranch) – ARC review

Summer Nights with a Cowboy
by Caitlin Crews
Release Date:  March 29, 2022
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Book #3 in the Kittredge Ranch series
Number of Pages: 320
Kindle Edition
Source:  ARC from NetGalley and publisher
Contemporary Romance
Ages 16 and up
——————–
He doesn’t believe in love…
Traveling nurse Janie Atwood has come to Cold River to uncover old family secrets and maybe, if she’s lucky, find a new home. That the gorgeous, glowering sheriff next door thinks her caring for his elderly neighbor is a nefarious scheme is a bonus. Having never been anything but a good girl, Janie finds Zack Kittredge’s simmering suspicion an excellent reason to try being a little dangerous instead…

She doesn’t believe in squandering it…
Sheriff Zack Kittredge is okay with being… intense. He takes his loner status as seriously as he takes his responsibilities to protect Cold River. And he thinks cheerful Janie might be a threat to the town. But the more he gets to know her, the more he faces the truth—she’s brighter than sunshine and he’s like a moth to her flame. When Janie suggests he could use a few charm school lessons, he surprises them both by accepting. He doesn’t need help. But it’s clear he might need her…

Because the only thing hotter than the summer sun in the Rockies is the forbidden passion that burns between them…

Oh boy, the sparks between Janie and Zack are enough to set the whole town on fire! These two have so much chemistry they don’t know what to do with it, so they do the whole “I don’t like you” thing to cover up their feelings. Spoiler…it doesn’t work for long.

Throughout this series, it’s no secret the Kittredge brothers and sister have major problems with their parents. A lot of that finally gets addressed and unpacked in this book. Does it make me like their father more? Maybe a bit. But I personally still have issue with how their parents handled things. Now I understand what was under how things used to be and how things became in that household, and that at least helps.

Zack’s hang-ups about his family and Janie’s own insecurities keep their relationship on unsteady ground. They both do stupid things. They both act irrationally at times. They both need to learn to sit still and listen and learn instead of jumping in with both feet before knowing all the facts. And they both, definitely, need to learn to speak up instead of shutting down.

I’m happy to report the couple does a lot of growing in this book. They gave me all the feels and then some. Of course, I loved the relationship Zack and Janie built. But I also loved Zack allowing himself to be vulnerable with his siblings so he could be included in their lives instead of always on the periphery acting like a watch dog.

This story broke my heart and pieced it back together.

4 stars

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**