A grumpy cowboy romance, with some acting and SWAT thrown in? Yes please! Really liked these two and their journey

4 stars

Synopsis: Mack used to be LA SWAT, but after an incident several years ago, he quit and started working at his grandfather's dude ranch. He his best friends, who also ended up working there, give trail rides to guests and help them experience a life with less stress for a few days. Mack hasn't had a relationship since his ex, and makes do with hook-ups in the city on his days off. When Wes arrives, Mack is instantly attracted, but really doesn't want to be, especially since Wes is a guest and only there for a few days.
Wes is not the type of person to enjoy "roughing" it, but his sister wants this for her bridal shower, and like the good brother/person of honour that he is, he makes it happen. Seeing Mack, who is exactly Wes' type, makes the trip worth while, especially when Mack starts acting like he might actually be interested in Wes. The bridal party is only there for a short time, though, and since Mack and Wes lead completely different lives and live several hours away from each other, they both know that if anything happens between them, it has an end date.

What I liked: both Mack and Wes. They had both been through hard times, and although it may have altered their lives, they didn't stop living and enjoying the living. They talked about things as they were getting to know one another, even if they didn't talk about their secrets, so it wasn't a stretch to see that they could continue having a relationship if they both wanted to once Wes left to go home. I enjoyed Mack and Wes together, and with their friends. I didn't find the running of the dude ranch, or what happened with regards to guest and cowboy interactions unbelievable.

What I didn't like: I kind of feel that we only got to see the start of the relationship by the end, rather than to see the relationship grow throughout the story. I would have liked to have seen Mack and Wes physically in the same area of geography more often.

Overall impression: I haven't been really impressed with other books that I've read by this author, because I find them way too sweet for my taste, even with all the angst. This one was a little...rougher, I guess, and, for the first time, the author's writing style and my reading style clicked. I really enjoyed it, and look forward to reading more in the series.

*I received an ARC from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

I have to be honest, I wasn't expecting to read this book and be charmed. Cowboys are not typically my thing when it comes to romance novels, but boy howdy this one was.
The positives: I really enjoyed the chemistry between Wes and Mack. I also really enjoyed the fact that we got to see their relationship after the get-together. Too often we have stories that end when the couple gets together. I want to see more than just the fluttery feelings and the sex. I want to see them struggle and succeed in trying to push their two lives into one.
The negatives: Communication between the characters. I get that it's a major plot point for one platonic relationship, but between the lovers? I'd have loved to see them open up more and/or sooner. Especially after they got together. I also wish that Wes and his sister could have interacted more. I know it's not their story, but I feel like every other relationship was fleshed out but theirs. Wes barely had any interaction with Sophie after leaving the ranch, and I felt like it was glaring. They're so close, but he doesn't talk to her about the new relationship?
All in all, it was really cute romance and a really quick read. I may or may not have pulled out my kindle while I was at work.

I very much enjoy this author's work, and was keen for a new series, with a whole new bunch of characters to observe through several books.

Mack's family's dude ranch is a quiet life for him and his friends, Colt and Reyes. Each week brings strangers into their lives as they show them what a cowboy life is like. We are given glimpses into their past lives, and learn that Mack is still grieving the loss of his husband.

Enter Wes Bentley who is immediately attracted to Mack's bear-like qualities and while the attraction is mutual, Mack is less keen to act on it. Of course, he can only hold off Wes's charm and flirting for a short time, and there's a whole side of kink they both discover.

Arthur's books are rarely only about the romance, and here we get Wes's sister's bridal party, including Wes's best friend who has a sad side story of his own. There's a rich anonymous company wanting to buy a section of the ranch, then there's the discovery of ghost town, and some startling personal news about Mack's husband, that brings in the angst and the self-loathing Arthur does so well.

I could nit-pick about the daddy/boss thing and about the crack in Mack's friendship with Colt, but I don't mind a book with a bit of darkness and kink. I will definitely be back for both Reyes' and Colt's stories, and hope they don't take too long to appear.

Thanks to Netgalley for advance copy. Out on December 11.

This is the sweet story of Mack and Wes. One's a cowboy and one's an actor and they don’t exactly mesh. This is definitely a slow burn of a book. They were both planning for a vacation fling only but then their emotions get involved and they begin a long-distance relationship that ends in an HEA. The heat rating is high and so are the emotions. Both Wes and Mack have been burned by love before and are cautious about taking the leap. But the amazing supporting cast help to make it happen.

I really liked how fleshed out the supporting cast was but it makes sense due to this being the start of a series. I’m most interested in the other cowboys with baggage and hope they get sweet HEAs too. I did have minor problems with the plot. The climax was a little too convenient but not so much so that it was completely unbelievable.

This will be a great weekend read for anyone that loves cowboys. Wes firmly believes in saving horses by riding cowboys. So if you’re looking for high heat and high humor then look no further because Wild Trail is for you.

Wild Trail is the first book in the Clean Slate Ranch series by A.M. Arthur. It featured a steamy vacation fling that grew to be more. Wes is an actor who is treating his sister to a genuine, cowboy-esque experience. This is where he meets Mack, an ex-cop turned ranch hand that would eventually steal his heart.

A.M. Arthur knows how to set the scene. The descriptions were rich. It allowed me to see the ranch, the ghost town and the camp grounds as if I were there myself. The romance between Mack and Wes was mostly great. From the moment they laid eyes on each other and began the subtle dance of flirtation, the sexual tension built and continued building with every chapter. Once they finally acting on that attraction? Whoa, it was something else. The way Arthur wrote their scenes were sexy, fluid and full of steam.

What I didn’t particularly enjoy was the ‘boss’ and ‘daddy’ use. I’ve never been a fan of partners using the term ‘daddy’, but this didn’t really work. The dynamic wasn’t there. Mack using “Boss” was okay. It sounded more like a term of endearment.

Then there was what Colt admitted to Mack. I felt a little let down by it. It felt like an after thought. But I do feel like it was written that way to be explored through another book in the series, maybe? It felt rushed.

Did I like Wild Trail? Yes. I enjoyed reading about Mack, Wes and how they engaged with each other. I would definitely read more by A.M. Arthur.

A great new series!

I liked this story a lot but it didn't get my emotions involved as much as other books I've read by A.M. Arthur. Sometimes it's hard for me to tell if it's just the mood I'm in when I read something or if the book truly doesn't grab me as much as others do by the same author. Having said all of that, this is still a very good book and I really look forward to seeing where this series is going.

Mack is a former member of Los Angeles County SWAT but he now lives and works at Clean Slate Ranch which is owned by his grandfather. Two of his best friends also gave up careers in the city and came to work for the ranch.

Wes Bentley is an actor at a dinner theater. His sister, Sophie, is getting married soon and he's her "best person." Sophie wanted to do something different for a bridal shower so the entire wedding party has booked a vacation at Clean Slate.

When Wes first sees Mack he's in lust right away but Mack isn't looking for a relationship. Mack finally agrees to have a fling and boy are the sexy times between these two guys hot! Like scorching, burn the house down, hot!

Wild Trail has a lot going on in it and, at 90,000 words, it's a very "meaty" story. There's a mystery and a new venture for Mack involving the ranch. And, of course, there's not an easy path to the HEA (happy ever after) for Mack and Wes. Both of these characters have issues from their past that impact their relationship.

Wild Trail is a complete story, with no cliffhanger, but the scene is set for a lot more things to happen at the Clean Slate Ranch (I love that name). The secondary characters are interesting and I can't wait to read their stories.

A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book.

***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***

2.5 stars

This book didn’t work for me from the start. It was the set-up and then continued to the characters themselves. When Wes and Mack are attracted to each other they mention acting like “fourth graders” as they checked with their friends if they thought the other liked them and this style didn’t appeal to me.

This feeling then carried over to the characters themselves as they were both bland and lacked any spark for me. When the guys do get together, their brand of kink didn’t appeal to me either as it was presented and seemed added in without anything to back it.

The guys both have issues in their past, but again, it was all rather flat for me. There are also secondary characters that leave a trail for future books in the series, and sometimes the set ups work and leave you looking forward to their stories, but it didn’t do that here for me either. I have read other books by this author that have appealed to me more. This one wasn’t the one for me.

3 "Grumpy Bear Cowboy" Stars - It’s Wes’s sister’s wedding and he hired a ranch for a week (before wedding). Wes is an actor. He was a successful one till his ex (who was an actor too) blame him for something that Wes didn’t do it deliberately and then his career wasn’t like before anymore.
Mack works in his grandfather’s ranch, he’s almost in charge of everything. He had a bad relationship. His ex was an actor and he shattered Mack’s heart, badly. After that Mach couldn’t trust anyone and see himself in a relationship anymore. He drawn himself in his work. Till Wes came to the ranch. Wes got under his skin and let’s don’t forget Wes’s insistence in flirting with him. And Mack couldn’t prevent himself to not attract to this cute boy!

Well, it was a good read but not the great one. This was my first read by this author and I liked it to be really good but still… my problem was its pace, it was really slow for my taste and really this Boss/Daddy thing didn’t work for me (whereas they have just three years age difference)!

Told in dual POV, 3rd person. It’s the first installment in the "Clean Slate Ranch" series but it can be read as a standalone. I had good moments and I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks to A.M. Arthur, Netgalley and Carina Press for the advanced digital copy in exchange an honest review.

Excellent start to a new series. I loved that Wes setup the engagement party for his sister even though it brought back bad memories from his past to be on the ranch. And his ex was such a nasty character for what he did to Wes. Anyway, once he sets his eyes on Mack he knows that its not going to be all that bad. Mack, who has sworn off all relationships as something pretty bad happened, takes one look at Wes and just can't help himself. As the story progresses, Wes starts to chip away at the wall that surrounds Mack heart. Along the way, we have hot cowboys, a mystery (of which I would have liked that to have been better fleshed out as it seemed to be glossed over & kind of thrown in), a ghost town and love. I didn't like the fact that Wes knew that something, possibly something bad, is wrong with Miles but he never pushed. Your supposed to be his best friend and just basically brushed off Miles' withdrawal. Even though I had a couple of issues, I really enjoyed the story & can't wait for the next book in the series.

This had a great storyline and a lot of potential but parts of it seemed drag on, while other things happened so quickly it was hard to keep up.

I really enjoyed the flirting and lead up to the romance it was very "real" and twisted my heart strings. But the story got a bit lost somewhere around the half way point and it felt like the last 25% was just filler

I liked a lot of this book, the friendships and the setting, the romance between Mack and Wes, the historical element and the mystery of the ghost town.
What didn't work for me was the odd daddy/boss element of their relationship. It didn't feel like any kind of daddy/boy relationship I've read elsewhere and there was very little in the way of submission to justify the "boss" label being added.

Other than that, this had a lot of good things going for it and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.