When I wrote my review for the previous book of the series I promised myself I wouldn't request another one for review... I caved. As you can see by the title I absolute caved and hit request again. But hear me out, I had a reason. My reason being that this was A.M. Arthur's first (!) fake boyfriend book. I never realised that she never featured that trope in one of her other books. All other series by A.M. Arthur I love, this one though is a hit and miss series for me but I definitely liked Hard Ride more than the previous book in the series.

I struggled a bit with the beginning because they had sex right at the very start and I'm not really a fan of that. I like semi-slow-burners. Thankfully it turned more into friendship and than lovers after that.

I liked the story, characters and writing style but if you were hoping for an original fake boyfriend book, you won't find it here. Hard Ride hit every criteria for a fake boyfriend clichee story in its relationship development. At least in my book. Even the "conflict" at the end. But to be fair, you can only do so much with the trope before it turns completely unbelieveable.


I liked it and I had fun reading it but I will probably stay true to my promise now and won't request or read the next book in the series.


Rating: 3,5 stars

I'm so happy to be back at Clean Slate Ranch! Well, OK, I'm happy to be reading about it again. 😊

Hard Ride is A.M. Arthur's first "fake boyfriend" book and she did right by this trope. Kendall "Slater" Stamos works at Clean Slate Ranch and he gets injured doing something heroic (but he doesn't like being called a hero). He has a lot of secrets and he never lets himself get closed to anyone. Before he's injured, an unexpected encounter in a barn gym late one night leads to one of the best hookups he's ever had.

Derrick Massey could hardly believe how fantastic his hookup with Slater was and he'd like to get to know him better. His family is constantly after him to settle down and he's dreading the upcoming wedding season where he has to attend five different family weddings. After Slater is injured, he offers to take him in. Slater will be closer to his doctors and all Derrick wants in exchange is for Slater to attend the five family weddings with him.

It shouldn't come as any surprise to readers that what starts out as a mutually beneficial arrangement turns into something more. The biggest problem is that both men keep their growing feelings to themselves and don't communicate with each other.

When Derrick learns the secrets that Slater has kept from him, he is shocked and his trust is also shaken a bit. These two guys will need some help from their friends to sort out the problems between them.

One of the things I loved about this story is that Slater takes up needlework to help ease his boredom while he recovers. Real men do needlework and I think it's kind of sexy! ❤ I'm so happy to know that there will be more books set in this world.

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

This is so not my favorite A.M. Arthur book. While Slater and Derrick were well-written characters their lack of communication just killed the story for me. So many of their issues could have been avoided by just taking the time to talk to each other, all in all a very frustrating story. I did enjoy seeing Derrick and Slater again, this time getting their own happy ending.

*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by NetGalley*

A.M. Arthur gives you an incredible romance between Cowboy Kendall "Slater" Stamos and Humanitarian Derrick Massey.
When they see a situation that is a win - win for both of them they don't expect the feelings that come with it.
I couldn't put this book down. Incredible

Derrick was at a wedding at The Clean State State ranch and met Slate. They had a night together and were walking away neither of them was into relationships or forever. Slate falls off the mountain to save a rancher. Derrick offers him a place to recover fairly close to the medical buildings. He also agrees to act as Slate’s fake boyfriend to the numerous family wedding Derrick attend throughout the summer.
I didn’t rea;lize this was about a gay couple when i requested it. I have gay friends but don’t like to read about a M/M or F?F relationship. I read some of this book but didn’t finish it.

This is the fifth book in the Clean Slate Ranch series, it is a MM cowboy romance. I really enjoyed this book, the characters were well developed and the pace was spot on. The characters in this story are different than the ones from the previous books in the series. They are almost complete opposites that find love in an unusual way. I feel this book can be read as a stand-alone book.

Another good Clean Slate Ranch romance. It was great to read the continuing story of the men of the ranch. Enjoyable easy read. There was a good balance of story, romance and sex, unlike many M4M romance books. There was a real plot to wrap the romance into which put this above some that are more stroke stories. It did have a common flaw of many M4M romances written by women. The main character was made bi. Do not understand why they feel the need to define the character that way and then continue to remind the reader regularly of that fact when it has no relevance to the story line. This book did have a story element where it was relevant, but was stressed passed the point to support the story line. It was like walking the Yellow Brick Road and continually finding piles of dog poop. Detracted from my enjoyment of the story, when not directly relevant to what was happening at that time. This is one of the major reasons it lost a star in ratings and why I would be less likely to recommend the book. It is a reason I shy away from reading M4M romance written by women and make sure to verify the gender of an author listed only with initials vs. a full name.

I love the guys at the Clean Slate Ranch - this is such a great series, where the couples and characters have formed a real family together, and I love seeing all the guys find their HEAs.

This story starts out with quite a bang - Slater and Derrick have a crazy hot hook-up late one night, not really expecting anything more after that. But with an accident and Slater needing a place to stay and recover, and Derrick needing some dates for a summer-full of weddings, he comes up with a plan - the good, old fake boyfriend ruse!

So I have to admit, the first third to somewhere in the middle did drag a bit for me? I think it was how clinical they wanted to approach being boyfriends, but right away things were not so cut and dry. And then it was just frustrating since they wouldn't talk to each other, like not even a check in with how things were going, as the lines started the blur and it clearly wasn't just an agreement for dates anymore. But it didn't even seem necessary to have the whole fake boyfriend as an idea. I don't know, maybe I would have preferred not having that as the reason?

But the last 25% of the story got to me - I loved reading about Slater improving his relationships with his own family members, his desire to find something else other than the ranch in his life, and how he discovered something he loved doing. And a large part of that was thanks to Derrick being in his life.

I hope there will be more with this series (although I can't think of any characters jumping out for stories right now) because they truly are some great reading.

I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love the Clean State Ranch series, but I had trouble getting into Hard Ride. One of the reasons the series works so well is because of the close relationship between the guys who work at the ranch, and being in close proximity provides plenty of opportunity for banter. But Hard Ride takes place almost entirely away from the ranch, and while Arthur did a wonderful job of providing the two protagonists with new friends in the apartment complex, it just wasn’t the same.

The fake relationship trope was cute, although it did seem a little too implausible that neither of them would tell the other than he wanted to try a real relationship, and it’s always frustrating when a conflict could be avoided by a single conversation.

I enjoyed Hard Ride, but not as much as the other books in the series.

3.5 stars. This was my least favorite book in the series. I didn't feel the "romance" between the MC's. I liked them well enough but they didn't just jump out at me. It took me a while to finish the book & I almost didn't, but since I love this series I did. Also, the lack of communication was off the charts in this one & I couldn't even with these two. Even though I didn't care for this one, it will not stop me from continuing on with the story.

ARC provided by NetGalley in excange for an honest review.

Hard Ride: A Gay Cowboy Romance (Book 5 Clean Slate Ranch series) by A.M. Arthur had me up all night reading to see if our two main characters, Slate and Derrick could go from fake boyfriends to something real. I have enjoyed this whole series so far and this newest book was no exception.

This one takes us away from Clean Slate Ranch, though all the previous characters I've come to know and love, regularly make appearances. After Slate has an accident he makes a deal with Derrick, they will be fake boyfriends for the summer, so Derrick has a date for 5 family weddings he has to attend, and in return Slate can recuperate at his place in the city where he has access to medical facilities.

The fake boyfriend/girlfriend trope is not a new one, but I personally haven't read many of them, and I really enjoyed this one, watching them fall for each other, they already knew they had the chemistry, but watching that chemistry turn to something more was really enjoyable even if they were both too stubborn to say anything to each other. Cue best friends who can help out.

I loved the new cast of supporting characters who live in Derrick's house and who Slate also becomes good friends with. I especially liked Dez who's sweet, quirky and an individual and made Slate's time recovering more enjoyable and set him on a new and completely different path from his former interests.

Slate has kept a secret from everyone, a teenage daughter who he is desperate to form a proper relationship with. I liked the way this played out and I liked how open she was to Slate and Derrick's relationship and how that made her look at her dad in a new and better way.

A really enjoyable romance and I'll be cheering this couple on, as I have for all the couples so far. I hope there is another book in this series to look forward to.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin - Carina Press for a digital copy in return for an honest review.

I quite enjoy how Arthur manages to keep coming up with new characters and storylines for this what was initially, a very modest ranch right back at the beginning. But also, I love that Derrick was in that first book, and here he is, finally finding his happy-ever-after.

The first scene was extremely steamy, and the attraction is instant. That they then refuse to say anything and have to resort to the fake boyfriend scenario, just because neither of them want a committed relationship, is frustrating, but it also serves to develop a story in which their friendship develops, and allows Arthur to also bring in previous couples so that the novel should appeal to all fans of the series.

I enjoyed reading about Slater's issues, and his loyalty to the ranch makes him sympathetic and likeable. It was also good to learn more about Derrick. Look it is contrived, but it's also very readable, very sexy (even if they are limited by Slater's injuries), and concludes very happily.

Bring on more, I say. Thanks Netgalley and Carina Press for advanced copy. Released Feb 17 I believe.

I got an ARC of this book.

If you know me, then you probably know that I have a weird thing for gay cowboys. I have no desire to be on a ranch or a farm. I am not a fan of horses being close to me. They could clearly crush me if they decided to. Goats are about it for me with farms. I have been bullied by chickens. I'm not even a fan of butch men in real life, so gay cowboys really shouldn't do it for me, but here we are any way.

The story itself is a very basic fake boyfriend to real boyfriend story. There is a HEA promised so there was no doubt the men would end up together. There really is no suspense in the novel at all, which makes for it to be a decent fluffy book. I enjoyed the fluff of it. I just prefer my cowboys with a bit more angst. I wanted more emotions to be broken and more trust to be tested.

Both of the men are bi. Great, I love seeing bi characters in books! Both characters only ever hook-up with people and won't settle down, which is such a trope and I am so tired of bisexual characters being seen as sluts. So the bi representation is a hit and miss portion for me. The really cool parts were Slater coming out to his family. Those scenes were so incredible for me. 

There is an non-binary neighbor who is more than a plot device. I love her. She is amazing. She helps Slater learn to be creative and she is that voice of reason. Plus she reminded me of a friend of mine and that just made everything better. Her relationship with her straight boyfriend is also pretty wonderful. I just adore the couple. The upstairs neighbors felt like they were just added on to the plot at times. It felt like the author was just trying to create room for a clear sequel between one of the brothers and a trick rider on the ranch. 

I have a feeling that the author is not a stitcher. The way that embroidery and cross stitch are talked about tells me that. Slater stitches in the afternoons. Yet he finishes dozens of pieces despite just learning how to do it. I have been stitching for twenty years and even when I stitch the same time frame as Slater I would not be finishing as many pieces. So the complexity of the pieces were either over stated or Slater is clearly a stitching prodigy. This is really just nitpicking, but it did bring me out of the story. I loved that the cowboy was the one who was stitching. That he was doing something that is so often assumed to be a feminine pursuit, but without a single blow to his ego. There is even a scene where he corrects someone for saying stitching is feminine. Stitching is amazingly badass. The work that people have done is just breath taking at times. Slater did a clock piece and I just saw my first cross stitch clock the other day. They are gorgeous. I am impressed with his skill and dedication. I also may have a new kink, gay cowboys that cross stitch. 

The condom usage was so bad. There were only ever condoms for anal sex, but never for oral. They engaged in oral sex seconds after meeting each other without a barrier and without any talk of STIs. Considering how often the book mentioned that Derrick was constantly at the club and hooking up, you would think that he would understand condom usage better. Slater not kissing someone unless he was dating them is something that I have only ever seen in the gay male hook-up world and I was excited by that small touch.

The story was a lot of tell and no show. It was constant flat out saying what I should have been able to see from the men. If I was told one more time that they wanted to kiss each other, but couldn't I would have put the book down. Even gay cowboys could not save me. The book also relies a lot on previous books. If you have not read the first four books in the series then some of the characters will not stand out or make any sense. They are just side characters and don't generally play a huge role in this book, so you can still enjoy the story, but you might not get everything.

Some of the aspects of the book fell short for me, but others were so incredibly perfect.

the latest in the clean slate ranch series is hard ride, and derrick massey finally finds his guy after trying things out with several other ranch hands. those past hook ups happened in prior books, so you aren't bothered by derrick's past.

from the moment derrick connects with slater, it's pure chemistry. but then slater is badly injured and needs a place to recover that isn't the ranch. and derrick happens to need a guy who is willing to be his date for a series of family weddings. he wouldn't be upset if slater agrees to be that guy.

the fake boyfriend trope works here because the characters behave like adults and communicate with each other. slater experiences some big epiphanies while he's convalescing with derrick, but he also needs time to make sure that he's not just reacting to circumstances, and that what he wants is something real.

i love that the characters in this series behave like rational people. and i'm so glad that there is at least one more book in this universe. i'd be happy to see more than that too.

**hard ride will publish on february 17, 2020. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/carina press in exchange for my honest review.

Hard Ride. Slater and Derrick story. This one didn't really grabbed me by the horns like some previous book in the series. It was very fast pace and I didn't really felt the chemistry between these two. As usual it was good to see past characters getting involved and see where they are. Fan of A. M Arthur, I'll still recommend to read this one for the continuity of the series.
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley. The opinions expressed here are all mine.

This is my second go with Clean Slate Ranch. I really like the premise of the ranch.. a place where people can go to put the past behind them and move on.

In this book, Derrick is at the ranch for a wedding when he has a late-night encounter with ranch-hand, Slater. It's hot and fun and when it's over Slater pretty much just walks away. Before Derrick leaves the ranch there's a terrible accident and Slater is left unable to continue working for a few months while he recovers.

This is where the fun part comes in. Derrick and Slater strike up a deal. They will be "pretend boyfriends" for the time-span of the weddings that Derrick has to go to over the next few weeks. That will keep Derrick's family quiet! After all, he's the only one left single and a very eligible bachelor.

Over the course of their living together, Slater and Derrick both develop feelings for one another. Naturally, they don't say anything about it. It's funny that they don't communicate well, because my issue with the other book I read in this series was that the character talked about absolutely everything! These two were frustrating for the opposite reason. They clearly felt things but didn't talk about it. Slater had rather a lot going on in his past that he flat out refused to tell people even though it was the kind of stuff that really should have been out in the open.

Overall the story is good. It's a common trope in romance books but I'm always up for a fake-boyfriend. I really liked the relationship between Slater and his daughter - it was sweet and endearing.

Although it was different from the others in the series, I really enjoyed Hard Ride.
At first I didn't know what to make of Slater. He was very guarded and I didn't get warm and fuzzy feelings about him. Fast forward a few chapters and I wanted to reach out and give him a huge hug. He was faced with so many challenges but always persevered and adapted. I lo 've his second chance of life
Derrick was a total sweetheart. As guarded as Slater was Derrick wore his emotions on his sleeve and was very optimistic. Despite being opposites these two worked so well together.
The book could have used a little drama beside the last chapter but I enjoyed it nevertheless.

Hard Ride is part of this Clean Slate Ranch series, which I've only read one other book, but I found that it reads just fine w/o knowing everything that had gone on previously. Of course, this seems to start up directly after what appears to be the previous book in the series. I never felt like I needed to really know all the various characters. They are each important to this story, but their back stories were not important to know for this one.

I liked this story well enough. I kind of have a soft spot for the fake boyfriend trope, and this nails that on the head. It was really light and happy for the most part. The slight bit of angst wasn't the kind that felt forced or pushy. It was just good and sweet and that was probably my favorite part of the book. I loved how good and sweet it is. I really liked that both characters communicated, for the most part, really well. I like that they each were open to new things, experiences, and journeys. It was sort of refreshing.

It's a nice book that made me feel good when I read it. When I was finished, that feeling stayed. It starts hot and heavy but mellows out to a very slow burn that ends up with that sweet ending. Friendships are made and cherished, prior to making life changing decisions. I appreciated that so much. So if you want something that makes your heart melt a little, and puts a smile on your face, this is one to try.

Complementary copy given for honest review and opinion

I can’t honestly give a review because I couldn’t finish the book. It wasn’t for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!

Yet another solid entry into the Clean Slate Ranch series, which if you hadn't noticed has become a guilty pleasure of mine. I love a sexy cowboy who also happens to dig other dudes! :)

I really liked that we got to see Derrick, who has been around since the first book, get some major screentime and a happy ending. I also really liked Slater, who was manly in all the right ways and not at all in the toxic masculinity kind of way. I liked their backstories, the angst that those caused, the way they cared for each other, and the way they fit right into each other's families. Sure, it wasn't entirely realistic, but do we read romance novels for 100% realism? No, we don't!

And I have to say, the book starts on a great note... hot late night home gym sexy times with a dominant muscly cowboy man. Yes, please.