Rae and Riley had been high school sweethearts and had gotten married right after she graduated from high school. But after several years of a happy marriage, Rae suddenly decided that there was something wrong with their marriage. She left and moved back home without ever telling Riley what went wrong. And then she keeps going out to see him to fight and then have sex while ignoring him in public for eight years. And yet he still loves her and puts up with her using him for regular booty calls. I didn’t buy her explanation of why she had walked out on their marriage without telling him her reasons. I get that they both came from very dysfunctional families, but that is no excuse.

I liked the novella that was included about Riley’s younger brother better than the main novel.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

Yay, after three books in the Cold River Ranch series, Caitlin returns back to Cold River with a new series: the Kittredge Ranch series. Yep, the brothers of Amanda (from The Last Real Cowboy). This first one is about Riley. We had already seen in The Last Real Cowboy that he had a history with Rae. But Rae acts like he doesn't exist any more.
In this part we can see that Rae and Riley are actually married. But eight years ago something happened and Rae moved out of their home. Since nobody talks about it, most folks in Cold River believe that Riley and Rae are divorced. But in fact, Rae and Riley are still married. Although Rae doesn't talk about Riley with her friends and family, she and Riley do sleep together almost every night. It's like a push and pull between them. And although Riley doesn't understand what is wrong with Rae, he silently lets her sleep in his bed every night. But every time they end up fighting and then Rae will leave again. Only to turn up at his front door after a few nights.
Up until Rae decides that she is done. She doesn't want to fight any more. So, she proposes an actual divorce to Riley. When Riley offers to help her date other guys, so she can 'get back in the saddle' they agree to be friends and stop the fighting. By breaking their vicious circle, both learn from each other to see what's behind the facade and they learn to communicate again. A wonderful and heartbreaking story. Four out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

This is the first in the Kittredge Ranch series. I enjoyed returning to Cold River, CO and seeing the characters from previous series. The hero & heroine definitely had some issues to resolve and I wondered how they could ever come together. Caitlin Crews did a great job telling their story and how they reached HEA. I am looking forward to the rest of the books in this series.

I loved this book. The depth of character development was fantastic. I got completely sucked in, did no work all day and cried my way through the story all afternoon! Now I'm off to check out some of the other stories in this series :)

ARC received for review

DNF

I've tried, but I just can't get into it, and I don't care what caused her to run away from him.

Rae and Riley love each other so much, but there is something standing in between them. They are lacking communication so things that matter aren’t being said. Just when they think this might be the end, their strong love for each other pulls them through. Great story.

Fantastic book. You actually get 2 stories in this book.

The 1st is about Rae and Riley. They are childhood sweethearts and got married straight outta high school, but Rae left Riley but they have been friends with benefits for years. Rae wants a divorce, but Riley doesnt. The problem is that they both still love each other but Rae wont admit it.

The 2nd is about Connor. He fell in love with Missy when he was in high school, but she left and got engaged to someone else. She comes back to Cold River and Connor takes her out on dates to try and win her over.

Fantastic storys, i have read all the other books in this series so was familiar with the backstorys, but i dont think you need to have done that as its pretty good as a stand alone.

I was hoping that Amanda's brothers would get their own books and they did this was such a wonderful start to this new series. It answered so many questions that I had about Riley and Rae. I thought that the chemistry between them was hot! Even though Rae asked for a divorce I knew deep in her heart she still loved Riley and he knew this too. Hence why he hatched his plan. I loved the story line and I loved that we got to catch up with characters from the Cold River Ranch series. This was one of those books that captures your attention from the start and will not let go. It had me laughing and crying. It also had twist, turns and surprised I didn't even see coming. I cannot wait until the next book. Definitely a 5 star read. Thanks Net Galley. I voluntarily reviewed this book in exchange for an honest review.

I voluntarily read an advanced review copy of this book and I loved it!

This book was simply fantastic. In the previous books in the series you get small hints at what is going on with this couple but when you read it...even if you guess at the issue...it will leave you with tears in your eyes and then a happy smile on your face. Overall a really good book!

Communication...that's the first word that comes to mind. These 2 still acted like teenagers with the hots for each other. They needed to seriously grow up. As you can see this story brought up strong emotion. It reflects the problem in so many marriages I have seen dissolved. Why can you talk endlessly as teens then stop all ability to communicate? There was so much angst So it was a good story. The bonus story was a good one too. What's not to like when cowboys are involved!

This book was fantastic and it was a really well developed story telling the battle of the heart.

The storyline was great and it was packed with heartfelt feelings and a complete page turner and I could really get in to this one and it had me hooked from the outset.

I thought that the characters were well developed too and they worked really well together. The author has written a lovely story and it had great attention to detail.

It is 5 stars from me for this story - very enjoyable and a delight to read - very highly recommended!!

Early in the book, Riley talks about the games that he and Rae play together. And that’s exactly what this book is- a look at the games. Not having much patience for those types of games, it was hard for me to like the characters or the games they were playing. I was impatient with them and kept wanting to tell them to grow up. EIGHT years since they separated, pus the separations during the time they were together. Neither one of them deserved the other. That isn’t what love is.

DNF at 31%

This is a case of its me not the book.

I am finding myself distracted and completely disengaged from the story and the characters. And I just want to shake sense into Rae soooo bafly

I will try this one again another day

So much hurt, anguish, and tears in this story. I need more of the healing to balance it out.
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There are so many aspects of the story that I could relate to. If you’re married you know that it’s not always easy. I’ve had my ups and downs with my spouse and a lot of the story I can relate to right now!

Both Rae and Riley are way too stubborn. They haven’t grown up even though they’ve been married for years and years.

The problems abound and the fact is they just won’t talk to each other. But yet they have this steaming hot secret connection. If they weren’t married, I’d say they have the best of both worlds. However, this story is full of hurt, anguish, and just brokenness.

I shed too many tears on this book. The secrets are astonishing and extremely sad. It took forever to get to where I could finally see them healing. I wanted more of happiness!

But I have to say Crews once again just completely obliterated my heart. Amazing story with well developed, highly crafted characters. Friends and family we love and hate plus an exciting new series to latch on to!

I enjoyed this book, but it was a little bit tough to initially get into because I did not realize that it was part of a series! Whoops! It was still a fantastically fun cleansing romance, but keep in mind that this is part of a series and it will take a bit more effort to get into if, like me, you have not read the others in the same series. But still, I loved it!

This is connected to Caitlin Crews Cold River Ranch series. This is the Kittredge Ranch Series (I loved those Kittredge and was hoping this was going to happen). I loved the Cold Rivers series and am excited to reconnect with all the characters and the sweet small town feel she is so good at incorporating and delivering in her stories.

Riley Kittredge and Rae Trujillo are definitely fall under the term "soul mates." They were connected and friends from a young age. Always inseparable and no one was surprised when they became a couple in high school and married soon after they graduated high school.

Their relationship was volatile to say the least. Unfortunately both witnessed the same from their parents so they really didn't have great role models. Communication at times was a challenge for them in their marriage. Riley loved horse and trained them and Rae worked at her family flower shop creating beautiful bouquets. Their marriage was good, with issues of course. But something happened and Rae left Riley.

Rae in eight years never really shared why she left Riley and it wasn't like he didn't try to find out why. But a deep dark secret haunts Rae. The two never divorced (that was a secret each kept as the town was in the dark). In fact to the town the two hated each other, never spoke to each other and no one was allowed to mention the others name in their presence. But these two had secret meetings in which Rae would go visit Riley for some reason. They would get in a very heated and aggressive fights that they ended up in bed together (that was like a lot from what is implied). And then Rae sneaks out in the morning, till it happens again and again....

In the begin chapters we see Rae being challenged by her friends and brother that her life is in limbo. No one is sure about her marriage and she lives with her parents and grandmother. She is then challenged to make a change and decides to move out as well as make another big decision. Rae goes to Riley house, really the house they built together, and announces to him she wants a divorce. And this is the point where each does a lot of soul searching in what they really want in life. Does Rae want a baby and she needs to date for that, but can she really do that. Riley finds out she is wanting to date and offers to help her (but not really). The two develop a "friendship" that turns into friendship with benefits. Rae is right back where she was in a way. Another confrontation occurs between the two and that's when Rae tell Riley she wants a baby and he offer to help her, but she always thought he was against kids. And there another revelation is revealed to the couple.

At this point Rae reveals her reasons for leaving. And at this juncture a lot of soul searching, heart to heart talks and forgiveness takes place. The two navigate the past and decided to work on the future. They realized they never stopped loving each other, but just lost their way in communicating and working on their marriage. They get their HEA and then some.

Okay, I struggled with this a little. Well maybe a little more than a little. I liked it but had an problems with Rae and how she dealt with her issues and Riley. I loved Riley. But Rae, well she seemed a little immature to me at times and didn't do very well with relationships, especially Riley's. She needed way better communications skills. Riley was somewhat stubborn but nothing like Rae. Riley is my opinion was the character that came across "better" in this romance.

I'm looking forward to seeing who's next and reconnecting with characters from past books. I really do love her cowboy series and she does an excellent job in creating a small town feel.

This wonderful book was a very enjoyable read with the well written storyline and characters that were so well defined that I was glued to my kindle until the turn of the very last page!

I really enjoyed this book. It was really endearing. I love the plotline and how it ended. I really look forward to re-reading it again.

I enjoyed reading the "Cold River Ranch" series by this author, but I have mixed feelings about the first book in this new series. The brotherly love is the most enticing part of this story. Revisiting characters from the past series is like taking a walk down memory lane.

Riley and Rae have history. From being high school sweethearts to getting married at a very early age. Looks like the perfect fairytale. Right? Unfortunately something happens to set their marriage into a downward spirral. Rae is keeping a secret. Something that she hasn't shared with anyone! They split up, but Rae keeps going back to fight and make up sex. It's rinse and repeat on a regular basis. Riley, on the other hand keeps hoping for her to change her mind and just maybe they could have a normal life, until she decides to make a fresh start and move on.

It's clear that they both have strong feelings, but Rae's refusal of giving an explanation for the way she acts doesn't help the relationship. She has good reasons though. Anybody would be devastated. She is in her thirties, but acts like an immature teenager. She even allows her best friends to push her out of her comfort zone. It's hard to warm up to her. Riley is stubborn and thinks he knows best, but his heart is in the right place. It's a fair read.

I was kindly issued with an eARC from Netgalley and the views expressed are my personal opinion.

I requested to read and review this book from St. Martin Publishing Company. This is the first book I have read by author Caitlin Crews. I love this book. The Kittredge Brothers will keep you on the edge of your seat with their questions and what they think of the ladies and their family dynamics. Riley Kittredge and Rae will keep you guessing about the big mystery in their marriage and what they do about it. You can picture the family ranch and the other family members that reside on the ranch. Plus you get the bonus book Sweet Nights with a Cowboy which you will get to know Connor Kittredge better and what makes him tick and what he really thinks about his first love Missy.