With the first spin-off from the Clean Slate series, A.M. gives us a slightly different perspective on the best friend's brother trope.

It's coupled with a bit of found family, some dealing with your past elements, and a not quite second chance romance.

There's a small (eight years) between Hugo and Brand and I have to say, at times I'm not sure they really read like 27 and a 35 year old men, more like young adult at times.

Some of that is down to the story choices of having Brand be struggling with his bisexuality and still living at home on his parent's ranch.

Hugo is a bit more world weary and they're both utterly rubbish at communicating, thankfully it doesn't become a major plot point.

They flit and flop through a "will they, won't they" and there's a fair amount of UST before the inevitable happens.

I liked that there were strong secondary characters and a good sense of the setting, as well as a plot arc which provided other external tensions outside of just the relationship.

Overall I think it's a solid opener which sets up a few other potential options for future books.

*soft gasp* there was only one tent

I went into His Fresh Start Cowboy expecting a simple MM romance and was pleasantly surprised which how much it packed a punch. It has a relatively simple and straightforward plot which some may find a tad boring but I think that simplicity gave each character - Hugo and Brand - the time and space to shine. The romance was filled with gentle yearning, so much hurt/comfort, and so much intensity that it made my chest physically ache. But beyond that, this was a story of standing up for yourself, overcoming trauma, and believing in your worth.

However, I did find the writing to be rather simplistic and there was more tell rather than show which made it difficult to emotionally connect with the story at times because that made it pretty jarring. I also wish that the mcs had talked through more of their problems rather than have their friends boink some sense into them.

Overall, this was a lovely read with solid characters and I can absolutely see myself rereading this again.

Okay not even gonna lie, this was a highly enjoyable book. I am excited to see what comes next in the series.

I did enjoy this book. Hugo was so sweet and slightly broken. Rand was deeply in the closet and couldn't forget the boy that once kissed him. There's lots of angst, and abusive step-brother and a feeling of family. Rand and Hugo had lots of chemistry. I like that Hugo didn't back away from telling Rand exatly what he wanted yet also being able to be Rand's friend at the same time. I appreciated that it wasn't all tied up in a neat bow with Hugo's family and Elmer. I did feel that the togetherness happy ending was a little rushed and wanted more. I'm sure there will be more of them in a second book to the series- my guess is Jackson. I enjoyed it enough that I plan to check out the previous series. Definitely recommend.

AHHH, this was sweet. A heartfelt, hopeful, romantic (and just a tiny bit angsty!) novel about two people finding each other again, after a decade (and lots of pining) apart.
"His Fresh Start Cowboy" is my first A.M. Arthur book ever and I'm so glad I got the chance to read this now. I haven't read nearly enough cowboy books and this one scratched a need I had for something with just this kind of rural, simple-way-of-life vibe. I've always had a weakness for the small-town settings and the atmosphere of a place like that.
I loved both MCs quite a lot and they had tons of chemistry: I wanted to smack Brand a couple of times for being obtuse and a bit clueless though. Hugo, on the other hand, was a lovely protagonist: sweet and nice, respectful and, generally, so damn brave I wanted to hug him and keep him safe from his past. He has baggage and a whole lot of trauma, but still manages to stay polite and respectful and responsible. There were a couple of plot points that were left in the wind a bit, so I'm hoping we'll be getting a bit more of Woods Ranch in the future: Hugo and Brand's story is pretty much a HEA (or at least, a very solid HFN), but I wouldn't be opposed to more of them (if not as protagonists, at least as side characters). I'm so looking forward to that! Even though, those intriguing short scenes with a certain nurse made me wonder. We'll see.
If what you're looking for is a sweet, angst-y, second-chance romance with cowboys and ranches, found-family vibes, a dog who deserves his own medal, delicious sounding cooking, a bit of outdoors sex (*winks*) and two MCs that are stubborn and smitten with each other, look no further. Totally recommended!

I had a hard time with His Fresh Start Cowboy. I thought it was on the right track but Hugo and Brand's storyline didn't work for me. I couldn't wrap my head around Hugo working with his brother for years and he didn't tell anyone.
I also had a hard time with how Brand treated his former lovers. He seemed shallow and I just didn't like him.

His Fresh Start Cowboy is book one in the Woods Ranch series by A.M. Arthur. This is my very first book by this author. What first drew me in was this gorgeous cover. It’s no secret that I have a huge weakness for cowboy romance as I do for M/M romance. Put them together and I’m a goner. This is a sweet, sexy, slow burn romance. I fell for both of these heroes. Their lives were so different from each other but also the same in some ways. Let me tell you a little bit about them.

I first want to mention that this is sort of a spin off of the Clean Slate Ranch series. Since I haven’t read it, it took me just a bit in the beginning to get all the familial connections straight. But everything fell into place in no time.

Hugo Turner is twenty seven years old. He left Texas almost ten years ago as soon as he turned eighteen. He had spent the last couple of years at Clean Slate Ranch in California but when he heard they were hiring at Woods Ranch, the home of his boyhood best friend, Rem Woods, and Rem’s older brother who was Hugo’s high school crush, he decided it was time to go back to Texas and face his ghosts.

Brand Woods is thirty five years old. When his older brother, Colt, left home years ago and moved to California and started Clean Slate Ranch, Brand was left to take over the foreman position at their family’s Woods Ranch. He accepted the responsibility and has done well. Brand is bi-sexual but has kept this a secret. He has two friends with benefits relationships that fulfill the needs of both parties involved and Brand has accepted that this is probably all he’ll ever have. But when he was told Hugo was coming back and would be working on their ranch, he both dreaded it and was excited for his return. Hugo was just a kid when they last saw each other. But there was always chemistry there. He was always there in the back of Brand’s mind and maybe a few of his fantasies. But now he would be Hugo’s boss. Not to mention that no one knew of his sexuality. So it would be hands off and stay away.

Hugo had two reasons for returning home, one to try to reconnect with his mother, the other, to finally try to connect with the man he’s loved since he was sixteen years old. But neither of these are working very well for him. Could returning to Texas be a mistake? Brand seems to want nothing to do with him. The sparks he feels whenever they are near each other couldn’t be his imagination, though.

These two both have so many battles to fight, both within themselves and in their lives, especially Hugo. One thing I loved is that no matter what turmoil Brand was feeling as to his feelings for Hugo, when Hugo needed him, he was there, no matter what. I adored the way that the Woods family supported Hugo, both in the present and back when he was a teenager. He was one of the family.

This was a sweet, sexy, and sometimes sad story. I really wanted to tie these two up to each other to force them to talk to one another. I loved the way Brand finally dealt with their communication issues. The next book in this series will be His Reluctant Cowboy. I don’t know who it’s about although I do have a couple of ideas who it could be. We’ll have to find out when more is revealed. For now, I hope you enjoy meeting Brand and Hugo.

His Fresh Start Cowboy is a really sweet and emotional romance!

Hugo Turner left his hometown in Daisy, Texas when he was eighteen and he's never looked back. Nine years later, he's happily working at a ranch in California, but he's restless. So, on a whim he applies for a job back home and two weeks later he's back in Texas working for his former crush, Brand Woods.

Brand Woods has been hiding a part of himself for years. After a scorching kiss with his brother's best friend, he finally accepts who he is but still hides it from everyone around him. When Hugo finds his way back home, Brand isn't sure what to do. All the feelings he's hidden for the man return with a vengeance, but he's not willing to risk his family or their ranch and take a chance on the one man he's always cared about.

This book was more emotional than I expected it to be. Going in, I was expecting a brother's best friend romance, with a heavy emphasis on the romance. And while this was just that, it also had a lot more going for it. Hugo's relationship with his family is tense and strenuous, and his trauma kept him away from his home state for almost a decade. Getting to see him working through that was intense but a major part of his journey.

Similarly, Brand's fears and worries about how being who he is might affect his family's livelihood, controls him. He's afraid to take a chance on the things he wants, and Hugo's return only emphasizes all of that. Both by themselves and together, they have to work through their personal struggles before they're able to fight for each other and what they could be.

It was a lot of back and forth, where they had to figure out what it is that they truly wanted, not just with each other, but in life. What I really loved about them was that even when they were drowning in their own problems, when they saw the other person struggling, they dropped everything to be there for them. That really strengthened their relationship for me and showed how much they cared.

This book had a lot of hurt/comfort themes, which definitely made things better. It also sets things up for future stories. It was a great intro to a new world and I'm looking forward to what comes next in the Woods Ranch and its town of Weston, Texas.

I definitely enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it if you're looking for an M/M cowboy romance that is as sweet as it is serious and has some major feels involved!

Yay, a new series by A.M. Arthur! A spinoff of their Clean Slate Ranch series, you can read <i>His Fresh Start Cowboy</i> as a standalone. There's mention of characters from the Ranch, Brand is Colt's brother, but you don't need to know anything about the past series to completely enjoy this one.

A.M. Arthur does an excellent job with Brand - coming out as bi, wrapping his head around his attraction to Hugo, dealing with career choices, and other family drama. Hugo is more straight forward, but he's got some serious demons to overcome. Just like in real life, everything doesn't go smoothly, nor does it all go his way... but you know he's going to do whatever he needs to get his man!

Woods Ranch is still at the beginning stages of its reincarnation under Brand's leadership. But they've got a strong, accepting family and A.M. Arthur lays plenty of seeds for future episodes in this wonderful new series.

In His Fresh Start Cowboy A.M. Arthur delivers an emotional slow burn second chance romance that is poignant and deep.

Thanks to Netgalley and Carina Press for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

When I heard the Clean Slate Ranch was done, I was so sad, so finding out there was going to be a spinoff involving Colt's family, I was over the moon! Hugo was the perfect character to start this series off with.

I felt so bad for the guy. He's had a lot of disappointment and heartache in his life and had the courage to face his past head on... and it was a bumpy ride. But of course, the story took us where we needed to go.

This is a little reminiscent of Red Dirt Heart by N.R. Walker - not a ripoff or anything like that, just a similar setting. That made me love this one so much more because I adored Red Dirt Heart and there just aren't many books like it out there.

The miscommunications were a little cheesy but typical for the genre.

All in all, a great start to a spinoff series. Bring on book two!

This was an angsty novel about two men with a lot to heal in their pasts. Hugo is returning home after he fled a bad Homelife and a disastrous kiss with an older friend. Brand still hasn't come out to his family... and isn't even sure he wants to be running the family ranch. When Hugo returns home... he ends up working at Brand's family ranch. It's a p lace he always felt safe in the past when he was on avoiding the pain at home.

There were times during the story that I wanted to bash the two MCs head's together. There were a lot of unnecessary misunderstandings between them. It felt a bit forced to me at times, but I could live with it because I really liked Hugo.

There are some heavy issues in this novel. Go into it with your eyes open for potential triggers. Well-written romance.

All you really need to know about this book is - gay - cowboy - romance. I was sold after reading that! Hugo has been on his own for a long time. He left his hometown in Texas to escape abuse at the hand of his step-brother, but not without a lot of regrets. He misses his mom - and wonders if he missed out on a relationship with his best friend's older brother. He's coming back home to give both of those relationships another chance after 10 years.

Brand has also had his life take a different direction from where he thought it would go. He is running the family cattle ranch and trying to take things in a new direction. He always wanted to be a teacher- until his oldest brother ran away and upended their family dynamics. Brand has known he was bisexual since his early 20s - at least - when Hugo kissed him in the family barn before disappearing himself. At that time Hugo was 16 and Brand was 24 - their relationship wasn't even a remote possibility between their ages and Brand being in a family that wasn't open to non-heterosexual relationships.

This book really navigates what family means - and what acceptance means. Both Hugo and Brand have a tough road in coming together - but when they do, they are too cute together for words.

I give this one a very solid 3.5 stars. I would have liked Brand to talk more to Hugo than he did to his friends and older brother about there relationship. I also wished Brand's extended family and some of the sideline stories about them had either been left out - or fleshed out a little more. Hearing about Rem and his wife struggling with infertility felt like maybe it was more than it ended up being. Perhaps its a line towards a future story? I don't know.

If you are fans of The Gates series by M. Tasia - this book will definitely appeal to you! I would very much like to learn more about other characters in the book as well! So I am hoping this is the start of a spin off series from the Clean Slate ranch books.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

His Fresh Start Cowboy may have an awkward title, but the novel itself is a charm.. I thoroughly enjoyed life on the ranch and I am no cowboy. Author A.M. Arthur keeps the tale interesting as she creates a splendid plot with interesting characters. Not sure how or why a woman can write such splendid male on male sex scenes, but I guess it's just putting the right parts together. I'd be glad to read a sequel.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

This is the beginning of what promises to be another great series by this author. Complicated family and personal relationships provide obstacles to Hugo and Brand finally getting together, but ultimately both realize what they have is worth any risk. I enjoyed the Texas cattle ranch world (including two amazing dogs) and cannot wait to see what comes next for some of the secondary characters.

This is all I want in an MM cowboy romance!!

I really enjoyed this book, and I'm SO excited for the rest of this series! I have a feeling it's going to be a good one! I've been wanting to read a book by A. M. Arthur for the longest time now, so when I saw it up for request, I jumped at the opportunity and I'm so glad I did! I'm going to be reading ay more from this author soon.

This book is a second chance, slow burn, cowboy romance with a good amount of steam and lots of cute moments! Oh, and did I mention it has the best friend's brother trope?? So good!

Out on January 25, 2022!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the earc in return for an honest review.

Don't forget to check TW's!