It's so nice to visit this group again. Reading A.M. Arthur's His Reluctant Cowboy is a bit like getting caught up with family.

Fans of A.M. Arthur's Clean Slate Ranch series will want to dive right into the Woods Ranch stories. Start with His Fresh Start Cowboy because the characters from that novel do play a part in Seamus and Josiah's tale. You don't need to have read the Clean Slate Ranch novels to start this series though.

To go with the nice age-gap, His Reluctant Cowboy has a lovely slow-burn. And when you find out the details of the trauma poor Josiah has endured, you'll see why. Plus Seamus has been the victim of an unfaithful spouse, and he needs to focus his energy on his relationship with his dad.

I enjoyed watching these two damaged guys gradually let down their walls and let each other in. This is a really well written hurt/comfort story, with excellent family drama. And once the physical romance starts up, you can bet it's up to A.M. Arthur's usual standards *wink*, so hang in there... it's worth it!

This was a slow-burn romance, normally I'm not a fan of slow-burn, but due to the trauma experienced by Josiah, anything else would not have been realistic.

In book 1 His Fresh Start Cowboy, we met Elmer (a secondary character), a grumpy man who is estranged from his son but has a good heart. In His Reluctant Cowboy, Elmer becomes one of three main characters and we get to know him really well. After having a stroke his estranged son Michael comes home to help care for him. Michael has just been through the end of a relationship, one that didn't end well and is looking for a new start, the opportunity to come home after 2 decades away and possibly reconnect with his dad is perfect timing. I really felt for these two characters, they'd suffered a huge loss which instead of drawing them together pushed them apart and I was saddened for all the time they had lost. I really liked seeing them slowly reconnect and build something new between them. I thought the author handled Elmer's stroke recovery really well, portraying what Elmer was going through with his loss of independence in a realistic way, and also how Michael felt having to care for his dad in ways a son doesn't expect to.

Josiah, oh poor Josiah he had been through one traumatic experience after another and his latest 'relationship' with the local sheriff has wiped him of his confidence and belief in himself and scared to trust anyone because his experience tells him no one helps without wanting something in return. What a horrible person the sheriff was, and finding out what he'd been through just made what he did to Josiah even worse. Josiah was a wonderful nursing assistant and his care for Elmer was so genuine, and the friendship the two formed was one of family rather than carer and patient. I liked seeing Josiah heal and bloom through his relationships with Michael and Elmer.

I loved the connection that grew slowly between Michael and Josiah, I understood that each needed time to learn to trust again and appreciated how Michael gave Josiah the chance to decide where he wanted their relationship to go and how fast while reassuring him all the time and supporting him fully. Both men had their pasts to deal with and I liked that they communicated well with each other, opening up and not allowing for misunderstandings to take hold.

I liked that we got to catch up with the Woods family, I wish I had friends and neighbours as supportive as they were.

Please take note of the trigger warnings in this novel.

I'm looking forward to more in this series.

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

Tbh, I feel almost like I was tricked into picking up this book. From the blurb, this seemed like a straightforward romance that, like Arthur's other book in this series and like the books in the Clean Slate Ranch series, focused on a second chance at life arc for both MCs.

The blurb in this book did not at all hint at the detailed and graphic descriptions of on page (and off page) domestic violence, including discussion of sexual assault by an intimate partner. Yes, the front matter contains a CW, but imo that CW simply doesn't go far enough in conveying to the reader the graphic nature of this book.

In addition, this book is simply trauma porn. Yes, bad things happen to good people, but it's unlikely that all of the bad things will happen to one person. Sometimes an author will give a character a traumatic past with the purpose of writing a narrative where the character confronts that trauma, heals, and learns to grow. This book feels more like piling on. One reviewer put it well and said that one MC faced so much adversity that it felt gratuitous and the reviewer became numb to it. As a result that reviewer found it difficult to sympathize with that MC. I feel the same way, and that's why I call this trauma porn.

It's a pass for me on this book. For those interested in this book, take heed of the CW in the front matter and proceed with caution.

This is definitely not my favorite series by the author. I enjoyed Clean Slate Ranch and even the older series, All Saints, Much like my review of book 1, this book also seemed to drag. And once again, we get a HFN instead of a HEA. The epilogue, if you can even call it that, takes place just a few days after the final chapter. That's not an epilogue, that's simply another chapter. Epilogues provide some closure or updates to the couple in the future, or they setup a future story about different characters. That was frustrating as a reader to reach the end, only to be disappointed by the lack of movement in the relationship of Michael and Josiah. Hearing how they celebrated Thanksgiving 3 days after the previous chapter was not adequate enough.

Josiah has had A LOT of bad luck in life. Like, over-the-top bad. His parents died in a terrible accident. He was homeless while his parents were still alive and continued to be homeless for years after their death. He traded sexual favors to stay alive, lived on the streets and basically did what he had to do to survive. It sucked. Then he moves in with an abusive jerk. So the 'series of unfortunate events' continue for Josiah. His saving grace comes when he gets a job caring for Elmer, Michael's dad who had a stroke.

Michael is also down on his luck. He's broke, divorced and now back in his hometown caring for his estranged dad (20 years estranged). But things begin to change for him after he comes back and for the better at that.

Michael and Josiah are obviously attracted to one another, but with Josiah's past trauma, I wasn't sure how their relationship would evolve. They did eventually go from acquaintances to friends to lovers, but it was a slooooow transition. Then when they finally take that next step, it's wonderful, but the author gives us just that one time. That seems very different from previous books and was honestly a bit disappointing. We needed some steam given all the depressing subject matter. It would have made their relationship seem like it was progressing instead of just staying stagnant.

Elmer was a character we met in the first book and I was happy to see him have a big role in this book. I liked the old man.

I'm interested to see what happens with Seamus. That was definitely surprising. I mean I still hate the guy, but I guess even he deserves happiness...eventually.

I really hope the rest of the series improves. I want to like the town (although they are incredibly homophobic and judgmental) and I really want to love the cast of characters, but so far it's been a letdown from the excitement of Clean Slate Ranch.

Side note: I hated the cover model for this book. If that's supposed to represent Michael, it's so far off the mark. Michael is a city boy (who grew up on a ranch) and is a software developer. The guy on the cover looks like he's nearing 50 and a hateful man to boot with that expression.

Unfortunately, this was not my favorite couple from AM Arthur’s cowboy romance options. Very slow pacing. Not a lot was unpacked here. Issues were mentioned but we never really dug deep and explored any of their backstory. Just a lot of shuffling around for 2/3 of the book them BOOM we’re a couple now. 😏 I was left wanting when all was said and done. I am however still looking forward to what comes next in the series as historically I have enjoyed AMA’s writing and characters.

I tried to give this one the benefit of the doubt. I really did. But I just didn't like it. So much trauma thrown at the reader in quick succession isn't my kind of romance novel. It was more like a bad 90s country song: divorce, family medical emergency, lost job success, lost dog (that is harped on to a weird degree), parental estrangement, domestic abuse. I don't doubt that amount of drama and suffering would make people act in the ways they did in the book. But the truth is, it's hard to read and impossible to enjoy. I'm just not here for reading misery.
That said, it does seem to, more or less, be what it says on the tin. I just wasn't expecting the extreme, I guess. So if you're into complicated drama and a slow-burn romance, have at it.

3.5*

While I ended up enjoying this more than I thought I was going to, I found myself incredibly frustrated at times by events in the narrative.

There's also a couple of inconsistencies which, while they don't affect the outcomes of the story, do take away slightly from it (involving what occurred to Michael's mother which I won't spoiler).

I loved Michael's dad Elmer, and was happy to see him be more a focus in the narrative having been a secondary character in book one of this series. He's a grumpy but kind-hearted man and I was very happy he and Michael managed to resolve their decades old falling out.

Josiah frustrated me immensely and I think a lot of that is simply to do with ALL the traumas the man has had to live though. I know the aim was to draw the reader's sympathy, but instead it just make him seem pathetic a lot of the time.

That's a harsh criticism to lay down, I know, and I don't want to make it sound like I'm victim blaming because I'm not, but there were times when a different direction could have been taken in the narrative and it seemed like the most dramatic and trauma-inducing one was chosen each time to try and make him appear more vulnerable but instead it made him weaker as a character.

Still, he does begin to grow in his own confidence and self-worth once he's at Elmer's farm, helping him after his stroke, and I eventually did start rooting for he and Michael to move from friendship into a romance.

However, overall this is an incredibly slow burn romance, which makes sense given Josiah's background (although again, here there was just so much trauma related events that I became a bit numb to them all in the end) with two characters who do work well as a pairing.

But I found the sexual element of the story was another area where I would have liked to have seen more interactions between them once they did turn their relationship physical, especially given that Michael makes himself vulnerable for Josiah and that whole scene is beautifully done. I wanted more of that.

There's guest appearances from the guys at Woods Ranch and it was great to catch up with Hugo and Brand again and I'm pretty sure that the author is lining up a redemption arc for the Sheriff which I'm in two minds about whether or not I want to read it, as well as possibly a story for fellow ranch hand Jackson.

I really liked the Clean Slate Ranch series, which this is a spin-off from, but so far neither of the two books in the Woods Ranch series have been as strong for me as they were. However, A.M. Arthur is an author I usually enjoy reading and the Clean Slate books got better as the series progresses, so I'm hoping it will be the same here.

There's a very strong sense of place, which this author is so good at, and the small town vibe is well presented, there's good secondary characters and overall the last quarter of the book pulled up my enjoyment significantly and I was very happy with where the relationship is left at the end.

Note the trigger warnings for the book, it includes references to off page sexual assault, homelessness, references to a past street life including sexual exchanges in return for accommodation and a toxic relationship on page, plus an on page violent assault.

Even though I didn’t care for the first book in this series, I wasn’t going to stop me from continuing on. I should have stopped. I hate to say it, but there really wasn’t much of anything I liked about this one. I will not be continuing.

A slow burn m/m story that i through enjoyed. Read it in one day as i couldn’t put it down.

Michael comes home after twenty years of being estranged with his father. The death of his mother was was the final straw in Michael’s decision to leave home. Being a gay man in a small town was nothing but trouble, fighting bullies in school to not being happy in himself had Michael constantly at war with himself.
But he’s home to look after his father and to also reevaluate his life. Being divorced and broke is bad enough, but Michael also misses his dog (which his husband got custody of!)
But he’s going to put his misery on hold for a while and look after his father (who has had a stroke)
Michael didn’t think he’d ever be back home again, but he doesn’t intend to be there forever….

Josiah Is a young man with a troubled past. His parents were killed in a hit and run, he’s lived on the streets for more years than he cares to remember, he’s lived and lost people he’s cared about. But Josiah is also living in a new and dangerous relationship, like vine with a man who could explode with a violent temper at any given moment has Josiah living in constant dread!

Josiah And Michael meet when Josiah applied to become Michael’s fathers caregiver (Josiah is a nurse who works for himself rather than in a hospital) both feel a little tug of interest, but Michael is nursing a broken heart and Josiah is too scared to leave his “lover”. This is going to be a employer/employee relationship only.

Both men are struggling with past baggage, Michael has a fear of commitment as the last man he loved threw him away (after taking his money and his invention) Josiah is just scared of letting anyone in, it’s easier to barter his body for board and lodgings.

Watching these two find themselves and each other was so sweet. Walls needed to come down, trust needed to be earned and they needed to forgive others and themselves.

But once they do find each other it’s not easy. The employee/employer status hangs between them. Past hurts need addressing and sorting.
There is also trust as past lives come knocking on Michael’s door. Can Josiah trust his heart to another man?
And will Michael want to live in this small town again?

This is book two in the series, I’ve not read book I’ve but it’s a book I’ve added to my TBR list.

🦋

Long story short, I did not like this book. I also reviewed the first book in this series an ARC and only rated it two stars. This was...worse. I wasn't sure that was even possible. I thought to myself, "How bad it could it possibly be?". Well, there was so much from the get-go that I took notes. So…if you’re reading this before getting started, be aware: spoilers abound here. Let’s start right at the top with Chapter One.

The author is repetitious immediately. Within the same paragraph, the author uses the phrase “doesn’t know what to call Seamus” –AND IT CONTINUES THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE BOOK that Josiah doesn’t know the appropriate label for him, their relationship (or lack of), and it’s just maddening. How about ask? Especially if you’re going to let the guy take advantage of you sexually?
I immediately did not like Josiah. He comes off as weak and complacent. Caring about people doesn’t make you either of those things, and that was the message I got. Later in the book, there is a discussion about how in abusive relationships, the abusee doesn’t “realize” it’s abuse until its too late. But…that doesn’t vibe with Josiah’s story AT ALL. He’s been alone since he was in his late teens. He’s done what he’s had to do for survival. I am not victim blaming (and I would never say this about or to an *actual person*), but…I have no sympathy for Josiah here. In fact, I KINDA want a redemption arc for Seamus. But more about him later.

Chapter Two, and Michael seems like a whiney asshole. When Seamus stops by and brings up the previous theft saying “nothing to do with what’s going on now”…that makes no sense. Elmer had a heart attack. Of COURSE it has nothing to do with the current circumstances. This is just really, really poor writing and storytelling.

There is also a lot of really crap stereotyping here. Like Michael’s diet and “not eating garbage”. Honey…I have two words for you and I’m resisting real hard from typing them out. 47 pages into this book and I wrote “I’m already exhausted”. I then have a note about Josiah’s glasses. FFS. It mentions Josiah having a “degenerative eye issue”, which IS NEVER MENTIONED EVER AGAIN, but just seems like an excuse to not introduce the guy to Zenni. Seriously. I buy glasses for less than $10. I had to get a storage box for all of them, and I am virtually blind without my glasses. Also, it seems like a really shitty thing to give a guy who already has a really crap background. Like, he can’t catch a break and he just gets more and more pathetic (and unlikable).

Chapters 3-5 and I started noticing all of the really unnecessary prose (“the meat thermometer in the chicken pleased him”…wtf?). The dialog is just ANNOYING and fake. So fake. No one talks like this, do they? Is it a Texan thing? I doubt it. Would it be less annoying in a southern/Texan accent? I doubt that too. Everything in these chapters is so overly dramatic and I hate Josiah more and more. The hold out on explaining his past is just…mind-numbingly annoying. It’s like reading an extremely long Vaguebook post.

There is also a line here that says Michael cut’s Elmer’s meat “as small as he dared without tempting the mans wrath”. Is this supposed to juxtapose against Josiah’s relationship with Seamus? Because if so…ew. Comparing them is really wrong on a variety of levels.
Chapter Six and on (because I really didn’t want to use more paper) I hate the assumption that small towns are full of homophobes. Like, c’mon. Not everyone knows or even cares.

On page 272 it says “Michael climbed out of the cab” when he arrives at Woods Ranch. …Michael doesn’t drive a truck, and it never states that he’s driving Elmer’s. Later, when Josiah buys a chicken and asks to put in the fridge, I have the note “How big is this chicken?” Like four people are getting a weeks’ worth meals out of it? I’m ONE PERSON and if I’m cooking a full chicken, I’m lucky to get a full week out of it.
Around Chapter 10 is when I made the realization that Josiah could be named Josie, swap the pronouns, and this is a heterosexual romance. And it might actually be more tolerable that way. I probably would have enjoyed the eventual sex scene as a pegging scene more…

My notes go a little wonky, but some other things I have written down:
The Pot Luck: Foam plates. Ick. It is far more cost effective for them to be paper, AND better for the environment.
Pg. 332: “young bull to pet”. WOW. NO. Absolutely not safe unless it is a BABY. Later on, this “bull” is named “Minnie Moo” and referred to as a “cow”. Either way: beef cattle are not for petting. They typically are very skittish around humans. If you want to pet a cow, find a dairy cow. They love people (…typically. They have personalities like any other animal).

I also have a note to “decide on the timeline”. Have Michael and Elmer been estranged for 15 years? 20 years? A decade? Make up your mind already. Use a literal calendar or a timeline software and figure it out because it is MADDENING. Josiah’s timeline is also wonky, but slightly more consistent. If the math works out, Josiah is roughly 28-29. Which makes more of this even more frustrating because he is an adult with life experience.
Around this time is also when I start having a VERY hard time with the dialog. Everything they say to each other is just so painfully awkward. It’s secondhand embarrassment just reading it.

After the “incident”, Michael begins calling Josiah “baby”, which feels very gross to me. And that whole thing is just…so. Much. Drama. I also note here that Elmer offers Josiah his bed (in the downstairs). Previously, when he moves into the trailer, it was mentioned that they have a guest room. And then, also, uh, Elmer’s upstairs bedroom –to which Michael says “take my bed, I’ll sleep in Dad’s”… What? Why? What difference does it make who sleeps in what bed?

There is a typo on p. 460; a missing question mark, where I believe Elmer asks “How’s Josiah doing?”

Pg. 537: After they (finally) bang, Josiah “throws his glasses to the end of the bed”. I don’t know about other eyeglass-wearing-folks, but I personally prefer to take mine off BEFORE we get too far into fooling around and I sure as hell don’t just throw them at the end of the bed. That’s a surefire way to get them knocked to the floor. He also mentions he’s “dealt with bruised ribs once before”, which is very inconsistent with the level of abuse he has apparently been subjected to. Which is just one more reason why I continue to find Josiah insufferable. And, continuing with the glasses problem, they are suddenly on the side table in the morning? Why not just put them there to begin?

Later on, I don’t find Seamus’s apology to be genuine. Like, at all. Like I said previously, I would almost read a Seamus redemption story. He has obviously dealt with some shit. And it is not uncommon for abusees to become abusers. I feel like this was more of a non-communicated kink, with D/s element. Does that make it okay? No, that makes it look really terrible for the kink community, and frankly I’m not here for that either.

So…over all. I wouldn’t suggest this book to literally anyone. Michael is slightly more tolerable than Josiah, and frankly if he'd been set up with anyone else it would have been fine. In fact, reading this, I almost thought Jackson had an interest in Josiah, so maybe there would be some kind of a dynamic there...but that never came to fruition (and honestly might have been more interesting). I am not a fan.

This is note to myself: DO NOT pick up anything by this author again. It just is not worth it and I’m sure she would greatly appreciate my not ripping her work apart to this extent (or worse) in the future.

Trigger Warning: sexual abuse, toxic relationship and traumatic experiences
“Josiah also wasn’t sure he needed better than what he had now … No matter what the cost to his physical and mental health”
A beautifully deep and complicated love story between two men, with a wonderful heart who were abused from their previous partners and finally find peace in each other’s arms.
This book was amazing !!!
I’m so glad I had the chance to read it!! It was a romance story with spice enough to make it entertaining but a great plot to keep you interested and focused on what was happening. I deeply appreciated the fact that the author took the time to set a trigger warning list, at the beginning of the book, because dealing with sexual abuse and toxic relationship may be triggering for a lot of people.
The characters were so good and the dynamics between the main couple were so sweet, they almost got me a toothache!!!
They both deserved happiness and peace they found and the ending really good !!!
“He could almost imagine Josiah on a horse, face titled up to the sunshine, enjoying the freedom of wandering the vast acres of the ranch … A freedom he hoped they both got to feel for a long time to come”

Michael is back in small-town Texas after a long time away to help his father after a stroke. He's been through a recent divorce and pretty much lost everything due to the way his husband handled their finances. His relationship with his father has been estranged for years after a big fight. But being back in Weston gives Michael an opportunity for a new start. Josiah is a CNA who specializes in providing in-home care. Michael hires him to look after his father while he is recovering. Josiah is a really good man who is in a pretty terrible situation. He's "roommates" with the sheriff - but really they have a relationship that started off romantic but has turned out to be both physically and emotionally abusive.

I love AM Arthur's stories and the authenticity of the characters. Michael and Josiah are both layered and well developed. Both have them have been through some sh*t and are trying to find their way forward in ways that are good for them. I loved how they actually talked to each other and worked through things together. Michael in particular was wonderful - and the antidote to toxic masculinity that I really needed to read right now.

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

3 stars

This was a very sweet hurt/comfort found family book. I enjoyed the first book of this series and was excited for this book too! This book was a bit slower given the circumstances it deals with (check yes!!) and it was a sweet relationship that bloomed between Michael and Josiah.

This book was just too slow for me and the trope isn’t my favourite even though I did enjoy the execution of it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Carina Press for the earc in return for an honest review

This book is the second in a series, again it wasn't a series I was familiar with but looked forward to reading to picking up.

Michael returns to his home town after 20 years due to his suffering a stroke. The timing is bittersweet for Michael as he is adrift in his life, having split from his husband, after his husband moved onto a brighter shinier prospect, taking Michael's money and a fair portion of his dignity. Michael seizes the opportunity to mend his relationship with his father, and luckily picks up a job at a neighbouring ranch, that happens to be run by a group of like-minded, and spirited men who welcome Michael into the fold.

Josiah is a nurse Michael hires to care for his father. We learn Josiah has a history of trauma and experiences intimate partner violence at the hands of his (not outed) boyfriend, who is the local sheriff. When Josiah has nowhere to go after being assaulted by the sheriff, Michael and his father offer a safe haven. Gradually, the couple spend more time together, and catch feelings .....

The bright and warm moments in this book are counterbalanced by the foreboding, and sense of unease that can accompany stories about intimate partner violence. Josiah's story is heartbreaking, and his circumstances are depicted so vividly. Where the story for me is a little underwhelming, is in the sexual relationship. I'm thinking the intention with their sexual interaction was to give Josiah back his power, but I'm not sure if it worked for the story. I'll be interested to hear other's opinions in that regard.

Michael was a great character, and his father was similarly great. Gentle and caring, it made me wonder about the whether the 'rift' between them was sufficient to result in their not maintaining contact for such a long period.

Definitely glad to read this one, and I'm looking forward to more books in the series.

A slow burn M/M romance, this is the second entry in the Woods Ranch series and features two men that have both been scarred by past events. Although there are plenty of obstacles in their way, including age and economic differences, both Michael and Josiah come to recognize they have a chance to build something together that just might be both lasting and real. Previous characters also appear here, but I feel this could be read as a stand-alone. Recommended.