This wonderful read has an abundance of feels, and plenty of aww moments. I simply adored Jaxon and Charly and their story turned my insides into marshmallows. I have become a huge fan of this author. She writes with so much intensity, passion and emotion. Some lines are quick, witted storylines, and are so perfect and lets you believe you have a front row seat into these characters. So reading this opposite-attract love story didn’t disappoint!

Jaxon Reed and Charly Henwood come alive page after page.

Becoming a third-generation top-notch quarter horse breeder, wasn’t what Jaxon Reed had planned to do so suddenly, but after his father’s passing he couldn’t let his family’s ranch break apart and lose its legacy.

Before his father’s death, Jaxon had owned a bar on Main Street that he had been proud, that he’d brought to the town—a place where the locals felt like they belonged. And tonight his best friends and himself needed to hit up his old bar The Naked Moose’s for its grand opening and see what the new owners had done with it.

When they arrived he was shocked, he felt like he’d stepped into a place that not only didn’t cater to anyone he knew in Timber Falls, but that the bar did not belong in a small rustic town.
And then he saw Charly, and she was not like anyone he’d ever met before.

Charly Henwood and her two best friends Willow and Aubrey has bought The Naked Moose in Timber Falls, Montana. They had called in their backup pact and were all starting over, after all of them had gone through hard times in the last few years. Willow had endured an abusive ex-boyfriend. Aubrey had quit her job because of harassment and Charly caught her fiancé cheating on her. They completely revamped the small town bar into an upscale bar. And since they all were mending broken hearts, themselves, they wanted a place that brought women together and celebrated them, while also providing the town with something it lacked, a higher-end bar.

But what happens when the locals aren’t so happy about what they have done? They have everything invested in their venture. Can they make it here?

I absolutely loved the journey this book took me on! So full of life and love, fire, and passion, angst, and turmoil. I can’t wait for the next book in this series!

I received an early copy, and this is my honest review.

The Devil in Blue Jeans by Stacey Kennedy

This is book one in Naked Moose series. If I had to guess I'd say there will likely be three books, one for each of the women who run The Naked Moose. The author did a good job of setting up the attractions for them already, so we shall see.

Sometimes life doesn't go as planned and having a pact with friends to go back on is the perfect solution. This is how three city girls end up in the middle of nowhere Montana owning a bar. And boy the locals are not happy with their vision of said bar. But making a deal with the hot local horse ranch owner seems to be a good option to correct the oversight.
Charly Henwood just wants to succeed on her own and putting everything on the line means her and her two best friends have to make this move a success. But when reception with the locals isn't great she turns to Jaxon Reed, the former bar owner and local Rancher for guidance. This turns into a give and take, where the stakes just could be their hearts.

THE DEVIL IN BLUE JEANS – Stacey Kenndy
Naked Moose, Book 1
Harlequin Afterglow
ISBN: 978-1-335-04157-9
February 20, 2024
Contemporary Romance

Timber Falls, Montana – Present Day

After the death of his father, Jaxon Reed sold the bar he owned in Timber Falls so that he could run the ranch. After being closed for six weeks, he and his buddies are excited for the reopening of the bar. He knew the buyers were three women, but there was no way that he could have anticipated they would turn it into a cocktail bar. No beer, no pool tables, and no dart boards in sight. How did the women think they could fill it with locals if they catered only to big city types? The three women, Charly, Willow, and Aubrey, seem to think they can shut out the locals. But Jaxon has an idea. If he can’t buy the bar back, then he will charm one of them—Charly—and persuade her to change the bar setup.

Charly had to get out of Arizona after her boyfriend cheated on her. She and her friends Willow and Aubrey had always dreamed of running a bar in Timber Falls after visiting the area a few years ago. They envisioned it as a place where locals and tourists would enjoy the upscale atmosphere. Alas, the locals apparently hate it and rarely come in. Three Cowboys come in on opening night. All three—Jaxon, Eli, and Gunner—appear disappointed at how much the bar has changed, and that there is no beer on the menu. One—Jaxon—seemingly tries to charm Charly. She is not looking for male companionship, so rebuffs him, but he is serious. How long will Charly continue to resist Jaxon?

Welcome to Timber Falls, a quaint town nestled along the river north of Yellowstone National Park. Tourists come through town but it’s the locals that The Naked Moose should be bringing in for steady income. The women soon realize their mistake, but it takes some resistance to change it from a bar where divorce is celebrated, and men enter at their own risk. Each has their reasons for avoiding romance right now, but in THE DEVIL IN BLUE JEANS it’s Charly’s story. Her ex-boyfriend ruined their years of being together by having sex with another woman. Charly just left and now refuses to speak to her ex. It’s over and all her attention is centered on making The Naked Moose profitable. But business is slow because the locals aren’t happy with the makeover. She welcomes Jaxon’s suggestions, but she isn’t interested in being another notch on his bedpost. Too bad her heart has other ideas. Their sizzling chemistry won’t let them deny the inevitable. While neither are looking for a forever kind of love, they may have found it with each other.

There is plenty of heated sensuality and emotional charm in THE DEVIL IN BLUE JEANS. Charly and Jaxon are likable characters and readers will be rooting for them to make it work out. Don’t miss the fun in this enjoyable tale.

Patti Fischer
Romance Reviews Today

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of "THE DEVIL ON BLUE JEANS" I thoroughly enjoyed this amazing well written story with emotional turmoil, heartbreak, intrigue, angst, humor, cheating-ex, steam, enemies to, overs romance a page turner to the end.
Charly Henwood climbing a mountain with two Bf's Willow Quinn & Aubrey Hale who hates hiking complain the whole way but it was something they wanted to do together before their adult lives separated them moving away from each other for their jobs.
Charly pulls a paper with a drawing they once did the similarity to Timber Falls is a bit eerie its so much like the drawing they use to fantasize staying together forever in a small town with rugged cowboys.
Charly suggests a Pact if in six years their not happy they'll meet in Timber Falls & open their own business Charly can handle the Bar, Aubrey can handle the restaurant, Willow can handle the marketing, she it's the Bar off Jaxon Reed he's taking over Timber Falls Ranch after his father passed working it with two Bf's Gunner Woods & Eli Cole.
Jaxon, Gunner & Eli head up town for a beer in new bar that re-opened not what he expected to see three women behind bar new name on T-Shirt The Naked Moose & done serve beer they meet Willow then Aubrey but its the firm sultry voice of Charly that captures Jaxon's interest.
I definitely recommed to get this enemies to lovers romance Charly & Jaxon have I deniable chemistry but she's been badly hurt can he break through that wall she has up, can they agree on what the bar should be for towns people, so much happens you can't miss reading.
I'm so looking forward to book two "LONE WOLF IN LIGHTS" in the Naked Moose Series can't come soon enough.

This was a hard book for me to get into, everything used by the author to move the plot along felt forced.

It’s really hard to believe that three college grads wouldn’t do the market research into a small town bar, and making it a big city cocktail bar. Things like that were hard to suspend belief about.

Part of the story felt pretty repetitive. The FMC got closure with her ex, only to do it multiple times. Same thing with when we got the MMC, it just felt like there wasn’t enough depth.

Did you like the movie Coyote Ugly? Then you’ll probably enjoy this. A group of girlfriends open a bar and they have to deal with animosity from the townspeople.

This was a quick and fun read. I enjoyed the girl gang. The romance was cute and definitely delivered on enemies to lovers.

A quick fun read!

3 stars.

"The Devil in Blue Jeans" by Stacey Kennedy has a lot goi for it, but I think the execution is a little iffy. First of all, there are *a lot* of subplots featuring *a lot* of characters. Some plots and characters are fully fleshed out, some get dropped by the wayside, and some feel forced to be there for sequel purposes. I liked the small-town Timber Falls, Montana vibe (albeit traditional). I liked the cowboy subplot. I liked both the core female friendship group and the core male friendship group. I loved the pact between the main character Charly and her two best friends Willow and Aubrey. Despite being a relatively quick and short read, I felt like this book was still a little long. I liked Jaxon, the main male character, just fine on his own, and I appreciated his backstory, but the connection between him and Charly is virtually nonexistent. I didn't ever get wholly invested in their relationship, so when sparks flew between them, I wound up feeling apathetic about them getting or staying together. I struggled to connect with them as the main couple. I am much more interested in Willow and Eli's story... now THAT'S going to be a fantastic read! Almost all of the events that happen in this book feel *super* convenient and/or shoehorned in to make the plot fit and work. Nothing feels seamless and everything feels rigid and forced. Also, it's sort of a spoiler, but I don't love what happens with Marcel. It felt 100% thrown in as a last-minute curveball to simply add drama and didn't feel like a real resolution in the slightest. This book is fine, but I didn't totally love it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Stacey Kennedy, Harlequin - Romance, and Afterglow Books for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

what a great book and i loved reading this author. I haven't read her in many years. loved the romance and how the couple came to be. Loved that they worked through their issues and found love.

Thank you Netgalley & Stacey Kennedy for this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

The synopsis on this one was what caught my eye.
Who doesn't love a story with cowboys, moving to a small town to find yourself with your best friends and falling for said cowboy too?

This story was a fast read, as I read it in one sitting. There wasn't anything bad about the characters, but they also didn't inspire me to be invested in their lives. I enjoyed the chemistry between Charly and Jaxon. He was a cinnamon roll disguised as a grump at first, and I adore that trope. Where Charly was cold in her first impressions (and rightly so with what she endured).

I found it hard to read with the repetitiveness of some of Charly's circumstances, that almost in every chapter she brought up what happened with her ex again and again, like we as the readers didn't already know about it.

That aside, this is a quick, smutty read with somewhat two-dimensional characters, although I am interested in seeing where the couple (Willow and Eli) for the next book goes.

If you're after a cinnamon roll male lead who happens to be a hot af cowboy who is willing to please our main girl Charly, then this book is for you.

The Devil in Blue Jeans by Stacey Kennedy is an enticing new Western romance novel filled with sizzling banter, steamy encounters, and captivating plot twists that are bound to keep you hooked from start to finish. This page-turner is guaranteed to leave a smile on your face.

Thank you to Afterglow Books, Harlequin, and NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Unfortunately, I struggled to get into this one. I wasn't the biggest fan of the plot and lost interest around the 30% mark after certain events. I might get back to this at a later date, but right now it's a dnf.

3 stars
TW: domestic violence to a side character mentioned, death to a side character, trauma-based reactions from main character

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an e-ARC to review. All thoughts are my own.

As a fan of Kennedy's Undead Ever After series, I thought I would enjoy this cowboy romance too. Charly and her two friends make a pact to move to a small township in Montana if their lives haven't taken off by 28. You guessed it, they end up broken but hopeful their new life as owners of the only bar in town would change things for the better. However, they change the only bar into a women's focused cocktail lounge - which I thought was an extremely illogical business move to move to the place and not research your target audience - and naturally ruffle all the feathers of the folk in town by ruining the expected watering hole, and most especially it's previous owner now cowboy ranch owner Jaxon.

The story never took off enough for me to get past a superficial layer. Either we're spending time with Charly and her friends commiserating about how hard life has gotten and making really bad business decisions (one of them is meant to be business savvy but I didn't get the impression of that at all), or she's off with Jaxon learning the ways of small-town life after running away from the city. Her reactions to Jaxon are very dramatic, and she's constantly warring with how hot he is and how much of a reputation she's told he has, but equally is recovering from heartbreak and sworn off men. The erratic back and forth and subsequent reckless playing with Jaxon's emotions didn't make me like her at all. I found Charly rather juvenile, and the placement of her and her friends into this small township but with this women survivor rhetoric rather farfetched. Jaxon wasn't much better, though I did appreciate his character a little more when he wasn't lusting over Charly. His fixation on her made me uncomfortable in the beginning, and by the time the romance was deep enough to be called a relationship, I had lost complete interest.

There were some good moments with two side characters who look to be getting their own book next in this world, but I wasn't sold enough on the series so I won't be continuing.

As a horse girl (got my first pony when I was 5!) I am *forever* in my cowboy romance era, so when this book popped up on NetGalley I could NOT refuse! In this book we meet Charly, Aubrey, and Willow-three BFFs who have a childhood pact to move in together and chase their dreams if their lives aren’t what they expected by age 28. Well, Charly calls in that pact when she discovers her fiancé cheating on her with a coworker, Willow has escaped an abusive relationship, and Aubrey has left a job due to workplace harassment. Together they move to Timber Falls Montana, buy a house and a bar and start new lives. Will these big city girls be able to fit into small town Montana life? When the locals discover they’ve turned the favorite local bar into a high end cocktail bar with a big emphasis on girl power they start to be shut out…enter Jaxon. A much loved local heartthrob horse rancher that owned the bar before them and knows how to make the locals happy.

This is the perfect mix of Hallmark style romance and spicy scenes for us smut lovers! Charly is on a journey of self discovery when she meets Jaxon and is struggling with how to handle her budding feelings for him combined with her desire to focus on herself. They have insane and instant on page chemistry and I was suprised with how long they were able to keep their hands off of each other! If you’re looking for a great blend of sweet and spicy, a pinch of girl power, and a dash of self discovery? This is the book you’re looking for! (P.S. Jaxon has a player reputation but does things like buy a heating pad and set up a cushioned charcuterie date on the deck when he thinks she’s on her period and having bad cramps, and delivers babies on the roadside-not the fmc’s, no surprise pregnancies to be found 🙌).

Moving to Montana to buy a dive bar with her two best friends sounds like a can’t-miss idea to Charly Henwood. The scenery is breathtaking, and the cowboys aren’t bad-looking either. Not that Charly’s interested. Her heart is as unmovable as the surrounding mountains. After her cheating ex-boyfriend destroyed their relationship and their nightclub, she’s determined to take care of herself, her friends and their bar.

But it turns out the regulars resent newcomers swapping their craft beer for an extensive cocktail menu. One is particularly not happy—The Naked Moose’s previous owner, Jaxon Reed. The last thing Charly needs is a cocky cowboy telling her how to run her bar, or her life. But maybe she can use Jaxon to her advantage. If he’ll agree to be the prize in a charity auction, Charly will make the bar a little more cowboy-friendly.

When that plan backfires, Charly finds herself doing battle with the biggest temptation in Timber Falls. A man who has made it his mission to win her over, using every infernal means at his disposal.

This was a fun and easy read. I enjoyed the characters and the depth of them. This is going to be a three part series, I assume, and I cannot wait to read the stories of the other characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

There were parts of this book I enjoyed but overall I just didn’t vibe with the writing style and the characters. In the story 3 friends move to a small town and buy a bar together. I was much more invested in their friendship than that of the romantic love interest. I just didn’t get much romance if we’re being honest. I didn’t feel a connection between Charly and Jaxon. There was some banter at the beginning of the story, but it seemed to fall off rather quickly and I didn’t feel much chemistry between them. The writing sometimes felt strange, like it wasn’t how people in their 20’s or 30’s would really speak to each other. My other main issue was the “spice” just seemed so rushed and forced, like it needed to be there but didn’t have a ton of substance to it. There is a way to have mildish scenes while still painting a good picture, but I don’t feel like this book did that. Lastly, I didn’t love all aspects of the grand gesture. I know there are going to be people that love this book, it just unfortunately was not for me.

CW: domestic violence (recounted), infidelity (recounted), death of a parent (recounted), car accident

Closed Door Mods: Chapter 6 (some parts), Chapter 13 (some parts), Chapter 22 (some parts)

I would like to thank NetGalley and Harlequin Romance, Afterglow Books, for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Frustrated by the way their lives have turned out, Charly and her two best friends move to Timber Falls to open up their dream bar. However, their vision for the bar is met with opposition from the town’s residents, including the former owner of the bar, Jaxon. From there, tension over the state of the bar grows while also dealing with their feelings for each other.

I had relatively high hopes for The Devil in Blue Jeans. I love small-town romances and I have been wanting to read more cowboy romances. The plot concept caught my interest and I thought it would be a nice, quick read. Yet, I was left disappointed by this book.

Of course, I don’t know if there will be any final edits before the book goes to print on February 20th, 2024, but there are quite some critiques I have for this novel.

First, while I didn’t notice this when I first started reading, the writing style definitely needed some improvement. I’m not a fan of writing styles and dialogue where it seems highly unlikely that a person would say something like that in real life. Kennedy’s writing style was mediocre at best and overall the writing felt forced.

Secondly, the character development and plot execution felt off. While Kennedy had a great plot concept surrounding the book, its execution fell flat for me and there didn’t seem to be enough of a build-up to the book’s central conflict nor was there a solid transition between events in the book. On the other side of the coin, other than some inklings here and there, there weren't any signs of character development in Charly and Jaxon. And for the rest of the characters, they just felt like they were merely there for the main characters and did not have any supporting plot lines of their own (with the exception of two characters).

Finally, I just didn’t feel like the relationship between Charly and Jaxon felt believable. I think this complaint ties into my first two critiques of the book, but I just couldn’t see it for them nor did I quite find myself rooting for them. There really didn’t seem much there and while there was a good build-up early on in the book, it just couldn’t last.

However, there were some things that I liked about the book. In addition to liking the plot concept, I felt that Kennedy did a great job with world-building in creating the small town of Timber Falls and living life in rural Montana. Additionally, I thought Kennedy also did well with crafting the banter between Charly and Jaxon in the beginning of the book.

Overall, while I wanted to like this book, I just don’t think this one was for me.

Charly Henwood and her two friends have purchased the bar in Timber Falls, MT. The have named it The Naked Moose and changed it to a cocktail bar.
Jason Reed the former owner is upset they took the country out of the bar. They are not even serving beer!
Charly and Jason start a love/hate relationship with each other. He's trying to get her to change the bar back and she just wants him to help her make the business pay.
This is about letting go of the past and looking to a future. They both have a lot to learn about relationships.

I loved the plot of this story so much! The romance wasn’t really there for me as much since it took almost the whole book to get there with medium building of tension. It did seem like it’ll lead up to a follow up story with another girly so fingers crossed!

Three friends make a pact that if they aren't happy with their lives by the time they turn 26, they'll move to a small town outside Yellowstone and start over together. They buy a bar, and Charley meets Jaxon, a rancher and the former owner of the bar. A romance ensues. It's a predictable romance novel, but it would have benefited from another chapter or two to cement their relationship before moving into the last 20% of the book. Ultimately I was not convinced that their relationship was cemented and worthy of a HEA, which made the culminating grand gesture fall flat. That said, there's clearly a setup for a second book about Willow, and I'll be interested to read that once it's published.

Charly Henwood is a woman on a mission, a woman trying to outrun a disastrous past and create a new drama free life in the mountains of Montana. She is hoping this new venture with her best friends will give her the happiness and stability she craves, and give her a chance to heal her broken heart. But her happy little adventure hits a snag when townsfolk cause an uproar about all the changes made to their little beloved bar. Charly and her friends are determined to make this venture work, even if it means playing the enemies game!

The Devil in Blue Jeans is banter and steam-filled page turned that is destined to have you smiling throughout. Our heroine has been burnt by love and is looking for a change of scenery which takes her to the mountains of Montana and closer to her best friends. Their plan to open a bar together seems like a perfect plan, it leans into all their strengths, and unites them. But what they don't expect is to be met with so much adversity from the townsfolk... one in particular, the bars former owner Jaxon. Good thing Charly is tough and can handle whatever they throw at her...even if it means dealing with the devil!

Oh how I loved this newest offering from Ms. Kennedy, it was full of moments that made me smile, laugh, and swoon. This pairing may seem unconventional at first, but once they match wits and handle one another so perfectly it's easy to see why these opposites attract. This was such a wonderful little literary escape, the words so wonderfully written and rich with feeling and the characters so entertaining and easy to connect to... so much so, I didn't want to let them go when the last page found me. Highly recommend this one, it's bound to touch your heart and make you swoon!

I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving my honest and unbiased opinion.