Scan barcode
wonderingjay's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
christyduke_5117's review against another edition
5.0
Hands down my absolute favorite of these first three books in the series. Reyes and Miles are so incredible together and everything just worked for me.
hdmartin88's review against another edition
4.0
**Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.**
Saddle Up is book three in A.M. Arthur’s Clean Slate Ranch series. I highly recommend you read this series in the appropriate order. The characters and many storylines mentioned in this book are carryovers from the other books, so you’ll enjoy it much more if you start at the beginning. And, come on, all the books are about cowboys finding love, who wants to skip any of that? No one!
I was really looking forward to Reyes and Miles story and it did not disappoint! Both men are secretive in the other two books so I knew there was going to be a lot of heartbreak in this one. I mean, come on, have you ever read a book by this author before? Well, this one was surprising. There have been many of her books that have made me cry, but not this one. There was a lot of sad elements involved and hard stories and feelings to get through, but I must have hardened my heart and eyes to manage it.
Once Miles is able to fully come into himself, to get past his fear and to start truly living his life, he was an easy character to love. He loved hard, and really just wanted to be loved in return. Reyes was still secretive throughout the book, until forced to finally tell his secret and it was a doozy. Sometimes authors will build up the secret and then you get to the reveal and it’s something like, Oh, when I was 4 I stole a piece of gum from the store. And as a reader you’re going, um, all that drama for that? Anyway, back to this story. That was NOT the secret being kept and it was a big one. One that for a lot of people probably could easily kill a relationship. So, the author really has to put Reyes and Miles through their paces to find a HEA.
I love this author’s work and this series. I love the Clean Slate Ranch and all the characters that make up the ranch. The author did a fantastic job of showing Miles working through his previous relationship abuse. He’s not in a bad relationship and then a few days later attracted to someone else and magically better. He really struggles with making himself stronger. When he’s finally ready to act on his attraction to Reyes, it’s a slow build-up to more. There’s no magic penis fixing him in this book! Even though this is a slow-building relationship, it never felt like it.
I’d highly recommend checking out this series! The author has built a world of easy to love characters. There is heartbreak throughout the series, but with a rainbow at the end of each storm so the characters know they’ve lived through those hardships and have succeeded in truly living after the heartbreak. This series will make you run the gamut of emotions and at the end of each book, you’ll have loved the ride.
Rating 4.5 stars!!
Saddle Up is book three in A.M. Arthur’s Clean Slate Ranch series. I highly recommend you read this series in the appropriate order. The characters and many storylines mentioned in this book are carryovers from the other books, so you’ll enjoy it much more if you start at the beginning. And, come on, all the books are about cowboys finding love, who wants to skip any of that? No one!
I was really looking forward to Reyes and Miles story and it did not disappoint! Both men are secretive in the other two books so I knew there was going to be a lot of heartbreak in this one. I mean, come on, have you ever read a book by this author before? Well, this one was surprising. There have been many of her books that have made me cry, but not this one. There was a lot of sad elements involved and hard stories and feelings to get through, but I must have hardened my heart and eyes to manage it.
Once Miles is able to fully come into himself, to get past his fear and to start truly living his life, he was an easy character to love. He loved hard, and really just wanted to be loved in return. Reyes was still secretive throughout the book, until forced to finally tell his secret and it was a doozy. Sometimes authors will build up the secret and then you get to the reveal and it’s something like, Oh, when I was 4 I stole a piece of gum from the store. And as a reader you’re going, um, all that drama for that? Anyway, back to this story. That was NOT the secret being kept and it was a big one. One that for a lot of people probably could easily kill a relationship. So, the author really has to put Reyes and Miles through their paces to find a HEA.
I love this author’s work and this series. I love the Clean Slate Ranch and all the characters that make up the ranch. The author did a fantastic job of showing Miles working through his previous relationship abuse. He’s not in a bad relationship and then a few days later attracted to someone else and magically better. He really struggles with making himself stronger. When he’s finally ready to act on his attraction to Reyes, it’s a slow build-up to more. There’s no magic penis fixing him in this book! Even though this is a slow-building relationship, it never felt like it.
I’d highly recommend checking out this series! The author has built a world of easy to love characters. There is heartbreak throughout the series, but with a rainbow at the end of each storm so the characters know they’ve lived through those hardships and have succeeded in truly living after the heartbreak. This series will make you run the gamut of emotions and at the end of each book, you’ll have loved the ride.
Rating 4.5 stars!!
cmlh's review against another edition
5.0
Reyes is haunted by what happened in the past and he has refused to speak of it since it happened. Miles is finding his feet again after leaving an abusive relationship. The two of these form a friendship with chemistry exploding around them. As that relationship changes, the two struggle with secrets and what to do when those secrets are revealed.
This is part of a series but you do not have to read the others to understand everything. I strongly advise you to read the others as they are simply amazing and you will find yourself wanting to book a stay at Clean Slate Ranch.
This is part of a series but you do not have to read the others to understand everything. I strongly advise you to read the others as they are simply amazing and you will find yourself wanting to book a stay at Clean Slate Ranch.
mariahreadit's review against another edition
2.0
i can't speak about the ebook but the fact that there wasn't a single trigger warning on the audiobook is criminal. i've included them below in the hope of sparing someone from being surprised like i was. the TWs obviously have spoilers, just fyi.
trigger warnings:
discussion of past trauma of mc's life as a firefighter; description of accident and injuries incured while on duty as a firefighter; description of death of a fellow firefighter; survivor's guilt, discussion of past gang activity of an mc; description of a teenage boy being beaten, abused and sexually violated by gang members for being queer, description of suicide of the victim; on page violence against an mc (punch) with description of blood;
cardiac issues and multiple heart-attacks of a secondary character who is a father figure;
trigger warnings:
Spoiler
on page sexual assault by long term rapist and abuser; stalking by long term rapist and abuser; discussion of past rape, drugging, manipulation and gaslighting; blackmailing using video and footage of the victim doing sexual acts while they were drugged with the abuser and other unknown men; long term rapist and abuser threathens mc with a gun; on page violence against mc (broken nose); on page sexual assault/rape attempt on mc by long term rapist and abuser;discussion of past trauma of mc's life as a firefighter; description of accident and injuries incured while on duty as a firefighter; description of death of a fellow firefighter; survivor's guilt, discussion of past gang activity of an mc; description of a teenage boy being beaten, abused and sexually violated by gang members for being queer, description of suicide of the victim; on page violence against an mc (punch) with description of blood;
cardiac issues and multiple heart-attacks of a secondary character who is a father figure;
bookworm_panda's review against another edition
5.0
WOW. I think that this one is my favorite in the series! I just LOVED reading about Miles and Reyes falling in love with each other. This had a bit of a slow burn (I don't think they kissed until somewhere between the 50-55% mark of the book) and I just adored them! I loved how Reyes was just completely in love with him, and willing to settle as being just Miles' friend rather than not have him in his life. Little bit of an age gap (I think 10 years) but that's not a big deal for either of them.
Both Miles and Reyes have had a tough past, and neither one of them wants to talk about it. They work on building a relationship in the present, still knowing that the past needs to be discussed before things blow up. And things kinda do blow up. I loved that Miles just didn't forgive and forget what Reyes told him, that he thought about it logically before knowing that he still loved Reyes.
I also loved getting to see so much of Will and Mack and Avery and Colt in this, and I love the sense of family that is through this book now that Mack and Colt have been able to move past their shared history. This place is home for them all, and I love the world here at the Clean Slate Ranch. Definitely my favorite in the series, and I can't wait for more - I hope there's more! I'm kinda not sure who the next one would be about, but I'm hoping for a repeat visit with this group at the ranch.
I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Both Miles and Reyes have had a tough past, and neither one of them wants to talk about it. They work on building a relationship in the present, still knowing that the past needs to be discussed before things blow up. And things kinda do blow up. I loved that Miles just didn't forgive and forget what Reyes told him, that he thought about it logically before knowing that he still loved Reyes.
I also loved getting to see so much of Will and Mack and Avery and Colt in this, and I love the sense of family that is through this book now that Mack and Colt have been able to move past their shared history. This place is home for them all, and I love the world here at the Clean Slate Ranch. Definitely my favorite in the series, and I can't wait for more - I hope there's more! I'm kinda not sure who the next one would be about, but I'm hoping for a repeat visit with this group at the ranch.
I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
lyricalkris's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent characters, drama, angst. Good reading here. Will check out the other books.
readingwithjen_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25