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This is my first read from this author and it's sort of a spinoff of her Love Across Time series, more specifically [b:Honey from the Lion 41583257 Honey from the Lion (Love Across Time, #2) Jackie North https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1535769843l/41583257.SY75.jpg 64906418] but you don't have to know anything about those, I didn't. Jamie is an almost 21 year old “drifter”, who's left un unhappy life in Colorado and come to Wyoming hoping to become a ranch hand at Farthingdale Ranch. There are a couple of problems with this plan: Jamie has no experience ranching, Farthindale isn't a cattle ranch but a dude ranch, and Leland Tate, the ranch manager, is a stickler for the rules. It would seem that we're headed to angst city but actually this is a tender, low-steam, age-gap story where there are no villains and the only impediment to the MC being together, Leland's stance that he can't/shouldn't engage in a relationship with an employee, is overcome pretty quickly. Everyone at the ranch is more than accepting of Leland & Jamie as a couple, they encourage it, and play at being matchmakers. Leland is protective and Jamie at times reminded me the damsels in distress of historical MFs of yore. He's been discarded by his parents, his former house & work mates were awful to him, and he doesn't have a friend in the world. Luckily he's landed in a place where everyone is moral and good. To me the story read as more aspirational rather than true (I'm a bit of a cynic) and I felt that an inordinate amount of narrative was expended on detailing the ins & outs of life on the ranch or describing in the minutest of detail someone walking across a room. The book is 300 pages and other than some stray thoughts there isn't any romantic contact between the MC until page 200 which is fine as the span of the story is less than two weeks, but maybe some trimming would've come in handy. My other issue was that Jamie, in keeping with his damsel persona, seemed to be entirely too laking in any strong say so about anything. Everything is done on Leland's timetable. I guess it makes sense in an age-gap story but ... at least Jamie was somewhat assertive when it came to sex? In any case this is a mellow and romantic story which can be enjoyed knowing that nothing bad is going to happen and that there are no devils lurking around the corner.
