Fool Hearts: Plum Valley Cowboys, Book 1

This romance builds slowly with lots of tears along the way. Hot when the HEA arrives, well worth the wait.

Sooo good. Such a good story. It both hurts and fills your heart. I wish they didn’t have to wait so long to get there happily ever after. But will really makes the story so much fuller. Loved Wyatt and eastons friendship. It was like they were soul mates before they ever fell in love. Great story.

This story, oh my. My soul and heart ached as I cried through the first half of it - it’s an amazing, emotional and beautiful story filled with heartache, longing and love. “Fool Hearts” is a slow burn with a storyline spanning over more than two decades, there’s a lot of building and background to the characters but I never got impatient or felt like the story dragged. The book is divided into four parts and there are some major jumps in time to help move the story along. The writing and scenery was just gorgeous, I loved the small town feeling and the descriptions offered. I adored Easton and Wyatt, their friendship was so precious and stayed strong through all ups and downs. The ace/demi rep was well written and another part of the story that I just loved. Part of me wanted to yell at Wyatt for being stubborn and not telling Easton how he felt, while part of me just wanted to hug him at the same time. There’s so much pining and longing in this story that just went straight into my heart and soul. It’s such an raw and emotional read, but even the most painful and aching moments are filled with love and the sense of it being worth it no matter what. This book needs to be on your TBR list if it’s not already - I’m not usually a fan of high angst in books but this was totally worth it and I’m so happy I picked it up! Emmy Sanders is certainly an author I’ll keep up with - I can’t wait for more books in this series.

When I asked for cowboy romance recommendations, @julietfoxreads came through with this one! The Plum Valley series does, indeed, start off strong, and I'm looking forward to continuing it! I'm a sucker for a good friends to lovers story. There's just so much already-established care and consideration when the MCs are already friends, and Easton and Wyatt are no exception. The way this story is told is pretty unique, in that you get to see these two really grow up together. It's pretty early on when Wyatt starts to notice he has feelings for Easton, but as the years go by, it starts to become clear Easton doesn't have the same feelings for Wyatt. Wyatt's life eventually leads him out of their small town, but then tragedy forces them back together. This story has a lot of heart-wrenching and definitely painful moments that made me tear up. But I love that no matter what's happening, Easton and Wyatt legitimately want nothing but the best for each other. These characters are just genuinely good people and it felt so refreshing! (side note: are all cowboys like that? Am I just not reading enough cowboy romance? Please weigh in.) There's a lot in here about being true to yourself and being brave enough to share that part of you with the people who mean the most. And can't we all learn a little something like that? Who isn't their most authentic self with the people they love most and who they know love them? It's good to have a reminder, I think, that the people who matter…

There isn’t anything really wrong with this book? It just isn’t at all what I was looking for and had some tropes I really didn’t like. I was really looking for a western, and found this pretty highly recommended on a list of cowboy books. The description sounded good too. In the end, though, it was more of a generic romance and oh yeah, just to let you know these guys are ranchers. You could’ve taken this whole plot and set it in, I don’t know, an ad agency maybe, and nothing would’ve had to change. There was also - and this wasn’t in the description - a kid. Now I don’t love kids in real life and I don’t love them in my books either, but they can be fine. What I really dislike is a kid that’s a plot device, and a kid whose purpose it to facilitate their parents’ intimate relationships is the worst. No kid is going to be as invested in their parents’ intimate personal lives as Will, and they’re certainly not going to be discussing and encouraging their dad’s bedroom activities. A normal kid is going to at least act grossed out when their parents kiss, they’re certainly not going to talk about kissing and more. I don’t know, this just really pissed me off. I didn’t like the writing style here, but it was fine. There wasn’t actually anything wrong with it, and clearly lots of people like it. This book was just altogether not for me and a general disappointment.