Swan Hearts: Plum Valley Cowboys, Book 4

“Swan Hearts” by Emmy Sanders is the fourth book in the Plum Valley Cowboys series. This book just did it for me. I loved it from the first sentence of the first chapter. I absolutely love stories that feature brooding men with gallons of feelings underneath their stoic facades. This story is a sweeping tale of best friends Jake and Nash that spans three decades. These men are one another’s person. They have a connection that is so deep and powerful. There are some profound emotions in this book. I definitely teared up. The pacing, dialogue, and character development in this novel are just fabulous. This story really stays with you after you finish it. Jake is the sweetest, most patient soul. He’s the town veterinarian. Nash is such an alluring character. He owns the only restaurant and bar in town. It’s so easy to love Jake. He makes it hard not too. But I was drawn to Nash from the very beginning. The depth of emotions he feels and hides just blew me away. I struggled with Nash’s approach to his family’s history. I understood it, but gosh did I want that man to just blurt everything out and simply let Jake love him. That said, I wouldn’t change a single thing about this story. The pining. Gah, the pining! I could feel my heart accelerate with every convoluted interaction between Nash and Jake. The chemistry between the pair is amazing. There’s definitely heat and heart in this book. Sara was a good neighbor and friend, especially when she commented that she didn’t want…

I really enjoy Emmy Sanders writing and her characters are so multi faceted. The first book I read was Firefly and it was the sweetest most beautiful story I have read. Like up there in my top five M/M books of all time. These plum valley books can get a little more sexually graphic than I really care for but they are are still very good stories when I skim past the sex. I was torn on this book as to whether give it a 3 or 4 because it was a little to angsty and the one character keeps running hot and cold with the fully comfortable with himself gay veterinarian.

This is one of those books where one honest conversation could’ve changed everything—and the story probably would’ve ended by chapter three. That said, it wasn’t the typical miscommunication trope where lack of communication is a lazy substitute for good writing. Here, it was a deliberate choice, and the emotional consequences were acknowledged from the start. Still, it was frustrating. I had a hard time empathizing with Nash for dragging them both through so much avoidable pain. Not my favorite in the series, but if you’re into drawn-out angst, you’ll probably enjoy this one.

I was overwhelmed (in a good way) by Nash’s and Jake’s story. I absolutely loved it! It is a beautifully writen story! Swan Hearts is a friends-to-lovers MM romance spanning three decades with alternating timelines of present and past. There was so much pining, angst, on and off again and again and an HEA that when they actually got to it I wanted to stand up from my reading spot and do a happy dance. They are each other’s ride-or-die. Jake is the only veterinarian of Plum Valley and Nash the owner of the only bar & restaurant. Jake is impulsive, never dropping an argument and always ready to fight for Nash and their unique relationship. Nash is stubborn who thinks avoiding his problems will make them go away. But is it only stubbornness? A family curse, the superstitions and realization that fear isn’t rational. The love they have for one another is so strong. They have swan hearts. Swans mate for life and I was so happy to learn, while reading Jake’s and Nash’s story, that swans can be vicious and they’ll fight for what’s theirs. Thank you Emmy Sanders for another great story! It’s book 4 in the Plum Valley Cowboys series and could be read as a standalone.

I like this story very much because Emmy definitely writes the best friends to lovers. Otherwise, a communication problem that lasts for 30 years with the same comings and goings would be a boring affair. The author has the ability to touch our most intimate fibers and move us to achieve an extremely pleasant reading. Still, I have to say that I wanted to kill Nash for 80% of the book, but my annoyance with him is saved by my love for Jake, who is a beautiful character with eternal patience and deserves his happy ending. A beautiful story that fits perfectly into this series that always manages to move us.