4.4 stars

There is something fun about the way that this author crafts a story. I can always count on her to make it flirty, fun, and authentic. I like that there is a realness about her characters and that they could be me my friends in real-life. ( )

Fun, tears and hijinks on the farm
4 stars

I’ve read many a romance where a woman returns home to the farm upon the death of a loved one - only to fall in love with the guy that was left behind. However, this is surely the best example of any of those previous romances as it combines humour, heat and emotion with the storyline.

We start off with the reason for Olivia’s return - the death of her grandfather, Pop. And holy hell - while we readers never actually meet the man, his death cut me deep. I was bawling. Seriously. Bawling. It was pretty brutal.

During these times, we really get to know Olivia and Jake. We get to know their good bits and their bad bits. Jake is definitely a grump and while we understand why, he likes things his way. He tries hard to push Olivia away which results in him being pretty mean to her at times. Luckily, this is where you can tell that our pair are the perfect match for each other as Olivia’s upbeat, understanding nature means she always forgives Jake’s bad attitude. And the fact she gives as good as she gets is just the icing on the cake. Or, I suppose, the mud in the pig pen.

There’s definitely a build going on here with some time passing before Olivia, Jake and us readers just can’t take it anymore - and that’s when the fireworks happen. It’s high in the hayloft, all kinds of good. In fact, I was surprised the hay in the hayloft didn’t get set on fire.

I adored the teasing banter between Jake and Livi. Oh, I liked them when they were fighting (aka thinly disguised foreplay) but when they were happy and ribbing each other - it made my heart flutter. Jake’s bemused amusement when Olivia would say something cute or funny made me hands-down believe in their love. He loved her, quirks and all. And she loved him whether he was Mad Jake or not. Their love was everything.

And I also feel that it needs said that Alice survives the book. Maybe that’s a spoiler (it’s not really) but no animals - or at least no animals we know by name - were hurt in the making of this book. Believe me, it would have received 1 star if an animal kicked it. We didn’t even meet Pop and that damn near killed me as it was!

I really enjoyed this book and it was something different and I would love to read more from this world. Staci Hart’s writing is deliciously lyrical and she builds worlds that you can see, smell and hear. My only reason for giving it 4 stars instead of 5 was the pure emotion that Ms Hart brought out in me. It’s not something that everyone would deduct a star for, but for me, I just wanted to be a little bit more happier more of the time! But either way, you have to hand it to Ms Hart for her amazing writing! All in all, a fun and emotional book that I would highly recommend that you bet the farm on! ( )