REVIEW: Shoulda Been a Cowboy by Maisey Yates

In Shoulda Been a Cowboy by Maisey Yates, In the fifteen years since Jake Caldwell watched Copper Ridge, Oregon fade away behind his motorcycle, he’s changed from a troubled teenager into a determined adult. He’s also proven to be a skilled mechanic who wants to manage his own shop soon. But his estranged father’s death brings Jake unexpectedly back to Copper Ridge. And back in touch with the one good thing he ever had in his life: Cassie Ventimiglia. She was a sweet, shy girl who tutored him in high school. And the only person who ever treated him like he was worth a damn. This time, even though he knows he’s not worthy, Jake won’t give up the chance to have Cassie. If only for a short while.

‘Cassie was too vibrant. When he was touching her, when he wasn’t touching her. It was like holding life in his hands. Not just something alive, but the very essence of life. Warmth, beauty, air. Everything a person needed. Everything he could possibly want.’

Cassie has never forgotten the afternoons she spent tutoring Jake fifteen years ago and has often wondered where he is and what he’s doing. At least he had the nerve to take off and do what he wanted, not to be the pushover she’s been all her life, doing what her mother and everyone expects of her. Since her divorce a few years ago, Cassie opened her own coffee shop, and now that Jake is back in town, she’s thinking of making her attraction to him known. Could things between them be as hot as she’s always dreamed they would be? Only one way to find out…

“I want to have fun. I want to be bad. I want the one thing I was too afraid to go after when I was in high school.”

“I think you need to spell it out for me, just in case I’m misunderstanding.”

Cassie took a deep breath. “I want to be bad, Jake. I want to be bad with you.”

Shoulda Been a Cowboy was just the right way to start off a new series by the one-and-only Maisey Yates. Especially if you love a romance where the good girl gets her bad boy. And, yes, it was every bit as satisfying as it sounds.

This novella introduced us to the people in Copper Ridge, Oregon, specifically Jake Caldwell and Cassie Ventimiglia. In addition to the bad boy vs good girl aspect, this was also a bit of a reunion story. There was the beginning of a romance fifteen years ago when Cassie tutored Jake in math, but neither one had the nerve – or thought they had the right – to act on it. So the way author Maisey Yates brought them back into each other’s lives at just the right moment to take the chance this time around was so much fun. And extremely hot! I don’t know about you, but I can always count on Ms. Yates to bring the sexy in her books. 😉

I think my favorite part of the story, though, was how Cassie and Jake were able to support each other and kind of fill a role in their lives that no one else ever took the time (or cared enough) to do. She had been a people-pleaser all her life and was trying to break free of that pattern. Jake inherently always knew how special Cassie was and that she deserved only the best in life. He just never thought that would ever be him. And I liked that she helped Jake own his past and finally figure out his true self-worth. They made a very cute couple, and like I said before, the romance was scorching hot between them.

This quick novella will be sure to set hearts aflutter with the tattooed bad boy who’s grown up, riding into town on his motorcycle, longing for the good girl he never took a chance on. Deliciously romantic…

Book Info:

Published March 1st 2015 by HQN Books | (Copper Ridge #0.5)

In this sexy, sweet prequel novella to her new series, USA Today bestselling author Maisey Yates welcomes readers to the charming small town of Copper Ridge, Oregon, where it’s never too late for second chances…

There’s not much about his teenage years that Jake Caldwell can be proud of. Except maybe for keeping his hands off cute, kind-hearted Cassie Ventimiglia. She was the only one who saw him as more than a tattooed rebel who couldn’t wait to leave the ranching life behind. Now he’s back in Copper Ridge to sell his father’s property-and staying right above Cassie’s coffee shop. And out of nowhere, the girl he’s never forgotten is offering a whole lot more than fresh-baked muffins…

Jake’s dark, smoldering appeal hasn’t changed one bit. But Cassie has. Following everyone else’s rules didn’t quite work out. Time to ask for what she’s always wanted…and what Jake’s more than happy to give. A wild, hot romance that could make a one-time bad boy realize he’s back for good.