I was happily surprised with how invested I became in this story and the characters. Because wow, when I found myself almost crying in a scene towards the end, I was blindsided. This book will really hit in the feels and the soul. It’s not a pleasant sunshine-y romance. There were a lot of hard moments and incredibly difficult pasts that made this book bring out the emotions.

Caleb and Em were adorable. I love their sweet interactions and really would have loved even more romance between them. That’s all that I felt was missing. Caleb was clearly sweet on Em and I love that they actually got a chance to have interactions together. I hate when couple don’t actually get time together so this was great on that front.

I’m not sure I’ve read many (if any?) Western romances? So getting Caleb as a sheriff helping Em figure out her troubles was *chefs kiss*. It definitely did things to my heart reading about him in uniform, riding on his horse, taking down bandits. YES.

Yes yes yes, they were also both very deep characters who were easy to be enjoy. Em learned a lot being thrust into the world and everything felt realistic. It was heartwarming and infused with hope for finding a safe space in someone and a safe space to call home.