Losing my job wasn’t on my to-do list for this work trip. But here I am—unemployed, craving a decent iced latte, and one bad mood away from a full-on identity crisis.
No job? This too shall pass.
No plan? Story of my life.
No boyfriend? Please. Men are exhausting.
At least, that’s what I tell myself, right up until a grumpy ball of hotness offers to help me at the airport. Tuxedo in disarray. Jawline perfectly chiseled. Smolder for days. He looks like heartbreak suited in expensive cologne. The kind I could get drunk on.
So imagine my shock when he doesn’t just greet me, but invites me on the trip of a lifetime. No flirting. No expectations. Just company.
(ARC Review)
I was obsessed with Collie from page one. It’s fun, flirty, impulsive, and completely addictive, with just enough emotional depth to make everything hit harder. The story carries weight, but it never feels overwhelming, thanks to the humor, the spice, and the undeniable chemistry that kept me grinning the entire time.
Losing her job, stranded at an airport, and spiraling just a little, Collie Meadows meets Easton Voss at exactly the wrong, and right, moment. He’s grumpy, devastatingly attractive, and very clearly carrying the weight of the world. One impulsive decision later, she’s tagging along on what turns into a marriage retreat in Jackson Hole, with a runaway groom who isn’t wearing a ring and absolutely should be. Forced proximity, no Wi-Fi, a rundown camper, and Yellowstone as the backdrop? The setup alone had me hooked.
“What’s the catch? You trying to get in my pants? Need a stand-in for something dreadful? On a mission to kidnap and kill a blonde with a dirty ass, slowly sinking her way to rock bottom?”
Collie is bad bitch energy personified—confident, wild, unapologetic, and deliciously forward about what she wants. She doesn’t just flirt, she hunts, poking at Easton’s restraint with a wicked grin and zero fear, daring him to lose control. She tests him, challenges him, steps deliberately into his space without realizing she’s awakening something dangerous and delicious. Because the calm, brooding man she meets in public? He disappears the second the door closes. What’s left is a man who takes, who claims, who growls his need like it’s instinct, not choice. Easton is filthy-mouthed, dominant, unapologetically possessive, and once Collie lights the match, there’s no going back. She thought she was playing with fire—turns out she walked straight into an inferno, and he makes damn sure she feels every second of it.
“You’re sexy as hell, Collie. Your confidence is sexy. Your body is sexy. And I want you to hear me out when I say this: I’m going to fucking ravage you. Unleash all this pent-up tension inside of me, and you’re going to take it. Do you understand?”
Their chemistry is unreal. Watching Collie push Easton’s buttons had me grinning like an idiot and fanning my face more times than I can count. His jealousy hit hard, his possessiveness tipped me straight over the edge, and his mouth should come with a warning label. The sexual tension is top tier. It’s hot, charged, and impossible to ignore.
“I have every intention of winning. And it’s time I show Collie just who I really am. Starving. Deadly. Protective. Possessive. Ready to win.”
But in true Indy Valentine fashion, this book isn’t just heat, it’s also a lot of heart. Easton’s grief is raw, heavy, and heartbreakingly real. He’s been living for everyone else since his brother died—his parents, his sister, his brother’s fiancée—carrying a weight that’s slowly crushing him. As his brother’s twin, living for him and what he thought his brother would want has become his sole mission in life. But with that burden comes heavy emotions and expectations, and he is on the cusp of breaking.
“We’ve both been living behind a mask. In different ways; yet we’re the same. You make me feel defenseless, Easton. In the best way possible. Like if I let you see the real me, you’ll accept me like a gift. Not a burden. Not some dead end. There’s no faking it with you. And the most terrifying part is that I’m not sure I want to anymore.”
Collie doesn’t erase his pain, but she gives him permission to breathe again, to smile, and to start living for himself. She draws him out, gently pushing him to be honest about what he’s been carrying, and helps him see the bigger picture: that if Ben could speak to him now, he wouldn’t ask Easton to stay trapped in grief. He’d want him to live fully, to carry his memory forward without letting it define every moment. And in that realization, Easton finally finds the space to live in the present.
“Two people who found a deeper purpose and meaning in the most unexpected of ways. We found a way to be ourselves again, despite everything we’ve lost and gained.”
I cried. My chest ached. This story reaches into those quiet, dark places and doesn’t let go.
Collie and Easton find each other at the exact moment they need someone who truly sees them. He gives her stability when she’s been wandering, and she shakes him awake after years of going through the motions. Their connection is messy, magnetic, and deeply emotional, the kind of love that sneaks up on you and refuses to let go. Indy Valentine keeps raising the bar with her writing, delivering stories that are bold, heartfelt, and impossible not to fall into.
Release Date: January 2nd, 2026
Thank you to Indy Valentine for the ARC read!