Guy on cover appears to have a face made of silly putty. I'm supposed to find that appealing?!

 

I liked the kid, and I sortof liked the H. Felt bad for the h's situation but felt mostly impatient with her.

 

Apparently when she was a teen, she caught the eye of the town catch and let him sweep her off her feet. She was ok with this because he was rich. That he was a douchebag, she didn't bother to figure out until after vows were exchanged. A kid was added to this mess because reasons. Then she decided she'd had enough and divorced him. Now, because he's rich, and his father uses his money to make her life miserable, she's decided money is the root of all evil. Reading between the lines, it's *other* people's money.

 

H's age is not given, but he's built his construction company to the point it's big - really big. His attempts at dating have not been successful due to his having money - women want it more than him. So he doesn't tell the h at first. And he continues not telling her because at least once every conversation, she makes some dig about rich people. I didn't much like his deception, but under the circumstances...

 

The kid...was a pawn. His grandparents and father used him to control the h.

Hero was a little too beta for me I think. There's something to be said for a guy who stakes his claim as opposed to one who, at the first hint of competition, tucks his tail and runs.

So our h, ego crushed by a self-absorbed arsehole, gets dragged to the gym by a friend who also lives at the apartment complex (this was something I was puzzled by - the apartments all seemed to be occupied by single professional women, so how did it work that the arsehole lived with her?). The friend suggests she needs a rebound guy and suggests the apartment handyman, who has apparently been providing a much needed ego boost for various women there.

 

The handyman - our H - plays amateur psychologist. He is unaware of how much they've blown his reputation out of proportion. He has a crush on the h but figures she wouldn't want a real relationship with a janitor. So...when she develops a leak (err...the plumbing in the apartment; not her personally), he assumes she wants to cry on his shoulders like all the other women.

 

Of course, she wants more (because she's under the impression he provides more) so works up her courage to stalk him to his apartment. Their connection lasts...an undetermined length of time - maybe a week? She more or less spends the night with him, goes back to her apartment, and finds the arsehole there (because she never demanded her key back. She should have had the locks changed instead, anyway). H goes up there to check on her, and finds him, misreads the situation, does not bother to ask further, and practices avoidance for the next week? Two weeks? Oh come on; he lives in the basement. He's the handyman. What was he doing; cowering under his bed?

 

Eventually, she does manage to contact him, and he does come to her apartment, but he doesn't want to listen - he's decided she's gotten back with the arsehole, or at the very least, she's gotten over the arsehole. Somehow, she gets through to him and the epilogue has her informing him he's going to be a father.

Ok, so you have Sebastian and Barbara, who find themselves neighbors to Mattie and Butch. Mattie notices Sebastian. Butch notices Barbara. Barbara notices Butch. Sebastian has his head up SOMEwhere and notices nothing. Butch and Barbara have a fling. Mattie finds out about it, confronts Butch who proceeds to plow his cessna into the side of a mountain. Sebastian pats her on the head and wanders off. Barbara files for divorce eventually and informs Sebastian of her fling. Sebastian is blindsided but says nothing.

 

2 years later...the book starts. At this point, Mattie has been widowed 5 years, Sebastian divorced a little over 2. He's decided to end his celibacy by inviting some chick at the bank over for dinner and benefits. Mattie is well aware of this because the chick has been boasting about it.

 

Enter Elizabeth, a baby, daughter of a girl Sebastian and his friends had been stranded during an avalanche with. Sebastian is convinced it's his even though the note the girl left him when she dropped the baby off on his porch gave no clue as to paternity.

 

I still have difficulty with the friends to lovers bit. In this case, the h has a crush and the H is oblivious. Hard to imagine a friend not picking up on that, when his buddy apparently did.

 

Eventually he comes to his senses but it was practically the last pages, and after the buddy had told him off.

 

As an aside, supposedly the dog had puppies 10 years prior, but then she didn't show up until 8 years prior so...

I didn't realize I had another from this series. I wonder if the first two are buried in my TBR bin.

 

The greatest issue with it seems to be the absolute lack of willpower on anyone's part. In this one, the H and the h are both saying they'll keep their hands to themselves, then 10 minutes later, he's cornered her in a barn and about to score - at least, until they figure out they have no protection and she decides it's an omen. Of course, her conviction lasts about as long as him telling her there's no mud room (at a working ranch? Riiiiight) so they go back into the barn and do everything but. An hour or so later, they're going at it in a truck, then 15 minutes or so later, on a rock.

 

All the while telling themselves - and each other - that this isn't serious because she's going back to work on Wednesday - she's up for a promotion with a cruise line.

 

Her sister gave her a speech which at least got her head out of her hormones.

She came up with an idea to stay in bumblefart nowhere and told him right after her sister gave birth. Since she'd spent all their time together reminding him she was leaving, he told her she was nuts and all but shoved her out the door.

 

Some cowboy she'd barely met told him off about the whole deal, which made me raise an eyebrow as said cowboy apparently had no issues with his boss treated women. He sends the h a text message, they meet before she goes off on a cruise, she tells him to give her 2 weeks to train a replacement. HEA.

 

Ok, it was done in by a lack of willpower, a cliche (the whole wholesome small town ideology bit), and a cowboy who in retrospect most likely was more resentful because he wanted to record some music with the h and couldn't do that if she was on a ship in the middle of the ocean.

All Matt wanted was to follow his dreams, until he lost himself along the way. It would take a visit home and a tenacious woman to help him find himself again. Ms. Thompson makes it easy to get lost inside her stories. She takes readers through the looking glass with realistic characters and familiar situations. By speaking to the heart she creates masterfully written stories of courage, redemption and introspect. In the Cowboy's Arms is a story of the many loves life offers and the trials faced when it comes time to accept. The hardest scenario to be faced is to relinquish control and trust emotionally. Geena and Matt are learning that some of the best lessons are taught by listening to the heart.

Copyright Night Owl Reviews