“An unputdownable, super sexy read with lots of personality and tons of heart.” —All About RomanceWelcome to Clean Slate Ranch: home of tight jeans, cowboy boots and rough trails. For some men, it’s a fantasy come true.Five Weddings and a Fake BoyfriendCity slicker Derrick Massey has always had a thing for cowboys. So a roll in the hay with Kendall “Slater” Stamos during a rustic weekend wedding … for cowboys. So a roll in the hay with Kendall “Slater” Stamos during a rustic weekend wedding is more than A-OK. But when Slater’s forced to hang up his saddle for the season, Derrick surprises even himself with his proposition: be my fake boyfriend and get my family off my back about finding a permanent partner.
Though unexpected, the arrangement is a win-win. Derrick gets a plus-one for a slew of summer weddings and Slater gets a place to stay while he recuperates…with lots of casual fun in between. Which is just how the sexy cowboy likes it: casual. Yet it’s obvious the chemistry between them is anything but.
With the countdown to their “breakup” on, the more time the two men spend together. And the more it becomes clear that what they have could be real, if only they let it be.
Read it today!
Don’t miss the rest of the Clean Slate Ranch series from A.M. Arthur and Carina Press: Wild Trail, Roped In, Saddle Up and Lucky Break.
This book is approximately 83,000 words
One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!
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I’m so happy to be back at Clean Slate Ranch! Well, OK, I’m happy to be reading about it again.
Hard Ride is A.M. Arthur’s first “fake boyfriend” book and she did right by this trope. Kendall “Slater” Stamos works at Clean Slate Ranch and he gets injured doing something heroic (but he doesn’t like being called a hero). He has a lot of secrets and he never lets himself get closed to anyone. Before he’s injured, an unexpected encounter in a barn gym late one night leads to one of the best hookups he’s ever had.
Derrick Massey could hardly believe how fantastic his hookup with Slater was and he’d like to get to know him better. His family is constantly after him to settle down and he’s dreading the upcoming wedding season where he has to attend five different family weddings. After Slater is injured, he offers to take him in. Slater will be closer to his doctors and all Derrick wants in exchange is for Slater to attend the five family weddings with him.
It shouldn’t come as any surprise to readers that what starts out as a mutually beneficial arrangement turns into something more. The biggest problem is that both men keep their growing feelings to themselves and don’t communicate with each other.
When Derrick learns the secrets that Slater has kept from him, he is shocked and his trust is also shaken a bit. These two guys will need some help from their friends to sort out the problems between them.
One of the things I loved about this story is that Slater takes up needlework to help ease his boredom while he recovers. Real men do needlework and I think it’s kind of sexy! I’m so happy to know that there will be more books set in this world.
A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book.
This was a sweet fluffy romance fueled with angst about men who can’t communicate or express emotions.
The story was an entertaining soap opera, and the narration was great.
This book made me so happy! I am extremely happy to learn more about Slater’s past and seeing the relationship between him and Derrick evolve! I love hoe both of these men who felt so much uncertainty about their futures, but ending up finding a future together. This book is sure to lift your spirits and bring tears and smiles to your faces for these two stubborn men!
2.5 stars
This series has been a bit of hit or miss for me, and I left the last book leaning toward being done with it. Nevertheless, I do love cowboys, so I dove back in one more time. The result is that I do like Hard Ride better than the last book, but only just. This one moves a lot like the others, so in other words, it’s too slow for my taste. It starts off with a fan yourself steamy scene between Slater and Derrick, and the thing that leads to the boyfriend arrangement certainly had potential, but that potential isn’t quite realized. The angst is largely based on a serious lack of communication. Everyone is having feelings, but no one is willing to say so. Instead, we just keep plodding along with a bit of steam and a few amusing dates and social engagements. Fortunately, both characters are likable enough, but I guess it’s more a lack of any feeling about Derrick because there isn’t much character building where he’s concerned. He has trust issues and a thing for cowboys. That is pretty much it, which is surprising considering the length of the book. Slater, on the other hand, gets the lion’s share of page time and I really did like him. I just didn’t care for the way the romance developed.
Giddy up! We are getting back in the saddle at Clean Slate Ranch!
We met Derrick way back in book one as the brother of the groom in the wedding party that brought Wes to Mack. Poor Derrick. Hooking up in all the wrong places or getting turned down flat. So when he finds himself on the ranch again and can’t sleep, he runs into Slater working out at in the garage. And then they work out together. *wink wink* And then they part ways having agreed to a one time thing.
Fast forward a bit and circumstances have brought the two men together again. And they make a mutually beneficial arrangement. A place to stay for one guy, 5 wedding dates for the other. Simple right?
Fake boyfriends can get tricky. Sometimes they either hate each first or don’t know each other at all. But these guys get along and at least are fairly acquainted with each other.
It actually plays out really well. There is little to no awkward between the guys as they establish their fake relationship. They just kind of go with it. And being that Derrick’s brother at least knew of Slater, he is totally accepting of it.
There was a fun cast of characters in this one. Getting off the ranch for almost the entire story opened the world up. My old home town was even mentioned-which is kind of rare based on the fact that it is a good sized city.
I loved the neighbors Dex and Morgan. The friendship that developed between Dex and Slater was seamless. That was a bit of a pun. You’ll get it when you read it.
Slater has his secret(s) which eventually come to light. But Derrick is just Derrick. He is a good guy without being gullible or naive.
OF COURSE I want to know more about the upstairs neighbors George and Orry. I’m sure I sniffed a spin off there somewhere.
I really enjoyed this ride, a little off the beaten path, but she reins it in.
I’M SORRY! I’m just feeling punny. Go read it so I don’t pun you more.
This is the fifth book in the Clean Slate Ranch series, it is a MM cowboy romance. I really enjoyed this book, the characters were well developed and the pace was spot on. The characters in this story are different than the ones from the previous books in the series. They are almost complete opposites that find love in an unusual way. I feel this book can be read as a stand-alone book.