Riley Hayes, the playboy of the Hayes family, is a young man who seems to have it all: money, a career he loves, and his pick of beautiful women. His father, CEO of HayesOil, passes control of the corporation to his two sons; but a stipulation is attached to Riley’s portion. Concerned about Riley’s lack of maturity, his father requires that Riley ‘marry and stay married for one year to someone he … someone he loves’.
Angered by the requirement, Riley seeks a means of bypassing his father’s stipulation. Blackmailing Jack Campbell into marrying him “for love” suits Riley’s purpose. There is no mention in his father’s documents that the marriage had to be with a woman and Jack Campbell is the son of Riley Senior’s arch rival. Win win.
Riley marries Jack and abruptly his entire world is turned inside out. Riley hadn’t counted on the fact that Jack Campbell, quiet and unassuming rancher, is a force of nature in his own right.
This is a story of murder, deceit, the struggle for power, lust and love, the sprawling life of a rancher and the whirlwind existence of a playboy. But under and through it all, as Riley learns over the months, this is a tale about family and everything that that word means.
Word Count: 83,280
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Fake marriage, forced proximity and a little bit of bi for you thrown in as well… all things that make this book a very entertaining read!
Add in a close-knit family, another seriously dysfunctional one and a great best friend and you have everything you need to lose yourself in this wonderful romance.
I really loved the way Riley and Jack are drawn together in spite of their rocky start and misgivings, and how they grudgingly discover the other person’s worth and grow to like, then love, each other. Mutual lust helps smooth the way, of course. Riley starts off a bit superficial, manipulative and weak, but he matures quickly. Jack’s a bit mean to Riley in the beginning, but who can blame him for that, and very headstrong, but he’s a true family man, caring and honorable. The only thing that rubbed me the wrong way was that he couldn’t “condone” abortion. I hope that was just an unfortunate choice of words.
There’s a lot of painful family history and secrets in this story, especially on Riley’s side, though one of them makes for a wonderful and surprising silver lining!
There are a lot of secondary character, but they all have their role to play and are very well drawn, I especially loved Beth and Steve!
HFN… Let’s see what the next books in this series bring us.
This was a good story.
Riley is the youngest son of an Oil corporation Muli-millionaire. He was always seen as the playboy although we will soon learn this man has a heart of gold.
His father has now passed down stipulations marry, or you’re out of your funds. WTH, so his father gives a majority to his older brother Jeff.
Riley decides to get even or get back at his father and marries the man whose family his father and company wronged many years ago. What Riley doesn’t plan on though is falling for Jack, the cowboy with rough edges.
So much plays in this story we get so much betrayal, lies, skeletons in every family closet…
If you enjoy M/M stories, then this is a must-read. I have already collected the rest in this series
The Texas series is one of my all-time favourites and it all started with this book. It’s beautiful and pulls at your heart. The best kind of story.
Just listened to this on audiobook after first reading it a few years ago…. what an amazing story and characters! Jack and Riley are a couple for the ages…. and now I have a new audiobook project to listen to the entire series, since the narrator/voice actor, Sean Crisden, is wonderful. A great way to experience a loved book in a new way.
What starts out as revenge ends as a love that is so worth fighting for. I absolutely fell in love with Jack and Riley. The storyline had me on the edge of my seat and the roller coaster ride it took me on had me not putting the book down until it was finished. Masterful story telling, beautifully written characters and an emotional journey make this a book I highly recommend – I cannot wait to read more in the series.
One of my absolute favourites from this author.
Epic soap opera of a romance in true Dallasty style
Dallasty, that’s what we used to call the American soap operas Dallas and Dynasty, their overblown and unbelievable storylines kept us enthralled as teens through the 80s as we discussed who shot JR or which of the Carrington and Colby clans would survive the Moldavian Royal massacre.
This epic effort from RJ Scott is all of those in book format and it’s awesome. There’s so many dramatic moments there’d have been newspaper column inches for days at the plot twists and jaw dropping events which keep dropping the more the story runs.
But, underneath it all, is a wonderful romance between two guys who start off not even liking each other very much, from families with a feud going back decades but with a sexual spark bright enough to light up the old Cowboys Stadium.
Can’t wait to find out what happens next!
An eye opener… great love story
This book and this series are exceptional!
Cute gay romance that has a fairly good chunk of plot and not just sex
To any potential readers, beware! I read this book and, as a result, I spent the following two days buying and reading the rest of the seven book series. 🙂 I had a lovely, enjoyable, fulfilling reading experience. Go. Buy! You won’t regret it.
I fell in love with Riley and Jack. This book made me want to be a part of their world.