Review: Tough Luck Hero by Maisey Yates

Title: Tough Luck Hero by Maisey Yates
Copper Ridge Series Book Six
Publisher: HQN Books
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length: 384 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Can the golden boy of Copper Ridge, Oregon, get a second chance at happy-ever-after?

Ranching heir Colton West knew his wedding would be the talk of the town. But he didn’t expect to get left at the altar—or to escape on the next flight to Vegas with Lydia Carpenter, the woman who gets under his skin like no one else. The only thing crazier than honeymooning with Lydia is waking up married to her. So why does he find himself entertaining his new wife’s desire to stay married—and fantasizing about a real wedding night?

As Copper Ridge’s prospective mayor, Lydia can’t risk a divorce scandal so close to election time. But pretending to be blissfully in love with her new husband is more confusing than she’d thought. For a man who’s always rubbed her the wrong way, Colton suddenly seems to know exactly what to do with his hands. And his lips. Now Lydia’s wildest mistake could turn out to be her luckiest move, if they’re both willing to take the ultimate gamble…

Review:

The latest addition to Maisey Yates’ heartwarming Copper Ridge series, Tough Luck Hero is a sexy, humorous enemies to lovers romance.

The best way to describe Colton West and Lydia Carpenter’s relationship is distant and mildly antagonistic.  Which is why both of them are stunned to wake up married to each other after a drunken trip to Las Vegas when Colton’s fiancée stands him up at the altar. Immediately deciding a quickie marriage followed by an even quicker divorce would adversely affect Lydia’s mayoral campaign and send Colton’s fragile mother over the edge, they agree to remain married until after the election.  However, neither Colton nor Lydia expect passion to derail their platonic living arrangements and after a somewhat ill thought out decision to explore their mutual desire, their unanticipated intimacy puts them on edge.

Lydia has carved out a comfortable niche for herself in Copper Ridge and she really does not want to mess up her chance at becoming mayor.  She also does not want to spend any more time in her new husband’s company than necessary so she very reluctantly moves into his house.  So it comes as a complete surprise when she makes the decision to get to know Colton after he goes out of his way to avoid her.  Giving up control and letting someone get close to her scares her more than just about anything but Lydia’s attraction to her husband is too powerful to resist.  In an effort to keep him at arms’ length , Lydia always pulls away from him after their passionate encounters but she cannot help but try to help him achieve the dreams he is giving up in order to help his family.

Colton is hard working, loyal and very protective of his mother and sisters. When his older brother left town, he had no choice but to put his family’s needs ahead of his own. He is a bit of a control freak and he is completely committed to doing what is expected of him.  Willing to trade passion and love for a sensible marriage, he is not exactly heartbroken that his ex-fiancée stood him up at the altar. After spending time with Lydia, Colton realizes his animosity towards his new wife is attraction and he sees no reason why they should not give in to their desire.

Colton and Lydia’s relationship is unexpectedly passionate and they are both rather shocked by their sizzling hot lovemaking.  Lydia is stunned by her reaction to Colton’s take charge attitude but she cannot resist following his explicit instructions. Colton is also surprised by his reaction to Lydia and he is sometimes a little uncomfortable with the things he says and does during their scorching hot encounters. While Colton easily accepts the direction their relationship is going, Lydia fights her feelings every step of the way.

Brimming with humor and simmering with passion, Tough Luck Hero is a tantalizing romance that old and new fans of the Copper Ridge series are sure to love. Colton and Lydia are well-rounded protagonists whose transition from adversaries to lovers is realistic and quite believable. Maisey Yates puts a fresh spin on the marriage of convenience plot device and the resulting story is quite captivating. All in all, an endearing love story that will leave readers eagerly awaiting the next book in this delightful series.