Retreat by Jay Crownover

Author: Jay Crownover
Publisher: Self
Date of publication: December 2016

Every once in a while, you need to get away from it all. I was a woman on the edge, shaken and shattered after a breakup that felt like it tore my entire world apart. 

My best friend, sick of watching me drown in misery and melancholy, harassed me until I agreed to go with her on a week-long wilderness retreat.  She promised days spent bonding and getting in touch with our inner bad-asses.  It was supposed to be all about the two of us roughing it and making do with the bare minimum. She assured me we were going to be pushed to our limits in ways that were unimaginable. Neither one of us could have ever guessed just how right she was.

Nowhere in the glossy brochure did it say anything about the fact I was going to have to battle the insufferable but deliciously rugged and sexy trail guide instead of the elements. The brochure also forgot to mention the part that warned when you left civilization behind, there was no place to pack your inhibitions and fears.

If you have followed this blog for a while you should know by now that Jay Crownover is one of my favorite authors.  I have read everything she has written from the beginning.  When I saw that she had published surprise book  right after Christmas, I had to get it. Retreat begins a completely new series and is pretty different from her usual offerings.  This takes place in the gorgeous outdoors of Wyoming.  The hero is a definitely an alpha, but isn't big and tattooed.  He is "almost" a cowboy.  The heroine is a city girl searching for a way back to herself. After surviving a bad breakup, Leo's friend Em convinces her to take a rustic vacation to try to find herself again.  She reluctantly agrees, not realizing the trouble she will find.

I really liked Leora (Leo).  Surprisingly, I could identify with her in so many ways.  I know I would have reacted to the ranch in exactly the same way she did in the beginning.  I loved watching her grow and find herself again.  Leo and Cy together were wonderful.  

One of the big differences with this book is that we only get one point of view. That is really my only complaint about the story. Usually in this author's books, we get both the male and the female side.  I have always loved that about her books, so that was something that I really missed in this one. I did love getting Leo's thoughts, but I really wanted inside Cy's head. I feel like it would have helped me get to know him better, instead of having to rely on Leo and the other characters to tell me about him.

The "suspense" part of the book was fast paced and kept me reading.  It had everything that I like about romantic suspense.  A good mystery, great action, and interesting characters.  I definitely recommend this one.  I can't wait to read about the other brothers and perhaps Ten will get her own book as well.