Chaps & Hope by Bailey Bradford

Chaps & Hope by Bailey Bradford

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Although I haven’t read Bradford’s Love in Xxchange series in which Carlos, Troy, and Will met, I wasn’t all that worried about being lost as my experience when reading this author is that the books within a series stand well on their own and when needed, the pertinent information is shared. Chaps & Hope reaffirmed my faith in the author’s ability to write books that are related to others without you having to read all of the prior ones in a series (or the series it spun off of). That said, as a fan of Bradford’s work I do hope to go back at some point to read the Love in Xxchange series as I can only imagine just how hot it is.

Being as it was made clear in the blurb that Carlos, Troy, and Will were already in a well-established ménage relationship, I was only mildly surprised with just how quickly the author opted to show the reader why their relationship has been successful. Boy howdy! These are some seriously hot cowboys that have no qualms about letting one another know how much they love each other and just how much they are attracted to one another. And there is a LOT of horse saving going on in Chaps & Hope and I loved it! But all that cowboy lovin’ doesn’t take away from the fact that the guys are there to resuscitate the Mossy Glenn Ranch and due to the nature of their relationship they decide to make it a safe haven of sorts for the LGBT community. While they don’t hide their relationship, the guys also don’t go out of their way to publicize it when in town – but the bigots always seem to know and the guys find the ranch being targeted by vandalism. When Troy is attacked by a local business owner, the guys find out that their community is far more supportive than a few bigots made it seem.

I really enjoyed Chaps & Hope. Despite the fact that Carlos, Troy, and Will had met and fallen in love in Where There’s a Will, Bradford showed the continued development of their relationship. Not having read the previous book didn’t prevent me from seeing how their relationship continued to progress as there was still obvious baggage from their pasts that was addressed in this novel. With this being the first book in the Mossy Glenn Ranch series, the author does spend some time laying the foundation for the series through the everyday tasks of repairing the ranch, hiring staff, interacting with townsfolk, dealing with the vandalism, and each man finding his place on the ranch. I loved Drake and cannot wait to read his own book (at least I’m assuming he gets his own). I will admit that I was surprised when the identity of the vandal came out and my heart actually broke for the guy; I really hope that we see more of him in the series. I also enjoyed how the townsfolk rallied around the guys after Troy’s attack and I’m looking forward to seeing how that bodes for the ranch’s future. Chaps & Hope was an enjoyable read and I’m ready for Ropes & Dreams – which I just peeked and saw is Drake’s story. YAY!

I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Angela at Crystal's Many Reviewers!

Check out the Chaps and Hope (Mossy Glenn Ranch #1) by Bailey Bradford blog post on Crystal's Many Reviewers.


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