Title: Fool Hearts (Plum Valley Cowboys #1)
Author: Emmy Sanders
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Amazon/Self
Heat: 3 Flames
Rating: 4 Hearts
Synopsis Via GoodReads:
Can an inexperienced cowboy wrangle the adult movie star of his dreams?
Hawthorne
I’ve lived in the same small town my entire life. And I like it, for the most part: being a rancher, taking care of my chickens, and even my meddlesome family. What I don’t like are the limited dating options. I’m gay, and at thirty-six-years-old, I’ve never been with a man.When I enter a contest to win my favorite adult entertainer’s support for our town’s first Pride Parade, I never expect to win. And I definitely never expect to find myself in a friends-with-benefits relationship with the man.
The problem is, I quickly realize I want more. But could someone as confident, sexy, and independent as Silver ever consider building a life with a simple cowboy like me?
Mateo
My work is my life. Filming under the moniker Silver, I’m happy enough. I’m making good money, I’m free from my crummy past, I’m well on my way to the career I actually dream about, and I’m not looking for any complications.Enter Hawthorne Moore, with his sweet-as-molasses drawl, that adorable gap-toothed smile, and the beautiful way in which he begs, and suddenly, I find myself getting in too deep. And that’s a problem, because I’ve spent years building up these walls around my heart, and I don’t know how to bust them down.
Can I work through my trauma and lasso myself a cowboy, or will I lose the only man who’s ever loved me?
Review: Virgin Hearts is a friends-with-benefits-to-more romance that includes a flirty performer, risqué photo shoots amongst peeping bovine, an endearing cowboy whose cock (ahem, rooster) rises at dawn, dom/sub undertones, and one very HEA. It’s book 2 in the Plum Valley Cowboys series but can be read as a standalone.
This one takes place in the same town and family as the first, a very conservative nowhere town in the middle of Texas. This one centers around Easton’s brother, Hawthorne.
I gotta say, I loved this one, more than the first. While it was a beautiful story, I think the fact that this one did not span decades and took place more in the present made it better for me? I’m not sure. I think it’s the characterization that Ms. Sanders writes that endears them to me. I loved Wyatt in the first one, and in this one, I liked Hawthorn and Mateo. She writes her characters so damn well I think. This book gave me the warm and fuzzies.
Mateo has made a name for himself as a porn star. He’s sexy and confident, comfortable in his own skin. Until the contest that brings him to Hawthorne. Hawthorne makes him break all his rules. He’s completely captivated by him and all the southern charm. Mateo had never been out of Vegas, so the small town charm and southern hospitality really cast a spell over him.
When Mateo returns home, he discovers that his persona he has developed is simply that. An image he has portrayed to the world. Without even realizing it, he is simply himself with Hawthorne. He finds that he can’t put the persona back in place, not even sure that is something that he wants anymore. Everything he has done, the friends he’s made – none of them really know who he is as a person because he hasn’t let them. He struggles to find himself because he has to process all the things in his life that he has suppressed to merge the two. Hawthorne is exceptionally patient even when Mateo breaks their hearts.
“Don’t let me run,” [Mateo] whispers. “If you do, I’ll follow.“
After Hawthorne finally figured out he was gay, he struggled to find what he needed. He doesn’t believe that he is enough since the few men he has hooked up with have made him feel otherwise because he enjoys the more submissive role in bed, and does not fit the stereotype. He doesn’t always know how to voice what he wants. When he meets Silver and gets to know Mateo, he finds that there is nothing wrong with his wants and desires. Mateo is naturally dominant despite the role he portrays in his films. They are a perfect match.
He hears me when I can’t find words at all.
This is a really sweet story that I devoured in one day. If you enjoy comfort reads, or the previous installment in this series, likely you will enjoy this one as well!
This title is part of the KU library and is free with membership.
Purchase Links | Amazon
