Smexy Books

Romance and Urban Fantasy Reviews

  • Review Request
  • Contact
    • Smexy Reviewers Profiles
    • New Reviewer Application
    • Contact
  • Advertising
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • By Genre
      • BDSM
      • Contemporary
      • Erotic
      • Fantasy
      • F/F
      • Historical Romance
      • Historical PNR
      • LGBTQ+
      • M/M Romance
      • New Adult
      • Urban Fantasy
      • Paranormal Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Romantic Suspense
      • Young Adult
    • By Letter Grade Rating
      • A Reviews
      • B Reviews
      • C Reviews
      • D Reviews
      • DNF Reviews
  • Features
    • New Releases
    • Smexy Deals!
    • Retro Review
    • Weekly Wrap-Up
    • Blog Tour
    • Scenic Sunday
    • To Be Read
    • Guest Post
    • Top Ten/Happy Friday
    • Smex Scene Sunday
  • The Psy/Changeling Channel
You are here: Home / B Review / Review: Rocky Mountain Desire by Vivian Arend

Review: Rocky Mountain Desire by Vivian Arend

March 13, 2012 by Helyce 16 Comments

Rocky Mountain DesireRocky Mountain Desire by Vivian Arend (Six Pack Ranch #3)
March 13, 2012
Contemporary Romance
Samhain

Reviewed by Helyce

Rocky Mountain Desire starts off with a bang with all the Coleman brothers and their friends celebrating Daniel’s upcoming wedding with a bachelor party. Matt may have sworn off relationships for himself, but that is not going to stop him from throwing his brother one hell of a party, complete with sexy dancing girls!

As he watches his brothers and cousins having a good time, flirting, calling out to the girls on stage, Matt can’t help but think that he should have been married himself by now. He’d been in a long term relationship with Helen and he was so sure they were on the same page, heading in the same direction with marriage in their future. Though, the more he thought about it, he should have seen the signs. He loved her and he thought she loved him and that they wanted the same things, but in the end, he was fooling himself. Helen never had any intention of settling down and being a rancher’s wife. No, she wanted to get as far away from that life as possible. He knew he was better off finding out about Helen before they’d gotten married, but it was still a tough pill to swallow and because of it, he was just not interested in getting involved with anyone.

That is, until he notices one of the dancers looking right at him. There was just something about her. She seemed familiar, but he just couldn’t put his finger on it.

As Hope danced across the stage, she wished she had not agreed to do this gig. She really needed the money though. Her little quilting shop was hanging on by a thread, so she really didn’t have a choice. Any extra money would help, and she knew it. Of course, she was already there and in costume when she realized the party was for one of the Coleman brothers. She couldn’t back out now, even though she really wanted to. She knew Matt had to be here somewhere. She’d always kind of had a crush on him. He’d spent a lot of time at her house when Matt and her sister Helen were dating, but he’d always just treated her like a little sister. As she danced around the stage she saw him. Handsome as ever and he was staring right at her.

I was so happy to read Matt’s story. When we met Matt in a previous book he was the only Coleman brother who was in a relationship. I did not like his girlfriend, Helen. I knew something was up with her and it was clear even then that something was seriously wrong with their relationship. When Matt catches her being unfaithful at a party, I was happy to say good riddance. But that left Matt devastated and alone with a huge chip on his shoulder where relationships are concerned.

When he sees Hope dancing, he is attracted to her until he realizes who she is and then he starts second guessing himself. Clearly it’s not an easy thing to find yourself attracted to the younger sister of your x-girlfriend and his instinct is to ignore it and her. Yet, when he runs into Hope at his parent’s home several months after the bachelor party, he realizes he doesn’t want to ignore whatever he is feeling. Hope is not Helen, and he needs to keep her and what she did out of the equation. From that point on, Matt begins to look for ways to see Hope. He starts to hang out at her shop trying to do odd jobs here and there. When he learns that Hope’s financial issues are directly related to her sister Helen’s actions, he wants to help any way he can. Hope is very resistant and it takes a while for to let just a little bit of her guard down.

As the reader, we are well aware that Hope has had it bad for Matt since she was much younger and he was dating her sister Helen. But that girlhood crush quickly changes into womanly lust as Matt begins to intrude upon her day to day life. Here, the author does such a good job of taking the relationship of these two characters, slowly building the friendship between them, even with the strong sexual attraction within them both, to the point where they are really friends first before moving them over the bridge to them becoming lovers.

Of course, nothing ever comes easy and both Matt and Hope have to deal with many outside forces before they can truly be together. We see Helen return to try and wheedle her way back into Hope’s good graces after her epic failure at whatever con she had been involved in. Here, I was thrilled to see Hope remain strong and not fall prey to her sister’s shenanigans. It was a big turning point for Hope, standing strong against Helen. We see this have a very positive impact on a lot of decisions she makes after this incident.

I also adored seeing the character of Matt literally jump through all kinds of hoops just to spend time with Hope. From building shelves at her store to taking on a quilting project for charity just to outdo a man who was also interested in Hope. Jealousy makes a man do many things he normally wouldn’t do, but Matt did it all without embarrassment; he did them to show Hope that he was truly invested in their relationship.

As Hope is the owner of a quilting shop, there are many quilting related themes throughout this story, so it’s no surprise that the author used a quilt to pull these two characters together in one of the most beautiful proposal scenes I have read to date. Sadly, it would be much too spoilerish for me to elaborate here. I will say, though, that Ms. Arend once again uses her incredible writing voice to describe the scene in such vivid detail that I could visualize quite clearly what she intended.

I have to say that initially I was kind of iffy on the romance of Matt with his x-girlfriend’s sister. It’s not a theme that I’m against, but it’s also one I don’t really like. In the end, I think what ultimately swayed me is the fact that Hope and Helen are such polar opposites. Hope is everything Helen is not. Watching her struggle with her feelings early on, rather than just jumping in also truly endeared her to me.

Rating: B+

Recent Reviews:
The Book Pushers – A-
Book Lovers Inc – 5/5
Goodreads

Author’s Website l Series Listing

Kindle l Nook l Samhain

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon
  • More
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Filed Under: B Review, Contemporary Romance, Samhain, Vivian Arend

Comments

  1. Tori says

    March 13, 2012 at 8:58 am

    Great review. I like the sound of this story. Hate the cover though.

    Loading...
    Reply
    • helyce says

      March 13, 2012 at 11:29 am

      Thanks Tori! Agreed on cover.

      Loading...
      Reply
  2. Patricia Eimer says

    March 13, 2012 at 9:23 am

    Ok, I’ve never read a sewing romance of any kind because it just seemed to “grandma-ish” but you’ve got me intrigued with this one so I’ll bite and give it a try.

    Loading...
    Reply
    • helyce says

      March 13, 2012 at 11:30 am

      The heroine in the story owns a quilting shop. The author does a wonderful job incorporating it into the story. Hope you enjoy it!

      Loading...
      Reply
  3. MinnChica says

    March 13, 2012 at 4:01 pm

    Ohhhh the quilt!! *melt*

    Loading...
    Reply
    • helyce says

      March 13, 2012 at 5:18 pm

      Yes, exactly! Loved!!!

      Loading...
      Reply
  4. Debra says

    March 14, 2012 at 12:06 am

    Oh Helyce this sounds adorable. I’ll add the Series to my “Wish List”. Thx

    Loading...
    Reply
    • helyce says

      March 14, 2012 at 11:21 am

      Oh goodie! Hope you like it!

      Loading...
      Reply
  5. aurian says

    March 14, 2012 at 4:03 am

    Thanks for the review Helyce, this series is on my miles long wishlist!

    Loading...
    Reply
    • helyce says

      March 14, 2012 at 11:21 am

      Hey Aurian, I have one of those LONG lists too…and a towering TBR!

      Loading...
      Reply
  6. Karen says

    March 14, 2012 at 7:32 am

    Helyce, your review of the first Rocky Mountain book was responsible for getting me hooked! Thank you :)

    Loading...
    Reply
    • helyce says

      March 14, 2012 at 11:22 am

      Hey Karen, thanks for stopping by! I’m so glad you’re enjoying this series! I can’t wait for the next one!

      Loading...
      Reply
  7. Diva Donna says

    March 14, 2012 at 10:52 am

    Helyce
    This sounds like a good book and series to add to my list of books and new authors for me to buy or download on my e-reader and to share with my neighbor friend. You know I love those sexy cowboys. Is there any ropes and buckling broncs?

    Loading...
    Reply
  8. helyce says

    March 14, 2012 at 11:24 am

    Hey Donna, hmmmm, lots of sexy cowboys, I promise; as for ropes, well, I expect that we may see some when the author gets around to Travis’s book. It’s hinted that he’s got some interesting “habits”. :)

    Loading...
    Reply
  9. Nancy Bristow says

    April 8, 2012 at 4:49 pm

    Helyce…Better getting over here late than never:) I do love hot cowboys and so after reading your review, it made me want to try Vivian Arend’s voice. I bought (Nook) Rocky Mountain Heat (Book 1) to start. If I love the series as much as I think I will, I will have Book 2, Rocky Mountain Haven, and Book 3, Rocky Mountain Desire in three seconds flat. Diva Donna and I love many authors in common.;) Ciao.

    Loading...
    Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome to Smexy! If you are reader feel free to use our search feature to find a specific book or browse through our features to find Smexy Deals, New Releases, and book news!

As an Amazon Associate, we do earn from qualifying purchases. We also earn a small commission on affiliate links to Apple, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords,  Booksamillion, and Bookshop,org.

 

Shop our Affiliates!

Amazon

B&N

Apple

Smashwords

Booksamillion

Angela

Melanie

Jen

Kate

Iby

Kate H.

Sign Up for Daily Emails


Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

.

Follow Us!

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • Review: Archangel's Ascension by Nalini Singh
    Review: Archangel's Ascension by Nalini Singh
  • New Releases- Week of June 2-6, 2025
    New Releases- Week of June 2-6, 2025
  • Smexy’s Top Ten Favorite Sex Scenes of 2012
    Smexy’s Top Ten Favorite Sex Scenes of 2012
  • Review: Manacled by SenLinYu
    Review: Manacled by SenLinYu
  • Smexy Deals- Deals for books by Lyla Sage, Maisey Yates, Sherry Thomas, and more!
    Smexy Deals- Deals for books by Lyla Sage, Maisey Yates, Sherry Thomas, and more!
  • Release Blitz- Falling for the CEO: A Billionaire Romance Collection
    Release Blitz- Falling for the CEO: A Billionaire Romance Collection
  • Review: The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros
    Review: The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros
  • Review: The Finish Line by Kate Stewart
    Review: The Finish Line by Kate Stewart
  • Review: All Superheroes Need PR by Elizabeth Stephens
    Review: All Superheroes Need PR by Elizabeth Stephens
  • Steamy Excerpt from Everything's Better With Lisa by Lucy Eden
    Steamy Excerpt from Everything's Better With Lisa by Lucy Eden

Disclosure

The majority of the books reviewed at this site have been provided for free by publishers, authors, or other third parties like NetGalley or Edelweiss. Acceptance of a free copy does not guarantee a review or a positive review.

As an Amazon Associate, we do earn from qualifying purchases. We also earn a small commission on affiliate links to Apple, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Booksamillion.

Shop our Affiliates!

Amazon

B&N

Apple

Smashwords

Booksamillion

 

Find Our Reviewers

Angela @fv-angela.bsky.social l Goodreads

Melanie @melonreads.bsky.social l  Goodreads

Jen .@thebooknista l Goodreads

Kate  @kateminasian l Goodreads

Iby Instagram l Goodreads

Kate H. @Naranjadia l Goodreads

Copyright © 2025 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

%d