Ten years ago, Lily Wilder and Leo Grady fell in love on her father's ranch in Wyoming.  Weeks into their relationship, Leo abruptly left for a family emergency and never contacted Lily again.  Now, ten years wiser and broker, she's capitalized on her father's reputation as an infamous treasure hunter to run treasure hunting expeditions in Utah.  On the heels of learning she'll probably never be able to buy back the family ranch, she leads a group of men into the desert... only to learn one of them is the unsuspecting Leo on a yearly boys' trip.   She can tolerate him for the trip, but when things take a sharp left turn, it looks like Lily and Leo might be spending a lot of time together.  Leo knows exactly what he wants, but can he get Lily on the same page -- and can they find some treasure and get out alive?

I love Christina Lauren books, but they all don't hit me the same way.  This one had some of the gut punch emotional bits I've been missing since Love and Other Words, but with more moments of levity.  There's a lot of action, but a lot of trademark banter, and of course, deliciously tender scenes between the two love interests.  It's a ride from start to finish, and you won't want to put it down.  There's honestly so much I could say about this book, so many quotes I'd love to share, but you're going to have to experience the whole thing for yourself.

A really cool thing about reading romance is how fast reader cycle through what they're looking for in their books.  Authors need to keep up with demand, which means it's often really easy to see how they've grown and improved during their careers.  If you look at, like, the longue durée of Christina Lauren, this book is absolutely evidence of how authors can really stretch themselves.  They've been traditionally published for less than ten years, and in that time they've gone from writing some really almost impenetrable heroes to Leo, a man who is so, so willing to put himself out there and confess his love from almost the jump.  He doesn't want to play games -- he wants Lily, and he's going to make himself vulnerable to prove that.  I truly cannot overstate how much I admire this kind of hero and this kind of growth.  This is the kind of book that makes me proud of the work romance can do in a relatively short period of time.

They've cautioned that it's tonally a bit darker than their other works, and I'd say yes but not like remarkably so (although you should absolutely check content warnings).  If you're looking for a little grit, some really strong women, and a true sweet potato of a side character (walt ily), you're going to want to pick this one up.

Thank you Gallery and NetGalley for the ARC!

CW:

death of a parent in an accident (off-page), death of a parent due to stroke (off-page, remembered), parental abandonment, a purposefully gross side character, death of a side character on the page (dm me if you need more details), guns, near-drowning, general desert peril, betrayal by a friend