♡♡♡Fletch & Nella are a High Stakes Match!!♡♡♡

   Is it possible for both characters in a book to be grumpy, and no one to really be the sunshiny one? It sure seems so in Freya Barker's High Stakes! More like a modern day Western version of Taming of The Shrew for at least the first couple of chapters, neither Fletch nor Antonella (Nella) liked each other AT ALL, but when sparks finally fly, they flew hard and fast!

Antonella (Nella) is in Fletch's area, disturbing both him and the Sheriff, looking for her sister Pippa who's been missing for several weeks now. The police dept has tried to tell Nella that she needs to wait and let them do their job, but she is determined something has gone wrong, and she's absolutely right. The more clues she runs into, the more risks she decides to take and eventually she's off on her own completely ignoring both Fletch and the Sheriff - to her own peril! 

I love Nella's grit, and ferocity, her refusal to turn back no matter how scared she is at the time. I thought she was a complete bada$$ for learning to put the skids under her tires to get out of being stuck, and her quick thinking to scare off a bear when she got stuck down an incline looking for Pippa.

Fletch on the other hand, I understood his PTSD, his ability to block out the loud noises so they didn't startle him on his trip through the store, etc. I love that his family of choice has not let him just fade into the background and fail to work through some of his more minor issues. Ama getting up in his face to return phone calls, even though it may make him uncomfortable and because she knew Nella needed help was wonderful!

Things that made me laugh out loud, and probably did not help their communication at all, Nella "falling" into his grocery cart after he kind of jerked her down, because she was doing what every woman under 5'5" does and climbing a shelf to get what she needed. And on top of that not asking permission to shorten her name, but rather telling her it's easier to remember that way. Fletch is probably very lucky he didn't shoved off a cliff.

The swoony parts, omw, when Fletch helped Nella find a cave when the river started swelling, and after a certain point he never stopped listening to her and pushing the Sheriff to help them find what they were looking for.

I absolutely love High Stakes, and I won't lie I did have one of those knee jerk moments of frustration when I saw I was going to have to wait almost 5 months for the next book, but that's my own fault! I can never help but finishing Freya's books in one day, so of course I want more immediately!! This whole series has been an an absolute 5 star homerun so far, the exact kind of series I love to get swallowed up in!! 

5⭐'s

4🌶's

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