Loner: An Enemies-to-Lovers Standalone Romance (Broody Bad Boys - Silo Springs Standalones)

I love when a writer goes against trope. And Harloe Rae has written a delightful reverse Cinderella with her reclusive hero Crawford. Loner delivers a moving swoonworthy romance of longing and flithy sweet caresses, wrapped in healing hugs. A little girl almost steals the show with her sweet nothings and the animals aren’t far behind, mugging for the camera, and gobbling up real estate in your heart.Smoldering isolationist Crawford is clearly smitten with hot standoffish single mom Keegan, although the real candy apple of his eye is Millie. Their baggage is stacked skyhigh and these two seem to rather battle than bump uglies, but for one hot night, they lower the draw bridges enough to let each other in and sparks fly. Keegan is blunt about sex and lives a determined life centered around her daughter.For a while, that one night and all the filthy hot memories are enough for Ford, but thank god he can’t get enough. With the help of the little spitfire Millie and a new puppy, Ford and Kee negotiate a platonic detente, where they can ogle each other among the safety of dogs and the flora and fauna. Their mutual reticence is sweet, when I wasn’t grinning from the dreamy descriptions, I was swooning at the great visuals Rae conjured. She is a great namer, from Silo Springs to Iron Throttle, to all the great characters and nicknames. Did I mention Crawford loves dessert? I mean, when a man compares you to cheesecake, he's a keeper, and his Loner days will soon be over. :)The story remains light, dancing around a true push pull, instead letting the cute strawberry shortcake of insight a.k.a. Millie speak to the love blooming between her mom and Ford. Add in two dogs and… you know where this is headed. *Whispers* it’s a clever bit of writing to make the daughter Crawford’s real soulmate.Crawford and Keegan have this incredible connection. My favorite part might be how they both spend a considerable about of time denying how they feel about each other when it’s clear they have sooo much in common, it’s like two sides to the same coin. You don’t read that very often, both even had horrible men in their pasts. And when Crawford’s dad gets in his son's head--welp, all bets were off. I ached for Crawford, this broken man who thought he deserved so little. Again, thank goodness for Kee and Millie and the love they sewed on all those dates. This was a tender pairing. “Fated by simultaneous climaxes and destined for a mutually satisfied forever.” Now that is Harloe Rae.Forget about putting this book down, and you shouldn’t. Loner joins my all-time HR faves, along with Ask Me Why and Gent.

Harloe Rae gives us another spectacularly sweet and sexy small town romance. Enemies to lovers, Crawford ‘Ford’ Doxe and Keegan Daniels light up the pages with their banter and sassy sniping at one another.At first, these two are like oil and water—they just don’t mix. Arguments and harsh words pass frequently between them. But for Millie, Keegan’s daughter, the two form a sort of truce, as the shy little girl has taken a liking to Ford.After spending time together, Keegan and Ford’s relationship changes from tenuous friendship to having feelings for each other. But can they get past Keegan’s jaded past with men and Ford’s self-imposed loner status and feelings of inadequacy to find something amazing neither was looking for?

Wow! What to say? Harloe Rae is a genius with words. If she wasn’t already my favorite author, this book would have done that for me. Ford is everything: snarky, sweet, and deliciously handsome. I love me a reclusive bad boy. Something about a man who couldn’t care less what anyone thinks...mmmhhhmmm, count me in! Keegan and her sweet as sugar daughter Millie are a wonderful added bonus. This story was perfectly written. No story has had me laughing, crying, and swooning so much. A well deserved rating of 5 fantastic stars for Loner.

There is nothing better than a book with characters you want to squeeze and Loner had exactly that. Keegan and Milly were the best team and then came Ford who blew into their lives, setting Keegan on her behind and Milly jumping for joy. It was the greatest mixture of love if I'd ever seen it. The characters leaped off the pages and right into my heart, melting it like butter. Harloe has a way with doing that from the beginning to end. And Loner was no exception. I'll cherish this one forever. All I want to do now is hug these characters, but my kindle will have to do.

If you like small town, heat, and a sassy kid, this is the one for you! It was lovely how Millie was the first one to really have an impact on Ford, encouraging him to broaden his horizons, and how all of them grew stronger together.