Indigo Ridge by Devney Perry

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Title: Indigo Ridge
Author: Devney Perry
Series: The Edens #1
Published by: Indie
Release Date: October 26, 2021
Format: ebook
Pages: 324
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Romantic Suspense
Source: Overdrive
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ iBooks ✩ IndieBound ✩ Book Depository
My rating:

Blurb:

From USA Today Bestselling Author Devney Perry comes a small town, enemies-to-lovers contemporary romance.

Winslow Covington believes in life, liberty and the letter of the law. As Quincy, Montana’s new chief of police, she’s determined to prove herself to the community and show them she didn’t earn her position because her grandfather is the mayor.

According to her pops, all she has to do is earn favor with the Edens. But winning over the town’s founding family might have been easier if not for her one-night stand with their oldest son. In her defense, it was her first night in town and she didn’t realize that the rugged and charming man who wooed her into bed was Quincy royalty.

Sleeping with Griffin Eden was a huge mistake, one she’s trying to forget. He’s insufferable, arrogant and keeps reminding everyone that she’s an outsider. Winslow does her best to avoid Griffin, but when a woman is found dead on Eden property, the two of them have no choice but to cross paths.

As clues to the murderer lead to one of Quincy’s own, Griffin realizes Winslow is more than he gave her credit for. Beautiful and intelligent, she proves hard to resist. For him. And the killer.

My Review:

4.5 stars — I absolutely loved the progression of the romance in this story.  It felt very natural and real.  Obviously I enjoy romance of all kinds, but it was refreshing to have this one continue to bypass and step over romance tropes over and over again.  They both may have been opposed to a relationship at the beginning, but as their feelings developed, they just went with it.  God, that was so nice.  It wasn’t as though they didn’t have pushing and pulling, but it was more in line with real life.

Winslow was completely unlike what I was expecting for a new Chief of Police, and yet in retrospect she had all the qualities to make a fabulous chief.  She was kind, empathetic, and amazingly compassionate.  She was also determined, persevering, brave and observant.  I loved that she deeply felt the arms-lengthedness of her colleagues, and even the townspeople, but she bravely went in each day trying to win them over.  I admired her HUGELY.  I appreciated that she stuck to her instincts and did her job even if it interfered with her relationships.

Griffin had a bit of a grumpy appeal, though it was more just wariness of outsiders and reluctance.  I think he represented a pretty normal small town mindset in that way.  But he was also smart, and it didn’t take him long to see who Winslow was and change his opinion of her.  I loved how protective he was, how steadfast — for both Winslow and his family.  He took his responsibilities seriously, and they weighed on him.  I also appreciated that while he might jump to some conclusions at the hands of his emotions, he wasn’t so stubborn that he couldn’t see the error of his ways and apologize.  So refreshing.

I already mentioned how much I loved them together.  They had all the different kinds of chemistry, from steamy to friendship.  I loved the way they saw one another and were there for one another.

I will admit that I had an inkling about the mystery from pretty early on, but there was definitely a twist I wasn’t expecting.  I didn’t mind that I saw one part of it, because I still had no idea how it was going to play out in the end.

As with the start of all small town series (or at least the good ones), there was a wonderful secondary cast in this one.  Sure, most of them were the Edens themselves, but I am definitely excited to learn more about all of them and see their stories.

I haven’t read much from this author yet, but it was wholeheartedly the cover that pulled me in immediately with this one.  So happy that it turned out to be such a match for me!  Can’t wait to read more.