Who could resist that gorgeous cover?! ALIVE AND WELLS by Bailey Hannah ticked a lot of boxes for me – small town, starting over, city girl moves to said small town (though Cecily fit in really fast so no real fish out of water or culture shock), a bit of an enemies to lovers vibe, and of course, cowboys!

Cecily has been in an emotionally abusive marriage and secretly texting with Beryl, who she met in an online forum for victims of domestic abuse. When the abuse suddenly turns physical, she bites the bullet and takes up Beryl’s offer of a job and a safe place to stay in Wells Canyon, a small Canadian town. Her new boss at Wells Ranch is a prickly, grumbly, grumpy cowboy, or rather, rancher, as he haughtily informs her (the cowboys are the men who work for him).

Cecily and Austin are both wonderfully written characters, both carrying their own baggage. I appreciated that, despite the pretty much insta-lust they have for each other, their relationship developed slowly. Cecily of course is still married, and Austin has been burned before by a city girl who came to the ranch and then left just when he thought things were serious enough for a proposal, so he has major trust issues. Oh, add that to the list of boxes ticked – an emotionally wounded hero!

The author doesn’t skirt around the abuse Cecily has been subjected to, or the conflicted feelings she has about having once loved her husband, and about being married but attracted to another man. Her being married is also conflicting for Austin in the beginning, before he gets to know her situation. With the chapters alternating between Cecily and Austin narrating, we get a good character study for each of them, along with insight into what makes them tick, and what drives them. It’s an emotional read at times, but there’s also lots of lively banter between them, and between the other characters as well. And once their relationship heats up, it is hot hot hot!

I also have to mention how excited I was to see my absolute favorite word used in a sentence – tintinnabulation! I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in a book, other than a dictionary.

Despite the heaviness of some of the subject matter and the emotional scenes, ALIVE AND WELLS is a delightful, feel-good, heartwarming read that left me wanting more.