This one started a little too slow for my taste and was very lack luster until around 70% in. Not a lot going on and I ended up taking several days to read it. But once we got to the last 30%, it got better and I was pleasantly surprised with the turn of events. I mean, I kind of figured how some things would come to play out, but it was still a good, strong finish. It even had me interested in the books that will follow for the Hayden men. I am definitely glad I read it after how it finished. I need a book like that every now and then to balance out all the angsty ones I am used to reading lately. I will be checking out more of this author's work. .All in all, a good, 4 star read by a new to me author.

This was a cute read, nicely written and sweet characters, but it just seemed a bit cliche to me. It was very predictable, whilst a nice read, I don’t think I’ll remember it in a week or so.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Jennifer Millikin’s first book in The Hayden Family series, The Patriot, will draw you in from its onset, keep you engaged and turning the pages, then leave you looking forward to the second book in the series, The Maverick. With subtle, wry, and quite witty humor/banter...Dakota kept me smiling with her quips...and the added element of danger and tension layered under the surface, the story unfurls effortlessly. 

Wes’ tortured soul is written with such realism...this author’s empathy and ability to convey such emotional pain, with it nearly leaping off the pages...is a testament to Ms Millikin’s gift for creating a mind’s eye three dimensional world from within the two dimensional page. Each character was unique and multi-layered...creating emotional investments that remained long after the story concluded. 

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

WOW! This new-to-me author has just knocked my socks off! 
Wes Hayden, a veteran military soldier who has returned home to his family’s ranch. He is trying to move forward in his life but is suffering some challenges from PTSD. When Dakota enters (or re-enters) his life, they have some other challenges and misunderstandings to get through. 
Author Jennifer Millikin has written an incredible, deeper romance in The Patriot. I loved the characters and the families involved, the storyline was fantastic, and the backstories were so dang good! I will be reading more of her books after reading this one! SO good! 5 stars!

I read this story and my heart hurt for those veterans who are not able to get the counselling they need for PTSD.  I enjoyed this story with its well developed characters, the angst and the suspense.  While there is definite heat, there is not the play by play details.  My only hiccup was during the love declarations.  The “when did you love me” scene didn’t seem in character.

Total awes and all the girly feels for this beautiful book! I loved Dakota and Wes and how they met and met again and finally realized they couldn't ever be a part again. This book will have you sighing. You won't want to put it down. Together they make a phenomenal couple that you won't want to say goodbye to.

The entire Hayden family are incredibly interesting and have lives that need to be further discovered. I wasn't too thrilled with the mother but she does thaw once she understands that there is more happening than just an arrangement between Wes and Dakota. I really like Beau and he is the perfect father figure. 

I love that the duty and honor theme runs so paramount in Jennifer Millikin's work.  She takes these heros and finds a way to bring hope and love back into their hearts. There is always a tragedy or stumbling block and she expertly traverses the terrain and the journey is eloquently beautiful and breathtaking.  Don't hesitate to lose your heart to her wonderfully written words.

I'm loving this new series so far!  I've read a few books from this author before and they've all been addicting.   I loved how much was going on in this book.  There were a lot of characters but they were introduced well so that it never felt overwhelming.  It was so easy to root for Dakota and Wes, each with their own issues, but so similar to each other.  I can't wait for the next book!

This story opens with an older son Wes who is also a former soldier who is running the family's cattle ranch, well sort of. You see the only way he can really run it is if he is married which is part of the trust, so his father is still running the ranch. He has told him that he wants to sell off some land yet he wants Wes to be the person in charge of it. 
  Dakota Wright works for her father and lives with her sister and husband and two nieces. When called into her father’s office she is not expecting to be told that they will be taking a trip to the Sierra Grande to be in the running to purchase land and develop it. She has her own issues with debt collectors calling and also finding that she was with a married man which really messed her up. 
  When she finally meets Wes and his father, she does feel something for him as he does for her but she thinks that the realtor is after him. Staying in town to come up with a plan she meets people around town and also finds out that Wes was different when he left and when he came back from his service. She realizes the more time she spends with Wes that he has PTSD after his three tours and suggests a program at the VFW that has other vets as well. The father takes ill and Wes comes up with an idea that will help both of them with their problems, his by getting the ranch and her getting out of debt. 
   This though is not a quick fast story it takes time as she stays in town working with the project and she and Wes become friends and that is really what makes this story special, they become friends before they become anything else then they realize that they each want more but must find a way to tell the other one. What a wonderful story that touches so many issues besides PTSD, also with addiction, and some others. A very good story with really good characters.

Okay, I’m just gonna get this off my chest right at the start...it’s the freakin’ 2020s. What’s with the “you have to be married to inherit the land” for a storyline malarkey? Is anyone really writing wills that say that anymore???

Anyway, moving on.

Fun fact...Jennifer Millikin’s very first book (The Day He Went Away) was the first book I downloaded and reviewed on NetGalley way back in December of 2016! It was evident then that Ms. Millikin is a skilled writer, and her writing has only gotten better since. However, it wasn’t the writing I had issues with in The Patriot…

Wes is the oldest of the four Hayden children. After 12 years in the military he’s back home in Sierra Grande, Arizona working at the family cattle ranch. He wants nothing more than to inherit the ranch but there’s this pesky stipulation in the will that says only a married Hayden can be declared the owner. And this means he’ll never be the owner because he’ll never marry (due to guilt and PTSD, which he thinks will keep him from finding someone to love him).

Dakota Wright has her own set of matching luggage packed full of guilt (due to poor choices as a teenager and blaming herself for a tragedy which happened that wasn’t actually her fault). So when her dad takes her with him to bid on a piece of land being sold by the Hayden family, there’s nothing she wants more than to have things go right. Even if that means working with the man who ghosted her after a one-night-stand five years ago.

Wes is initially shocked - then secretly pleased - to be working with Dakota. When he proposes a marriage of convenience, it’s a way for them both to get something they want. But the more time they spend together, the more they realize there are feelings still lingering from the first time they met. Except before they have a chance to declare their true feelings, past trouble from the Hayden ranch comes back and puts the ranch and their relationship at risk.

Unfortunately, several of the plotlines in this book could have used some more development (I'm leaving those unmentioned because I don't want to spoil anything). Also, so much of this book felt contrived to me. The will, the marriage of convenience proposal, Dakota’s grief (in addition to how it manifested in the current choices she made), never really made much sense to me. So the basis of a lot of the book didn’t work for me.

BUT…

There was a lot that did! Ms. Millikin’s writing has an almost poetic quality to it, making for an enjoyable read. Wes and Dakota were extremely likable characters. I loved how Dakota was quick to call Wes on his crap and that Wes was open to dealing with that crap, as well as his PTSD. I loved the Hayden family and their dynamics. Overall, this is a good start to the Hayden Family series and I’m looking forward to reading about the three remaining Hayden siblings.

* thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

A soldier/ cowboy romance what could be better, it was steamy romance at its best with  PTSD and suspense beautiful story of Wes ad Dakota, perfect for me. I voluntarily reviewed this book.

I always love a small town romance, and this man is full of all the things I love a small town community, the ranch family, and of course are romance. This one is a marriage of convenience, fake engagement, second chance romance to encompass its tropes. I love the romance was to hurting people coming together and through their romance the two of them helped each other on the path to healing. 

There was only two things I feel were slightly missing from this particular book the first one was more of the running of the ranch. I want to see a bit more personality from the ranch hands and I feel that we got to see more of Dakota’s work life than actual running of the ranch. Secondly, I would have liked Dakota’s dad to be slightly more involved with the healing process, I feel like we get to see him at the beginning and then you very much dropped off the radar of the story would be nice for him to even just popped in with a couple more phone calls in the course of the story. However there are two minor things I really enjoyed this romance! 

[thank you to the publishers and netgalley for my review copy, this hasn’t impacted my opinion of the this voluntary review]

4.25  stars- THE PATRIOT is the first instalment in Jennifer Millikin’s contemporary, adult HAYDEN FAMILY romance series focusing on the Hayden siblings (Wesley, Warner, Wyatt and Jessie). This is thirty-seven year old, former US army explosive specialist and rancher Wes Hayden, and real estate developer/ investor Dakota Wright’s story line. 

Told from dual first person perspectives (Wes and Dakota) THE PATRIOT follows Dakota Wright as she is tasked by her father with purchasing and developing several acres of land owned by the wealthy and powerful Hayden Cattle Company in Sierra Grande, Arizona but the surprise is on our heroine when she discovers that her one-night stand from five years previous is none other than heir to the Hayden Cattle Company Wes Hayden. Struggling to maintain her professionalism Dakota comes to realize that Wes refuses to acknowledge what was, and struggles to accept the sale of some of the family land. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Wes and Dakota, and the potential fall-out as the Hayden Cattle Company has been targeted for sins of the past, and our heroine is caught in the cross-fire.

Wes Hayden struggles with PTSD, and his one-night stand five years earlier with Dakota Wright has left our hero with  issues of guilt and embarrassment in the wake of his need to run. Reconnecting with Dakota brought with it the palpable sexual attraction to a woman he believes he does not deserve but an outdated family mandate forces Wes to make Dakota an offer she cannot refuse.

The relationship between Wes and Dakota is one of immediate attraction; a second chance romance wherein five years has past, and Dakota struggles to forgive the ma with whom she will fall in love.  Wes returned from three tours of duty a changed man, and in this, his family worries that Wes is no longer the son to take over the ranch. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and energetic secondary and supporting characters including Dakota’s father Mitch Wright;  Wes’ siblings Warner, Wyatt and Jessie; their parents Beau and Juliette Hayden; real estate agent Jericho Barnett; café server Josephine; several townies, and ranch hands Dixon, Troy, Josh, Ham, Denny and Bryce. I am hoping the author has plans for Josephine as well.

THE PATRIOT is a story of family and relationships; betrayal and revenge; guilt and acceptance; romance and love. The premise is heart breaking, engaging and captivating ;the romance is seductive and sensual; the characters are broken, impassioned, and dynamic.



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I was intrigued by the cover so I went in blindly. I'm glad I did. I feel as though I had a better experience. Lets get the bad out of the way. It was slow in some parts. With that said, Dakota and Wes reunite after 5 years being apart. They get another chance with each other. Wes and Dakota are perfectly imperfect and fit together. Their story is sort of bittersweet just because of what they go through. Overall it was a good and sweet story.

The Patriot (Hayden Family, # 1) by Jennifer Millikin

**I received a copy of The Patriot from Net Galley and Victory Editing Net Galley Co op in exchange for a voluntary and honest review. My opinions expressed are mine alone and not solicited in any way**

I have to say this book blew me away because of the slow build up of love between Wes Hayden and Dakota Wright. The clincher for me was how she asked the town what "They needed" not here is what you are going to get when everything is finished. Yes the rule of Wes being unmarried and not taking over the ranch was old fashioned and I'm still scratching my head on how Dakota accrued her debt but all in all this book is worthy of a five star 5***** rating.

Dakota Wright wants to prove to her dad that she can bring to life the newest project being built at Hayden Ranch in Arizona but this time she wants make sure The Orchard will be everything that is truly needed for the town. Little does she expect to meet Wes Hayden whom she had one night with 5 years ago. Will he break her heart again or when he proposes a mutual agreement between them be all that he wants? When there's a fire on the ranch and a disgruntled employee who wants revenge will Wes find Dakota in time when she's kidnapped?

Wes Hayden still has night terrors from his years in the Army but what he really wants is to inherit the Hayden Cattle Company when his dad retires but clause states he must be married. So when Dakota and her father make a bid for the land being sold can he rekindle his past feelings with her while the project is being built? There will be a emergency with his dad and of course some wild west justice when she goes missing with a possible HEA in the end. I can't wait for the next book which I hope will be Warner's.

Jennifer Millikin is a new author to me and overall this was a good introduction for me to her writing style. This is the first book in the Hayden Family series and this is Wes and Dakota's story. I thought this might be a fluffy second chance romance but it also deals with a heavy subject matter. 

I liked that we were there for that first meeting and got to see the that first interaction.  This was an easy story to read and both characters were likeable even if Wes a little unwelcoming when they meet back up.  I enjoyed the friends that Dakota made in town and can see some interesting possibilities for future books.  Both were complex characters but I didn't feel that was explored in the depth I would have liked. The proposition aspect was a little something extra it was fun reading them navigate their changing relationship.

Wonderful second chance
The Patriot (Hayden Family Book 1) is an exceptionally well written romance with so many of my favorite things about reading romance.  Not only are the characters dynamic and engaging, Wes tugged my heartstrings HARD!  A military veteran and a cowboy???  Holy smokes!  Talk about steamy.  Or at least, this hero nearly melted everything for me.  Dakota is definitely a firecracker and I adored her character as well.  Throw these two together?  Explosive chemistry.  Add in the second chance and I was in a romance trifecta.
The plot(s) of this book, while connected, were varied and full of depth as the reader gets to know the characters, what drives them, their backstories and connection.  I was captivated beginning to end and thrilled to see there’s more to come (more cowboys!).
Overall, a very enjoyable and entertaining read with some serious topics for these beautifully flawed characters to navigate and conquer together for one fabulous and satisfying HEA.
I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily share my review.

Every now and again, I discover a new author who ropes me into their world. Jennifer Millikin is the first author to do so in a long time. From the first line of The Patriot, I was hooked on this story, and I could not put it down. The world that she has created with the Hayden Family is one that is filled with complexity, love, and the roadblocks that life throws our way. 

This story isn't just about two people falling in love; it's about two people finding themselves in a place that finally allows them to heal their battle scars, and find peace in their soul. That is what makes this story so powerful, and it's one that I highly recommend.

THE PATRIOT (Hayden Family Book #1) by Jennifer Millikin is the start of a new contemporary cowboy romance series that has everything I am looking for in an emotional romance read. 

Hayden Cattle Company is the largest spread in Sierra Grande and was established and run by four generations of Hayden men. Beau Hayden and his wife have three grown sons and one teenage daughter. 

Wes Hayden is the oldest son and after serving three tours in the Army overseas has returned to take his place on the ranch. But the Wes who went to war is not the same Wes who has returned. Beau has decided to sell of a small portion of land next to the town and he wants Wes to decide between the prospective buyers and their plans for the land.

Dakota Wright has returned home and gone to work in her father’s company Wright Build + Design. He has decided to bid on the Sierra Grande land and development and he tells Dakota that he wants her to design and lead the project. 

When Wes and Dakota come together, they not only realize they have already met and more, but they may be able to help each other with the other’s problem. They discover that what drew them together five years ago is still there. What started out as a business deal just may turn into something much more permanent.

I absolutely love Wes and Dakota! Wes has a big loving family, but after a terrible incident in his third deployment, he comes back to the ranch and closes himself off from family and friends while suffering with PTSD. Dakota has a lot of guilt going on in her own life which may be why she can see it in Wes and she can get through to Wes unlike others. The H/h tell the story in alternating chapters and even when it is difficult, they maturely handle problems with communication or action. These two characters work through a lot of heart wrenching emotions, but it is all worth it for the satisfying HEA. The sex scenes are brief and not extremely explicit, but not G-rated either. All the secondary characters are fully fleshed and bring the family and the other small town citizens to life. I am looking forward to reading the siblings’ stories in future books.

I can highly recommend this contemporary cowboy romance!

This amazing story stole my heart!

After their one night stand right after he gets home from combat, Wes ghosts Dakota because he's still dealing with the emotional fallout from a tragic mission.  Five years later, her company is looking to develop the land his father wants to sell, so they're thrust back into each other's orbit where they find that they're both still reeling from tragedies in their lives.  

Wes offers to solve one of Dakota's problems if she'll help solve his - specifically, he needs to take over the family ranch from his ready-to-retire father, but he has to be married in order to do so.  Dakota agrees, and it's not long before their incendiary chemistry blurs the lines between real emotions and the show they're putting on for his family. 

I was thoroughly captivated by this wonderful romance.  Dakota and Wes are both vibrantly-developed characters who really do bring out the best in each other.  Each step of their love story was filled with heat and heart and all the intensity a reader could ask for.  I especially loved getting to know the rest of the Hayden family as well as the fellow residents of the small town setting.  The HEA was absolutely breathtaking.

This is one of the best contemporary cowboy stories I've read in a long time, and I highly recommend it.  I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

A Wounded Hero, and a Second Chance

I enjoyed Dakota and Wes’s story. He is a wounded soldier who does not think he deserves love. Could Dakota change his mind? It was supposed to be just a one-night stand, but fate has a different idea. Five years after their first meeting, and five years after he ghosted her, Dakota and Wes meet again when his father decides to sell a part of their ranch to her father’s company. At first, he pretends not to remember her, but how will the story unfold? They each have a problem, and Wes has the solution. It starts with a business contract, and then, love gets in the way. Will Dakota and Wes let it heal them? I enjoyed the story and would recommend it to those who like second-chance, wounded hero, small-town romance. There is even an unexpected dash of suspense towards the end.