OMG....what a fantastic book by Zoe! This book wad a great way to finish off the series. We met Josh in previous books, grumpy mechanic who moved home 3 years ago after suffering a broken heart...but no one knew about that broken heart. As a mechanic for a racing empire, he met the owners daughter, decided be like her enthusiasm on learning the ropes eventho he knew it was a bad idea but she got under his skin. Monica, racing heiress needed to learn about racing and her dad gave her a fluff job. Best way to learn is on the job and she finds Josh and weasels her way in getting him to teach her racing ways. It went beyond with both liking one another, having a secret affair and getting married in Vegas. Big mistake in Josh's books...her father told him she would choose money and she did. Fast forward 3 years and Josh is trending on tiktok and both find out they are still married. Monica decides to go to Pine Harbour to get the divorce finalized...what's the worst that could happen?

Three years ago, racing heiress, Monica, had a whirlwind romance with mechanic, Josh Kincaid, leading to a wedding in Las Vegas and a subsequent annulment. When Monica learns their marriage wasn’t actually dissolved she goes to Pine Harbour and reunites with Josh who is not thrilled to see her. The pair get snowed in in Josh’s small apartment and rekindle their romance.

I really like this series. The books move quickly and there is lots of fun drama. This book had the perfect level of angst for me. I loved both Monica and Josh. They both had strong personalities and clear motivations. The connection between the two was electric. I am seeing other reviewers mention editing errors, but I didn’t read closely enough for those things to bother me, I was just enjoying the story. I enjoyed seeing the characters from the previous books in this series.

Thank you to Netgalley and Victory Editing Co-Op for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Rebel at Heart
Author: Zoe York
Status: Available Now on KU
Reading Method: @netgalley eARC

Initial Thoughts: LOVED! Instalove is tricky because it’s hard to get the right chemistry but I thought York executed it perfectly. I was a little nervous when the “3 years earlier” section started but I love how this one is as structured (as opposed to the chapter by chapter flashing back and forth that I’m a little burnt out on at the moment). Monica and Josh were just so perfect for one another.

Reader Awareness: This is pretty instalove (which I feel like is a less popular trope), but as previously stated I thought it was well done. This is part of a series of interconnected standalones, but read perfectly fine alone. My dad boy complaint is now I have to prioritize meeting the rest of the Kincaid brothers STAT

Decent read but something was missing.

This was ok but could have been better. The timeline and momentum with the love story (meet, attraction, love etc) were very off. Most of the relationship building for this couple happened off page. It was tell and not show with flash backs and fast forwards and all that we really got between these two was sex. I liked the heat they had together and the beginning with their meeting and him teaching her about the racing world - had a whole Fast and the Furious feel- but then it shifted into present day and lost all of its excitement. It was just too incomplete and most of the story was missing from this.
I enjoy this author’s writing style, liked that she had both of them remain celibate during their separation, but everything else was just so bland.
Also never love the term honey for female arousal and a new cringe-term ‘puffy seam’ was introduced here to my disgust. Purple prose doesn’t do it for me in contemporary.
Anyway, lots of editing issues and some continuity or timeline disparities but since I had an arc copy, I hope those were corrected in the final edit.

Thanks to Victoria Editing and NetGalley for the copy, this was my honest opinion.

The final Kincaid broke my heart…

Zoe York is my “One Click” go to for small town romance. Her falling in love stories while angsty are also just like hearing your grandma telling you her history, I get so invested in these tales. And getting both POVs is the icing on the cake. Josh Kincaid is sort of the outsider of the family. He didn’t go into the military, he left right after high school and moved to America, and didn’t come back for six years. Monica Fischer is a force of nature and when she comes into his life, as much as he doesn’t want to, he can’t resist her. Their journey broke my heart and put it back together so much better. I sure will miss these guys. A lovely read.

This didn’t quite hit for me the way the rest of the series did. There wasn’t enough time with Josh and Monica together, just learning about each other and falling in love - in either timeline. And Monica wasn’t fully fleshed out here the way the other women in this series have been. What’s her back story? How did she feel about her childhood, her family’s legacy, her dreams? We only see her in relation to Josh, so she’s incomplete. Too bad, as I’ve enjoyed this series up to now and hate ending it on a negative note.

There is nothing like tucking into a Zoe York book on a dreary Saturday morning. Returning to Pine Harbor makes me feel like I've been tucked into a cozy blanket with a cup of tea and just enough spice to keep things going. Reckless at Heart answers all of the questions we've had about Josh in the previous Pine Harbour books and we get to see him in all of his glory. Monica is young, but smart and confident and head over heels for Josh. This was a great story!

What I really want to know about is Bianca and Trent!