Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Adversity
SERIES: The Midnight Gang
AUTHOR: Ren Browne
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 374 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 26, 2025
BLURB:
A gunslinger. A gambler. And the girl they stole.
After the murder of her father, Cora runs away into the unforgiving Wild West, determined to hunt down those responsible. But a suspicious small town in the Arizona Territory offers little mercy to a young woman alone.
In a twist of fate, she’s rescued by Aiden and Cypress—two outlaws as enigmatic as they are deadly. Their bond forged by trust, loyalty, and temptation that simmers just beneath the surface. As they help Cora navigate the untamed world they call home, she soon finds they have far more to teach her than just simple survival.
With trouble on their heels and her heart pulled in unexpected directions, Cora must choose between returning to the perceived safety of what she knows or finding an entirely new place in the dangerous life they already share.
Adversity is a fast-paced, frontier romance where justice comes at a cost—and love doesn’t always come in pairs.
REVIEW:
Cora is a young woman in her early 20s who has moved from the east to a worthless piece of land in Arizona with her parents and younger sisters. When her father is gunned down in the streets of Preston right outside the Sherriff’s office, she goes to them seeking justice. She gets nothing. Her mother decides to take them back to Boston to live with her sister’s family and marry Cora off to some man whose wife of 30 years has died, but he needs someone to take care of his home, etc. Needless to say, this is not the life Cora wants, so she runs away before the family leaves.
Cora stays in Preston with her horse, her few dollars and a small bag of belongings and tries to get the Sherriff and his son, the deputy to get justice for her father. She saw the man who shot him. They basically tell her that they can’t help her but maybe she could hire a bounty hunter. Of course she doesn’t have the money for that, but she is determined. She’s been hiding in the stable loft where she’s got her horse, avoiding the stable owner and trying to find work. One night someone hears here in the loft. The man is surprised to find her and also is concerned that she has NO IDEA how to protect herself. If he’d wanted to do her harm, she wouldn’t have stood a chance. He gives her some words of advice 🙂
She finally finds a days work at the local boarding house. There she meets the sole guest, Cypress. He’s must more interested in her than she thinks he should be, but she isn’t going to offend him. She gets to eat real meals for the first time in weeks. When she gets back to the stables, she again finds the man and he tries to teach her to shoot – which doesn’t go well. He again tells her she will need to either fight or run if she’s ever put in a position to defend herself.
Cora goes back to the boarding house and again, Cypress insists she eat with him and she is intrigued by this man. Then the man from the stable, Aiden, and Cypress tell her to lay low. When the deputy shows up with a ticket to Boston for her and urges her to get out of town, well she’s affronted and tells him she’s not interested – but he leaves the ticket with her.
Needless to say, things go VERY sideways that night and she ends up on the run with Aiden and Cypress. Cypress and Aiden are much more to each other than they appear. She discovers this while following them one evening. She’s surprised, but not in the way that would be suspected. The more time they spend together, the more intrigued she is by the two men who have taken her away from the hardscrabble life she’s known. They are also willing to help her find the man who killed her father.
Along the way Cypress continues to earn money at the gambling tables with Cora in tow posing as his wife. In the aptly named Last Chance, they have success at the tables, but the victim is not willing to let his losses stand. They have to get out of town. Too bad they are now being pursued by people interested in a reward. Uh-oh. The three have been dubbed The Midnight Gang and there is now a price on their head. This is getting tricky and it’s time to lay low. Until trouble finds them again.
Oh man! I really enjoyed this book. I had heard Ren on her podcast and her Heated Rivalry videos and though I would read her book. I’m so glad I did. I love an established couple finding their third story and in this case, Cora was the perfect match for them. She is brave. She is fierce. She has a big heart and she figures out that she wants both of these men. Aiden and Cypress have been together for a long time. They are good at silent communication. But now they have someone who loves both of them. They are a perfect triad. I loved how much Cora grows with them – in every possible way. They teach her but they are also in awe of her. It’s not condescending. It’s not patting her pretty little head. They respect her and what she’s gone through and how she has survived and not given up – which comes in handy when things go very south. I also liked the twist of the story behind why Cora’s father was killed and how they got to right some wrongs with settling some scores. They are all damaged in different ways, but they are there for each other 100%.
Man, the wild wild west is NOT for the faint of heart. Not sure I would have survived! I can’t wait for the next book which is actually the story of how Aiden and Cyrpress came to be which is I’m sure going to be so fascinating given what they’ve gone through in their respective pasts (no spoilers from me) 🙂 Recommended!
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