GRR Reviews Taking Charge by Ruth Cardello

NOTE: Book 4 of Lone Star Burn series 

Lucy and her brother left the family ranch to pursue their own dreams. They came back when their parents can't keep up with the ranch, but now both are gone, and her brother ran off, can't deal with the pressure anymore, as they can't balance the books. Lucy reluctantly accepted the bailout from Ted, who claimed to love her, in exchange of getting engaged. But she doesn't love Ted... So she had to break it off and save the ranch her own way... even if she had to secretly sell high-tech sex toys through online blogs. And Ted doesn't like this at all... Then David came to her rescue... Much to her chagrin... // David knows who he wants in his life: Lucy, but a cowboy doesn't go after someone else's woman. When Lucy broke it off with Ted, David wrote 250K check right there when Ted looked like he may do something. Lucy knows that David means her no harm, but she can't allow someone else to own her life... But Ted making trouble means keeping David, and her own ranchhand, Wyatt, around. The attraction between David and Lucy is undeniable, but she doesn't want to owe anyone or tolerate lies, and he will protect her any way he can, even if he had to lie to her... And Ted may be about to do something stupid... 

David is the warm and fuzzy alpha, and he knew Lucy liked him but something's holding her back, so he's willing to wait her out. My problem is with Ted, the antagonist, who just behaves like an a-hole, despite the build-up that made him sound like an evil messiah, only for Ted to dispel that image and behave like an a-hole again. And the resolution to that... well, felt like a deus ex machina, even though it really wasn't, as there was a mention earlier to that. Can't really say more without spoiling the plot. The generally weak antagonist here left me a bit wanting. 4/5

GRR Reviews Taken Home by Ruth Cardello

NOTE: Book 3 of Lone Star Burn series

Chelle lives in a small town in Texas, and may be the last virgin in town... she tried to save herself for "the one", but there aren't many choices in a small town. She just attended another wedding where another bachelor is off the market when she met Mason, an out-of-town politician, and so sexy, she may just give him a condom so he can do her, as long as he's single... // Mason used to be a child actor until the death of his mother estranged him from his father, and he fell into a dark place... but he got into rehab and managed to end his trip of self-destruction. He became a California senator but kept everyone at arm's length. There were plenty of women, but almost all are gone by morning. He slept with the wrong woman, who doesn't understand "no". He needs a fiancee, a fake one will do. Then he went to Texas to attend a friend's wedding and met Chelle... // Chelle and Mason have chemistry, but Mason is a player and doesn't know any other way, while Chelle's a virgin... who knows what she wants, but doesn't want any lies. When Chelle got rid of the woman who stalked Mason all the way to Texas, he was grateful... Then got a slap in the face for not telling her the truth to start. Now Mason is confused about his feelings for Chelle...

The meetcute is good, as the "fake fiancee" thing is kinda on kinda off. She wants to get it on, but on HER terms, not his. And she wants the truth, not lies, and he was a player, and never had to lie. The only problem I have is "why this woman"? And this is sort of explained later, how Mason has a broken family and relied on friends, but maybe he yearned for a big family again, and she has such a big family and a small town full of friends. Still, his infatuation was left a bit unexplained and presented as if it's the unexplained "she's the one". The rest of the developments have interesting points, but also some cliches (like Ruby Rose, the female best friend). Though the double grand gesture, both from him and from her was satisfying. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Tycoon Takedown by Ruth Cardello

Melanie, a single mother, just had her son asked where is his father. So she gathered up the courage to travel from a Texas ranch to New York City to find him. Yes, it was only one night. Yes, that's his son. But this emotional journey won't be easy... // Charles, a New York millionaire on top of the investment game, rarely gets asked for a favor by his sister Sarah in Texas. So when Sarah asked him to keep an eye on her best friend Melanie while she's in New York, he can't say no. When Melanie was purse-snatched while on the phone with Charles, he went alpha male protective... only to find Melanie had the situation well in hand... having taken down the armed mugger by herself, and gained the viral moniker "Takedown Cowgirl". Now Charles is totally smitten with Melanie, and Melanie loved the domineering Charles in bed. but Melanie's life and son are in Texas, while Charles lives in New York. Can this relationship ever work? 

Nice, very nice. There is some light bondage in the sex scenes, but it's light sensual bondage. But the more important thing is there is a definitely character arc to both MMC and FMC. Charles started out as the quintessential domineering alpha male who don't want kids or single mothers, and ended up as not only a good father, but also chose to mentor a young man out of a life on the streets. Melanie started out as a woman on a trip of redemption (Must find father of my son) and ended with a father for her child (just not the one she was first looking for) and ended up gaining a family and a lover who did not try to change her (not that she'll put up with it). 5/5

GRR Reviews Roping the Cowboy by Kennedy Fox

Katarina and Braxton had a hot and steamy one-night stand. But next morning Kat threw him out and then pretend he never existed. So when Kat later showed up at Braxton's Circle B Ranch B&B to serve her gluten-free sugar-free organic pastries, it's time for Braxton's revenge... Practical jokes soon turned into all-out prank war... Katarina will deny her attraction to Braxton, but Braxton is determined to show her that he wants her... long-term...

Pretty funny short, good chemistry. 4/5

GRR Reviews Wild for You by Cheyenne McCray

Jack lost his wife many years ago, and his daughter is all grown up now. Jack hadn't thought about another woman... and his daughter believed that Jack dating anyone else would be a betrayal. So he didn't... until he arrived at Dara's special needs ranch. Dara was his sister Bailey's best friend, and probably had a thing for him for a while, but it was platonic... Until he started noticing her in a very different way. But it's clear his daughter won't accept Dara without a fight... And Jack needs to reconcile the two...

Not bad, nothing about billionaires or expensive wooing, just blue-collar folks (well, well-to-do ones) making a living doing what they love, and falling in love. Good family conflict without overdoing it. 4/5

GRR Reviews The Cowboy by Molly O'Keefe

Cody and Bea have an informal arrangement... No names, no faces, no talking. She's his morning girl on the balcony over his work site. He's a broken cowboy, and she'll take whatever he can give. Until he walked into her bar, and he didn't know it's her. She's in love with the broken cowboy, and she can no longer keep the secret, but he's not in love with her... at least, not the public version...

Interesting angst-y take on a bit of obsession, and somewhat unconventional. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Cowboys Never Marry Their Best Friend by Emmy Eugene

Jenna needed a do-over after her divorce, and she moved back home, and there she saw the Johnson brothers again, esp. Seth, whom she may have had a crush on, except Seth is best friend with her brother, so she was definitely off-limits for him... back then. // Seth runs the family ranch and his dog rescue program, which rehabilitate retired work dogs as well as take in strays and abandoned dogs, which kept him plenty busy. He wants resources to create "Edible neighborhood" program but never had the funding. Then one day his parents announced that every child is now a billionaire because his aunt just bought out his mother's portion of a business. Now he can fund ALL the projects he wanted... In his happy state... he kissed Jenna... Now their lives would never be the same...

I honestly didn't feel much love despite pairing them together. 3/5

GRR Reviews Forgotten Reins by Susan Lower

Sarah opened her equine rescue op with her best friend and her best friend's brother, Josh. But her inheritance isn't quite enough to pay the bills esp. with all the upkeep like fence posts and whatnot. But when Sarah went to a horse auction and saw a horse that can barely move, she can't walk away, and she ended up buying her for $7, even though the mare was given a minimal chance of survival. Next day, the vet arrived, and she was stunned to find Michael Wolfe, who bought the property next door, as the new vet. What she can't tell him is she's a single mom, and her son's daddy is Michael. They had that one night, and then she was sent packing... What had happened that night... and why did Michael never searched for her? How can she tell him now?

Somehow, the story just feels very... clumsy. The narrative flow was OFTEN interrupted by Sarah suddenly falling into a day-dream recalling events from the past. And Michael is basically completely clueless, never once suspecting that someone had "interfered" with his life, then and now. And Sarah is still the meek girl, even at 25 and a mother, easily intimidated. 3/5

GRR Reviews A Blind Date with Her Cowboy Billionaire Boss by Hanna Hart

Shelby lost her infant son to SIDS. When she found her husband had been cheating, she left it all and went home to Carrin, TX, but without any workable skills, she felt lucky to find a job to be a nanny to a local single father, Colt and help raise his two kids. She then found Colt is a local billionaire and owner of a luxury ranch... and still grieving over the loss of his wife 8 months ago. Being set up by a friend to meet Colt for a blind date is even more awkward... but is falling for her handsome such a bad thing, when he feels the same way?

Good feels, and getting over past wounds. Shelby seems to be one of those people who feel responsible even though SIDS is unexplained and not her fault. 4/5

GRR Reviews That Hollister Man by Margaret Desmond

Sage moved far from Boston, all the way to Hollister, Montana, to save her little brother, who was about to be recruited into a local gang. Her online friend had to go visit her daughter-in-law to welcome her grandchild into the world, and sold Sage the small restaurant and ranch. Sage did not expect to meet a rugged and handsome rancher... who's seriously miffed that the land he had eyed for years to complete his family ranch was sold to an "outsider". But as Sage and brother fits into the small town life, where she will be making pies, and her brother kept grumbling about returning to Boston when he turned 18, she started to figure out that perhaps that Hollister man (town was named after his great-granddad) may just be a lonely and slightly misunderstood guy...

Interesting slow-simmer romance between rancher and city girl, sort of opposite attract. Also a bit slow at times. Not too much threat. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Almost Home by Barbara Freethy

Katherine is in Paradise, Kentucky on a quest to find her birth father, after her mother's death. All she knew is his name starts with J. No surname. Zach, the handsome cowboy, was not a part of her plans, nor was running into a ditch after almost ramming his horse trailer. They couldn't be more different. She's a California city girl. He's a Kentucky country cowboy, with a horse that can win a huge derby. But he has a bad reputation in town he's trying to redeem, and she's finding that some people prefer their secrets hidden. How much of her life did her mother hide from her? Will both of them find what they are searching for?

Sort of a "sins of our fathers and mothers" scenario, it's clear much of Katherine's knowledge about her mother's past were lies... Good complex scenarios that combined mystery with slow-wooing. 5/5

GRR Reviews her Horse Racing Billionaire Groom by Rachael Eliker

Clark is one of the Kelly brothers under the same deadline... Be married by Christmas, or forfeit his inheritance AND his charity to rehabilitate old racehorses, and he only has a month or so to find a bride. So when Maren walked through his charity's doors for an interview as the new communications director, he just about fell out of his chair. He and Maren were an item until he proposed to her (with a ring and all that) and she ran away. But that was many many years ago, and they are now professionals, and she is good at her new job, since he taught her the love of horses. And the fundraiser gala will be spectacular, esp. when a bachelor auction was included. Clark was sure Maren returned to his life for a reason, and he will woo her properly this time, but Maren's other ex is also dating her. What will Clark do to prove his love?

Somehow, the other guy, while successful in his own right, just didn't feel like a competition. There's camaraderie, but not the relationship spark. 4/5

GRR Reviews Choose me, Cowboy by Barbara Ankrum

Kate won't admit she never really gotten over Finn, even after six years. She just dates and never commits. Enough so her family wanted to run an intervention. After all, she's the kindergarten teacher in Marietta, Montana, and she needs to act prim and proper for her young students. She was shocked when she found that the new 5-year old twins in her class is none other than Finn's children, and Finn has been back in Marietta for a few months (and has been a single father for several years). Furthermore, Finn's ex Melissa, mother of the children, now wants to contest custody, after marrying a rich international tycoon. Kate offers herself as the logical solution: get married and present to the judge a proper family. It would just be a marriage of convenience, right?

While I like the tension, and the bull-riding bit was good, the end solution felt too much like a deus ex machina. 4/5

GRR Reviews Welcome to Riverside Ranch by Sophie Mays

NOTE: Cliffhanger, kinda Happy-for-now ending, 126 page short novel

Piper was just handed her dream: being the assistant director for a film project she wrote. While she planned for a jungle adventure, being told by studio head to change the setting to a Colorado ranch/resort is not bad... but having her crush as the star? Run into production problems? And being attracted to the head cowboy, Blake? That could be a problem... // Blake knew that his family ranch has a ton of tradition, being owned by them for a VERY long time, but tradition won't keep the ranch running in the black. That's why a new wing of the resort is about to be done, and not even a film crew can ruin his good mood. But a feisty city girl named Piper leading the crew? That could be a problem...

Sweet, fun, and romantic, in that they try to accommodate each other. But the story is unfinished, as the Blake wanted to see Piper in her home element: Los Angeles. That's for the sequel... This volume by itself? Technically a cliffhanger. 3/5

GRR Reviews Her Wounded Cowboy by Danae Little

Ryder was a star bullrider, until that one last ride that earned him a million dollars left him with severe injuries and amnesia. He can't even remember his daughter, Maci, and he can't connect with all these "friends" and "family" that keep wanting to know how he's doing. But the only one who can help him would be Savannah, the only physical therapist that does home visits. But what secrets is Savannah hiding?  // Savannah got a degree in physical therapy, but a call from her parents, now both disabled (at least temporarily) means she's heading home... to keep the family ranch afloat all by herself... AND do physical therapy work for money to keep the family running. That means she had to take any job, including Ryder, the boy who broke her heart back in high school. So who's stalking Ryder and Savannah? Is Maci in danger too?

Good escalation, that managed to pivot from romance into romantic suspense. The stalker is getting closer and closer, from break-in in a different city to attempted murder and attempted kidnapping. With good foreshadowing. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Buck Wild by Lauren Landish

Bull rider James is the wanderer of the family, spending most of his time on the road on the back of a bull, living for the excitement 8 seconds at a time. He never saw himself settling down, unlike his ranch brother, and his horse breeder brother. That is, until he ran into Sophie, veterinarian-in-training. // Sophie was accidentally enrolled in animal science one semester and was hooked. Now she's training as a veterinarian and getting some practical experience as a vet's assistant in a small town. Meeting the three brothers are nice, as they are very handsome cowboys. And James... well, he's rude, but she has plenty of sass to give. And it'd be the perfect summer fling... she's going back to school, and he's going back to the bullriding circuit... But when it comes time to part, can either give up what they have?

Good polish, lots of good family action. Each can provide what they other crave, if they can admit to themselves what they're craving. No competing lovers, no danger, just two people who THOUGHT they knew what they wanted, then learned there is so much more to life... and love. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Racing Hearts by Lauren Landish

Luke is one of the Bennett Boys, who prefers to stay in the background doing stuff and let his brothers take the credit. He has his own horse breeding business that lets him travel the country, but he is feeling a bit lonesome. // Shayanne is a Tannen and a tomboy. She and her brothers have taken over the family ranch after discovering their dad had almost buried them in his gambling debt. Now, in addition to running the family ranch, she also raises goats and has a specialty handmade soap business that is taking off. However, she's also feeling stuck, having been the only woman in the house. // Tannens and Bennetts used to be friends, until the previous generation had a falling out. So Luke and Shay were surprised to run into each other at the large tree at their property border. They had always been friendly, despite family feud, and that leads to an affair, which also has that Romeo and Juliet taboo feel. Both are very loyal to their respective families... and fond of each other. When Shayanne's father died of a heart attack, Shay and her brothers will discover an act of betrayal that left them shaking in rage. And Luke and his family may have one chance to finally make peace...

I like the twist, despite the "unfairness" of it all. And the relationship was handled very well. 5/5

GRR Reviews Cowboy's Secret Bride by Cora Seton

Carl is a millionaire living in Chance Creek renting a cottage from the Cooper clan, while searching for a ranch to buy to settle there permanently, because that's where Camila operates her Afghan-Mexican fusion restaurant with her Afghani partner, and she won't marry him if he won't settle in Chance Creek, and that means buy property here. Carl was drawn into the Cooper vs Turner feud when the Cooper matriarch, Virginia, promised Carl first dibs at the PERFECT ranch for him... If he will help Coopers clan do a major project to help them win the war between the clans... // Camila is renting a place from the Turner clan. And while she loves Carl, she can't love someone who's not living in Chance Creek permanently. And poor Carl has been searching for a ranch for THREE YEARS. Then Camila got a bit of shock from her mother... Camila needs to go back to Mexico to reclaim an ancestral mask, the symbol of her clan, for her papa from a side of family she only heard about, but never knew. And Carl just offered to go with her for the mission impossible... And on this trip. Camila will learn a lot more about herself, her family, her clan... and Carl than she ever expected to...

While I like this intro to the series, and the setup was quite good for subsequent shenanigans from other members of the Turners and Coopers, some of which are already in this novel, this novel also managed to go in too many different directions that got a bit... confusing. Carl ended up fighting multiple fires on multiple fronts (doing the project for the Coopers, going with Camila to Mexico, fixing the Mexican problem, solving his best friend Sven's problem, hiding his romance with Camila from the Coopers) that it was getting a bit messy. Similar thing with Camila: hiding her romance with Carl (who's an honorary Cooper) from the Turners, deal with her papa's misogyny (woman can't be head of his restaurant, even when his son doesn't really want to run one, and Camila does), with mama's demand to bring the mask back (which is mission impossible) and learn the REAL reason mask is where it is, and deal with her relatives in Mexico, some hostile, some enigmatic. While EVERYTHING was resolved at the end, it took a while for the various subplots to resolve itself. Even at only 260 pages, it just felt the book has "one subplot too many". On the other hand, the various little details about Mexican cooking, history of Chance Creek, and so on are good touches, and previous characters from her older Chance Creek series makes guest appearances. I like it well enough, I'll just call the extra sub-plot "minor" problem. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Dreams of Sweetwater River by Lisa M Prysock

Jill is a travel writer on the east coast, and a war widow, raising three kids. She lost her faith when a routine mission in Afghanistan claimed the life of her husband. When all three of her kids started having issues, she decided to move back home to Wyoming, which is when she ran into Logan, an old acquaintance of her family, and a childhood crush, until she found her man in uniform. // Logan was a pro bullrider until one too many injuries had him retire from that life. His faith was what allowed him to hang on through the downs. Now he's determined to turn his father's ranch into a dude ranch resort. Finding Jill again was a blessing... But Logan can't be with someone who had lost her faith...

Okay, inspirational, yes, Christian, sure. But starting EVERY chapter with a Bible quote or a hymn quote... well, feels slightly overdone, but that's just my personal feelings on this matter. Romance was low-key simmer, and kids were a bit underused. But overall, it's still a good story, just not great.

3.5/5

GRR Reviews Cowboy for a Season by Janalyn Knight

Hannah is widow now, having buried her husband, but in her mind, she had been a widow for a while, when she found she can't bear any children, and her husband started cheating (and wasn't even that subtle about it). With no other choice, she had to hire some help fast. She got Alex, a bullrider out on medical leave. But Alex has his own problems. His ex-wife used him like an ATM machine by holding their daughter (because she had custody). Yet it's clear she spent it all on herself, not their daughter. When she dropped off their daughter at his place because she found a gig in Nashville, Alex is angry, sad, and delighted. Hannah is just happy to have a child to care for, even if the child is not hers. But Alex is going back to rodeo soon, right?

Somehow, there's just not much "polish" in the tale, no twists or turns. Meh. 2.5/5