GRR Reviews Her Cowboy King by Madeline Ash

Mark and his two brothers, Kris and Tom, are just cowboys on a ranch in America when they received news that the Kingdom of Kiraly needs them... as Mark, i.e. Marcus, is now the next in line for the throne. But what does three cowboys know about being royalty? // Princess Ava has her own plans to escape with her secret, apart from her parent's "strategic marriage" plans for her, preferably with the new King Marcus of Kiraly. She has plans to make the new King hate her, but Marcus turns out to be a kind man, and she found herself falling for him. Now she has to choose between escaping and loving the king...

Not bad, even though Ava turned out to be a bit wishy-washy, but it all made sense, due to the amount of pressure she had been under. Not too much cowboy-ing in the Alps. 4/5

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 Amazed By You by Cheyenne McCray

Celine, fashion designer, needs her product launch to go perfectly, and on budget, as she had put EVERYTHING on the line. She has no time to babysit a cowboy ranch owner who's miffed at city folks invading his domain. That is, until she met Jayson face to face... // Jayson lost a bet and ended up with city folks all over his ranch doing a commercial shoot, interrupting his ranching. Though secretly, he's impressed with Celine running the show. When the two finally meet, sparks flew (the good kind). But Jayson has a secret, and not even saving Celine's life may redeem him from that...

Not bad, good polish on opposites attract story. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews A Cowboy Firefighter for Christmas by Kim Redford

Misty is just driving into Wildcat Bluff near Christmas when she was flagged down by a half-naked cowboy who needed her help to put out a suspicious grass fire. Turns out he's Trey, hot cowboy, and volunteer firefighter. She's surprised she was able to help, as she had bad memories of both fires and Christmas. Someone is committing arson in the area, and Misty can't tell Trey that she's actually an investigator trying to find out if the fires are set by their rivals, or is there a separate firebug involved... But they definitely feel hot for each other...

Nice, good bits about personal fears and overcoming them. The mystery aspect OTOH is a bit on the "meh" side. 4/5

GRR Reviews A Cowboy Billionaire Best Friend's Secret by Hanna Hart

Hunter has his ranch in Wyoming, and it's prospering. He didn't expect Rachel to arrive incognito. He knew Rachel, until she moved in with his country-singer brother and gotten engaged, and was happily pregnant... last he heard. Turns out she had miscarried, and she found her fiancee (Hunter's brother) cheating. She was an emotional wreck and the only friend she could run to was Hunter.  They are fond of each other, but taking that further is not possible until Rachel resolve her relationship status first. When the whole family started to show up and taking sides, is there any chance for this star-crossed couple?

Good conflict build-up, with tons of complications, first hiding secrets, then outright confrontation as the family started to take sides. Good family dynamics without being overly melodramatic, good but not overwhelming amount of angst. Could use a faster pace though, IMHO. 4/5

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 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 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 Heartstruck and Heavensent by Kari Trumbo

Madison is a very private librarian. Nobody knows her well, and that's her choice. She based her life on her parents, who are Christians with zero public affections, that love is something to be shamed. So much so, she left Kansas behind and went to New York City. She's even more ashamed because she has a secret side job: romance writer. And she's actually quite decent at it... Until she hit a writer's block. When three of her best online friends roped her into a week at the Broken J Ranch in Wyoming as sort of a writing retreat, she accepted, as anything would be better than writing nothing. Which is where she also met a quiet wrangler by the name of Randall... // Randall has land in Kansas, and he's just working in Wyoming to save up some money to outfit his own ranch. Randall was drawn to Madison, but Randall's leaving soon, and Madison, even sooner. Madison knew that Randall is a Christian, and is strong and good-hearted. But she can't do long-distance, and she didn't like being Christian... or did she misunderstood what being a Christian meant all along? And is there really a chance with Randall, if they can both go back to Kansas?

Okay, this is Christian / Spiritual, but not too obviously so. It doesn't beat you over the head with Bible quotes and such. You can even say it kinda broke the 4th Wall, albeit circumspect, by having characters that are romance novel writers discussing what constitutes a spiritual romance, and even made threw some shade at traditional publishing vs. indie publishing. 4/5

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

GRR Reviews Want Me, Cowboy by Sinclair Jayne

NOTE: Part of Wilder Brothers series, Book 1 reviewed earlier

Luke Wilder can't believe he'd got into a fight at Grey's Saloon. All he wanted was a beer. Then someone pretty (judging by her scent) hugged him from behind. He turned around to offer her a smile, she turned white as a sheet and ran off. He wanted to apologize, only to get a punch in the face... from a brother Colt he never knew he had. But Luke is in town for business... talk with fiery redheaded bull breeder Tanner about her bulls joining the IBRA pro league // Tanner is fine being the "quiet" sister (her sister Tucker can take the spotlight). She wants to take over the family ranch and her bull breeding program is already producing results... multiple hundred-percenters (no bullrider made it to full 8 seconds). When IBRA accepts her bulls she would have shown her father she is capable and ready to take over the family ranch, despite NOT being a son. // Luke and Tanner definitely have chemistry, but it's not really proper for an IBRA rep to bed the bull breeder he's trying to recruit. Things got complicated when Luke's famous younger bullrider brother Kane and his mother also showed up in town. THEN Luke realized that he had slept with Tanner's sister Tucker five years ago... And Tucker is also in town...

Whew, it's like a soap opera, cowboy style. And let's just say there are more subplots I hadn't mentioned. You don't need to read Book 1, but you'd get more of the twists and subplots if you do read it first.  5/5

GRR Reviews Stepdad Surprise by Caroline Lee

Jackie Novak ran from her abusive gangbanger boyfriend after her daughter Kalli was born. A kind priest sent her to River's End Ranch in Idaho, and even helped her change her name. Content to enjoy life raising her daughter, she did not expect the attention of local cowboy Cooper. // Coop can see that Jackie is keeping the hurt inside, and she does not trust easily. But he can change her mind slowly. Until her evil ex resurfaced, intending to exact revenge...

Okay, a bit formulaic, but with good details and nice use of existing characters. Yes, the fairy lady is still there. (Those who read this series will know what I am talking about. And yes, this is book 53)  :)   4/5

GRR Reviews Half Empty by Catherine Bybee

Trina had a marriage of convenience with her husband, to please his dying mother. Then he killed himself, and less than two weeks later, his mother also died, which is when Trina found she had inherited EVERYTHING, making her one of the wealthiest women in the world. Desperate to escape the attention, she hid out in Europe, swearing not to fall for any men, then she fell for the one Texas cowboy who doesn't seem to own much other than charm. // Wade is a country music super-star, and he's surprised and delighted that Trina doesn't recognize him. Now there's someone who may fall for him, not for his money. He was shocked to find that Trina is actually richer than he is. But new evidence suggests that perhaps Trina's husband's death was not a suicide... and Trina is still in danger. And EVERYONE near her, even Wade, may be at risk...

Whew, that's one way to build romantic suspense along with surprise encounter / disguise. 5/5

GRR Reviews Not Quite Dating by Catherine Bybee

Jessie is a single mom and waitress. She has no time to date, but a charming sorta-broke cowboy is starting to wear her down. She already shot him down several times, but he's persistent. But Jack is not who he seems... // Jack is the heir of a hotel empire, but so far he's finding one golddigger after another. So when Jessie didn't know who he is, he decided to pretend to be "just" a humble cowboy / waiter, and pretend to help her find her a rich husband. But it's that pretense that would come to bite him in the rear later...

Awwww, that's cute. While we've seen the plot before, rich guy pretend to be normal to woo normal woman, this one has excellent polish and enough twists to keep you reading. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews No Cowboys No Angels by Petie McCarty

Kellen and her entire family left Riverside, West Virginia for a better life, and they eventually succeeded. After her mother died, Kellen found that the old farm was never sold. Determined to sell the place quickly, as it reminded her too much of her past, she encountered the town folks, including one handsome cowboy Luke, who's also her neighbor... and does NOT want her to sell. However, his high-handedness just brushed her wrong. Unfortunately, the town also attracted a mafia operation trying to illegally dump toxic waste next to Kellen's property, and she's already been shot at twice, hoping to scare her off. But her mother did send her a guardian angel... But it can't be Luke...

Eh... there are some bits that are quite good. The conspiracy rolled up nicely. But the guardian angel(s) didn't feel integral to the plot. And Jack just doesn't work for me, as he's just horrible on people, which is kinda hard if he's that good in his... other job. (Hint: he wasn't always a cowboy.) 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Tie Me Down by Katie Douglas

Alana fainted at a gas station in Arizona, after fleeing her evil boyfriend Jimbo, who got her pregnant, then beat her for daring to "interfere" in his criminal ways. When he told her she can't keep the baby, it's time to flee the city. Alana was rescued at the station by Lawson, a local cowboy with his own ranch. But can Lawson protect Alana, and convince her he's the one?

Not bad for a novella (right about 100 pages) proper beats and evil ex and all that. Nothing like super-good, but it's quite good. 4/5

GRR Reviews Contracted Cowboy by Liz Isaacson

Georgia does not look forward to spending the holiday season even months after her boyfriend left her broken-hearted. Her family was just a bit too... loud for her taste. Then her grandma inspired her to find a boyfriend... a FAKE boyfriend... by hiring a handyman cowboy. But only one applicant showed up... carpenter cowboy Logan. And he would do just fine. // Logan doesn't mind playing the boyfriend to beautiful Georgia, if only to make her ex a little jealous and proved she had "moved on". He hadn't dated anyone in years after his ex Caroline just left town one night without a note or a call. But the more time he spent with Georgia, the more real his feelings got. Until Caroline showed back up in town, now known as Annie...

Eh... While I like this spin of "fake boy/girlfriend", the darkest hour is basically sensitive ears fragile ego.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.

GRR Reviews Falling for the Younger Cowboy by Liwen Y Ho

Lexi is about to turn forty, single, and happy, working in Sage Valley Ranch as the gift shop manager. She had to leave her home and reinvent herself in Texas, after her ex's betrayal. She enjoys the platonic friendship with the ranch cook James, who's ten years younger. Until her ex came to the ranch with his much younger GF. // James had been smitten with Lexi since she set foot on the ranch a year ago. And he wanted out of the friend zone for a while. When Lexi's ex showed up, and Lexi doesn't want to be outshined, Lexi grabbed James and announced he's her fiancee. And James is happy to oblige. Then her mother showed up, and now what was merely a face-saving lie turned very real indeed...

Awww, sweet, but not much else. Also, I had NO SENSE that Lexi was Asian-American until her mother showed up. Usually I spot those references right off. *sigh* 

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.

GRR Reviews Romancing the Conflicted Cowboy by Crystal Walters

Callie is in a writing funk, and desperate for inspiration, so a visit to a Texas dude ranch should get her creative juices flowing, with majestic horses, handsome cowboys... Except this city-girl who hadn't had her own romance runs into a prank-loving veterinarian... and a single dad, Reed. He wasn't planning to fall for the city slicker, but when he offered to help with her research, that's exactly what happens... Until she revealed the real intentions...It's all research... But was it really pretend and research, or did she fall for him too?

Hmmm... The comedy bits are pretty good. The rest of it so-so. The "is it real or was it all play-acting" bit didn't quite feel right and was over too quickly.

Category: Contemporary / Western / Comedy

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.

GRR Reviews Wedding Day with a Rancher by Ellie Hall

Kayla had been burned by a relationship. It took her a while to find herself and start over in the small town of Hawk Ridge and work at the resort. But her family's daily (almost hourly) nagging about her single life had her chafing. // Dallen was a wild playboy before, and as heir to the Hawkins legacy, he can afford it. But after a tragic loss, the brothers turned enemies. Dallen has mended his ways. He also needs to secure his inheritance and make needed changes to the family resort... Which means he needs to marry to inherit. // Dallen and Kayla didn't really want to marry, but they both need to, to satisfy their respective families. But can they win each other's hearts?

Nothing really special about this one.

Category: Contemporary / Western

Overall Rating: 3/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.